FALLS CHURCH, VA — The Falls Church Farmers Market is a favorite for locals to visit year round, so it’s no surprise it inspired an artist to create art for a tote bag.
The artist, who goes by able6, is a former businessman who worked in consulting and went on to start and sell businesses, including the former Jerry’s Subs & Pizza in Falls Church. His perspective changed when he suffered a heart attack while running.
“As I lay there in the hospital bed I realized that pursuing money and a life of comfort gave me this heart attack,” able6 told Patch in an email. “Looking back at it, it was the greatest day of my life. I started to draw and paint and immediately became happier.”
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Since then, he has created art that has sold widely from Brooklyn to Bombay. But just three months ago, that art took on another form as able6 started an Etsy shop with arts on tote bags.
The aim of the shop isn’t simply about selling bags but to “spread love and joy,” according to able6. Bag sales can be designed for specific nonprofits, or any of the artists’ bags can be customized for fundraisers or other events.
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“So the way it works is that I learn about the non-profit and design a bag around their mission,” said able6. “I then grant them the rights to the image, and they can buy totes and sell them at their location or online off their own website.”
Able6’s latest creation was inspired by a visit to the Falls Church Farmers Market, which happens Saturdays throughout the year in the Falls Church City Hall parking lot. Able6 has been visiting the farmers market occasionally for about a decade but saw it in a new light after meditating one morning.
“I always knew about the market and love coming to it,” said able6. “But there is something about the way you look at things when you have been there many times.”
A woman visiting the farmers market inspired the bag’s design and a poem able6 wrote to describe the design.
“A woman caught my eye the way she was walking around the market,” said the artist. “There was something different about her. Like she was an old soul that didn’t belong there, maybe from a different spacetime. I tried to capture her spirit in the painting and on the tote.”
The artist’s Etsy shop seeks to have a positive impact on the world by spreading joy, helping the environment, promoting values like inclusivity and diversity, and embracing fun. The bags incorporate sustainable practices through “conscious sourcing, eco-friendly materials, and responsible production,” according to able6.
Able6 is also looking for nonprofits design a bag for, especially in the Falls Church community. Suggestions may be provided in the comments below or by email at [email protected].
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