CULLMAN, Ala. – New small business mercantile The Vendor Venue and Owner Leah Harris hosted Ladies Night Out on Thursday, Oct. 12. Harris threw open her doors and invited locals into her newest business venture, allowing guests to shop the many booths filled with community-made wares and trinkets. Sale racks filled to the brim with boutique clothing, handmade tumblers and glitter hair clips lined the sidewalk of Harris’ shop.
Harris said she handpicked her vendors carefully, hoping for a curated feel to her venue. “It’s like an in-person Etsy,” she said. “You can come and get everything at once instead of having to go to different places.”
Two other local small business owners held pop-up shops during Ladies Night Out – Lauren Mills with Seint Makeup and Denise Cooper with Lux-Link Permanent Jewelry.
Mills was on-site for color matching, skin type consultations and in-person makeup purchases. Saint Makeup is an all-in-one cream makeup system. Mills praised the versatility of her makeup line, stating, “It’s made to, you put all on in one layer so you’re not feeling cakey. So you know, you put on contour and bronzer and concealer and foundation.” Mills said Seint is meant to be one layer, similar to a “paint by numbers” sheet, placed strategically and blended all in tandem. “This is made to put in different places on your face. It moves with your skin; it looks like skin and it doesn’t settle into your fine lines and wrinkles. Lip and cheeks double as a blush and a lipstick. You can also use it as a color corrector.”
Cooper offered a variety of permanent jewelry options; permanent jewelry is welded together in lieu of traditional clasps and, depending on the material, has an indefinite lifespan, making it a perfect solution for the low-maintenance person who needs a little sparkle. Cooper explained her process for installing the jewelry, saying, “You pick out your chain and we measure it to what size you want, then I solder it on and then it’s on there. You can take it off whenever you want, just get wire cutters. But you save the chain and I can put it back on!”
Harris said bringing the community together has always been a desire. “My goal has been to have an affordable place for local people to sell their goods and help contribute to their small business to make it successful for years to come,” she said. “I hope that everyone can shop local for the holiday season coming up and support all of these vendors.”
Harris’ current list of vendors includes Summer Ray Apparel & More, Graceful Living Co, Otter Designs, Mama Made, Quarantine Cuts, Crafty Bama Stitch, Koala Ts, The Modern Collective, ET’s Crafts & More, The Redbird Cottage, Pretty Little Thing and Oyster Shell Trinkets & Jewelry Holders.
The Vendor Venue is located at 201 2nd Ave. NW. It is open Wednesday and Thursday from 12-5 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
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