The Mom Made Market

Products made by moms, but if you aren't a mom, don't worry, there are plenty of products for you too! Tshirts, jewelry, purses, artwork, candles, granola, etc. There is a lot of space for strollers and wild childs like my twin sons to run around. The Yelp booth has crayons and paper placemats for kids to color to their heart's content. Tomorrow (Sunday) is the last day, so If you haven't gotten your tickets yet, head on down and buy them at the door and support your local mommy vendors!Much mahalos to Yelp for the free tickets!

I was so excited to receive free Yelp admission for my daughter and I to attend the Mom Made Market ... Mahalo Yelp :)I hadn't been to the Convention Center before so I wasn't sure what to expect ... it was big, clean, and easy enough to navigate. Glad the tickets were free because parking is a $10 flat rate. The room was huge and the market took up half the space .... lots of room for many more vendors next year :)I specifically went to visit the Milolii Love, Storybook Entertainment & Shaklee booths ...www.MiloliiLove.com www.healthyliving808.comwww.storybookhawaii.com( see pics.)Was impressed and inspired by all these talented Mom's ... very nice and beautifully presented products ! My daughter enjoyed pics with the Princesses, crafting at the Yelp booth and eating some delicious Macaroons :)We spent about a hour browsing around and look forward to next year :)

My friend had gotten passes from YELP. YAY FOR YELP! Another reason to love Yelp! Well she invited me so I could see what this was. I honestly just came here to get my free Eden in love Obi belt. I didn't know what this event was about.It was a convention with things that are made by moms.. My friend and I saw these hats that were hand painted by this one mom. She was super sweet and her art work is amazing! They were decent priced so my friend got 4.. I told myself I would control myself and not spend too much on anything... but after we got the hats.. I walked by this booth called kritsals treasures who handmakes these jewelry and this one arm candy CAUGHT my eye... I couldn't put it down.... it's 14K gold with glitter flakes and this Pearl (forgot the specific details) it was gorgeous I must have it! But the price killed my heart a bit. You know what, silly me ended up buying it anyway! I just couldn't pass it up and regret it. It would have bothered me since it was a one of a kind thing.

Project Linus Booth was a fun pit stop! They let kids draw pictures on white fabric, decide what color fabric to put it on, then pick out the stitch pattern to see them together! Blocks were being put together for a Project Linus blanket to go to a kid truly in need!A lot of good booths with some great stuff! Too bad they didn't have more here! A little something for just about everyone. Get more food vendors in next time!!!! And that is truly my reason for the 3 stars.

I love the fact that they have things like this for small businesses on the island! It was sort of like a little craft fair. Everything was so unique and cute to buy. I love all the cute custom shirts people were selling. And in fact I came across a few vendors that I follow on Instagram, pretty cool to see their items in person and ask questions. The only thing I wish we got to see what the story time with the mermaid. My daughter was so sad we missed that part of the expo. We were about half hour late. Maybe next time we can catch the mermaid at a different event. Thank you again for inviting me to this mom made event Yelp!!

The Mom Made Market made its second year debut this weekend (4/1-4/2/17) and while they transitione from their initial venue (The Hawaiian Convention Center), 449 Cooke Street is just as beautiful and influential a venue the second time around. While parking is scarce, I think visitors definitely enjoyed the surrounding artwork that decorate nearby walls and warehouses on their way to the event.Now, while it is The Mom Mae Market's second debut, I never went to the first event so I can't quite compare. Mainly, because as the event's title, I initially thought it to be an event solely by moms for moms (which in some ways is accurate), but fortunately, I think what comes through more the second time around is exposure as the event supports local mom-run businesses who are the epitome of "boss moms" as they manage to do what they love and never compromise on family time. Plus, as a visitor/buyer, you find a lot of new businesses that you would've never otherwise known about. A couple of honorable mentions would have to be LulaRoe's Lisa McCarthy (locate on the left of the ticket booth of the event), Buttah Girl: Handmade in Hawaii with Aloha, AialaLoveLife (doTERRA essential oil consultants) and Atlee Artworks. The event was somewhat personal for me because as a daughter of a single mother, I know how difficult it can be to have to juggle having a career and taking care of your kids. Often times, moms literally have to choose between either or rather than having both. However, with events like The Mom Made Market, the public gets to not only experience the creativity of some of Hawaii's most skilled craftswomen, but also get to meet some amazing individuals along the way. There's also tons of giveaways and discounts for the businesses showcased at the event, so it's definitely worth a visit. Plus, I managed to nab a few goodies for my nephew whom I will be meeting for the first time next month.The only downside I think is that because 449 Cooke Street is a warehouse venue, there's no AC and it's a bit cramped--meaning that when there is a ton of strollers and adults, it makes it difficult to navigate. I'd probably wait for later in the day when there's a lull in crowds to get the most out of the event, because i know my friend and I were starting to get a bit claustrophobic so after making about two rounds around the venue, we skedaddled. Overall, I would definitely visit The Mom Made Market again because I really enjoyed meeting and purchasing from vendors that I'd never known about or had always been following on Instagram but never had a chance to purchase from. However, it would be nice to see The Mom Made Market return to The Hawaiian Convention Center, even if that means increasing ticket prices because the heat in combination with the small space and lack of refreshments (I think the only thing drink related you could buy was lemonade from Beyond Burgers) made it difficult to stay longer than an hour or so. Side note: If the letter "D" is missing from a word that needs it, I apologize. My keyboard hates me. Will fix in the near future.

