Food trucks are a rising tide lifting all boats in the local restaurant industry into a growing new ocean. Without a doubt, Food Trucks have grown in popularity in the Des Moines area greatly since 2015 and we did no want to wait one more moment to get in on the fun. But Curbin’ Cuisine did not start then, it launched in 2013 as a street food cart and went to many farmers markets, city festivals and breweries. With popularity growing quickly from their delicious cuisines, in January 2016 Curbin’ Cuisine Food Truck & Catering launched. And within one very quick and great year, Curbin’ Cuisine was voted top 3 Best of the Best Food Trucks by the viewers of City View Magazine in 2017.
Curbin’ Cuisine is exactly as their motto reads, “Eat Good & Feel Good”. Their globally inspired foods will feed your body & soul as they are made with mixed flavor fusion with tasty sauces & spices and prepared fresh & fast with one goal in mind, a satisfied happy customer.
Curbin’ Cuisine’s Food Truck Menu IS one you will NEVER forget. It will keep you coming back for more time and time again! The staff is fast, fun & friendly and most importantly the food is forkin’ delicious.
Curbin’ Cuisine loves to be apart of unique, one of a kind, festivals in the Des Moines area. Christkindlmarket is just that. It is fun, outdoors and the event coordinators are awesome to work with.
For this years Christkindlmarket we will be selling some German favorites that have Curbin’ Cuisine’s touches (a few were crowd favorites in 2017):
Dakota Tinworks is a small, family-owned business, based in Estelline, South Dakota. Karl, who is the family tinsmith, makes a variety of practical and decorative tin items, many of which are based on 19th century historical examples, and are made primarily with 19th century tinsmith’s tools.
Karl trained as a historical tinsmith with Loren Miller at the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer in Grand Island, Nebraska, and with master tinsmith William McMillen at Historic Eastfield Village in rural East Nassau, New York.
Karl’s tin work has been purchased by many private individuals across the United States (30 states and counting!), and he has done commissioned work for a variety of people and organizations, including an art museum, a historical society, and two historic sites.
In addition to making tin pieces, Karl also offers 19th century tinsmithing demonstrations. A popular ‘living historian’, Karl’s summer calendar is typically filled with regional living history events, the organizers of which contract with him to interact with the public and demonstrate the art and craft of 19th century tinsmithing.
We wanted to be involved in the Christkindlmarket Des Moines 2018 because we all had such a great experience at the Christkindlmarket in 2017. The organizers were wonderful, the event was enjoyable, the people we met were friendly and interested in what we do, and the sales were fantastic! It was a great way to end our year and we look forward to our return to CDM in 2018!
We will be offering many of the things we offered in 2017, but plan to bring much more stock with us to meet the demand for items that proved extremely popular like tinsel, ornaments of various kinds, and tree toppers. Karl has already designed a series of new ornaments this year which will be for sale at CDM 2018. In addition, we will be offering candle holders, candle sconces, a variety of lanterns, cookie cutters, cups, and so much more!
We are thrilled to be a part of Christkindlmarket Des Moines for 2018. It’ll be the highlight of our year.
Offering: Christkindlmarket Des Moines 2018 commemorative mugs, hand-painted German ornaments (Glaszauber Lauscha), advent calendars, imported chocolate, baumkuchen, Mozart kugeln, Asbach filled chocolates, assorted marzipan, Haribo, Pandoro, Pannetone, butter cookies, stollen, beer steins, beer mugs, beer glassware, shot glasses and Christkindlmarket Des Moines merchandise. Price Range: $1 – $200
STEINBACH – PURE GERMAN –
Offering: Folk art products like our world-famous nutcrackers, smokers and miniature figures and Lebkuchen
Price Range: $5 – $400
Coal Ridge Crafts will be selling wooden toys, stuffed animals, Christmas ornaments hand crafted from wood, felt and burlap. Wooden boxes and inspirational signs will also be available.
Offering: Wooden puzzles, pull toys, cars, trucks, planes, helicopters,Plinko, Noah’s Ark, toddler chairs, tractors, construction toys, dinosaurs, wooden boxes, nativity scenes, wall hangings and wooden ornaments.
Price Range: $4 – $60
Craic (pronounced “crack”) is an Irish word for good times, but with a bit of irreverence, as is the Irish way. We focus on Iowa and the Irish–our home and our homeland–and local, handmade products with a twist of fun.
Offering: Irish, Irish dancer and humorous goods
Price Range: $4 – $45
Beautiful handmade cutting boards and serving trays.
