Community

CITY Spotlights: Celebrating Local Women-Owned Businesses

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This year for 314Day – a holiday that rolls around every 3-14 in honor of St. Louis’ area code – we’re celebrating a little early. On March 13, we’ll join The Women’s Creative for the 314Day CityWide Market Crawl, a vendor market event featuring local, women-owned businesses at locations all across the city.

The event runs Sunday, March 13, from 12–4 pm at Union Station, City Foundry STL, South Grand, Cherokee, The Loop, and in Webster Groves. Join us at Union Station alongside a ton of great vendors. All local goods. All women-owned brands. Together, it’s the perfect way to celebrate 314Day and Women’s History Month.

We talked to a few of the vendors and organizers of the event to learn more about what to expect.

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Photo Courtesy: Victorious STL

Procure is the newest addition to City Foundry, a well-curated shop featuring women-owned brands in St. Louis. We met with Co-Founder Tessa Corno to learn more about the newly opened Procure. After building a career in the fashion industry specializing in shoes, Tessa worked with Christina Weaver who is also the co-creator of The Women's Creative and #314Together.

“We’ve only been open for two weeks, but Procure is the result of everything we learned running vendor markets as The Women’s Creative. Right now, we have 25 local, women-owned brands on display with plans for more. For shoppers, we’re a convenient, curated destination to discover amazing products made here in our backyard.

We always say that women nurture things, Procure is just that. No matter where you are in your business, there’s a seat for you at the table. We have dedicated space for larger brands, co-merchandising for growing ones, and a nurturer level that serves as an incubator. We look at the hurdles brands face from going brick and mortar and we remove them. We’re here to be flexible. We’re storytellers and we know there’s value in the why behind these brands. That value creates real investment in the women. When you shop here, you’re lifting up the women in St. Louis and we believe that women lift communities.”

Some of those amazing women-owned brands will be all across St. Louis for the 314Day CityWide Market Crawl with local products for sale.

Sahara Sun is a Black-owned business that started in the summer of 2020 selling curated women's vintage clothing and accessories.

A Black- and queer-owned business making candles, wax melts, and home fragrances with self-care in mind.

“You have to be true to who you are. Being Black, being queer, being a woman, and being a business owner can be tough sometimes, but The Women's Creative does a really good job of pointing people in the right direction. I joined when my business had only been a thing for two or three months. The small business scene is tight-knit and could be hard to break into, but I've met some amazing women business owners.

We even did a collaboration called the Scents of St. Louis with other women-owned companies. I made a farmers market scent that reminded me of going to the Soulard Farmers Market as a kid. And gooey butter cake, which is one of our signature scents. St. Louis loves supporting local – loves supporting locally owned businesses.” Tyra, Founder and Owner of Virago Candle Studio

A new company built by two best friends making minimalist, handmade jewelry meant to be meaningful to every customer.

“There’s a new appreciation for in-person shopping. We’ve all done plenty online shopping, but people are excited to get back to it rather than looking at a picture on the internet. It’s been cool to see how fast sales can come in at a brick and mortar like Procure.” Jordan, Co-founder of Terra + Talia

We raise farm-to-fiber animals like angora rabbits, angora goats, and shetland sheep. Their coat is humanely harvested and processed into yarn then socks or gloves which we dye into colorful accessories and clothing.

Roaming Druggist Shop exists to bring the joy of gift-giving to life through creative laser-made products, encouraging messages, and inspiring the everyday adventure.

A south city favorite, Abigail's is a fashion and gift boutique specializing in the unique, fun, and fabulous, all hand-picked by Abby herself!