EXPLORE YOUR BORO
TINY
TREASURES By KATRINA MEDOFF
@KATRINAMEDOFF
@KATYA_M22
Every few months, the popular Astoria bar Judy &
Punch turns into something else entirely: a tiny market
where local creative entrepreneurs sell their products.
The market only lasts for a few hours, so blink and you
miss it—but if you make it there, you’ll find some truly
unique treasures made by your neighbors.
The idea for Astoria Tiny Market was
conceived by local illustrator and designer
Widad Franco a few years ago.
Franco had started her own business,
Widycat Designs, in 2013. She primarily
designs illustrated greeting cards, but
also sells calendars, stickers and prints, as
well as children’s books in small batches.
“I’ve always loved storytelling, and I realized
there were few things in the greeting
card market that really spoke to me,”
she said of her inspiration to start Widycat
Designs. Her cards are sweet, colorful
and “highlight the beautiful things in
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small moments of everyday life.” She’s
also known for her cat illustrations.
She’s been adding more greeting cards
and other products, and little by little, her
business has been growing. She even
launched Spanish language greeting
cards a couple months ago, which have
been very popular because they tend to
be harder to find, she said.
“And every once in a while, I do handpainted
stuff,” she added. “Those are
more labors of love that I add to my
collection: bird houses, lamp shades,
paintings.”