Welcome!
Hi! I'm Janis! I own The Humble Crate, Artisan Marketplace!
So many have asked me, how did you come up with the name of your (adorable) shop? Here is the story.......
Years ago, my favorite daughter (yes, she is my only daughter) and I began talking about opening a shop or store. Our idea was to refurbish furniture, sell it and also have room for antiques. She is very talented and I have great ideas!
I told her, I want this store to be the exact opposite of a "Big Box" store. So I opened up a thesaurus, looked up "Big" and Humble was an exact opposite and Crate, another name for box - so there you go! Humble Crate! "The" and "Artisan Marketplace" was added later.
More on the background:
As a little girl, my Aunt and Uncle owned a general store, diner, gas station (all combined) and they lived in the house behind and above. My other Uncle was an auctioneer. I always felt drawn to both of their businesses. I believe that laid the foundation in my head, having always loved vintage times and items.
Fast forward to 4 / 5 years ago - We looked at a building to house our dream store. I went home to think it over, but waited too long. A few days later, I called the owner of the space and was ready to pull the trigger and he had leased the place to someone else. Dang man!
So, carrying on with life and scrolling Facebook, I see that the Pickerington Farmers' Market Manager position became available. Long story short, I got the job!
Getting to know all of the vendors was such a pleasure! Locally handcrafted items, local farmers, local bakers and all held outside in the beautiful sunshine was awesome! My first year, we had over 50 vendors!
Each week I would place the signs in various spots around the community. Ironically, one of the signs was in front of the place I lost out to the other person (because I waited too long). I noticed they were never there. So, I called them and low and behold was signing a lease a month later!
WOW! With my established friendships and knowledge of vendors, it was pretty easy to get a start on having people in the shop. I did some really fun scouting trips around the State to find vendors who may want to have their items in the shop.
We are now over 60 vendors! And we continue to grow! The space is cozy, but we are very creative with spacing!
So, as the weeks progress, my blogs will feature the shop, the shops many vendors as well as some personal experiences.
I sure do hope you enjoy this blog and website. Admittedly, I have waited way too long to launch a website. Thanks to a zoom meeting this morning - ready or not, here we are!
Hope to see you in the shop real soon!
Have a great day!
Janis
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