Meet the Minnesota Makers

12/03/2025

So grateful to have spent the morning on KSTP’s Live sharing about the Meet the Minnesota Makers “Shop Minnesota” Holiday Gift Guide today!

Chris mentioned that our guide “is just hitting at the right time. Folks just want to know where their stuff is coming from. Culturally we’ve evolved to recognize that we don’t want our money always going to a giant corporation.”

Megan noted that 140 makers feels like a lot for Minnesota and we talked about how this only scratches the surface of our talented maker community.

We highlighted how this guide makes it easy for Minnesotans to support small businesses this holiday season. These are Minnesota products made by our artists, artisans, farms, food producers, and service providers. Your choice to purchase locally matters.

A few highlights from the piece:

Learning about Minnesota Grown ginseng from Ty's Ginseng in Morristown, a farm run by grandfather and grandson

Exploring sassy hostas with Lazy Toad Farm — a destination for hosta lovers and flower bouquet CSAs in Clearwater

Admiring iridescent glass by Paulie’s studio a Farmington artist who makes plates, coasters and jewelry that shine

Celebrating pyrography on wood that “feels like a furniture finish by — a father daughter business who work from forest to finish on each piece they make in Isanti

Marveling at the jewelry by — an autistic gourd artist in Winona who grows, cures, carves, sands and shapes her own gourds

Sampled fresh baked goods from community hub Martha's Eats & Treats — a destination bakery that sources from a half dozen farms near their Dundas storefront

The take and bake pastries from Martha’s definitely held the hosts’ interest too.

Watch the full segment: https://kstp.com/special-coverage/minnesota-live/gift-ideas-from-minnesota-makers

And explore the guide: https://meettheminnesotamakers.com/holiday-gift

Thank you to all 141 makers who make Minnesota’s entrepreneurial landscape so vibrant. Your stories, commitment to excellence, and unique approaches are true inspiration. I’m grateful to Minnesota Lve and their wonderful audience for supporting our local businesses

12/03/2025

Hello December! 🎁 Dapper Barons is honored to be featured in the Meet the Minnesota Makers Gift Guide. The season of great cocktails starts now.

https://meettheminnesotamakers.com/holiday-gift/

12/02/2025

This is a locally-sourced gift that includes three makers from the Meet the Minnesota Makers “Shop Minnesota” gift guide.

For our 10th Taste Makers class at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum , we’re bringing back some of our most popular Makers for an Encore Edition! Chef Beth Fisher and Michelle Sharp will reintroduce you to four favorite local innovative small-business owners.

These Makers will return with new demonstrations, fresh samples and share the passions that continue to push their craft forward.

Enjoy made-from-scratch vegetarian soups from Oh Soup!, artisanal strudels from Ruhland Strudel Haus, local Black Angus beef from Hart Country Meats, and natural ciders from Keepsake Cidery.

Come ready to taste and learn, as samples and inspiration will be plentiful!

In this class you will:

🥣Learn the essential techniques behind building rich, satisfying vegetarian soups using fresh, simple ingredients. Oh Soup

🍴Taste and learn what makes a prize-winning strudel! Talk about managing a thriving multi-generational family business and why local sourcing matters. Ruhland's Strudel Haus

🥩Discuss the importance of cattle feed in raising beef and why Hart Country Meats grows their own feed and dedicates family resources to education about their farming operation. Hart Country Meats

🍏Taste spontaneously fermented cider and learn about what makes a cider apple unique. Keepsake Cidery

Learn savory and sweet cooking tips from as she shares a recipe or two!

Join us Saturday, January 31 at from 10-12:30 at the Farm at the Arb.

Register through the Arboretum website: https://arb.umn.edu/learn/taste-makers-encore-edition

11/30/2025

Twin Cities Business Twin Cities Business featured our guide this week—here are the incredible makers included in the article:

Coffeewomple —Coffee/Tea, Food & Beverage, Organic Materials

Big Stick Studio —Art, Wooden, Games and Toys

—Food & Beverage, Clean Ingredients List, Wellness

Du Nord Social Spirits—Food and Beverage, Minnesota Made/Grown

—Candles, Clean Ingredient List, Minnesota Grown/Made

These businesses represent what’s possible when we lower barriers to entrepreneurship and make local shopping accessible.

Shop their products: https://meettheminnesotamakers.com/holiday-gift/

Read the coverage: https://tcbmag.com/online-holiday-guide-spotlights-140-small-minnesota-businesses/.

11/29/2025

Supercharge your Small Business Saturday!

141 Minnesota Makers await your discovery in the third annual “Shop Minnesota” Gift Guide by .

Making your neighbors merry is the real deal—these purchases make a difference in someone’s real life dream.

You hear slogans like this a lot, whether it’s an appeal from the neighborhood bakery, the co-worker whose passion for art fills their nights and weekends or the farmer trying to keep the farm in the family.

Here’s the thing—it’s real.

As a small piece of the puzzle connecting local businesses and shoppers, Meet the Minnesota Makers builds this guide from applicants all over the state in dozens of different business categories. These are businesses built by real people. They’re sourcing from other local makers. They support our communities.

Find local products to love and experience gifts to share as you browse the guide. We searched throughout the state so that you can enjoy these handmade, heartfelt, and unique Minnesota gifts.

Each maker listing includes up to three featured products, three retail locations, three upcoming market events and direct website and social media links—making local shopping as convenient as simply ordering online (from those impersonal stores that we won’t name here).

Meet the Minnesota Makers newsletter subscribers—check your email for your exclusive discount codes. (We sent you all of the latest codes early this morning so that you can make the most of Small Business Saturday.)

