Welcome to Our Creative Marketplace

Our Story

Hello!  My name is Kim and I would love to share my journey of how Our Creative Marketplace came to be! 

It began with a simple dream of mine I had as a child:  to have my own bead store.  I LOVED beads (and still do) because they can make so many beautiful things!  From the time I was about seven years old, I loved creating, teaching, gifting and selling my handmade pieces of jewelry.

During my childhood and teenage years, I enjoyed making and selling jewelry at a few local craft shows.  My mom made wreaths and floral décor, and I made items with clay, jewelry, pom poms and ribbons.  I always made her bows for her wreaths (I guess I loved making bows, even back then).

I went to college for Mechanical Engineering and met my now husband, Kyle, there.  I worked as an engineer and learned a lot about layouts, quality control, work instructions, process improvement and so much more.  I earned my MBA in 2008 and decided it was time to launch my first “real” business called Dream Lily Designs.  I knew that while I was an engineer by trade, I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart!

In the fall of 2008, I started selling beautiful jewelry, hair accessories, and baby gifts at local craft shows in Northwest Ohio where we lived. As the business grew and I began having my daughters, my passion expanded beyond jewelry to include hair accessories, baby items and home décor as well.

Through these craft shows, I’ve had the privilege of meeting so many talented makers and artists. It’s been a joy to share my experiences and lessons as a full-time entrepreneur, mom, and maker, helping others grow their businesses.

As I am sure some of you will understand, raising a family, working full time in a career and owning a growing business, is no easy task.  I resigned from engineering in 2018 to focus on growing Dream Lily Designs and raising my girls.  My business was outgrowing our home as I also had my products in about 5 other stores at the time so I was very familiar with the consignment model.  I decided it was time - my youngest was starting kindergarten in the fall of 2021 and I was ready to take a leap into owning my own Brick & Mortar location!  We opened on October 5, 2021. 

With all of my connections through various craft shows, networking groups, and working as an engineer, I invited many other local makers to join the store as consignors to showcase local talent and grow their brands as well.  That why I decided to name the store “Our Creative Marketplace.”  It’s not just about my work—it's a vibrant collection of products from makers and business owners like myself working hard to do what they love, including my husband and kids too!  

I hope you see that Our Creative Marketplace is more than just a store—it's a hub for selling, sharing, creating, teaching, learning, and growing together as entrepreneurs. It’s a place to connect with our local community, each other, and share our talents with the local community and around the world!

Thank you for your continued support as we build a stronger, more creative local community of makers, artists, and family-run businesses!  Your support means everything, not only to me, but to all our small business owners who are part of this amazing store.

About the Store

• Small town gift shop located in Anna, Ohio (Exit 99 off I-75)
• Store is packed full of handmade craft items from over 20 local vendors and makers, featuring home decor, signs, soaps, bath bombs, beard care, salsa, soup mixes, jewelry, tumblers, hair bows, headbands, hats, keychains and so much more!
  
•  We also carry a large amount of toys from favorite brands like Lego, Squishmallows, Disney, Melissa & Doug and more!
  
• We are best known for our very reasonable prices - and our INCREDIBLE Squishmallow selection of over 2,000 different animals and characters ranging from 2.5" to 24" jumbo Squishmallows!

Community Events

• October - We host a Halloween Spooktacular event with kids games, prizes, costumes and have lots of fun to celebrate Halloween!
• November & December - We host a "Santa's Helper Market" to allow kids to shop and wrap their own special gifts for their family, friends and teachers.  Kids can just bring a list and a budget, and Santa's helpers will guide them throughout the store to help them shop for the perfect gifts!   It is our most popular event - so sign up early for the best time slot!