UBT’s Second Saturdays: Meet the makers!
We’re so excited to welcome you to Union Bank Place at 1248 O St. for our Second Saturday Makers Markets! Join us on the second Saturday of each month this spring (Feb. 10, March 9, and April 13) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to shop a host of local makers who are ready to share their creations with you.
To help you plan your shopping list, we thought it would be fun to showcase the folks who make these events such a great experience. So let’s get right to it! Prepare to meet the makers who’ll be selling their unique homemade, handmade, artisan creations at Union Bank Place.
Jump to your favorite maker here: Bee Bum, Blackwood Creek, By Hand & By Heart, Cocoa Annie's, Connected Fragrance, Creative Confections, D'Covi Skin Care, DrawnLove, Everlasting Elements, Katie Nieland Art, Little Whiskers Designs, Lucky Larry's Dog Treats, Moose's Mad Fresh, Peyton and Moon, Pretty Prairie Fudge, SHMILY Tree Creations, Sleepy Bees Lavendar Farm, Studio Trouvaille, Sunflower House Cookies, Tasty Good Toffee, The Awkward Flock, Twin Springs Pecans, Wild Orange Creations, Yummi Tummi Mixes
Bee Bum
Kevin & Julie Monfelt
Julie and Kevin Monfelt started with their first beehive in 2014 and have grown to 180 hives in total — providing them with what they need to make craft honey and beeswax products. They’ve been in business as Bee Bum for the past three years. During those years, they’ve kept busy with full-time jobs and attending numerous vendor shows per month.
“Kevin has always been a fan of bees,” said Julie. “When we got our first colony, we had no idea that this hobby of his would grow into this business. Now we do it to provide a great product to our customers and help people realize how important bees are to our survival; that they aren’t harmful and are actually very beneficial to our existence.” Among their range of products are four hot honeys, two infused honeys, and 18 flavors of creamed honey. They also make lip balm, lotion bars, and soap.
They recently moved to the family farm and plan to build a honey processing/retail store there to expand their business. Check out their online shop and make sure you stop by and try samples of their products at Second Saturday!
Blackwood Creek
Culleen & Alan Bauer
For Blackwood Creek, it all started with a dilapidated barn. Living on the family farm back in 2000, they began tearing down an old barn located on the property. Alan Bauer, half of the husband-and-wife duo behind Blackwood Creek, grabbed barn wood and started building signs and birdhouses. His wife, Culleen, then ramped up production on the craft items she’d been sewing, and they both hit the vendor show circuit as Heartland Creations.
They took to the vendor circuit well and have attended shows in six different states so far. “We’ve met so many wonderful people during our times of travel and even had some wild travel experiences,” Culleen said. “Fargo sure sees some snow! You name it, we’ve experienced it.” Not only do they enjoy traveling to shows, but they also host one in Seward called Junk & Disorderly, featuring other vintage and handcrafted vendors.
Their goal for their business, named Blackwood Creek (which runs along the south part of the family farm) since 2005, is to never stop growing, continue to love what they do, and keep seeing the smiles of customers at their numerous shows — and at their shop at 55 Main Street in Seward. Check out their unique lineup of primitive wood items and handsewn home and holiday décor, where they’re always adding new things to keep their displays fresh. If you’re bringing kids to Second Saturdays, make sure you stop by and check out the foam pirate swords and twirling wands.
By Hand & By Heart
Jen Ward (photo credit: Tess Vrbicky Photography)
A stay-at-home mom to three kids, Jen Ward has been in business for 3.5 years as By Hand & By Heart — a business started as a hobby to use her hands and keep her wits about her during the COVID pandemic quarantine days. “I had no intention of ever selling my pieces, but on my oldest’s first birthday, my grandma asked me if she could purchase a pair of earrings I had made,” Jen said. “And then By Hand & By Heart was born.”
Jen’s products are handmade from polymer clay, metal, and beaded goods that are lightweight and hypoallergenic. Her main product is earrings, but she also creates bracelets, necklaces, bookmarks, and ornaments. Her personal favorite products are her hand-detailed floral earrings, since a lot of time and patience go into mixing colors, designing the slabs, selecting and cutting shapes, and finishing the unique accessories. She feels a sense of connection to them due to the arduous process.
“My pieces are truly made by hand and by heart,” Jen explained. “The heart of it is that I started this business to help my mental health. The process is exactly what my brain needs to slow down in the chaos of life. I also get to heal my heart while making pieces that others can love or share with someone they love.” Jen would love to continue making local connections to continue selling her products in locally owned businesses and has dreams of doing out-of-state events in cities like Chicago, KC, Denver, or Nashville. Catch her at Second Saturdays and her online shop.
