Certain produce is in season now, but the Robert G. Shaw Piedmont Triad Farmer's Market is open all year. Local merchants and farmers bring their homemade and homegrown products, agriculture and preserves. The spring weather and busy summer season bring even more vendors.
In the far corner of the farmer's market, George Daher sits at his shop with Beethoven's Symphony No. 34 playing in the background. His embroidered apron advertises his business: Jammin' George. A shelf by the stand holds thirty-four different jam flavors. Several pictures of wildlife and sea creatures decorate the wall behind the stand. However, these photos aren't just decoration; they are for sale, too.
George and his wife opened Jammin' George over six years ago at the Colfax farmers market. She bakes the bread; he makes the jam. Daher has forty-six different jam flavors and combinations, which represent exotic tastes from around the world. Muscadine grapes, mango and the most recent addition, Dark Chocolate Raspberry are all among the samples to try.
Dehar said he began making preserves and photographs for fun.
"It started as a hobby about 30 years ago," he said. "After I retired and removed the area, I got very bored. And with a lot of my wife's encouragement to get out of her hair and get out of the house during the day."
At the Piedmont Triad Farmer's Market, Dehar sees a few regular customers and offers a sample of jam to those new to the market. He prides himself on its homemade quality that can't be bought in a store.
"I only use good food. I am very picky about the fruit that I use. I use very little sugar. And so I am always looking for the right fruits that have the flavors," he said.
Dehar's name is also available by the jar or for wedding favors, but this photography on the wall looks like its from a wildlife magazine cover. George's travels let him encounter wildlife and develop a love for photography. He attributes the quality of his photos to the original value of film. He has over 60,000 pictures of close-ups of sea life from all over the world.
"The beauty of scuba diving is people can't talk to you, and you don't see too many people waddling around," he said. "I especially like night photography because you see things that you never see during the day. The choral for example looks like flowers."
While he devotes his time to making jam and photographs, Dehar likes to reflect on his career before vending. Dehar worked in the defense industry traveling all of Europe and most of the Middle East, but he never forgot his camera and curiosity. He writes and speaks proficiently in four languages.
Farmer's markets are known for the variety of locally made products made by vendors, but George Dehar's jam and photography are only two of many things that make this vendor unique.