Elevated Creativity & Connection
since 2008
Part shopping event, part festival,
part small business incubator.
our history
CELEBRATING CREATIVITY & COMMUNITY
Part trade show, part design fair, part creativity zone, our focus has always been to encourage creativity and connection between people in-real-life. So we shine a spotlight on small businesses, designers & artists, while curating an elevated and hands-on shopping experience for the community.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to provide selling/retail opportunities & free education to help entrepreneurs grow, while creating fun, memorable in-person experiences that help local economies thrive… and to have fun!
our founder
Hailed one of the leading forces behind the ‘shop small’ movement, Eileen Fisher called her “1 of 30 Women Entrepreneurs Changing the World” and Forbes named her “The Millionaire Maker”. Based in LA, Sonja Rasula was a journalist, magazine editor and HGTV design personality before starting the business. Read more about Sonja here.
“Rasula has been a champion of indie businesses before it gained traction as a movement, which has earned her the nickname of “small biz fairy godmother.”
- Forbes
Community & Mission Driven
Create offline connection & build community IRL
Spread the #shopsmall movement
Help small businesses grow
& thrive
we remain the only Woc-OWNED multi-city market (have been since 2008).
we’re here to inspire all to dream big and to innovate + disrupt the retail industry that has for so long excluded so many.
“This is no regular market...” - Forbes
➊ Until we held our event in 2008, there hadn’t ever been a large-scale, ticketed pop-up market in the USA.
➋ We started in LA, quickly expanded into SF and NYC, and in 2018 spread across America with markets in 10 cities.
➌ With an extensive background in retail, tech and journalism, Sonja Rasula has always placed importance on storytelling, diversity in all areas of the business, leading with innovation not copying existing models, and gathering and connecting community.
leading the way with innovation
Press
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The Millionaire Maker
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Go Big and Disrupt an Industry
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LA's Most Inspiring Women
Los Angeles Magazine
Our Unique Timeline
The Impact of Shopping Small
#1 Create Local Jobs
#2 gain Personal Connections with Owners/Employees
#3 find Unique, quality Products and Services
#4 Build Stronger Communities
#5 Support Your City & Neighborhood
Woman+AAPI-Owned and Operated Since 2008
➊ From Day 1 the majority of our 26,000+ exhibitors have been and continue to be BIPOC, women, LGBTQ+
➋ Leading by example/representation matters: By being the only WOC and sole-owned national market in the country, we’ve inspired tens of thousands of people who haven’t been traditionally accepted in the business world to dive-into the world of entrepreneurship and ownership.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Founder, Sonja Rasula