Cocoa Annie’s
Anne Hatch
Anne Hatch is a cottage baker from Lincoln in her 14th year of teaching elementary school. Her business, Cocoa Annie’s, is a family affair with her husband and two kids as well as her mother helping her out. In her third year of selling her delicious products, she explained that her love of being out in the community and doing new things is how the business came to be.
She started making hot chocolate bombs for her kids at home and then realized how fun the process was. She decided to get her cottage license and try a craft fair at her church. “Things went well, and the rest is pretty much history,” she said. “Over the years, I’ve met so many truly talented and incredible people and have enjoyed what Cocoa Annie’s has provided for me and my family.”
Her products include flavored cocoa bombs, caramel apple cider bombs, espresso melts, coffee creamer bombs, smash hearts, and s’mores on a stick. Her favorite is the caramel apple cider, hands down. “It’s sort of my dirty little secret that Cocoa Annie prefers cider,” she joked. Her favorite part of doing the vendor show circuit is the people she meets — both customers and other vendors. The best way to reach her other than stopping by her booth at Second Saturdays is to follow her Facebook page.
Connected Fragrance
Olivia Munroe
Inspired by the simple moments in life, Olivia Munroe creates fragrances that remind a person to slow down and enjoy the moment. Owning a business has always been her dream, and what began as pouring candles for family in friends in 2020 is now a premium candle company, Connected Fragrance.
“We’ve always cherished the simple moments of life,” Olivia explained. “Whether it’s curling up on the couch and reading a good book or going for a late-night drive, we launched Connected Fragrance Company with the goal of sharing these moments with others.” While choosing a favorite scent is difficult, Olivia said her family vacations to the west coast helped make her Oregon Coast scent a frontrunner, using calming notes of coconut, rose, and amber to resemble the content feeling of sitting on a beach listening to waves crashing upon the shoreline.
Her first collection is inspired to make people feel closer to the people and places they miss. You can stop by and enjoy her scents at Second Saturdays or buy online.
Creative Confections
Cindy Harper
Culinary school graduate Cindy Harper started her business in 2019 after the Cottage Food Law opened the door to a new opportunity for this longtime baker. Making treats look like works of art is Cindy’s focus, and her goal is to grow Creative Confections enough that when she retires from her full-time job, she can commit that time to her small business. When she isn’t working her full-time job or selling her confections, Cindy teaches baking classes through the continuing education program at Southeast Community College.
Creative Confections has a core menu of kolaches (including the elusive prune and poppyseed fillings), decorated sugar cookies, and lemon bars. A few of her rotating and seasonal offerings include macarons, angel food cake, and artisan chocolates. Tastings cakes will be added to her repertoire in 2024 as well. Her favorite creations are her sugar cookies. “They’re delicious and like little works of art,” Cindy said. “I have found that a simple sugar cookie can really lift people’s spirits.”
Cindy’s favorite part of running a small business bakery is simply making people happy, and she wants to reach more of them. Other than Second Saturdays at Union Bank Place, she’s at the Sunday Farmers Market at College View during their season from late April through the end of October and often does their holiday markets after the season wraps.
D’Covi Skin Care
Lindsay Hall
Lindsay Hall’s career in skincare came out of necessity. Back when she was a full-time employee at UBT, her oldest son was diagnosed with eczema. “I had the hardest time finding chemical-free products to help his skin,” Lindsay explained. “So, I started making them and they worked, not only for him but for many other friends and family. So I thought, ‘I should sell this stuff.’” She started what was then called Lavaré Skin Care as a side hustle and has grown it to full-time-plus — including a storefront at 3900 S 6th Street, Suite 4, in Lincoln. She changed the name to D’Covi in 2019 when they decided to trademark the name and it wasn’t available. D’Covi is now named after her children Dylan, Corbin, and Vivian.
Her skincare products include lotions, soaps, deodorants, body oils, hand creams, lip balms, liquid soap, sugar scrubs, body butters, and candles. What they don’t include are chemicals, parabens, phthalates, sulfates, or harmful preservatives. Her favorite products are the handmade bar soaps, which are works of art. “They’re a game changer when it comes to skincare,” Lindsay said.
Naturally, Lindsay’s favorite thing about her business is helping people with their skin issues. Her dream is to have storefronts located all over the United States and for D’Covi to be a household name synonymous with fixing skin issues. Other than at Second Saturdays, you can shop her items in person at her storefront, online, or locally at Creative Collabs, Scheels, and many other boutique stores.
