What we do: We help small handmade artisan businesses launch from their basements to their first storefront by pairing them with marketing experts who can help them market and sell their products at scale. We provide shoppers with an artisan retail experience that brings the arts & craft fairs indoors for year-round retail shopping.
Who is our customer? We are a network of small business owners who are also makers. We make everything from pottery to jewelry. We bake, brew, bottle, and brine! And, we have one common problem - real estate is expensive AND launching our businesses takes capital we don't have and technical expertise we don't have the time to learn. We'd rather just make stuff and leave that up to someone else!
Who we are: MADE Artisan Markets is a team of 6 makers who are also experts at marketing and back office automation with a combined years experience in business, marketing, and technology of well over 100 years. We know how to leverage social media and technology to launch artisan based businesses and help them succeed in this dizzying world of algorithms and viral videos. We are passionate about this next generation of entrepreneurs who are socially conscious and environmentally aware and we want to put our expertise to work for them and help them grow exponentially.
Our Business Model: As we create an Artisan Shopping Experience for the retail shopper, we are also creating an ecosystem which helps sustain and grow the MADE Artisan Markets brand and business to profitability. This is achieved through multiple streams of revenue as follows:
- Artists Studio Rental - our facilities will include studio-style space rented by artists who will demonstrate their art and sell it from their 'porch' (~$450/mo)
- Booth Rental - each vendor will be provided a boutique style space from which they will display their wares (~$300/mo)
- Subscription Services - customers will have options to choose from a monthly subscription to use for classes and other services ($50/mo per subscriber)
- Classes, Parties, & Events - special events and classes will be available to customers (Registration fees, %commission of sales for events)
- Online Sales - (future) all vendors renting booth space will have the option to 'push' their inventory to an online store for commission sales
The shopping experience for our shoppers will be that of an art fair but indoors and with one single checkout. Strolling from booth to booth where each booth is branded with the vendor's brand, but surrounded by the MADE brand so that the shopper feels they are in one upscale store. They will be able to choose from multiple products as they browse and then bring their treasures to one checkout, making only one payment as they check out. To add to the experience, activities in the store will be ongoing in every corner of the store. From classes and demonstrations to live streaming on our Social Media stage. From sidewalk and parking lot demonstrations of glass blowing, to hands on painting 'immersive' fun for the kids, there will always be some type of entertainment going on throughout the day to keep shoppers active and engaged.
Our Competition: In the DMV area, there is no similar business model but there are dozens of smaller boutique style fair trade shops scattered all over the county. Our plan is to purchase or lease one large building, empty grocery store, or other large industrial building so that we can provide our shoppers with that one-stop satisfaction and remove their concern about the weather. This Northern VA area is also home to dozens of art shows and craft fairs throughout the year as well as large format farmers markets every weekend. Our intention is to give those venues, their vendors, and some of their shoppers the experience of a year round, 6 day a week opportunity to support local small businesses. Finally, this area is home to dozens of wineries and craft breweries and by providing them with a way to showcase their products in the MADE Artisan Market, we give them additional ways to reach new fans and drive new traffic to their more remote locations in the county.
Unlike our competition, MADE Artisan Markets is focused on the success of our vendors and artists. Each vendor is paired with a marketing expert who will oversee their marketing campaigns, offer them suggestions for product placement, and generally partner with them throughout their journey with MADE. Every vendor will also get the benefit of an automated back office that will track their inventory and sales, provide them with reports and submit all their sales tax appropriately. As we take this stress off of the small business owner, it is our sincere hope they can focus on their craft and that MADE becomes nothing more than a stepping stone for each of our vendors as they grow to their own storefronts in locations throughout the DMV and country!
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