The San Jose Made (SJ Made) Holiday Fair returned to another successful year, hosting their free admission event to celebrate Small Business Day in the Bay Area.
SJ Made, established in 2011, hosted the event on Nov. 30 and featured 350 small businesses this year. The fair aims to help small businesses grow in size by dedicating a day just to them. SJ Made also fosters multiple other events, such as pop-up retail events and curated markets.
“We do the storefront program, so if small businesses ever want to open up their own physical store, we’re also someone that can help do that process,” said Audrey Yueng, a program manager for Moment, a company that aims to provide spaces for small businesses to thrive around the world.
Yueng is a staff member who joined the team about a year and a half ago. Working for SJ Made, the holiday fair makes her feel like she’s doing something special for small businesses.
The small businesses that vend at SJ Made range in art and product styles, from drawing, to designing, baking, and more. Chiara Pompanin owns Chiara Made, which sells handmade jewelry with botanical designs. This was her third year at SJ Made.
“I did their event in June and it went really well. They do a really good job of marketing their events and they have a strong, committed following of people that show up to their events,” Pompanin said.
In addition, many attendees went to the fair to gain exposure to the wide range of businesses. Though previously having a booth as a vendor, ceramicist and artist Alice Lee instead came to the fair this year to lend her expertise to others in the field.
“I’ve vended before, but it’s a huge endeavor, and now I just prefer to help friends out,” Lee said.
SJ Made also hosts many bakery businesses. Olympia Mays Neville is the owner of Cupcakes for College, which makes baked goods for college students. Neville started her business on her son’s fourth birthday when she realized she needed a cake for it.
“I went to Michaels and got more edible sheets and designed the cupcake myself, and it looked really good, so I was like, ‘Hey, I’m gonna take classes at Michaels,'” Neville said.
Neville started taking classes in July and continued her baking endeavor through teaching around July and October, finally starting her business in March. Neville noticed SJ Made on social media around two years ago and was unsure if she was ready to attend as a business, but she applied and continued it again this year.
“I saw the huge crowds on their social media, and I wanted to get into something like that. So I just jumped in and did it, and I found out that I could do it, and here I am,” Neville said.
SJ Made plans to come back with another holiday fair Nov. 28 and 29, 2025, already offering vendor applications on its website.
“I love the fact that it’s so huge and it’s so popular, like as big as this; it’s not like a carnival, there’s no rides, there’s no food trucks. But there are still so many people who come here to see what everybody has. I love that community,” Neville said.
