Makers find growing market for one-of-a-kind merchandise

For Ang Krueger, it all started with knitting baby hats for friends at work.

She’s a pediatric nurse, and “all my co-workers were having kids,” she said. “We’re kid people, so I started going crazy with color combinations.”

That was six years ago.

Fast-forward to 2020, and Krueger, whose kids now are all in school, decided to scale back her shifts in nursing in case the family needed to stay home more.

“We never did get quarantined, but I was working less and … that’s freed up more time,” she said.

From a basement workspace she has grown her handmade business, Wildly Blessed, into a thriving Etsy shop with occasional pop-up events. She now works three 12-hour shifts as a nurse every two weeks.

“I love doing it … and I definitely need that creative outlet, so this has been perfect because it gives me both,” Krueger said.

She’s one of many makers who started or expanded a business during the pandemic.

“I feel like people had that extra time at home, and so they started tapping back into those talents or hobbies they maybe didn’t have time to do before,” said Stacy Wengler, co-owner of Knotty Gnome Variety & Salvage in Hartford.

“And now they’ve started selling those things they’re making. We have a lot of new makers, a lot of startup makers. They’re trying to find those outlets to sell their products.”

Just as importantly, people are buying.

“My Etsy shop has been bananas,” Krueger said.

An in-home pop-up she held featuring her pom-adorned seasonal wreaths and other decor also fared well, and she has become a regular seller at the 605 Made events. She’ll be one of nearly 50 makers with work for sale this weekend at the 605 Made Holiday Market in downtown Sioux Falls.

“I definitely have been busier,” Krueger said.

“The nice thing about my knitting is I can take it in the car. That’s what I do at soccer practice. I’m making poms or knitting. That’s what I do in the car to tournaments.”

At Knotty Gnome, which Wengler started five years ago to sell her own work and that of other makers, this year has been stronger than last.

“I have super high hopes for this year,” she said. “I feel like people are taking more of a responsibility upon themselves to support local makers. People actually know who I am. I do feel like people have made it a priority to do their part and support local.”

At Art Moms, a semiannual pop-up that runs the next three weekends at 3101 W. 41st St., the opening weekend set a record.

The mother-and-daughter team of Pennie Ogden and Chantel Olson, who also are makers, started it in 2010 with 12 makers, and the pop-up shop has grown to nearly 50.

“We are oozing with talent this year, and they constantly supply us with new product,” Olson said. “Which means our store is continuously filled up with new product daily.”

She also has seen the “buy local” movement gain traction.

“I see it catching on more every year,” she said. “COVID was super hard on small businesses; so I know personally, we push small and local as much as we can. If you can buy it from a small business, do it.”

Supply chain challenges

While makers and businesses carrying handmade goods are immune from some of the big-box supply chain challenges, they have faced their own obstacles.

For Krueger, it was yarn, though that’s better this year than last.

“And I’ve found you have to pay more at the craft stores (for materials),” she said. “You’d normally be able to stack coupons and get a killer sale. Now, it’s not 60 percent off, it’s 40 percent, so you have to watch closer and be willing to pay a bit more.”

For Wengler, it’s steel. She uses it to craft everything from yard decor to signs and magnetic photo boards and has seen a 400 percent increase in the raw material cost this year.

“Material costs have been more of an issue than supply,” she said. “And, of course, those costs have to be passed on, and fortunately most have been understanding.”

Another maker struggled to find jars for jams and jellies, Wengler said.

“But we’re creative,” she added. “So if we can’t get (something), we’ll move on to the next material that would be available.”

Ready to shop local?

The 605 Made Holiday Market runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, in the underground parking garage at Cherapa Place. It’s free to shop thanks to sponsors The First National Bank in Sioux Falls and Dow Rummel Village, and is organized by Knotty Gnome and SiouxFalls.Business, the sister site of Pigeon605.

Click here to follow the event on Facebook.

For parking advice given the construction this year, follow the map: