You want to support your local artists and makers and you love buying quality, beautiful handmade goods for yourself and others! The Making Local Directory is a search engine that connects you to the artists and makers you want to support. Making Local is a space to connect you to local businesses, handmade goods, and sustainability resources. Search for handmade goods by location, artist, race, gender, type of item, and more! It's better than Etsy in that it connects you directly to the artist, thereby not charging the artist any fees (we truly thank you for buying direct since fees add up and we aren't big businesses making a steady huge income)! This was thoughtfully and generously created by small business hype girl, Sarah Frost, of Bothell, WA and fine curator of the Bothell Maker Market. It's still new, but growing rapidly.
Here are the Values from the Making Local Website:
LOCAL | SUSTAINABLE | HANDMADE | WOMAN OWNED
BIPOC OWNED | LGBTQIA+ OWNED | AAPI OWNED
Find a product or business that is in line with your values.
Do you want to support handmade artisans? Sustainable business practices? A queer owned shop? I strive to be an inclusive resource for shopping small, independent businesses. You won’t find shops in the directory that don’t fit into at least one of the categories above.
Use the directory to sort and filter by the product you’re looking for, where you want to find it, or by an attribute of the business itself. Filter by your values and shop directly from them!
Please send this link to your very favorite quality makers and have them sign up (it's all free)! Then spread the word of this amazing search engine to your friends who also like to support the handmade community! None of this stuff is available on Amazon, or sitting on shipping crates. By shopping handmade, more money gets invested back into the community, less waste is created, you're supporting a person's livelihood, and creating true positive energy. Plus, it's fun to get to connect with the person making the thing you bought! Support Artists, Support Handmade Businesses, Shop Small, Shop Local, Buy Less Choose Well, this is what it's all about. We have the power to empower others and create the ripple effect of positive change. Let's go big by shopping small!