Supporting small artisans through OmMade Meet The Maker
As OmMade Meet The Maker opens in the Adelaide Arcade, CityMag chats with president Tina Walsh about the vision behind the not-for-profit initiative.
As a small business owner, Tina Walsh understands the hard work that artisans put into their products and brands.
While selling her product OmMade Organic Skincare at weekend markets around Adelaide, Tina realised the scene had become oversaturated.
“I remember going to one, and there were like eight skincare people in the one sports arena,” she says.
“The only people that were making any money were the market organisers, so I just thought there has to be a better way of doing this.”
And so, in 2018, the idea for the OmMade Meet The Maker collective was formed.
“I had an opportunity to take a small space in the Central Market arcade,” Tina says.
“I reached out to some of my market buddies and said ‘surely we can have one of us man the store and sell each other’s product so that we can be open seven days a week?!’”
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With only nine sellers initially, the brand has grown rapidly, now stocking more than 30 artisans in four shopfronts across Adelaide. Just last month, Tina opened a store in the Adelaide Arcade in the former Have You Met Charlie spot.
The collaborative spaces provide local makers with an affordable way to sell their products in a brick-and-mortar store – something many small business owners dream of.
“[Makers] rent the space and every week we have a sales report, and they get paid seven days later, directly into their bank account,” Tina says.
“Everyone shares the cost of running the store.”
OmMade Meet The Maker in the Adelaide Arcade. This picture: supplied.
Some makers have been a part of the initiative for nearly seven years and Tina says when new artisans sign up, “we actually allocate them a mentor” to teach them the ins and outs of the business.
According to Tina, the benefits of stocking in a permanent space are plentiful.
With many artisans being regular marketgoers, Tina says, “people that don’t do markets don’t understand how time-consuming they can be”, considering external elements like set-up and pack down.
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Other benefits, Tina says, include “having that legitimacy factor for your business” and being able to “have customers build trust with the makers”.
The OmMade Meet The Maker stores have been such a success for some artisans that “a lot have given up their jobs to do this full time”.
“They’ve actually really been able to take it on as a small business, not just a weekend hobby,” Tina says.
Tina Walsh. This picture: Claudia Dichiera.
Elisha Firth took over from OmMade plant brand Be the Light in January. Elisha is a single parent who has found Meet The Maker to be the pivotal factor in getting her brand seen, stocking her plants across all four stores.
“Be the Light is my main source of income now,” she says.
Speaking on Tina’s efforts to build the community business hub, Elisha says “Tina loves helping people”.
“She wants to see all the little businesses succeed, and she’ll do that at the detriment of her own sleep and sanity, I’m sure,” Elisha says.
Tina says some “customers are concerned that the shop is making money off the makers and that they’re being taken advantage of” which is something OmMade is “definitely not into”.
Tina is adamant that when you shop at Meet The Maker, you are supporting the small businesses directly.
“We are a registered not-for-profit, so I think that’s something that stands out from a lot of other collectives that have popped up since we’ve started,” she says.
As the new Adelaide Arcade store hits its one-month milestone, the location opens exciting opportunities for the collective.
“We’ve set up some desks upstairs so people can actually do their admin because there’s a lot more to a small business than just the making,” Tina says.
OmMade Meet the Maker is located at the Adelaide Arcade, Tea Tree Plaza, Westfield Marion and West Lakes.