Offering: Cheese cutting boards, Cutting boards, Serving trays
Price Range: $35 – $45
Laser cut gifts and decorations.
Offering: Wooden lanterns, glassware, ornaments, decorative maps/signs
Price Range: $1 – $150
Andy is an Iowa artisan specializing in chainsaw sculpture and metal design. Fanciful , functional, or a fusion of each…watching Andy craft original pieces will delight people of all ages!
Offering: Chainsaw carvings, wooden ornaments.
Price Range: $5 – $2000
At Pickle Creek, we use organic herbs we grow on our Iowa farm to handcraft artisanal herbal products, including infused olive oils and vinegars, jams, soaps, salves, salts, and balms.
Offering: Herb-infused olive oils and vinegars, jams, soaps, salves, salts, and balms that we handcraft ourselves using original recipes and the herbs and other produce we grow in our garden.
Price Range: $3 – $22
Acrylic Christmas decorations with ornaments, musical boxes and religious figurines.
Offering: Christmas music boxes, acrylic ornaments, angel and nativity Christmas trees.
Price Range: $30 – $50
The Museum of Danish America booth will carry items from its Design Store reflecting Danish culture and Danish, Danish-American and Scandinavian design.
Offering: Danish, Danish-American, and Scandinavian items from our Museum Gift Shop: Nisse, Christmas ornaments, candles, papirklip, mugs & glasses, t-shirts, candy & jam, tea diffusers, dish cloths & tea towels, aebleskiver pans
Price Range: $5 – $100
On The Hill / Shepherds Market. Old world traditions at it’s best. Keeping the ancient art of spinning and weaving woolens alive. Soothing body and soul from our homegrown lavender products.
Offering: Hand-spun, hand-woven shawls, wraps, scarves, yarn, from our rare Suri alpacas. Lavender products from our lavender field ie: bath salts, lotions, soaps, spritz, sachets. Our own design broach/pins for our shawls also jewelry incorporating yarn from our alpacas. Drop spindles.
If weather permitting I will demonstrate spinning yarn with my spinning wheel or drop spindle and weaving on my continuous strand tri-loom.
Price Range: $5 – $285
Jett and Monkey’s offers hunde und katzen (dogs and cats) holiday gifts, including treats and toys. Visit our store in the East Village!
Offering: Pet supplies, including holiday toys, treats, and ornaments.
Price Range: $2 – $25
Step inside the world of glass. Indianola Glass Creations designs and creates one of a kind Stained and Fused Glass ornaments, suncatchers, jewelry and home decor. They will be demonstrating blown glass ornaments.
Offering: Fused Glass pendants, rings, earrings & bracelets, ornaments, suncatchers, platters, bowls, coasters & clocks. Stained Glass ornaments, panels & clocks. Blown glass ornaments. Wine bottle lamps, tealights & wind chimes.
Price Range: $5 – $100
Wild Cherry Spoon Co creates one of a kind handcarved pieces from urban lumber.
Offering: Handcarved wooden spoons, spatulas, kitchen utensils of various styles and purposes, bottle openers, pizza cutters, ice cream scoops, pizza paddles, baguette trays and serving pieces.
Price Range: $3 – $125
Glühwein (roughly, “glow-wine”, from the hot irons once used for mulling) is popular in German speaking countries. Glühwein is prepared from red wine, heated and spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves, star aniseed, citrus, sugar and at times vanilla pods.
Ukrainian style foods, gifts and desserts
Offering: Perogies, cabbage Rolls, pelmeni, baked goods,,candy
Price Range: $2 – $10
Our unique Wisconsin Made Brun-uusto is a specialty cheese made to be served warm. Brun-uusto caramelizes and keeps it shape, becoming a crispy, sweet and soft delicacy.
Offering: Brun-uusto Baked Cheese
Price Range: $6 – $25
Offering: Hot chocolate, bars, prepacked boxes and fresh stroopwafels
Price Range: $3 – $50
Offering: Roasted almonds, cashews, and pecans with cinnamon or maple flavor
Price Range: $5 – $15
State of the art, wickedly designed bright green food truck.
Sugarplums is a local bakery that specializes in traditional gingerbread and other European baked goods for the Christkindlmarket. Everything we sell is made completely from scratch from family recipes.
Chestnuts roasted “old school style” in a wood fired oven bring an “old world flavor” to this outdoor holiday market. See the fire, smell the aroma, taste this quintessential wintertime delicacy.
