On Saturday, the Almonte Community Center was filled with 106 local vendors for the 14th annual Cheerful Maid Spring Market.
The market is known as the capital region’s trade show for small and medium-sized businesses, and the small-town event is expected to draw about 2,000 people.
“It’s a great opportunity to introduce new people to Almonte because Almonte is really accessible,” said Emily Arbor, owner of Cheerful Maid in downtown Almonte and organizer of the spring market. Ta.
Locally made products include bath and beauty, fashion, food, home decor, children’s toys, artwork and more.
Arbor said businesses from as far away as Montreal and Toronto come to Almonte to set up tables at the market and provide access to thousands of new customers.
“The truth is, to this day, not a single person even knows about me,” said Megan Patterson, owner of Blazing Bombs, a bath and body products company.
“So it’s great to have so many new people discovering me and hearing positive feedback.”
Cheerful Maid Spring Market in Almonte sells a variety of locally made products including bath and beauty, fashion, food, home decor, children’s toys, artwork and more. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)Carissa McCaig is the owner of Copious, an upcycled clothing company in Kemptville. She says that for the past six years, she has continued to shop at the market.
“It will open. [customers’] An eye for what can be made in Canada. “Many people have probably never thought about shopping that way before,” McCaig said.
“I think now a lot of us are bombarded with advertisements and different shops that we see. There are big brands, and there are days like this where local entrepreneurs are creating made-in-Canada options every day. It shows you are making a living.”
Market-goer Katrina Cotton came from Ottawa to find local vendors.
“Being able to talk directly to the actual manufacturer is really great compared to buying in a store where you can’t actually meet them and hear what they do and how they set up their business. “It’s wonderful,” she said. .
Arbor says the diversity of participants and businesses is indicative of the fact that Eastern Ontario is full of creative entrepreneurs.
“Ottawa has a reputation of being a government town. It can be rather dry and uncreative. And that’s not been my experience at all,” Arbor said.
