We Are Ohio Made
Our story began in 2016.
We had a vision of creating an opportunity for Ohio Makers and shoppers to connect in a unique way.
Not just a table.
Not just a spot.
A room that felt worthy of the work they were bringing into it.
The idea was simple.
- Bring incredible Ohio Makers together with people who genuinely wanted to shop small.
- Give Makers a place to be discovered.
- Give shoppers a better way to kick off the holiday season.
- And make shopping local feel like something people were excited to show up for.
Even then, we knew it had to feel like a party with shopping in it.
We wanted energy.
We wanted pride.
We wanted people to walk in and feel like they had found something special.
2016, Grand Event Center
So in 2016, we opened the doors to the first Ohio Made Holiday Market at the Grand Event Center.
Then something happened none of us were fully prepared for.
Within about a day of announcing that first event, thousands of people were already interested.
By the time event day arrived, close to 20,000 people were interested in that first event.
And they showed up.
The line went out the door.
And it stayed there.
All day.
It was incredible.
It was also hard.
The response was so much bigger than the space could handle. The building reached capacity, and some shoppers could not get inside. People had driven in. Some had waited in line. They had come because they wanted to support these Ohio small businesses, and the room simply was not big enough to hold all of that excitement.
That part stung.
Because those were exactly the people we had created the event for.
But standing inside that packed room, with makers selling, shoppers searching, and the line still stretching outside, one thing became very clear:
Ohio was ready to #ShopOhioMade.
That first event became the proof.
- Proof that Ohio makers deserved a bigger stage.
- Proof that shoppers wanted gifts with stories.
- Proof that people would show up for handmade businesses when you gave them something worth showing up for.
- And proof that Ohio Made could become much more than one event.
So we learned. We changed. We got better. And we kept building.
- 2016First market
- 2017First casino show. Friday VIP begins
- 2020No market
- 2026Tenth annual
Our Mission
Ohio Made exists to connect Ohio makers with shoppers who are excited to support local, discover handmade products, and shop with purpose.
That is the heart of what we do.
We give makers a platform.
We give shoppers an experience.
And we bring them together in a room that feels festive, thoughtful, exciting, and worth planning for.
Our mission is simple:
- Help Ohio makers reach shoppers they may not have found otherwise.
- Give shoppers a joyful way to support local businesses before the Black Friday rush.
- Make shopping small feel like a celebration.
- Every application is reviewed because the room matters.
- Every category is considered because the mix matters.
- Every detail is intentional because the feeling matters.
We do not just fill booths.
We curate the room.
- We review every application.
- We think about product quality.
- We think about category balance.
- We think about booth presentation.
- We think about what shoppers will discover.
- We think about how every maker fits into the full experience.
And then we build the room with care.
When our makers succeed, Ohio Made succeeds.
When shoppers choose Ohio Made, they are choosing more than a gift. They are choosing the person behind it. The studio behind it. The late nights behind it. The idea someone was brave enough to bring into the world.
That is why #ShopOhioMade matters.
Why The First Year Still Shapes Everything
A lot of what Ohio Made is today comes from what we learned on day one.
That first line out the door taught us that people would show up.
But it also taught us that excitement is not enough.
- The experience has to work.
- People need to be able to get in.
- They need room to shop.
- Makers need shoppers who can actually reach their booths.
The event needs flow. It needs planning. It needs care.
That is why Ohio Made uses limited tickets, staggered entry times, VIP Shopping, Early Access, and General Admission.
Those decisions are not random. We learned their importance on day one.
We care about the shopper experience because we remember what it felt like when people wanted to get in and could not.
We care about the maker experience because we remember why this started.
And every year, we ask the same question:
How do we make this better?
Not just bigger.
Better.
- Better for the makers.
- Better for the shoppers.
- Better for the people who have made Ohio Made part of their holiday tradition.
From One Room To Ohio’s Holiday Shopping Tradition
Year after year, Ohio Made got better.
The booths got bigger. The maker lineup became more intentional. The ticketing became smarter. The shopper experience became smoother.
And the event started to take on a life of its own.
People stopped treating Ohio Made like one more thing on the calendar and started treating it like the beginning of the holiday season.
That is when we knew this had become more than a market.
It had become a SHOPportunity.
Shopping, yes. But also an opportunity.
- An opportunity to support a small business.
- An opportunity to meet the person behind the gift.
- An opportunity to keep holiday dollars in Ohio.
- An opportunity to choose handmade before heading into the corporate Black Friday rush.
- An opportunity to make holiday shopping feel personal again.
What Makes Ohio Made Different
Ohio Made is a curated holiday shopping party built around makers, shoppers, and the feeling that happens when the room comes alive.
Because our shoppers trust us.
They come to Ohio Made because they know they will find something worth discovering.
- They know they can meet the people behind the products.
- They know they can find gifts that feel personal.
- They know this is not the same thing they will find at the mall.
And they know the experience will feel like Ohio Made.
The moment someone says, “Wait, where did you find that?”
That is the difference.
People can shop anywhere.
Ohio Made gives them a reason to show up.
What We Believe
- We believe shoppers want more than another holiday errand. They want an experience.
- We believe the best gifts come with a story.
- We believe every booth has a person behind it.
- We believe shopping small should feel joyful, festive, and worth planning for.
- We believe the weekend before Black Friday should belong to makers.
- We believe every tote bag tells a story.
- And we believe Ohio will always show up for Ohio when you give people something worth showing up for.
Ohio Made Today
Today, the Ohio Made Holiday Market brings together 80 curated Ohio makers for one weekend in November, the weekend before Black Friday, at Hollywood Casino Columbus.
Shoppers come for VIP night, Early Access, General Admission, Santa photos, cocktails, music, photo moments, holiday décor, and the chance to shop small before Black Friday.
But what they remember is the feeling.
- Walking through the archway.
- Hearing Christmas music.
- Smelling pine in the air.
- Seeing makers smile from behind their booths.
- Finding the gift they did not know they needed.
- Taking the photo.
- Filling the tote.
- Sipping the cocktail.
- Running into someone they know.
- Leaving with bags full of Ohio Made finds and saying, “We have to come back next year.”
That is Ohio Made.
A SHOPportunity you do not want to miss.
A shopping party.
A holiday tradition.
A celebration of makers, shoppers, and everything Ohio can create when we choose to support each other.
OH10
The 10th Annual Ohio Made Holiday Market is more than a milestone.
It is a celebration of the makers who trusted us, the shoppers who kept showing up, and the Ohio Made family that built this tradition year after year.
It started with an idea in 2016.
It grew because Ohio showed up.
And ten events later, we are still building on the same promise:
- Give Ohio makers a stage worthy of their work.
- Give Ohio shoppers an experience worth showing up for.
Welcome to Ohio Made.
Welcome to the shopping party Ohio built.