During a Women’s History Month check in, Little Italy seems to be a thriving, safe space for the Female Maker Market.
In 2020, founder Ronnie M created the market to uplift small, women-owned businesses struggling during the pandemic. With roots in Orange County, the market made its way down to Liberty Public Market and now the Piazza della Famiglia on Date Street.
Once a month in Little Italy, more than 50 vendors sell everything from clothes to candles. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 16, tourists and locals couldn’t help but gawk at gold bracelets and “awww” at crochet plushies.
Visitor Mary Muscarello bought a bracelet after seeing the market from her friend’s apartment.
“It’s super cute, I want to buy all of it…This one’s not as big as yesterday, but I like how it’s just clothes, jewelry and home stuff. I think that’s really nice,” Muscarello says, comparing the market to the Little Italy Mercato and its food and flowers.
Fernanda Osorio lives nearby and is a repeat customer.
“I literally just walk around all the time, every day, just because I live here,” she says. “So, I just kept coming and suddenly I found [the market]. I just think it’s a little more personal. There’s just a little bit more diversity for what is being offered. I just love it, I love the female energy going around.”
Osorio and her friend Tate Hamilton, visiting from Orange County, spent nearly 10 minutes ogling a build-your-own charm bracelet stand.
“Every merchant that we’re passing, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, oh my gosh!’” Hamilton says. “It’s all cool little stuff like this. It’s such a good time to spend your Sunday. Whether it’s with a friend from out of town or you’re just bored. Bring your family, bring kids, whatever it is.”
While the products made by and for women attract customers, what allures vendors is the community and prime location.
“Little Italy is one of our favorite places,” says Collective Inspo by Design Founder Alexandra Crawford. “We love the ambiance, the vibe, the people. A lot of our customers love stopping by to see us.”
Crawford raves about the location.
“The location is great, the foot traffic, the people just coming in from all over,” she says. “We’re originally from the East Coast so we meet people from all over the country and even the world. We actually met people from London today. My family’s from London, [it’s] just those commonalities.”
Tying in with the theme of the market, Collective Inspo by Design sells shirts with sayings such as, “Empowered Women. Empower the World.”
“We are a lifestyle brand,” Crawford says. “We have a women’s empowerment T-shirt collection and then our home fragrance collection. It’s the marriage of our two passions. I’m focusing on quality with everything, so I design and print every single shirt and then we hand pour all of our candles.”
Eloiza Bojorquez, founder of By Ello Nails, has been selling at other local San Diego markets but says this one stands out.
“[It’s the] female empowerment,” Bojorquez says. “I’ve been having my eye on this market for a long time. I’ve been looking at Instagram. I love how supportive it is and the unity, so I definitely wanted to be a part of it.”
Bojorquez creates and sells press-on nails, stemming from an obsession she has had since childhood.
At the Female Maker Market, the passion in the air is palpable, and Bojorquez is not the only one with a brand story.
“I was a designer at PotteryBarn and there’s a lot of muted colors that they use and I knew there were a lot of other people out there like me that wanted vibrant colors in their homes,” says Colour Addict Co-Founder Diana Berti. “So, it’s taken a little bit of a risk but there are people that are like, “Ooh! Give me color!’”
Co-Founders Berti and Jackie VanHatten launched their colorful home furnishings brand on January 1, but this is their first-ever market.
“I was a wedding photographer, and so those muted colors have been around for over a decade now,” VanHatten says. “But [Diana] loves color, and I love color, and there you go.”
While Colour Addict seeks to bring color to people’s homes, the Female Maker Market is bringing color into the lives of vendors, visitors and locals in Little Italy. SDSun
