Just in time for the holidays, online shoppers can go to the Boundary Waters Marketplace

by Nick Wognum
A new way to shop for different products from the Ely area is now available online at boundarywatersmarketplace.com.
“We were going to use Elyzon but it wasn’t available so we went with the Boundary Waters Marketplace,” said Eric Sherman who is coordinating the project with Melissa Hart.
Sherman said the goal is to give people looking for locally made products a one stop option and to give sellers a way to market their products more effectively.
“The goal is to keep local businesses in the spotlight and steer potential shoppers that way,” said Sherman. He posted the idea on Facebook where Hart saw the favorable comments.
For Hart, this was a natural next step.
“I actually had the platform that was doing what he was describing, “I had a website set up where I do fundraising selling shirts for clubs,” said Hart.
The Hoop Club was Hart’s first online customer in 2011. Other boosters and organizations also saw the benefit of online sales and joined in as well including Little League, football, hockey, PTO, Northeast Range Nighthawks, volleyball, swimming and Up North Jobs.
Boundary Waters Marketplace has 14 vendors signed up so far.
“We’ve been contacted by a lot more and I anticipate that number to go up,” said Hart.
For vendors there are fees involved depending on how much or little they want done for them. If their items are posted on the website, sales can be handled with an email notifying the vendor where to ship the product.
“If they buy products on the site they can shop from multiple vendors and have one order,” said Hart.
The home page reads “Your one stop shop for supporting small businesses in Northern Minnesota.”
Hart said the timing was right with shoppers looking to stay at home and still make purchases.
“I think it’s a really great idea, this is the perfect scenario for the bad situation we’re in right now,” said Hart.
Some of the vendors include familiar Ely names like Gene Hicks Coffee, Root River Photos or Eric Sherman Images but there’s also the Anderson’s Craft Company.
Ely native Jessica Anderson has a selection of handcrafted earrings featuring deer, moose and Christmas trees.
“That’s what we’re looking for,” said Sherman. “Jessica Anderson makes jewelry but she isn’t super well known. With Boundary Waters Marketplace we bring shoppers to her.”
Vendors can either have a pointer to their website or host items on the Boundary Waters Marketplace site.
“They have the choice to sell directly from our site or if they have their own we put a pointer to their website,” said Sherman. “I think it could be the go to place to do your holiday shopping.”
Sherman said the businesses represented have missed out on festivals like the Blueberry/Art and Harvest Moon, both canceled due to COVID.
“We wanted people to go to one website and see all the different things the Northland has to offer. It’s a nice thing to have when most people are shopping from home right now.”