One of my favorite parts about opening our gift shop in 2018 was being able to connect with so many amazing small businesses.

it was important to me to bring in not only unique items, but also to bring handmade items. i personally love to purchase unique handmade gifts for my friends & family, I try to find that perfect gift that you can’t just find in a big box store. i often wound up on etsy shopping for that perfect gift, so when i thought about the type of shop i wanted to have all i could think about was having a similar feel to etsy!

When we first opened our doors, we started with 15 makers. I brought in a couple local businesses that i loved, as well as some businesses that I had found while shopping for gifts for friends & family! after i realized that other people felt the same way i did, we quickly expanded. in the past 3 years, we have grown to have showcased over 150 small businesses in the time our doors have been open. While we always have our favorite staple makers in the shop, we love to also bring in new shops from time to time for a short period. this allows us to always keep the items on our shelf unique & new. You can read about some of the businesses we always keep stocked here.

it was extremely important to me that each business owner was showcased in the shop, as often times people forget that there is a face behind every small business. that is how the “Meet the Maker” frame came to be! If you have been in our gift shop before, you know that we have little frames scattered around the store that tell the store of how or why the business was created.

when we created our new website this past november, i knew i wanted to have a page dedicated to the small businesses in our gift shop! while the list would be a mile long if i introduced you to every maker in our store, i figured i would at least introduce you to some of my most favorite makers! I hope you enjoy getting to know them just as much as i have!