It's a great time to be a mom this day and age! Seriously when my kids were teeny I didn't have half the cute and smart stuff they have today. Moms and Dads alike have it so much easier now.I was overwhelmed with childrearing and didn't capitalize on creating the innovative stuff they have - things that I thought back then, "why is this so hard!" For example, the shopping cart cover that acts like a high chair cover then converts into a handy dandy carry-along bag (I can't tell you how many times I have held one child on my hip and wiping down a shopping cart so my child won't catch some disease on the handle). Or how about those cute baby blankets, bibs, non-disposable diaper covers, pretty nursing covers (yeah, we didn't have this in my day), pacifier tether and man-diaper-bags that don't scream, "i'm a daddy and I've lost my swag." Seriously, parents today are stylish, multi-taskers with "STUFF" that makes their lives easier and they look cool rocking that "stuff."The Mom Made Market is new to Hawaii and yes, many of the vendors could very well be at a Baby Expo since it really is all about baby. They had a few vendors that sold jewelry (earrings, bracelets and necklaces) and few family/baby photographers but overall, the vendors are family/baby oriented. The "Mom Made" phrase fooled me into believing this was a craft fair that truly was "mom-made," if that makes any sense. I've been to many craft fairs where not much else was "crafted" except their business card (truly IMHO NOT a crafty thing). Independent contractors with DoTerra, Scentsy and were also there representing the line on non-crafty items as well as the soon to open, Orange Therapy (gym). Art Explorium and Me & U sewing were quite popular as well as the Princess show that was going on as I was leaving. There were so many kids there and I surprised with the absence of screaming and crying little ones all around - I guess there were entertained. Yelp even had a coloring station that was full of aspiring little artists. Nonetheless, despite walking into a place without a stroller or child in tote I managed to navigate the stroller friendly aisles with ease and pick up a few things that even a mom of grown aged "children" could use and gift away. Thank goodness I'm past the stage of rearing small child but for those who aren't, they are lucky they have all the mom and dad friendly "things and stuff" that make rearing so much easier and smarter. Now, if the creative gods could only come up with "things" to make "raising" young adults easier and smarter.**Thank you Yelp Hawaii for the free ticket!

Not very many vendors, nothing interesting, I expected more. Wasn't worth the drive from Mililani.There was a little girl that sang so amazing, but it was TOO LOUD!, and piercing, couldn't talk to anyone while until her beautiful and God blessed voice stopped singing.Parking was a whopping and crazy $10.00, no validation, place wasn't even crowded, but it was free to get in.

I love craft fairs. I love mom made stuff. I mean, shameless plug, I make baby stuff myself (find me on Instagram @TheKeikiDept) and I sell it too! I wanted to take part this year as a vendor but due to personal reasons, I was unable to. As a consumer and vendor, there was good and bad. For a first time event, it was a little smaller than I expected but that allowed you to talk to each vendor. that is something you can't always do at the bigger and busier craft fairs.There were lots of little shops and I love the idea of shopping small and local. We are regulars at Naturally Young at Heart & Izzyandluke, and I saw some other regulars (Shop Haute, Malama Baby, Shortstack). Aside from having to pay the outlandish $10 to park, I was so happy to have tickets from Yelp! This was my first Yelp elite event! It would have been nice if they had more food vendors (lemonade? Pop pops?) to attract more people. I love granola but it's not something I want to eat for lunch...Can't wait to see what's in store for next year!

The Mom Made Market was like stepping into a real life etsy shop! So many brilliant mamapreneurs with the most adorable products! Held for the first time in Hawaii, this craft fair showcased women-owned businesses, crafters, bakers and more! I'm not a big fan of holiday craft fairs as I find myself waking around entire craft fairs and not finding a single thing that's "my style" or that has the right aesthetic. However, this Mom Made Market was the opposite experience! Almost every booth had adorable, trendy, unique, artisan items that had that "etsy-esque" touch and I was very inspired by all these women with tremendous talent, drive and vision. The Market was a lot smaller than I expected and there were a ton of baby items. If I still had babies, I probably would've gone on a crazy shopping rampage. Lucky for my husband, my kids are older and I didn't go too crazy. I only bought a few things, but I was extremely happy with my purchases for the day. Being that this was the first year, I think there's room for growth. The convention center is beautiful, but because there weren't as many vendors, the huge space with the high ceilings that it was in made the market feel a bit empty. Also, the price for parking plus the price of admission ($4-$5 for adults AND kids over the age of 3) made it kind of steep to see a small variety of vendors. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to get free tickets through yelp but if I had to pay for myself and my kids, I probably wouldn't have come. But I give HUGE kuddos to the concept of supporting and empowering local moms and women who are working hard to support their families by utilizing their smart, creative and artistic talents and abilities! I'm hoping after this first year, many more vendors will join in the upcoming years. There are SO many great locally owned women businesses here on Oahu and I can see this event being an artisan, boutique-y, etsy-ish shoppers dream! Thank you so much to Yelp for the free tickets and yet another great opportunity to support great businesses here in Hawaii!