The project was developed by AmeriCorps VISTA RaDrea Rayborn<\/strong> through her work with the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council. During her service, Rayborn has connected with local jewelry makers, painters, seamstresses, culinary artists, and other creatives\u2014many of whom face the challenge of competing with large retailers and bargain-priced, mass-produced goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThrough my work as a VISTA, I\u2019ve had the opportunity to meet so many incredibly talented local artists and makers, and I\u2019ve also seen how difficult it can be for them to compete with large retailers,\u201d Rayborn said. \u201cI created this series to encourage people to think differently about gift-giving\u2014to choose something thoughtful and handmade and, in the process, support an artist right here in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each box will center around a seasonal theme and feature a curated selection of work from artists, makers, and creative entrepreneurs. Collections throughout the year will range from art and handmade goods to culinary products and seasonal keepsakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The series also creates an ongoing opportunity for artists working across different mediums to have their work introduced to new audiences, including both Oxford residents and visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently featured is the Farmstead Collection<\/strong>, created to celebrate National Farmers Market Month<\/strong> and Bit of the Sip<\/strong>. The seasonal box highlights the charm of the farmers market through items such as homestead jams, pickled vegetables, recipe cards, goat milk soaps, and other locally inspired farm goods. The Farmstead Collection is available to order at OxfordArts.com<\/a> with pickup at The Powerhouse through August 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Upcoming themes include Rebels Kickoff Keepsakes<\/strong>, October After Dark<\/strong>, and Handmade for the Holidays<\/strong>, with additional curated collections continuing throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At its core, the Curated Gift Box Series asks the community to make a simple shift: before buying retail, consider buying local.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artists and makers interested in participating in future collections are encouraged to connect with the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council. A handmade gift carries the story of the person who made it\u2014and every local purchase helps sustain the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":238,"featured_media":165067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[22567,19],"tags":[35615,29575,35617,35616,2396],"class_list":["post-165066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-farms","category-local-news","tag-americorps-vista-radrea-rayborn","tag-bit-of-the-sip","tag-farmstead-collection","tag-national-farmers-market-month","tag-yoknapatawpha-arts-council"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Farmstead_Collection_gift_boxes.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165066"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":165070,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165066\/revisions\/165070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/TheLocalVoiceLigature-25web.jpg?resize=25%2C16\")
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