Young Makers Market to showcase youth entrepreneurs at Arkansas 4-H Center
April 24, 2026
By Rebekah Hall
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts
- May 9 event at C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center to offer products created by youth
- 27 vendors include food trucks, jewelry makers, flowers, metal workers and more
- All are invited to shop the market, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
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Download photo of Young Makers Market vendor
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas youth from throughout the state — including woodworkers, photographers, jewelry makers and more — will have a chance to sell their products to the public at the upcoming Young Makers Market, held at the C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center on May 9.
Creenna Bocksnick, organizer of the event and Arkansas 4-H camping coordinator for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, said she designed the event to provide creative youth with a dedicated opportunity to sell their wares.
“Working in youth development, I felt like there was a gap in the experiential learning that these kids are getting,” Bocksnick said. “At the 4-H Center, we have several different camps that either focus on or incorporate crafting or entrepreneurship, but I felt like we were missing an opportunity to really put them out front, where they can sell their items and develop their business.
“I wanted to give them an experience where they weren’t having to compete against adults who regularly do fairs or crafts for their career,” she said.
Bocksnick said the Young Makers Market will have 27 youth vendors selling their handmade products, including a food truck specializing in lemonade, metal workers, ceramic artists, and an artist who makes fantasy masks. Vendors do not have to be enrolled in Arkansas 4-H to participate, but Bocksnick said half of the vendors are 4-H members.
“We have a wide range of variety among our vendors,” Bocksnick said. “For each vendor, the products they’re selling are required to be 100 percent their business — not just something their parents have made that they’re selling.”
The Arkansas 4-H Center is located at 1 Four H Way in Little Rock. The market will take place from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. is and open to the public. Admission is $5 per person.
Creativity at work
Greenlee Barnes, 10, a member of Grant County 4-H, will bring Pickin Flowers Farm, her mobile bloom bar, to the Young Makers Market. Barnes will have fresh flowers available for attendees to make their own bouquets or choose from a variety of ready-made arrangements.
“I run my own business, and I thought coming to the market would be a really fun way to meet new friends,” Barnes said.
Barnes said she usually grows her own flowers at 4Barnes Farm, her family’s farm in Sheridan. But as it’s a bit early in the season, the flowers at the market will be purchased from a wholesale provider.
A couple years ago, Barnes found inspiration for her business from the blooms popping up on her family’s land.
“We had some random flowers coming up, and I would give them to my family, then I told my mom I wanted to be a flower farmer when I grow up,” Barnes said. “But who has time to wait? So, I started when I was 8 years old.”
Barnes said she is looking forward to meeting new people at the Young Makers Market and is excited for the chance to sell flowers with her best friend, who is tagging along to the event to help.
Jesika Henson, 15, has been a member of Drew County 4-H since she was 5 years old. Her business, Jesi’s Customs, will be a vendor at the market, where she plans to advertise her photography skills and sell the woodworked necklaces she recently started making.
Henson said she is most looking forward to seeing how many people are interested in what she likes to make.
“I’m a very creative person, and most of the time I don’t like to buy things because I think, ‘I could make that,’” Henson said. “So, when I’m talking with someone and they say they want to buy something I’ve made, I just think, ‘Are you serious?’”
Henson is homeschooled, and she takes a woodworking class at Monticello High School. There, she’s learned to make birdhouses, spoons and wooden birds, and recently ventured into wooden necklace charms.
“I started with the necklaces maybe a month or two ago,” Henson said. “It caught my interest quickly, and I’ve been working so hard to get them ready for the Young Makers Market. I’ve made charms of suns and moons and recently started doing stars and hearts as well.”
Braylee Reynolds, 13, is a member of Sevier County 4-H. For her Crafty Cuts by Braylee business, she will bring several different sewing creations to the Young Makers Market, including bows, “mug rugs,” or sewn coasters, tote bags and jar grippers, or sewn jar openers.
“I thought the market would be a fun, new opportunity to try,” Reynolds said. “Sewing makes me happy. I love to see a project get finished.”
Reynolds said she learned how to make the mug rugs and tote bags through a sewing class in her 4-H club.
Maranda Reynolds, Braylee’s mother, said she is excited for her daughter to bring her creations to the market.
“I absolutely love it because I’m not a sewer,” Maranda Reynolds said. “She’s got this little table, and if she’s having a tough day, she’ll say ‘Mom, I’m going to sit down at my sewing machine for a little bit,’ just to decompress. It’s amazing to watch.”
Future small business owners
Bocksnick said the Young Makers Market project is part of her work as a current participant in LeadAR, a statewide leadership program run by the Division of Agriculture. She said she encourages the public to visit the market and support the work of the youth vendors.
“By attending and shopping at the market, you’re going to encourage our future small business owners in developing their skills and their passion for being involved in the small business community,” Bocksnick said.
For more information about the Young Makers Market, contact Creenna Bocksnick at cbocksnick@uada.edu or visit the event’s Facebook page.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. To learn more about ag and food research in Arkansas, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station at aaes.uada.edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 22 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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Media Contact:
Rebekah Hall
rkhall@uada.edu
501-671-2061