Direct link to the “Shop Minnesota” gift guide: meettheminnesotamakers.com/holiday-gift/

Comment “Gift Guide” to receive a direct link to this Minnesota resource.

11/29/2025

*Connects you with MN businesses *Gift guide, maker features, product reviews *Website & Social Content Creator [email protected]

11/29/2025

11/29/2025

Looking for in-person shopping options?

Find the makers from the “Shop Minnesota” gift guide at these markets throughout Minnesota.

Did we miss your market? Tag it in the comments section to help shoppers find you on Small Business Saturday.

Want to skip the snow and shop from home? Browse the our gift guide at meettheminnesotamakers.com/holiday-gift

Many of our local makers ship or offer local pickup/delivery. See what local treasures you find when you shop locally.

11/26/2025

Thrilled to share that Twin Cities Business featured the Meet the Minnesota Makers Holiday Gift Guide!

Varad Raigonkar covered how our guide provides clarity on where and how to support small businesses. Raigonkar highlights how the “Shop Minnesota” guide makes it easy for Minnesotans to support small businesses this holiday season.

A few highlights from the piece:

• Sixty-eight percent of the businesses included in the guide are woman-owned, 19% are BIPOC-owned, 10% are LGBTQ+-owned, and 10% are based in rural areas. Forty-five percent practice “ethical or local sourcing.”

* 67% of spending at local businesses stays in the community, compared to 43% for big chains

* The business listings—ranging across art, artisan goods, beverages, farm products, and more—are accompanied by featured products, retail locations, and upcoming market events.

Read the full story here: https://tcbmag.com/online-holiday-guide-spotlights-140-small-minnesota-businesses/

And explore the guide: meettheminnesotamakers.com/holiday-gift/

Thank you to all 140 makers who make Minnesota’s entrepreneurial landscape so vibrant. Your stories deserve to be told.

11/24/2025

Today is a good day to shop locally.

The third annual “Shop Minnesota” Gift Guide by Meet the Minnesota Makers is here to connect you with 140 makers from all over Minnesota.

Today is our official launch. We’re so excited to share the 2025-2026 gift guide with you.

This year’s guide includes featured makers from cottage producers to textile upcylcers, farm goods to embroidered pillows, gourd jewelry to hand poured candles, gourmet treats and experience gifts with so much goodness in between.

Find local people and products to love as you browse the guide. Search by product or business type with our two drop down menus.

We brought back the “Favorites List” that was so popular last year. Mark the heart in any listing to have your custom list emailed to you for easy reference (or send it to someone else as a hint).

Each maker listing includes up to three featured products, three retail locations, three upcoming market events, and direct website and social media links—making local shopping as convenient as ordering online.

Half of the 140 local makers in the 3rd annual ‘Shop Minnesota’ Gift Guide by Meet the Minnesota Makers have exclusive discount codes for MTMM newsletter subscribers.

Direct link to the gift guide: https://meettheminnesotamakers.com/holiday-gift/

Comment “Gift Guide” to receive a direct link to this local resource.

11/20/2025

Does your favorite pancake mix or locally-crafted brew filter stormwater runoff, improve water quality and work towards a healthier future for Minnesota’s rivers?

If it carries the Perennial Percent label, it already has.

What, you ask, is this label?

This new food and beverage identification highlights both an ingredient and a regenerative agricultural practice at the same time. This label empowers consumers to choose a climate positive ingredient and encourages increased agricultural production of the product.

Managed by The Land Institute in Kansas, Perennial Percent is the first label for consumer packaged goods (CPGs or finished products that you’ll find on grocery or liquor store shelves) that identifies the inclusion of a perennial grain as a part of the recipe. Kernza®, an intermediate wheatgrass, is the rising star of this labeling program.

Bang Brewing in Saint Paul and Sturdiwheat Foods in Red Wing include Kernza across their product lines. Initially both Sandy and Jay Boss Febbo of Bang Brewing and Missi and Suzanne Blue of Sturdiwheat developed recipes that highlighted Kernza’s naturally nutty flavor and cinnamon undertone.

Sturdiwheat is a Minnesota heritage brand that has produced thousands of bags of pancake and bread mixes in downtown Red Wing for over 80 years. “There’s a lot of pride in being a Minnesota company,” states Missi Blue, who now stewards the company along with her mom Suzanne Blue. “Adding Kernza to our ingredients is another way of supporting the state and the community that supports our business.”

Within a 30,000 bushel grain bin in the middle of Saint Paul, Sandy and Jay Boss Febbo of Bang Brewing know where their grains and hops they brew come from. When asked why, Sandy answers, “Individual actions matter.” Jay nods and adds, “We look to be as responsible as possible. Every life decision is an opportunity to consider how you can do better, how you can minimize your footprint and environmental impact while increasing the benefits for the community.”

Read the rest of this story in the Fall 2025 issue of Edible Minnesota at www.edibleminnesota.com or
meettheminnesotamakers.com for the direct link.

11/18/2025

Warm and Cozy

That was the theme for last Saturday’s Taste Makers class at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

Coffeewomple , Isadore Nut Company and the Vanilla Bean Project brought their sustainably-sourced products to life for a packed room at the Farm at the Arb. Thank you to our engaging presenters for sharing the why behind their motivation and mission.

Thank you to Chef Beth Fisher for sharing your space and your culinary genius to make all the locally-produced ingredients shine.

Thank you to our guests who traveled from all around the Twin Cities metro area to share in these stories, savor their bites, ask insightful questions and join in a celebration of local ingenuity.

This wraps up our second year of Taste Makers classes presented by the Farm at the Arb and Meet the Minnesota Makers.

Stay tuned for the announcement of our January class. We’re doing something new for class number 10. I hear it makes a great gift…

As always—when looking to eat well, look local.