DrawnLove
Deb Lee Hart
Deb Lee Hart considers herself a creative and design nerd, a mom to two kids and two pups, a half marathon runner (she’s completed 52 of them so far!), and a graphic designer. DrawnLove is a new venture for her, even though she’s been a professional line artist for more than 20 years.
“DrawnLove is a world of pastel whimsy with illustrations of girls and creatures,” Deb explained of her vibe. “My illustrations are sold as prints and as functional and wearable art.” She’s even started creating mini clay creatures. She’s reluctant to choose a favorite product because each piece she creates gets her full love.
Everlasting Elements Permanent Jewelry
Melanie Rezac
Melanie Rezac started her permanent jewelry business when the concept of permanent jewelry was really taking off as a sought-after accessory. As owner of 555 Boutique in Fallbrook, she thought it would be a great addition to her offerings there.
She creates customer bracelets, anklets, necklaces, and rings that are custom fit to each customer and soldered together, eliminating the struggle of working a clasp with a single hand. Her pieces are durable and hardy enough to withstand daily activities like showers, workouts, and swimming without tarnish. They’re fitted to the individual as well, so anyone can wear them.
“My business is special because it creates bonds with friends and family,” Melanie said. “I have a lot of people who come with a best friend, or a mother/daughter will come and get matching bracelets. It truly is the modern-day friendship bracelet.” The customization with birthstones and initials makes each piece more meaningful to her customers. Melanie will be creating permanent jewelry pieces at Second Saturday beginning in March, or you can schedule an appointment at 555 Boutique in Fallbrook.
Katie Nieland Art
Katie Nieland
Katie Nieland is a summery optimist and former journalist who enjoys learning about anything and everything. She has a daily iced coffee habit, loves sporty hobbies, and spends her days working as the Associate Director of UNL’s Center for Great Plains Studies, which runs the Great Plains Art Museum downtown. She started her business in 2019 and enjoys focusing her art energy somewhere and giving herself deadlines and goals.
Her unique products include paper collages, apparel, stickers, paintings, and prints — all with her unique Great Plains-inspired whimsy. She’s always adding new mediums for her artwork. Her favorite products are her cut paper pieces because she enjoys playing with different layering effects and frames. “My customers seem to really like my T-shirts because they’re super soft and it’s an affordable way to wear art!” Katie added.
“My art is all about the natural beauty and wonder of the Great Plains,” Katie said of her overall vibe. “The place we live and the plants and animals that inhabit it are so wonderful and often overlooked. I feel it’s my mission to get people excited about this region.” Her dream for her business is to continue to make more cool art about the place she loves. When you’re not shopping with her at Second Saturdays, you can purchase her art online and at shops around Lincoln, including Paper Kite, Francie & Fitch, Indigo Bridge, the Nebraska History Museum, and Made in Omaha.
Little Whiskers Designs
Emily Quick
David and Nanci Quick work together with their kids, Emily and Andrew, to run Little Whiskers Design. This unique business was formed when they owned and operated their quilt pattern design shop, The Quilted Kitty, which evolved into their embroidery and cutting board business.
They make unique crossbody bags in the design inspiration of Cup of Noodles, mac ‘n’ cheese, an old library card, and Chinese takeout, as well as their famous Nebraska cutting board made from solid surface materials, book pillows, and more. Their favorite products are the clear square bags.
Taking their goal of making others happy very seriously, the Quick family enjoys providing excellent customer service and meeting new customers. The response from their customers fulfills them as much as the creative process. They’d love to work larger shows all over the United States. Follow their Facebook page to see which shows they’ll be doing in the future.
Lucky Larry’s Dog Treats
Dave Vrbas
Dave Vrbas started Lucky Larry’s Dog Treats soon after adopting a big-footed mastiff puppy named Larry. He began baking up treats for Larry’s training to keep him healthy, and it snowballed from there. “We were walking Larry around the farmers market one weekend and one of the kids said, ‘You should sell your dog treats here,’” he commented. “That was all I needed to hear. I talked to the market manager that day and started doing all the work to get going. We’ve grown so much in the five seasons since then.”
In the years since, Lucky Larry’s treats have evolved to resemble human food (to make the dogs feel more special) and are still chock-full of ingredients that promote canine health. Products include cinnamon rolls, peanut butter cookies, assorted oat bars, chew twists, muffins, dog beer, and a small line of grooming products including shampoo, paw balm, and deodorizer — and much more.
