BakeHaven Cottage owner Angiel Conrad, right, points out some of her baked goods to Charity West and Blake West, of Charles Town, in the War Memorial Building on Saturday. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The spirit of Valentine’s Day came a little early to Shepherdstown this year, with two pop-up markets centered around the holiday being held on Saturday.

The “Will You Be My Valentine? Pop-Up Market” at 105 South Princess Street featured a wide variety of products from local artisans, including fresh flower bouquets, sterling silver jewelry, cyanotype photography, pottery, candles, tintype photography and herbal bubble bath and fragrances. According to organizer Pang Tubhirun, the event was founded this year, to help people find unique gifts for their valentines.

“We had a market in here around the Christmas holiday, and so we thought it would be a good idea to hold one again, though geared toward the next holiday, which was Lover’s Day. But we wanted to make it inclusive, so that those who are celebrating Valentine’s Day and those who aren’t, can both enjoy it,” Tubhirun said, mentioning she herself was taking tintype photographs of attendees at the market. “I thought that this kind of event would be a great way to meet people and serve the community.”

One of the couples who were celebrating the holiday a little early were Charles Town residents Olivia Loy and Alden Roth.

“We do a lot of shopping at local markets like this one,” Loy said, as she and Roth waited for their tintype to be developed. “We want to support the local economy but, more than that, we know these people, so we want to support them!”

Shepherd University alumna Jillian Abir MacMaster chats about her cyanotype photography with Christina Nemir, of Hagerstown, Md. at the Will You Be My Valentine? Pop-Up Market on Saturday. Tabitha Johnston

In the War Memorial Building, the ninth annual Shepherdstown Valentine’s Handmade Market could be found, featuring the work of both new and returning artisans. One such new addition was the Quail & Cardinal Company, a cottage bakery started in September by Inwood residents Zee Streich and Matthew Diovatelli.

“Our name was inspired by two birds that mean a lot to us,” Streich said. “The cardinal is the state bird here in West Virginia, where Matthew comes from. The quail is a very active, local bird where I grew up in Arizona.”

The booth featured a number of Valentine’s Day inspired goodies, including heart-shaped peanut butter blossom cookies; heart-shaped, single-serving red velvet cakes; and sugar cookie hearts. Many of the recipes sold by Quail & Cardinal Company come from Streich’s late great-grandmother, whose love for baking inspired Streich to learn the craft and, eventually, share it by opening up the small business.

“My great-grandma was not a professional baker, but she was an excellent home baker. She died before I was born,” Streich said. “My mom taught me how to bake, using her recipes, so of course I had to include some of them here!”

Across the room, The Harper’s Ferry Chocolatier owner Amyjo Dan could be found selling chocolate roses, heart-embossed gourmet candy bars, chocolate pinatas and strawberries-and-cream cake pops.

Olivia Loy and Alden Roth, of Charles Town, learn about an educational playing card game at an Alpha Earl Apps booth in the War Memorial Building on Saturday. Tabitha Johnston

“I love the aesthetics of Valentine’s Day! Pink and red and hearts are all so much fun to incorporate into my work,” Dan said. “I like the whole vibe of it.”

Jewelry, educational playing card games, crafts and more could be found throughout the building, alongside even more Valentine’s Day treats, sold by BakeHaven Cottage owner Angiel Conrad.

“This is my first Valentine market here in Shepherdstown,” Conrad said, noting she made a number of items centered around the holiday, including red-velvet cake and cookies, heart-shaped cakes for two and chocolate mochi donuts for two. “I’ve been baking for five years now. I started baking for my kids — I have three kids at home. I just started to open my official business last year and have been selling at markets throughout the area ever since!”

Some of Conrad’s treats — a red velvet cookie and a double chocolate cookie — were being taken home by Charles Town residents Charity West and Blake West, who had come out to the event with the intention of beginning their Christmas gift shopping a little early.

“We look for Christmas gifts, believe it or not, throughout the year, so that there’s not a rush at the end to find stuff!” Blake said. “If we can find something at one of the local markets to support a small business, we like to do so. Otherwise, we just enjoy getting fat on all of the good, local goodies.”