Local vendors highlight success at Yelm Farmers Market

Two local businesses, Couthran Co. and Lyons Pride, set up shop on Saturday, May 3, at the Yelm Farmers Market, each returning for the second time in their respective businesses’ history.

Bert Lyons, with Lyons Pride, a custom wood services business, said he looks forward to the community aspect of Yelm Farmers Markets each week he sets up his booth near Yelm City Park. After retiring from the U.S. Special Forces, Lyons said his business and craft has served as an outlet.

“We’re a local vendor attending the Yelm Farmers Market. We work with woodworking products. I’m recently retired and I was looking for a hobby. It’s a great community out here within the Yelm Farmers Market already. I built my supply up through the winter to be able to bring my products here now,” Lyons said. “I like to create unique, beautiful designs. Some of these flags can take up to three or four days to build. Each one is made with a different species of wood, several pieces. I don’t like to use any stains, but I like to use the natural colors of the wood. Each grain pattern is different in every piece, and each color is different in the wood.”

Lyons sources his wood from local mills and hand crafts each of his uniquely designed products. He said there’s a wide variety of maple species included in his work, and he uses those different types of wood to craft his items.

“I don’t know if I have a favorite piece that I’ve made. I enjoy all of them. It’s therapy for me, and I’d say the best part is watching the process from start to finish, and then finding a home for it where someone appreciates the piece as much as I did,” he said. “The farmers market is a great community opportunity to come out and be able to meet your neighbors, and to see some of the local crafts. It’s a good thing to do on the weekend, especially when it’s beautiful and sunny. Come on and check it out.”

Lyons said he’s been an artist since a young age and, as he got older, he leaned into the hobby because it was something that occupied his mind that he also enjoyed doing.

“A lot of this is just enjoyment for me,” he said. “I get to meet people, and that community piece is the important part of events like this.”

Ashley Couthran, owner of Couthran Co., a bakery in Tenino, has found success with her small business at the Yelm Farmers Market event. In 2024, as a frequent vendor at the market, Couthran said there were just two sales where she didn’t sell out of her products, which includes a variety of sourdough bread, granola, cookies and more.

“I was usually selling out quickly. The fastest sellout was in 45 minutes with over 75 loaves. Out of all the markets I went to, I think there were only two times where I didn’t sell out. It keeps me very busy,” Couthran said. “It’s a long process. I usually start for the farmers market. It’s an all day prep period on Wednesday. I’ll start at 5 a.m. mixing the dough, and I won’t end until 4 or 5 o’clock that night. Friday, I’ll get up and bake all day, package all day to get ready for the market. It’s a two-day process for me.”

Each time she sets up her booth at Yelm Farmers Market, Couthran said she’ll bring anywhere from 75 to 100 loaves of fresh sourdough bread, in addition to the other treats she features.

“I was first based out of Rainier doing front porch pickups. I delivered to the Green Branch Ranch off Bald Hills Road, and I drop off to them every single Tuesday. I stopped doing front porch pickups, so I’ll be here every single Saturday,” she said.

When asked about her goals and expectations for her business at the 2025 Yelm Farmers Market, Couthran simply responded with: “consistency.”

“I’m just a baker,” she said. “The goal is getting here as much as I can and making sure I do take a couple days off to be at home with the kids. I won’t stray off to different markets, because I want to be a staple here at this market. I graduated in the class of 2016 from Yelm.”

The Yelm Farmers Market is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Saturday through September. Learn more at https://www.facebook.com/YelmFarmersMarket.