We often get asked, "Are you a local company?" The simple answer is (more than likely) no, we are not local. We are a national company that does a great deal to promote shopping local, supporting local, and keeping local money within the community.
How do we achieve this?
First, the establishments we work with are typically locally owned and operated breweries, distilleries or wineries. Our events help bring in new business and, it is our hope, repeat business. We do not charge these venues a fee for our services, so 100% of the sales from the event stays with the venue.
Second, the vendors at our events are local to the area. We curate our events to make sure at least 90% or more of the vendors come from the area where our event is taking place. We want the event to reflect the community and reflect the diversity within the community. We establish a booth fee that is reasonable and it is our hope that these local vendors make at least 5-10x the booth fee. We cannot guarantee this is what a vendor will make at one of our events since each vendor has vastly different products and price points, but we price our booth fees with that general goal in mind. This money (the money that local vendors make) stays in the hands of the vendor. We do not take a percentage of vendor sales.
So, between the money the venues and vendors make from this event, the vast majority of the money generated by the event stays within the community where the event is held.
Example:
Say a booth fee is $85 and we have 40 vendors. That generates $3,400.00 in booth fees, before transaction fees, advertising costs, rental costs and labor costs are deducted.
If we have 40 vendors and each vendor makes 7x the booth fee, that would mean $23,800 is generated by the event and stays in the hands of the vendors and local economy.
This example doesn't even factor in the extra sales the event has generated for the venues involved.
Ok, but where are we from then?
IHIM is currently registered in Santa Clara County, in San Jose, CA, where the owner, Sara Thompto, currently lives.
IHIM started as Madison Makers Market in Madison, WI in 2017. After Madison (in 2019), the business switched to I Heart Indie Markets and was run out of Grand Rapids, MI. In August 2020 it moved to San Jose, CA. Basically, it follows Sara wherever she's living at the time... and moving happens frequently due to her spouses career.
As we grow we have also added employees and volunteers all over the country to help lend a more local hand!
If you have any questions about our current locations, how to get involved as a vendor or venue, or our practices as a company who promotes shopping local, please reach out to us at sayhello@iheartindiemarkets.com.