Why Doing an Event in Your Hometown Might Be the Best Thing You Can Do for Your Business

I've been going to markets for basically five years now.

I've gone as an attendee, a volunteer, a vendor, a founder, someone supporting friends, someone shopping, someone taking photos. I've spent a lot of time thinking about what makes a market or local event actually feel like a community instead of just a place where people come to buy things.

So getting to show up at the Katonah Art Walk on September 19th in my own hometown felt pretty special.

Especially because this time I wasn't there just to attend. I was there as someone creating a little space within it through Locals World and Locals Closet.

And honestly, I almost didn't do it.

I had about 48 hours to pull everything together. There were plenty of reasons to wait for a more organized, more planned, more “ready” moment. Instead I decided to just show up as I was.

COME AS YOU ARE

That ended up being exactly the energy of the day.

I brought Locals Closet pieces, including clothing from women designers and brands I've collected through years of working in circular fashion and local communities. I had a beautiful rack from The Huntress, my sister brought a canvas and paint, and we set up outside Be Well Katonah during the Art Walk.

Then I asked people to paint.

I called it The Collective Canvas.

The idea was simple. Give people a canvas and let them contribute something together.

No art experience. No rules. No expectation that it had to look “good.”

Just pick up the paintbrush and make something.

WE ARE SO USED TO CONSUMING

I think it's funny how easy it is for us to consume and how much harder it can feel to create.

We'll scroll for an hour without thinking twice, but put a blank canvas in front of someone and suddenly they feel like they need permission to paint.

I've felt that too.

We put so much pressure on ourselves to be good enough before we even begin.

But art is art.

Making a recipe, writing something, painting, taking a photo, sewing something, building an idea. These are all ways of being creative, and I think creativity is one of the most freeing practices we have when we're feeling stuck.

The minute I choose creativity and contribution over consumption, I feel the most alive.

That's what I wanted the canvas to be about.

YOUR HOMETOWN IS A PRETTY GREAT PLACE TO START

There's something different about doing something in the place where you grew up.

People know you. Or they knew an earlier version of you. You already have some kind of connection to the place, even if you haven't lived there for years.

And the community is already there.

You don't have to manufacture one.

You just have to participate in it.

That was probably my favorite part of the day. Seeing people I knew, people I hadn't seen in years, people who had no idea what Locals World was, families walking by, people stopping to paint, people asking questions about the clothes.

It didn't feel like I was trying to “build an audience.”

It felt like I was participating in my own community.

And I think there's a difference.

THIS WAS A FIRST FOR LOCALS

This was actually the first market Locals World has shown up to as someone holding the space rather than attending as a market attendee.

That feels worth saying because I've been attending markets for years.

I've hosted clothing swaps and pop-ups. I've helped with post-production clean-up and clothing donations. I've spoken to women about conscious consumption, circular fashion, shopping local and supporting small emerging women-owned brands.

Locals Closet has grown through those experiences.

But this felt like something slightly different.

Art. Fashion. Local businesses. Women. Creativity. Community.

All happening in my hometown.

It felt like the cherry on top of this year of creating events and spaces through Locals.

SHOW UP BEFORE YOU'RE READY

We used to say in our women's circles, “come as you are.”

That's exactly what this was.

Come as you are.

Do it scared. Do it before you're ready. Do it just because you chose yourself. Do it because you're inspired. Do it because it's fun.

And maybe especially do it in your hometown.

You don't need to wait until you have the perfect event, the perfect audience or the perfect business plan.

Look around at the community that's already there.

Who could you collaborate with?

What local business could you support?

What could you make together?

Who could you introduce to each other?

What could you bring into the space that wasn't there before?

Maybe it's a clothing rack.

Maybe it's a canvas.

Maybe it's a recipe.

Maybe it's just you showing up with an idea.

I THINK WE SHOULD DO MORE OF THIS

I want to see more locals hosting their own little pop-ups and creative moments in their cities.

More clothing sales that actually connect people to the women who designed the clothes.

More artisans getting seen.

More independent businesses collaborating instead of operating in their own little bubbles.

More opportunities for people to participate instead of just consume.

That's really what Locals has always been about for me.

Creating the space for people to find each other.

And sometimes that starts with something as simple as putting a canvas on a sidewalk in your hometown and handing someone a paintbrush.

I'm keeping this painting for now.

Maybe I'll auction it someday.

For now, I'm just happy we made it together.