Makers, a retailer which showcases handmade goods, has opened its latest location at Midtown Shopping Centre in Saskatoon with ambitious plans to continue to expand the concept in Canada and in the United States.
In April, the concept opened in Regina’s Cornwall Centre and that success set the stage for the latest store opening.
The retailer’s business model is to charge artisans rent for displaying their products in the store but they keep 100 per cent of their sales. Canadian-made local products, including ceramics, self-care items, candles, soaps, apparel, gourmet sweets, jewelry, home decor, original artwork and more.
“Midtown is the premier shopping destination in central and northern Saskatchewan, drawing over 4.3 million annual visitors and boasting record sales productivity. Opening here allows us to give local entrepreneurs exposure alongside top national brands, ensuring consumer dollars flow directly back into Saskatchewan families and small businesses,” said Adam Sharanewych, co-founder and CEO of Shop Makers. “We’ve already seen fantastic sales and support in Regina since we opened in Cornwall Centre in April of this year, and we look forward to featuring artisans from Saskatoon and across Saskatchewan at Midtown Mall.”
The retailer is operated by Adam’s wife Veronica Sharanewych and his brother Chris Sharanewych.
Makers operates 28 stores across Canada, featuring more than 1,600 Canadian makers nationwide. With the new Midtown store, Makers is projecting it will generate over $1 million annually for local makers and entrepreneurs, while showcasing their crafts inside a high-performing retail hub in the heart of downtown Saskatoon.
Regina vendors that are already expanding their businesses by selling at Makers include: The Sask Bath Company, Magnolia Candle Co, Mozzman Creations and many more.
“One of my biggest dreams has always been to see my products on the shelves of a retail store inside a shopping mall,” said Kongkona Choudhury, Founder of Magnolia Candle Company. “As a small business owner, opening my own retail location wasn’t realistic, so when Makers opened its Regina location, I applied right away. The response from customers exceeded my expectations, and the exposure has helped me grow my business in ways I may never have reached otherwise. I’m excited that I will have the opportunity to continue growing with Makers as it expands into Saskatoon.”
Makers Midtown is actively seeking vendors to feature in the mall. Saskatchewan-based vendors, creators, and makers interested in joining the store are encouraged to reach out via the Makers website: https://www.shopmakers.ca/apply.
Veronica said the Regina store is about 1,100 square feet while the Saskatoon store is about 1,400 square feet.
The couple are from Vancouver where they started their first store in Gastown in November 2020.
“Makers is an artisan retail platform where we essentially. Each location features anywhere from 80 to 95 local artisans. They pay a flat membership fee for their space in the store, and then in exchange, they get to keep 100% of their sales. So it’s kind of like a brick-and-mortar Etsy,” explained Veronica.
“They bring in their products, they control their display, they pay that fee, and then we handle all of the retail operations, so all the staffing, all the supplies, all the operations, point-of-sale system, paying out the vendors. We handle all the back end.
“They can basically just come in, bring their products, they enter them into our system, we pay. We sell the products for them, we pay them out, and the cycle continues.”
The couple want to continue to expand across Canada reaching 35 to 40 locations with the Greater Toronto Area a prime area for expansion. Then there’s the goal of expanding further east into Halifax.
Earlier this year, they opened their first U.S. location in Seattle just outside the famous Pike market. It’s what they call their experimentation store to see how the concept would fare entering a new country and a new market. And so far it’s been very successful.
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