Hand made, fresh baked strudel and pretzels.
Des Moines European Heritage Association invites you to become a vendor at the 3rd Annual Christkindlmarket Des Moines taking place November 30 – December 2, 2018, at Cowles Commons.
In 2017, this cultural experience attracted 40,000 visitors.
Wild Cherry Spoon Co has vended across the Midwest. From popular indie craft markets in Chicago to small first time shows. Christkindlmarket Des Moines blew them all away in terms of revenue, participation, crowd size, after show sales, interesting things to see and do at the market, and volunteer support. Word of advice to vendors; plan for your wildest sales expectations and then bring 4x the inventory…it sells out fast!
Wild Cherry Spoon, 2017
In addition to food and gift/specialty item vendors, we seek vendors that can provide demonstrations.
I was especially impressed with the advertising for Christkindlmarket Des Moines—I think the organizers did a great job of getting the word out through many different avenues. The volunteers were very friendly and helpful. The booths made for a great ambience, and we loved the signs!.
Pickle Creek Herbs, 2017
Application Deadline: February 15, 2018
Des Moines European Heritage Association connects Iowans with European traditions, language education and cultural experiences; and it provides resources and tools to other cultural heritage organizations.
With just two weeks until Christkindlmarket Des Moines 2017, we’d like to help you get prepared for your visit by introducing our holiday store called “An der Weihnachtsecke”. In German, this means, “At the Christmas Corner”. In it, we will feature the following:
This year’s commemorative mug will only be available for sale an der Weihnachtsecke. Be sure to purchase yours before they run out. You can make a donation of $25/mug before November 29th to guarantee your mug and pick it up at the event.
For this year’s mug design, we again collaborated with German designer Sabine Voigt. She previously worked for Rolling Stone Magazine and continues to design mugs for Christmas markets around the world. We chose to incorporate our new logo this year, designed by Lessing-Flynn Advertising.
We had the pleasure of working with Straub Marketing to procure our commemorative mugs this year. Straub Marketing is a complete brand management company specializing in creative, print, promotional, apparel and fulfillment. The Straub team, with over 40 years of industry experience, creates seamless brand strategies, specifically customized by evaluating the organizational, circumstantial or event needs of clients.
From glass to stoneware, from boot to Maß, we’ve got your beer drinking vessels covered. With a variety of price points, you’re sure to find something for the casual drinker or collector in your life. There are also several limited edition pieces available.
Many of the steins sold at Christkindlmarket Des Moines 2017 are original productions from original Thewalt molds. These steins are produced in the same time-honored tradition, entirely made in the Westerwald (“Western Forest”), just a few kilometers from the original Thewalt factory. Several original skilled Thewalt workers are still making these new steins. Established in 1893 and producing steins until 2009, the Thewalt factory earned global recognition with emphasis on unsurpassed quality, using only the best materials and workmanship.
These steins were made from molds acquired from the original factory of Paul Werner Corzelius (some of which are over 100 years old!). These steins was made just a few kilometers from the original Gerz Sessenbach and Corzelius Hoehr Grenzhausen factory sites.
We will be offering advents calendars, German/Swiss/English chocolate, Baumkuchen, Mozart Kugeln, Asbach chocolate, a variety of marzipan confections, Pannetone, German/Danish/English cookies and a variety of stollen.
These individually hand-blown and hand-painted ornaments, lovingly made by a family-owned and operated business in Germany, are truly one of a kind. The first Christmas tree ornaments made of glass originated in their hometown of Lauscha in 1847.
Watch a video of how these ornaments are made.
We had a great time working with Straub Marketing, our 2017 Preferred Brand Solutions Vendor, to design our Christkindlmarket Des Moines merchandise. We will be offering totes, tumblers, knit caps, beanies, mittens and scarves.
Amana Woolen Mill, built in 1857, is the oldest business in the Colony and the only remaining Woolen Mill in the state of Iowa. Our textiles express the heritage, value and essence of the originating Amana community with timeless quality design and craftsmanship. We weave beautiful wool, cotton and recycled yarn products on our Sulzer looms in an array of widths ranging from crib-sized baby blankets to king-sized bed blankets. The weaving mill produces cloth for Amana Woolen Mill’s accessory department, where our talented seamstresses develop and hand-sew elegant home goods including table runners, placemats, napkins and pillows. Our line of personal items, consisting of large and small totes, cosmetic bags, wine totes and aprons, have received rave reviews for their beauty and quality craftsmanship.
