Hometown Vendors, a craft show and event planning company, will host its first event of the year.
The Winter Craft and Vendor show will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Jan. 27, in the John A. Spitzer Conference Center at Lorain County Community College, 1005 N. Abbe Road in Elyria.
As one of 22 shows already planned for the year, it will feature over 50 small and local businesses, including Brook Haven Apiary, Jonesy’s Dog Treats and Scentsy, said Sarah Wilhelm, co-owner of Hometown Vendors.
“Just other small businesses coming and being under one roof, and just being there to share their items,” Wilhelm said regarding the craft show. “They’re all unique in their own way.”
According to Wilhelm, some items for sale will include wreaths, candles, jewelry and home décor, much like previous shows.
Businesses with services, like window installation, bathtub installation and gutter care, also are welcome and encouraged to participate.
“Everybody has different tastes,” Wilhelm said. “We try to help everybody out as much as we can.”
Wilhelm said this show, as all shows hosted by Hometown Vendors, is free to the public.
“We never charge admission,” she said. “We would rather have you pay $2 with a small business, and buying something that’s on their table, than ever bringing it back in to us.”
The Winter Craft and Vendor show provides a great opportunity to get ahead on decorating for upcoming holidays as well, like Valentine’s Day and Easter, according to Wilhelm.
“Everybody’s trying to change their house over from Christmas onto the next season,” she said. “What better to have in your house than handmade items that nobody else is going to have because they’re one of a kind?”
Wilhelm, along with co-owner Jennifer Mash-Skala, started Hometown Vendors in 2013 as a way to work around a busy family schedule while Wilhelm’s daughter was in the hospital with epilepsy.
When it was hard to keep a 9 to 5, the small business was started to help other small businesses, Wilhelm said.
“We do it (craft shows) all year round; it’s a way for us to give back,” she said. “It has touched me in a much different way than it originally started out as.”
With the first show having only 15 vendors in the driveway of a family member’s house, Wilhelm said the business has been growing.
A key asset in gaining a following has been Hometown Vendors’ website and Facebook page, she said.
The owners also created Instagram and TikTok accounts.
“We’ve just really grown; it’s like family to us and it just brings a lot of joy,” Wilhelm said. “We advertise in every way we possibly can.”
In a corporate dominated world, Wilhelm said the success of the small businesses and vendors is what gives her the most joy.
“By us being able to do this, it’s helping another business succeed and get their name out there,” she said. “That is the big goal, is for everybody to thrive and everybody to be successful,” she said.
For upcoming craft show dates and times, visit hometownvendors.org.
