Merchants and retailers travelled from all over to Ohio to meet at the Richland County Fairgrounds for “Shipsehwana On the Road.” It is the first time that the midwestern craft show has added Mansfield as a destination. Local shoppers enjoyed Saturday’s event, but more visitors can enjoy shopping or visiting on Sunday, too.
The show opened to the public on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 9 a.m. and cars lined Home Road, waiting to get in to the Shipshewana buying experience. Merchants, retailers, craftsmen, jewelers and Kettle Corn vendors can be found in the various buildings within the fences of the fairgrounds. There are 188 vendors at this year’s exhibition.
Products for sale this weekend range from cooking knives to Duck Dynasty apparel, and from socks to rocking chairs.
A couple from Michigan has been traveling with their woodworking business for 13 years and have been in the business of handmade Eastern White Pine furniture for 10 years before that. Their space in Fairhaven Hall is bigger than most because they have many pieces of their own handmade furniture available.
“[Our business] is not as lucrative as it was in the past. But it’s a good income for us,” said owner Dick Noll. The couple travels from Michigan to all the different shows around the midwest, so much so that according to Lynn Noll, they have less time for making new furniture.
The couple does it all. In between craft shows, like the one this weekend, they have only two or three days to replenish their supply. Although they have two fulltime employees back home, most of the time, according to the couple, they are traveling.
The time spent with the customers at the various shows is considered “vacation time,” according to the couple.
Another couple is in the business of selling a technology that garners the response, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Samuel and Angela Brown came from Goshen, Indiana to introduce the “X-Vibe.”
The little piece of technology is designed to transform anything it touches into a speaker. “I wish I would have thought of this,” said Brown over the amplified music as he placed the gizmo on a Styrofoam cooler. He said the owner and developer of the technology lives back in Goshen.
According to Brown, consumers often want quality sound, but that is absent in iPhones and laptops when in public places. The “X-Vibe” works in a way that allows the user to plug it in to their device and then place the wired transmitter on any surface to receive amplified sound.
Yet, another item to look for at the show is an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) for children. The ATVs are assembled in Indiana by USA Power Sports and have been a part of the Shipshewana show for six years. Children as young as three years old can ride the special ATVs.
The general merchandising craft show is hosted by JDL Corporation, which holds 15 to 20 of these types of shows all around the mid-west region per year. The idea came to the Fountain family in 1992, when the question arose, “Wouldn’t it be nice for people to not have to drive so far for a Shipshewana show?”
The show started in Shipshewana, Indiana where they established an outdoor summer general merchandising craft show–and then they took it on the road. The show runs twice a week from May until October.
Their aim was to bring the show to more people–and that is just what they have done. Their closest show before their arrival to Richland County was in Sylvania, near Toledo. According to Event Director Greg Fountain, JDL averages anywhere from 8 to 12,000 customers at each event, with an average of 215 booths.
Shipshewana On the Road is open Saturday November 16 until 6 p.m. and will be in town through Sunday at 5 p.m. For questions, call 269-979-8888 or visit their website.
