Cleveland Bazaar's founder, Shannon Okey, kicked off the market series two decades ago. We caught up with the leader, along with a handful of Cleveland Bazaar vendors, as they tie a bow on two decades.
Boston Beginnings: Okey found inspiration in a bazaar event while living in Boston and launched her own branch when she moved back to Cleveland in 2004, as did other friends in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Cleveland and San Francisco continue to run to this day.
Knitting it Together: Running a makers market was natural for Okey, a hand-knitting designer who's authored more than 20 craft books. Her maker-focused philosophy arrived early on. “I was raised around artists and musicians and people who, if they wanted to do something and it wasn’t there already, you did it for yourself, and you made it yourself."
Big Impact: Cleveland Bazaar's 78th Street Studios weekend holiday market alone (what Okey calls "the big one") brings $250,000 in sales. But the event's impact goes beyond dollars and brick-and-mortars from former Bazaar participants like CLE Clothing Co. “The reason a lot of people take up a profession like this is they need the flexibility. They’ve got childcare, they’ve got eldercare, they have health problems. All of those things and more are represented across the spectrum of people who work with the Bazaar.”
Find more details about upcoming Cleveland Bazaar events at clevelandbazaar.org and get to know some of the bazaar's vendors ahead of the busy holiday season:
Firelands Wax
Different scents are popular with different audiences for Firelands Wax, says founder Danielle Gura. In Sandusky, customers love traditional lavenders and vanillas — but in Cleveland, she’s noticed a demand for her quirkier blends, like tomato leaf and petrichor. “Cleveland has been so supportive of my unusual stuff,” Gura says. For nearly 10 years, she's hand-poured the soy wax creations, originally as a part of her former gift crate business — until the candles became her new focus after her sister turned the brand into a fully fledged business. Now, Gura counts on markets, like the Bazaar's Fifth Street Arcades and 78th Street Studios shows, to support the brand. firelandswax.com
Tiny Cloud Ceramics
Ever since a fateful ceramics class at the University of Akron, Mary Clark has been hooked on the art form. The maker started her brand, Tiny Cloud Ceramics, when she graduated in 2016. That year, she also got involved with the Cleveland Bazaar, selling quirky, colorful mugs, dishes and more. “I mostly sell ceramics because I want to keep making ceramics, rather than making ceramics to sell them,” Clark says. “Either way, I’d be making pottery, most likely, but this way I can make more of it and not have it just clutter up every person that I know’s house.” Shop Clark's collection at Cleveland Bazaar’s 78th Street Studios show and at the Akron Bazaar this holiday season. tinycloudceramics.com
Snakes and Acey's
Calling her shop the “black sheep” of Little Italy’s retail scene, Hannah Manocchio hand prints mental health and women’s rights-themed prints and apparel. Running Snakes and Acey's has been a labor of love — especially when the designer faced challenges of her store flooding and the pandemic. “It might not be a million-dollar business or the greatest, but I’m still here, and I think that says something,” Manocchio says. The brick-and-mortar opened in 2017, and a year before that, the artist got her vending start at the Cleveland Bazaar, where she continues to sell her products today. “I have never felt such an overall feeling of community,” Manocchio says about the market series, where she’s forged connections leading to 20-30% of her commission jobs. Find her at Cleveland Bazaar holiday shows at 78th Street Studios. snakesandaceys.com
Boundary and Thorn
Every year, customers seem to find a new favorite Boundary and Thorn cocktail print; this year, it happens to be the espresso martini, says designer Lucy Williams. The illustrator started her brand as a creative outlet in 2016. “It kind of snowballed into a business by accident, after I started making custom work for friends,” Williams says. “More people started gravitating toward it and actually wanting to buy it.” She took Boundary and Thorn full time this year and counts on events like the Cleveland Bazaar to fuel her customer base. “None of us are here just doing this by ourselves,” she says. “It’s really the community in Cleveland that has made selling work and sustaining a small business possible.” boundaryandthorn.com
Nuni Products
Sisters De’Jah and JuLonnah Nixon crafted their own line of skincare products when they were teenagers to help with eczema and acne issues. It started with a homemade lotion and turned into an entire collection of creations that they whipped up in their childhood home. ”We just kept going, and eventually our house was full of products,” De'Jah says, ”So my dad said, ‘You guys have to get these products out of the house, somehow.’ So we started doing different markets.” A decade later, their brand has built up fans for a variety of luscious, tropical scents and soothing effects centered in plant-based "nilk" creams, body oils, body butters, soaps and more. “It’s practically grown up with us,” De’Jah says. The sisters started selling at Cleveland Bazaar when they moved back to Cleveland after COVID and plan to sell at the Akron Bazaar and 78th Street Studios holiday shows. nuniproducts.com
Sassyfrass
Two decades ago, Cleveland Bazaar gave Jessica Kinsinger one of her earliest opportunities to showcase the antique salvage jewelry business that she started to stay at home with her baby son. She’s been participating since, becoming one of the greatest constants of the holiday shows. “I don’t know what the course of my business would have been had Shannon [Okey, Cleveland Bazaar founder] not accepted me to that first show,” Kinsinger says. Known for her unique, artsy, asymmetrical earrings (which earned her a Cleveland Magazine Best of Cleveland nod in 2014), you can find Sassyfrass at the 78th Street Studios Market in December. facebook.com/ilovesassyfrass
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