Tucson’s creative community builds resilience | News

When Bridget Radcliff talks about resiliency, she doesn’t just mean surviving tough times. She means finding ways for local businesses, artists and neighbors to keep one another afloat when the economy wobbles — and to come out stronger for it.

Radcliff, who co-owns Radcliff Financial Group with her husband, Michael, has been both a sponsor and volunteer for the Made in Tucson (MinT) Market for several years. The twice-a-year event, held each spring and fall, brings hundreds of artists and makers together in the Fourth Avenue district. 

This year, organizers set “Creating Resiliency for Tucson” as the guiding theme — a message Radcliff said feels especially relevant as many small businesses continue to navigate post-pandemic slowdowns, high costs and cuts in public services.

“So much of this year is about resilience — focusing on what we can do to uplift those that are struggling in the community,” she said. “We’ve been brainstorming with vendors about offering discounts to folks who’ve lost SNAP benefits or are on furlough and collecting for the food bank and mutual aid groups.”

That kind of ground-level collaboration has become central to the event’s mission. All of the funds raised through Made in Tucson are reinvested into the Historic Fourth Avenue Coalition’s community space, a former warehouse at 311 East Seventh Street that now hosts classes, mutual aid drives and free swaps — everything from art and book exchanges to seed and tool trades.

“All of the money from Made in Tucson is reinvested back into the community,” Radcliff said. “It’s not sent somewhere to an anonymous person making billions off of us.”

For Radcliff, the effort connects directly to how she and her husband run their financial advisory firm, which is located in the district. “We believe very strongly in supporting local business,” she said. “Every purchase we make, we always look for a local option before anything else. It’s that important to us.”

That ethic, she added, has measurable impact. “Sixty-eight percent of every dollar you spend at a local business stays in the local economy, and it gets recirculated two to four times more than when you spend at a chain store. To me, that’s so impactful.  We’re also creating more opportunity and more jobs by spending locally.”

The value of small acts

Pop-Cycle Shop’s Libby Tobey shares that philosophy — though she comes to it from the creative side of Tucson’s small-business world. As a longtime manager and now small partner in the shop founded by artists DeeDee Koenen, Shannon Riggs and Jen Radler, Tobey has seen what collaboration and reuse can do for both art and the environment.

“Carrying over 110 local artists in one building, we get to showcase what Tucson has to offer,” she said. “People want something handmade. They want to know the story behind it.”

For 17 years, Pop-Cycle has become a local model of sustainable art and circular design — repurposing materials like old maps, bingo paper, calendars and cereal boxes into everything from price tags and packaging to colorful gift totes and displays, and encouraging its artists to reuse and recycle in their own work. That resourcefulness, Tobey said, is both a creative impulse and a survival strategy.

“It’s not just sustainability — it’s creativity,” she said. “It’s about showing how much we can do with what we already have.”

That mindset carries over into her work with Made in Tucson and the Historic Fourth Avenue Coalition, informally run by Pop-Cycle’s partners along with Radcliff, Nicole and Johnny Carrillo and Linnie Damm. Together, they’ve turned the coalition’s community space into a hub for connection and mutual aid. 

“We want to turn our lending library into a little food pantry and collect donations at Made in Tucson this year,” Tobey said. “Everyone wants to help — it feels good when you can connect people who can share supplies or support one another.”

What’s new this fall

Each year, the market evolves a little, reflecting the shifting needs — and ingenuity — of Tucson’s creative community. This fall’s Made in Tucson Market will feature new partnerships with local aid groups and highlight vendors offering small discounts or incentives to shoppers affected by layoffs or benefit reductions. 

Organizers are also setting up collection points for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona and mutual-aid drives at various vendor stations, allowing shoppers to contribute food, clothing or household goods as they browse.

Inside the Fourth Avenue Coalition’s shared space, volunteers plan to debut a “mini-pantry and resource library” — stocked with donated nonperishables, hygiene products and printed guides to community resources — a small but tangible step toward helping neighbors bridge hard months.

“The idea is to keep the circle of support going,” Tobey said. “You can shop, connect and help someone out all in the same afternoon.”

The market’s signature community swaps are also returning, giving residents a chance to trade everything from plants and art supplies to kitchen tools and books. “The swaps are pure Tucson,” she added. “People share plants and cuttings, or books or just conversations. There’s always this sweetness to it.”

Radcliff said the practical efforts behind those gestures are what make the market more than just an arts fair. “It’s not only about selling things,” she said. “It’s about building a system where the money, the creativity and the care stay right here in Tucson.”

Community as the safety net

Both Radcliff and Tobey acknowledge that 2025 has been a tough year for local makers. Inflation and lower foot traffic have squeezed profits for artists and small shops that already operate on thin margins. But those same challenges have strengthened the sense of shared purpose that defines Tucson’s creative community.

“Costs are the biggest challenge right now,” Radcliff said. “Everything is just so expensive, and small businesses are struggling to make a living doing the things they love.”

Still, she added, even small choices matter. “If we can all rise to the challenge and buy even one or two gifts from a local maker this season, it makes such a difference.”

Tobey agrees, noting that small acts of generosity and collaboration often multiply. A recent conversation about food insecurity, she said, quickly grew into a network of businesses offering meals, gift cards and donations.

“It was really inspirational,” she said. “Just a few people worrying about food insecurity sparked so many others to step up. More and more people are coming together — that gives me hope.”

Fourth Avenue’s comeback story

Radcliff said Made in Tucson has also helped reshape perceptions of the Fourth Avenue district — once better known for college bars than community initiatives. “Fourth Avenue is such a vibrant business community — all locally owned,” she said. “It’s great to get people down here and show them this is a place where local business is winning and making a difference.”

The market’s volunteer leadership and reinvestment model have been crucial to that turnaround. “Getting people to have this experience that’s so positive and so engaged with the community is a great way to let them see this really is a thriving place,” she said.

Staying hopeful

For Tobey, who described herself as “a connector more than a maker,” the most fulfilling part of her work is still the human side. “Sometimes I’m not positive,” she said with a laugh (although that side is seldom seen — Tobey’s widely regarded as a reliable beacon of light in the community). “But then I think about what I get to do every day – connect with people about their art, hear their stories. That keeps me going.”

She said she’s sustained by the sense that kindness still outweighs cynicism in Tucson’s creative scene. “A lot of people want to be kind and do kind things,” she said. “I actually think that’s who we really are.”

That optimism, rooted in the daily realities of small-business survival and community care, captures the spirit of this fall’s Made in Tucson Market. 

“We’re stronger together,” Tobey said. “If we keep collaborating and paying attention, we can be resilient and stronger — and keep building the kind of Tucson we all want to live in.”