Christkindlmarket Des Moines would be a perfect fit for Amana Woolen Mill’s textiles. German culture and heritage is woven into everything we do. Our community was founded in 1855 by a small group of German immigrants seeking religious freedom. Its members lived simply, without vanity, and dedicated themselves to living sustainably. Through dedication to hard work, progress, and innovation, our businesses have operated continuously for more than 160 years. It may be a struggle to adapt our historic buildings in order to work efficiently, but we believe it’s the right thing to do. We’re constantly working to preserve the methods, talents and ideals passed down by our German forefathers and continue to produce a wide variety of heritage inspired, hand-crafted goods. We are thankful for the opportunity and excited to share these products with you.
The Amana Woolen Mill will be bringing a variety of wool and cotton blankets a long with an array of accessories perfect for holiday gift giving.
Our Wool Tartans, Houndstooth, Civil War Stripe and Alpine Blanket collections are classic patterns that fit and flow with the atmosphere of Christkindlmarket Des Moines. The Herringbone and Lily cotton throws are some of our most sought-after weaves. We plan on bringing our top selling colors to share.
From the Accessories Department, the ever popular Doliver tote, made from recycled cotton and yarn with stunning leather handles and superb durability. Our small cosmetic/utility bags are always a hit. With a zipper closure to store smaller items and beautiful assortment of colors and weaves, these cute little bags won’t last long.
We’ll be bringing a variety of 4-pack coaster sets (they make perfect stocking stuffers) and wine totes that pair perfectly with a couple bottles of vino and make a thoughtful gift for the host and hostess at holiday gatherings.
Our cotton chef aprons are large enough to shield your holiday apparel from harm, yet stylish enough that you may not want to take it off before the festivities begin! With a generous front pocket and sturdy hand-sewn construction, these aprons make the perfect gift for anyone who loves to cook.
Amana scarves are a practical and thoughtful gift for both men and women. Our line features a stunning assortment of colors and patterns sure to please even your most particular loved one. The scarves are weaved on our looms in both Merino wool and cotton yarns, then hand finished by our talented seamstresses.
We have hand-selected beautiful wood cutting boards in a variety of species and shapes, classic rolling pins, and our ever-popular noodle cutters from The Amana Furniture Shop to round out our Christkindlemarket Des Moines collection. These products are well known for their superior quality and finish. Amana Furniture Craftsmen are both designers and builders, and put experience, passion and know-how into every piece they create.
Des Moines European Heritage Association connects Iowans with European traditions, language education and cultural experiences; and it provides resources and tools to other cultural heritage organizations.
With the production of Christkindlmarket Des Moines, we hope to show attendees how the items they purchase are made. To that end, we have five vendors who will also be demonstrating their craft. We hope you’re inspired!
Andy Klindt is an Iowa artisan specializing in chainsaw sculpture and metal design. Fanciful, functional, or a fusion of each…watching Andy craft original pieces is sure to delight people of all ages!
Offering: Chainsaw carvings, hand-forged metal items, and mixed metal and wood items
Price Range: $20 – $2000
Times:
Friday, December 1: 11:30am, 2:30pm, 4:30pm, 7:30pm
Saturday, December 2: 11:30am, 2:30pm, 4:30pm, 7:30pm
Sunday, December 3: 11:30am, 1:30pm, 3:30pm
Come in and enjoy the world of glass. Indianola Glass Creations designs and creates colorful Stained and Fused Glass ornaments, suncatchers, jewelry and home decor. They will be demonstrating blown glass ornaments.
Offering: Stained Glass, Fused Glass & Blown Glass ornaments and suncatchers. Fused glass and china jewelry. Fused & Stained Glass clocks and home decor art pieces. Wine bottle tealights.
Price Range: $12 – $150
Times:
Friday, December 1: 3:30pm, 6pm
Saturday, December 2: 11:45am, 3pm, 6pm
Sunday, December 3: 12:30pm, 3:30pm, 4:15pm
Dakota Tinworks is a family-owned business dedicated to making and selling traditional tinwares and ornaments, hand-made exclusively by tinsmith Karl-Josef Schmidt, using primarily antique, 19th century tinsmith’s tools.
Offering: Handmade tinware of all kinds: tin Christmas ornaments, tin tree tinsel, tin tree toppers, tin cookie cutters, tin biscuit cutters, tin candle holders, tin candle sconces, tin cups, and tin candle lanterns.
