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What if I told you there was a place in Detroit where you could go to get a taste of everything local entrepreneurs are making and selling? That place is All Things Detroit: a one-stop-shop for, well, hundreds of shops, actually. Artists, vendors, farmers and more converge on Eastern Market three times a year to sell their wares to the masses and when I say “masses,” I’m talking thousands.
But, where did All Things Detroit come from? Ask Jennyfer. No, I mean, Ask Jennyfer, the marketing and event planning business run by one Jennyfer Crawford. While she has been an event planner for about five years, Crawford has been the operator of All Things Detroit through her firm since ATD’s inception in 2013.
Photo courtesy of Ask Jennyfer.
This year, ATD Holiday and Food Edition, which kicks off the holiday shopping season, will be held on Sunday, November 6 from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. (with an optional “Beat the Crowd” package). More than 200 vendors will be in attendance, 85% of which are returnees. For many vendors, ATD is what propelled their business forward, so it only makes sense to come back for more exposure and some plain old business with new and returning customers alike.
Since the beginning, vendors have offered feedback to Crawford on how to improve future ATD events. Some felt that the event needed more artists, so Crawford went ahead and procured those artists so that they could sell their wares.
Some of the vendors in attendance include:
- Ace of Clay: produces polymer clay sculptures
- Detroit Respect: a Detroit clothing company
- His Hand Jewelry: produces handcrafted jewelry
- I Club Detroit: clothing that reflects Detroit’s techno and house music scene
- Mito’s Doner Turkish Street Food: Turkish street food in Michigan
- Natural Red: naturally made products
- Pop Daddy Popcorn, Inc.: locally grown and popped popcorn and locally seasoned pretzels
- Resurrect Detroit, LLC: Turns pieces of Detroit ruin into original artwork
Crawford currently sees a lack in the “services” department of goods & services at All Things Detroit and would like that to change. While the event has done well in bringing in customers who are there to buy goods, the same can’t be said of small businesses that offer a service, rather than a tangible good.
Photo courtesy of Ask Jennyfer.
“I promote shopping, but I would like to add more services, maybe have an area of services because I feel like there’s a lot of small businesses that don’t get the opportunity to showcase their business at All Things Detroit because everyone is so focused on the actual shopping aspect of it.,” Crawford said.
Looking towards the future, to accommodate the increasing number of patrons, Crawford has started to scope out other venues for the event that can accommodate more people and looking beyond even All Things Detroit, Crawford has toyed with the idea of doing a similar event for other cities in Michigan.
“My goal with [All Things Detroit] was to bring a lot of people to Detroit,” Crawford said. “I don’t think I would call it All Things Detroit, doing it in another city, but my goal in doing this is to bring people from outside of the city to the city so that they can see the city in a positive light and all of the positive things happening here.”
