SO, I accidentally opened a store

The Richmond Makers Market was created in the fall of 2019, after I spun around in circles in the middle of the game room floor at Basic City Beer, on my 34th birthday.

At the time, I was the co-owner of a crystal and gemstone jewelry business and I needed to fill space in my calendar. A lot of my maker friends were also looking to fill space in their holiday event calendar, and so I did what I always do, I solved the problem. The Richmond Makers Market was born.

With a background in marketing and years of event production experience, the launch of a new market came naturally. Before anyone knew it, we had built a community of makers who wanted to support each-other and help one another grow. This was not just a place to buy local handmade goods, this was a place to see how the magic happened.

And so every few months, we gathered by the thousands and drank craft beer while learning about new and evolving creatives. Then the pandemic hit, and it became unsafe for us to bring together the kinds of crowds that made the Richmond Makers Market an experience.

The transition to a virtual platform, happened almost overnight. I knew I needed to do something to help my friends keep their businesses alive. I knew I was uniquely qualified to lead this transition, because of my experience in both the makers space and digital strategies.

So I started with social media only and I observed, researched, tested, and iterated until we landed here. The cycle of research, test, and improve will always be a constant for the Richmond Makers Market.

Something that I hear a lot from the community is that virtual markets are a lot more time consuming and they have caused makers to adjust their definition of success. At the Richmond Makers Market, we are working to organically rebuild those expectations.

Highlighting the humanity of each maker in our community, gives you a window into a whole lifetime of stories that came before the work that you’re about to purchase. I’m here to make sure you don’t just buy things, you experience them.