SJ Made – Pop-Up Market Highlights Local Entrepreneurs

S.J. Made 2011 from DE BUG on Vimeo.

"We make good stuff here in San Jose.” That is the motto of San Jose Made, a collective pop-up market of local independent vendors that hit downtown last month. San Jose Made is a festive event that highlights San Jose’s culture – it’s fashion, music, arts, and entrepreneurial spirit.

The event was made possible through the initiative of The Usuals, a clothing boutique which collaborated with Mayberry Workshop, another clothing company that specializes in sports themed clothing. Adam Mayberry, owner of the Mayberry Project, ran a pop up shop at the location which SJ Made was held.

Marie Millares, co-owner of The Usuals, says she had been thinking of the event, and its value in San Jose well before the actual event. “I purchased the domain name 'SJMade' long before the event because I thought it was a great idea after seeing it done so frequently when I was living in San Francisco."

The event took up a block of West Santa Clara Street and San Pedro Street, and was filled with booths and excited shoppers. Millares says, “One month before Adam Mayberry was going to stop running the pop up shop from the their spot, the corner building of west Santa Clara street and San Pedro, he told me we should just throw an event there. I thought to myself, this would be the perfect opportunity to make SJMade.” The location was perfect and the theme of locally owned businesses selling to the community created a feeling of San Jose unity with both vendors and customers.

More than a vendor extravaganza, SJ Made was a place where lots of good networking and personal connections got made.

Though we are a very diverse community, I noticed that many different types of people who attended the event are made out of the same cloth. We have a belief in the ingenuity of our community and want to support that energy. That spirit extended beyond a general consumerism, as every time I looked around, it seemed that someone was introducing themselves to another new person that they met.

Millares says they are aiming to try to run another SJMade in early Spring. And more SJMade is a good thing for our city. The function is a fun place to be for all people from all over the city; whether it be North, South, East or West.

If you are interested in more information on SJMade, please visit www.sanjosemade.com