TOLEDO, Ohio — From candles to jam, there's a little bit of everything at Handmade Toledo, where workers are getting ready for Small Business Saturday and their first virtual Maker's Mart.
"A lot of these artists are really struggling this year with all the canceled shows, and a lot of shops they sell in aren't buying a lot of inventory," Handmade Toledo Founder and Director Jessica Crossfield said.
In years past, people would pack into the business as around 100 local vendors sold handmade goods for the holidays. But with coronavirus restrictions in place, Crossfield hopes that same type of support will be shown online.
"I love how they have it set up where they do the shipping and the handling for you the customer pickups as well, it's really just flawless the execution of how they go about supporting us and really going the extra mile," owner of Rose and Perry Co. Crystal Charleston said.
Rose and Perry is one of the 50 plus vendors at the virtual Maker's Mart this year. Charleston got her start in a class at Handmade Toledo and has been expanding her soap and candle business ever since.
"If we do well this holiday season...the reason we'll be around next year is because of the holiday season a lot of times," Charleston said.
Charleston's products will be available on the Makers Mart website along with many others. Plus, because the sale is online, it will last all the way until Dec. 24.
"A lot of these makers are local, so that money is going right back into the local economy," Crossfield said.