Kim Schimke, spokeswoman for the Wilton Arts Market, poses with one of her floral mandalas outside her studio in the Riverview Mills on Howard Street

WILTON – The Riverview Mills on Howard Street are full of artists studios, artists and craftsmen producing a wide variety of things, but it seems disconnected from Main Street, which is only a block away. Kim Schimke, spokeswoman for the Wilton Arts Market, is trying to change that. She has created a newsletter, a place online and ran a market during a recent Walk Through Wilton and at Summerfest. She was happy with the results and would like to make it a monthly event. “I was tired of vending and going to fairs.”

While she would like to hold it outside in the ample parking lot, she has run into problems of insurance, she said recently.

She has had a studio in the Mill for six years. She had been working with arts and music festivals. “I came here and wondered why no one was doing it here. I came up with the idea in the middle of COVID. I vended several fairs this year and it was pretty lackluster.”

Wilton is “such a charming town,” she said, “and I want us to be a part of it.” But there is a problem of communication among the artists and with the town as a whole.

So she built a Facebook page, Wilton Arts Market, and has a local following.

But she wants to see more foot traffic. COVID hit the complex hard, closing several retail stores.

“I want to foster a community here,” she said, but ran into problems of signage.

So she turned to the Wilton Main Street Association and the Economic Development Committee, both of which were interested. “They are helping me become a nonprofit,” she said. That status will help.

The Mill will be part of the Riverwalk as that idea is developed along the parking lot beside the Souhegan River. “The sign has to include the blue heron,” she said. The heron is the symbol of the Riverwalk. “I didn’t know signs were so important, but they are.”

There will be another Walk Around Wilton in November, and they will be a part of that.

“The first floor (of the white building) will be open, “and will feature at least five artists over there days.”

There are currently 15 artists in the building.

“It would be a tables and samples of work,” Schimke said, “like a meet and greet. We have a lot of crafters and jewelry makers, but I’d like more visual artists”.

Her own work, large floral mandals, are very visual, and she has incorporated the designs on shirts and dresses.

“I’m shameless about promotion,” she said. “I use digital graphics to make a positive impression.”

She plans to have the Mill take part in the upcoming Wander Through Wilton in November, and possibly in the Holiday Stroll near Christmas. The market will take place inside the building.

“The period between the holidays and Mothers’ Day is usually pretty slow (for artists) but we will be back in the spring.” She would like to have a monthly event.

Wilton Main Street Association “has kind of absorbed the market,” she said, “They are great to work with.”

She said, “People should walk around Wilton, see its charm and nostalgia. I feel its being threatened” by encroaching commercialism.

Check them out on Wilton Arts Market and visit the studios that are open.