Holiday market welcomes shoppers to medina common ground

MEDINA, Ohio – The Common Ground Vendors Market ushered in a new year this past weekend.

The Common Ground is a restored space in a historic warehouse where community members and small business owners can come together for a unique shopping experience. Vendors can rent space within the open floor plan or host pop-up sales tables.

The stores won’t officially open until January. 6. But the owner held some soft opening events, such as a holiday market on December 12th. 17 and 18.

“We had our first soft opening on November 1. 26. We had a small business event on Saturday. Then, this past weekend, we had a Christmas market. We had a two-day pop-up shop — our home for the holiday market,” said Kylie Brock, one of the owners.

“We’ve had great feedback from the public. A lot of Medina people are really excited about this new addition to the city,” she said.

Standing vendors opened for the holiday market, and more than 120 local and small business pop-ups opened in the warehouse. Santa and Mrs. Claus are visiting, and food trucks, bakeries and coffee shops are serving food.

“A lot of people don’t even know this building exists. It’s cool that we’re bringing new life to a historic warehouse in the medina that’s been there for many, many years,” says Brock.

The warehouse used to be a kimchi factory.

Brock shared that everyone seemed excited about the position. It offers small business owners who operate primarily online or in small storefronts—even those who are completely new to running a business—a way to run their business from a physical location without the stress of being alone.physical store

It can serve as a stepping stone for some small local traders to eventually go out on their own.

“I feel like, in this day and age where a lot of people are trying to support local people and small shops, now we have an area that’s restoring an old historic warehouse and a piece of history from the medina,” Brock said.

Various vendors have booths and products for customers to peruse and shop over the weekend.

“This is actually my first pop-up. I love that it’s a fresh start; it’s their first holiday fair,” says Kate Cortese. “With food trucks and music, it’s younger and hipper.”

Cortese is a vintage curator and stylist who primarily sells on Instagram via @thatsreallygreatkate and will have an Etsy shop in the near future.

“I actually love talking to everyone. I sell mostly on Instagram, so this is my first in-person event, so I really enjoy talking to people,” says Cortese.

The festive market drew huge crowds on both days – much to the delight of Christal Kaple.

“The crowd (was her favorite part). I opened a little gift shop in Seville,” Kapoor said. “Art is for looking. I love when people come in and look at things. That’s the best part, how busy it is.”

Kaple, who owns Christal Kaple Art, is one of The Common Ground’s permanent suppliers, as is Paula Kelley, who owns Clear Creek Candle Co. Kaple can also be found online at www.christalkapleart.com and on Facebook and Instagram.

“It’s great that small business owners have the opportunity to have a space — an affordable space — to sell our products,” Kelly said.

She also shared that it is a place where people from the community can gather and support local businesses.

“It’s a unique shopping experience. You can’t go to a mall and do this,” says her husband, Robert Kelly.

Kelley’s business can be found at clearcreekcandleco.com. She can also be reached at clearcreekcandleco@gmail.com and 845-905-2093.

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