Shoppers roamed Market House in Lawrenceville on Saturday for the Holiday Makers Market, a pop-up of local vendors who offered a head start on holiday shopping.
Some vendors came out for the first time, showcasing their products in person after a long period of pandemic isolation that forced many of them to sell online through Instagram and Etsy. And shoppers were excited to support small businesses, many vendors said.
Abigail Rudkins, 28, hopes to create a “chain reaction of joy” with her art. Ms. Rudkins, who lives in West Mifflin, started making stained glass art shortly before the pandemic.
Saturday marked the first time she had sold in person, and she said she worked hard all week preparing. “To sit here and look at everything together feels really good,” she said.
Ms. Rudkins also started learning how to fuse glass, as the cost of producing stained glass made it difficult to sustain. She had set up a miniature pink Christmas tree and decorated it with her new fused-glass ornaments, hoping to cater to multiple price points.
By about noon, two hours after the market opened, she noticed traffic picking up. “You can really feel it in the air,” she said.
Other vendors had more permanent spaces in Market House and expected a crowd of regular and loyal customers. Erin Smrekar just celebrated her shop’s first anniversary, called Storehouse Neutral.
“It’s just a great community overall,” Ms. Smrekar said of the space. “I’ve had people who have been shopping here since day one.”
But she said a lot of people still think Market House is a grocery store instead of a retail space. Market House has a coffee and doughnut shop, which co-owner Irwin Mendelssohn said helps draw people into the space. On Saturday, the tables adjacent the coffee shop, complete with velvet blue chairs to add spunk, filled up with people escaping the rain and craving a steaming beverage.
Mr. Mendelssohn was excited to see people support Market Space—it opened for the first time just over a year ago.
Spending hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels for all shoppers, though, making it all the more important to shop local, said many of the vendors.
Maddie Rigatti, a 31-year-old business owner with Market Space who sells jewelry and other sparkly goods from at the shop Blakley Jean, said that while she’s noticed a reassuring spike in people wanting to support small businesses, that doesn’t always translate to having the money to do so.
“I do hear a lot of, ‘Ah, I love this, but I don’t want to spend money,’” said Ms. Rigatti.
Marie-Louise Rectenwald, who owns the shop Authentically African, agreed that although people are getting out more, they’re still being careful about their spending.
“The way I was spending four years ago, I don’t spend that way now,” she said.
But Ms. Rectenwald, who used to be a seamstress in Côte d'Ivoire, Africa, said she is inspired by the spirit of collaboration. She still works with other artists from her village, hoping to get them more exposure. And though spending might not be back up just yet, she said, “When you like something, you just keep going.”
The pandemic also gave many the gift of time, allowing them to pursue hobbies they may not have prioritized before. And for some, those hobbies turned into full-blown businesses.
Ms. Rigatti, who lives in Swissvale, said this meant that craft selling exploded online, and she now has many friends with small businesses. She also thinks that with more small businesses popping up, more people might have a personal connection to someone with one, a factor that could lead to even more support.
And some small businesses have joined forces in friendship: Victoria Rose and Kiki Tong met 10 years ago at a craft fair in Oregon. On Saturday, they were vending side-by-side.
“We’re still doing it,” Ms. Rose said with delight, adding that Market House was “an epic boutique mall.”
Ms. Rose is the founder of Victoria Rose Writes, a shop that sells tiny notebooks, stories, poems and greeting cards, while Ms. Tong started Qi Qi Naturals, a skin care and massage line born out of her aromatherapy and esthetician training.
Unique pottery, cardstock and vintage clothing were all represented at the market, but one shop in particular was centered around being low-waste.
Sol Refill is run by Sydney Dirks, 32. It delivers reusable home, pantry and body products to the doors of customers who live within a 15-mile radius of Lawrenceville. Sol Refill does not have a brick and mortar space, but it has a strong message: taking the work out of making sustainable choices.
Customers are encouraged to return glass jars of their empty products for a discount.
“There’s not many low-waste options in Pittsburgh,” said Ms. Dirks. “Our goal was to have an eco-friendly and convenient option.”
First Published: December 4, 2022, 12:04 a.m.
Updated: December 4, 2022, 11:34 a.m.