Price Range: $5 – $150
Times:
Friday, December 1: 12:30pm (Making tinsel), 1:45pm (Making tin ornaments), 3pm (Making a small candle holder), 4:15pm (Making tinsel), 5:30pm (Making tin ornaments), 6:45pm (Making a small candle holder), 8pm (Making tinsel)
Saturday, December 2: 12pm (Making tinsel), 1:15pm (Making tin ornaments), 2:30pm (Making a small candle holder), 3:45pm (Making tinsel), 5pm (Making tin ornaments), 6:15pm (Making a small candle holder), 7:30pm (Making tinsel)
Sunday, December 3: 12pm (Making tinsel), 1pm (Making tin ornaments), 2pm (Making a small candle holder), 3pm (Making tinsel), 4pm (Making tin ornaments)
Quilted Gardens & Nursery is an independent nursery specializing in unusual and collector perennials, hostas, trees, shrubs and conifers.
Offering: Hand made wreaths, swags, kissing balls and wood, straw and glass ornaments, table top trees, garland holiday optical glasses.
Price Range: $5 – $150
Times:
Friday, December 1: 1pm, 6:15pm
Saturday, December 2: 1pm, 4pm
Sunday, December 3: 1pm
Wild Cherry Spoon Co. handcarves unique, one of a kind, pieces of wooden kitchenware along the banks of the Mississippi, in Rock Island, IL.
Offering: Handcarved wooden: spoons, spatulas, kitchen utensils, rice paddles, chopsticks, cutting/cheese boards, baby spoons, cheese spreaders, pizza paddles and pizza cutters, coffee and ice cream scoops.
Price Range: $5 – $75
Times: To Be Determined
Hello from Pickle Creek Herbs! We are a small family farm in Pleasant Plain. We grow herbs, fruits, and vegetables that we then use to create artisan infused olive oils and vinegars, jams, soaps, salves, and balms. We take the process from seed to store and make everything ourselves using our own original recipes. We want to show how amazing herbs can be when they’re grown by passionate farmers who love their plants, their community, and their Iowa soil.
We do fairs and shows all around southeast Iowa, and we got involved with Christkindlmarket last year because the uniqueness of the market jumped out — we hadn’t seen anything quite like it in Iowa before. And we had such a great time with the visitors, volunteers, and vendors at the 2016 Christkindlmarket, we couldn’t wait to come back!
To stay in the spirit of Christkindlmarket as much as possible, we’ll be selling only our handmade artisanal products that we create using our own herbs and recipes. We’ll especially be featuring festive holiday gift boxes, baskets, and bags.
Christkindlmarket Des Moines is not just shopping and eating—it’s an experience unlike anything else in Iowa. It’s especially charming when the lights start to shine, a cup of Glühwein warms the fingers (and your heart), and the cheer in the air evokes the Christmas magic you loved as a child.
Des Moines European Heritage Association connects Iowans with European traditions, language education and cultural experiences; and it provides resources and tools to other cultural heritage organizations.
Andy Klindt is an Iowa artisan specializing in chainsaw sculpture and metal design.
Someone mentioned a European style Christmas Market was premiering downtown 2016. We love Christmas, we love winter, we love markets…it seemed like a wonderful opportunity to enjoy all these things we love wrapped up into one! Last year was so fantastic that we couldn’t miss Christkindlmarket 2017!
We may have any combination of wood and metal, fanciful or functional! Each piece is hand crafted and one of a kind, all will make wonderful gifts…to anyone, including yourself!
Des Moines European Heritage Association connects Iowans with European traditions, language education and cultural experiences; and it provides resources and tools to other cultural heritage organizations.
Worldly Goods celebrated our 30th anniversary this year! As a non-profit, Fair Trade store, part of our mission is to inspire sustainable livelihoods for our artisans from over 50 countries. We provide these artisans a marketplace for their products, where they are paid upfront for their work, earn a living wage within their country, have safe working conditions, and no child or forced labor is used.
Worldly Goods was a vendor the inaugural year and loved the atmosphere and mission of Christkindlmarket Des Moines! It is so much fun to share our mission and Fair Trade products from diverse cultures.
We have Christmas and holiday themed items from around the world. You can find that special nativity or ornament that will make your season bright. There will be hats, scarves, and gloves to keep you warm on those cold wintry days. Stop by our hut and be surprised by all the fun and unique gifts that are handmade just for you!
Des Moines European Heritage Association connects Iowans with European traditions, language education and cultural experiences; and it provides resources and tools to other cultural heritage organizations.