Adirondack Buyer Days, an annual wholesale gift show hosted by the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA), provides a marketplace for regional artisans and retailers to connect with the shared goal of expanding their markets and enhancing the customer experience.

The event, which is free and open to store owners and retail buyers, will take place at the Saratoga Springs City Center on April 23-24, 2018.

“Adirondack Buyer Days has a long history of supporting small businesses throughout the region,” ANCA Artisan Program Coordinator Lauren Richard said in a statement to the press.  Richard, who has organized the juried trade show for the last three years of its 32-year history, said the show “is all about building connections between neighbors and enhancing communities. Both retailers and artisans benefit when customers feel connected to the people who make the products on store shelves.”

Due to the increased demand for locally made products and a growing number of vendor applications, Richard has expanded the size of the exhibition from 88 booths last year to 102 booths in 2018. Regional artisans will display handmade rustic and contemporary gifts, which are curated exclusively for retailers. Products include housewares, furniture, fine art, jewelry, printed materials, bath products and specialty foods.

Richard attributes the show’s expansion to the shift in people’s preferences from mass produced products to locally made products “with a face or a story behind them.” Richards believes this shift is happening here in the North Country and nationwide as shoppers, including Millennials, spend more of their dollars on local products and establishments.

In order to maintain a quality and diversity of goods at the show, artisans go through a vendor application process, according to Richard. This process also ensures that all products at the show are produced within the “North Country” region which includes northern New York and northern New England.

Buyers are able to place wholesale orders directly with vendors at the event. Cash and carry purchasing will also be possible with many exhibitors. Retail buyer registration is free: www.adironack.org/adirondack-buyer-days.

For more information about Adirondack Buyer Days or to become an event sponsor, contact ANCA’s Artisan Program Coordinator Lauren Richard at lrichard@adirondack.org or (518) 891-6200.

Photos from above: Adam Cresko of Roosevelt Grooming Co. in Cohoes speaks with Audra Herman, a buyer representing New York Makers, at the 2017 Adirondack Buyer Days; and Buyers from Green Goddess Natural Market of Lake Placid sample products made by Lizzie Boolukos, owner of Seven Flowers of Luxury in Plattsburgh, at the 2017 Adirondack Buyer Days, provided.