Kids sell handmade products at Mini Makers Market

MEDINA — Kids ran their own small businesses and sold their handmade products to the public at the 2025 Summer Mini Makers Market at The Common Ground on Sunday. The kid vendors sold items like 3D printed toys, jewelry, key chains and food like bread and cookies. All vendors were between the ages of 5 and 12 years old. One of the vendors was 11-year-old Lilly Gibbons. Her "Yarn O'Clock" stand had a variety of colorful crocheted stuffed animals for sale like jellyfish, a giraffe and a dragon. "I mainly make plushies," she said. "Every now and then, I'll make things such as a water bottle holder to hold my water on walks or a lap blanket, a hat, a shrug or this topper that I'm wearing over my outfit that is a spider web top." Lilly first started to crochet in December 2023 after her mom got stuff for Christmas to crochet. "I got into it," she said. "At first, at half a year, I tried making an actual animal. That went OK, but over time, I got better." A reason why Lilly likes to crochet is because she finds it easy and it can be a distraction when she feels sad or if she is bored. "This helps me forget everything and calms me," she said. Sunday's event was Lilly's third craft show since she participated in the two Mini Makers Markets that were held at The Common Ground last year. She said she had improved her crochet skills between last year's markets, and her goal for Sunday was to be able to sell some of her items. "Last year, it went really well," she said. "The people were nice, and it was really easy. A lot of people came through." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.