‘Trying to get something uniquely Boston’: locals shop holiday markets on Small Business Saturday – The Boston Globe

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At a booth selling products from a company called Dr. Silkman’s, a group clustered around the counter sniffing scented candles that become body lotion when melted.

“Smells good, feels even better!” said Ronni Wanner, 21, of Dorchester, who was running the shop. “Wait ‘til you get it on your skin.”

Bianca Trainito, of The Sweet Spot, sits in her booth at the Downtown Boston Holiday Market on Summer Street Plaza during Small Business Saturday in Boston.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

Across the counter, Daniel Clark, 26, a Mississippi native living in the South End, breathed in the “Euphoria” scent alongside Carson Montana, 25, who was visiting Clark from Pensacola, Fla.

“I just moved here — I’ve been in Boston about a month and a half now — and this seemed like a good way to get familiar with some of the businesses in the area,” Clark said in a slight Southern drawl. “Trying to get something uniquely Boston for those folks that I still have back home that I’m trying to give Christmas gifts.”

“This is only my second time being here, visiting him,” Montana said. “My mom and my dad have a cabin in Tennessee, so I’m looking for a nice little dish set for them.”

Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said at midafternoon that he had spent time earlier checking out some local shops, and Small Business Saturday 2023 seemed to be a success.

“By what I’ve seen and heard, I think it’s going to be a very positive day,” Hurst said. “The weather cooperated; we got a lot of great promotion.”

Hurst said small retailers have moved online more aggressively since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, and 60 percent of the association’s members now have an internet presence — up from 26 percent pre-pandemic. But on average they only make about 15 percent of sales online, so in-person sales are vital, and special events that bring in extra customers can make a real difference in their bottom lines.

“Small Business Saturday has just grown year after year,” Hurst said. “What started out about 15 years ago as an American Express promotion . . . really has taken on a life of its own.”

American Express launched the annual event in 2010 in an effort to bring more customers to small businesses during the holiday shopping season and to encourage small businesses to accept its credit cards.

In the Seaport market, the vendors were varied in products, makers, and audiences. Along one walkway, a shop selling hand-knit sweaters, scarves, and hats sat beside one full of organic necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. The next space sold pajamas and holiday outfits for small children, then another dealt in metal jewelry. Farther along, a shop selling decorative floral prints sat alongside one festooned with live plants.

Korra, an Australian Cobberdog, stands with Clarissa and Hubert Kwan while visiting the Holiday Market at Snowport 2023.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

Jessie Cadigan and her husband, Matthew, who live in Stow, had driven about an hour to return to the market and buy several of the Tibetan yak-yarn shawls that her parents had liked on opening day.

“They called and said, ‘Can you go back and buy five more?’ because they wanted to give them to everybody for gifts,” Jessie Cadigan said.

Matthew Cadigan said the family tries to shop small “especially if it’s handmade or closer to the producer.”

“You feel like you’re actually supporting someone in their endeavor, instead of a big entity,” Jessie Cadigan added.

Less than a mile away at Downtown Crossing, a smaller holiday market was set up along Summer Street outside Macy’s.

Bianca Trainito, 27, an East Boston native living in Salem, sat bundled in camouflage and hot pink at a table selling soy candles she and her sister-in-law, Jamie O’Neill, make by hand under the name The Sweet Spot — chosen because the candles replicate decadent desserts, elaborate coffee beverages, and other treats.

Aria Scardina, 11, and her father, Michael, 34, who said he seeks out local businesses and pop-up markets on Instagram, bought a peppermint candle with crushed candy cane bits sprinkled across the top.

When Aria first saw the wax confections, “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh — these are so real and cool,’ ” she said. While she wound up with peppermint, she also admired the re-creation of hot cocoa and a sundae with waxy little gummy bears.

Trainito, the vendor, said after they got laid off during the pandemic, she and O’Neill “put together 500 bucks and we bought a bunch of candle materials.”

“We had no idea what we were doing,” she said. “We watched a bunch of videos online, did a bunch of research. We ran into so much trial and error.”

Their first set of candles sold out to family and friends in 48 hours, she said, and now making candles, other household items, and personal accessories is her full-time job.

“We’ve had so much growth,” she said, “and we’re so thankful for it.”


Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at jeremy.fox@globe.com. Follow him @jeremycfox.



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