In addition to attending various shows during the months he’s not at the Sunday Farmers Market at College View, Dave is also on the Marketing team at UBT. “As far as jobs go, I have the best of both worlds: I enjoy my full-time job with a great team, and I love my growing side hustle too,” he explained. “I get to do two things I’m wildly passionate about. And pet a lot of dogs along the way!”
Moose’s Mad Fresh
Matthew “Moose” Morrison
Former teacher Matthew “Moose” Morrison has been the workhorse behind Moose’s Mad Fresh for five years, after growing his own ingredients to make salsa for years. People kept telling him, “You should sell this stuff!” and he finally followed their lead. His products — including guacamole, three heat levels of salsa, and five varieties of hummus — are all made fresh (hence the name) from scratch and with no heat elements or preservatives.
His favorite products change based on his mood at the time, but currently he’s been eating a lot of Craveable Curry Hummus. Moose’s favorite part of his gig is being at vendor markets and interacting with people from all walks of life. His dream is to have a food truck that could double as his certified commercial kitchen.
When he’s not at Second Saturdays, you can find Moose hustling through both of Lincoln’s farmers markets every weekend. His products are also available at Leon’s Gourmet Grocer and Canopy Street Market in Lincoln. Robinette Farms offers his products as part of their local food subscription box service, and you can also purchase his products online.
Peyton and Moon
Miranda Johnson
Miranda Johnson is a mother, grandmother, and dog mom who’s been in business since 2016, when she was initially seeking extra income to support her family. Her fashionable baby and toddler clothing quickly became a hit with crowds at vendor shows. She uses mostly bamboo, cotton, and organic cotton and is working toward making all her products from these natural fabrics. Her personal favorite products are the envelope rompers because she has fun making them and loves the interesting design.
Your young ones can literally wear art pieces, since Miranda has her fabric custom-printed and purchases art to have printed to fabric. She’d eventually like to turn her clothing business into a full-time job, but for now she enjoys the vendor show circuit. Her products can be seen online when she’s not at Second Saturdays selling her wares.
Pretty Prairie Fudge
Emily Shultz
During the pandemic, Emily Shultz started baking and taking cookies and treats to friends as a means of staying in touch with loved ones. Since her dad made fudge every Christmas, she decided to continue his tradition. After experimenting with different flavors while in pandemic lockdown, friends she shared them with loved the flavors, and she decided to see where she could take a business making fudge for the masses. Out of that decision came Pretty Prairie Fudge, and she’s been selling for almost two years.
Her original recipes are based on old-fashioned fudge recipes — with ingredients like milk, sugar, cream, butter, and other natural flavors and ingredients. “When I first shared my fudge with friends, I began to realize that many people have never had real fudge. Most folks these days make ‘no fail’ fudge from marshmallow cream or melted chocolate chips,” Emily said. “Pretty Prairie Fudge is made with original recipes based on the earliest fudge recipes from the early 1900s.”
In addition to traditional chocolate fudge, some of Emily’s more creative fudge recipes are lemon blueberry, chai latte, cherry, mint, vanilla latte, peanut butter, and German chocolate. Her favorite part of owning a fudge-making business is seeing the looks on faces when they taste it. She’d love to own a small fudge shop someday, but for now you can purchase her fudge at Second Saturdays, Butterfly Bakery (on a seasonal basis), and her stand at the Sunday Farmers Market at College View.
SHMILY Tree Creations
Cheryl Kirby
Cheryl Kirby’s business, SHMILY Tree Cakery, holds a cherished history deeply rooted in love and family. Her passion for baking was passed down from her grandparents, whose profound love was inspiring to her. Her grandfather, in a display of affection, would leave the word SHMILY scattered on items around the house, using the acronym to tell her “See how much I love you.”
Cheryl pursued her culinary education fueled by her grandparents’ legacy and is continually inspired to share the essence of SHMILY. Her family established SHMILY Tree Bakery on the Gulf Coast, and when Cheryl returned to the Midwest to earn a social work degree, she continued baking and made a decisive turn back to her true calling of baking and cake design.
She has numerous delicious offerings, including cakes, bars, cupcakes, tarts, pies, and cake pops. Her favorite products to make include sculpting cakes and doing three-dimensional fondant work. Her ultimate dream is to utilize her business and talents to serve others in need, especially during or after disasters or traumatic events, since she’s been blessed to have people in her life who helped her during times of need.
Sleepy Bees Lavender Farm
Holly McCabe
Jerry and Holly McCabe were married on their farm in 2017. When their corporate jobs were moved to South Dakota, they stayed put on their place south of Hickman and planted 1,700 lavender plants, starting Sleepy Bees Lavender Farm.
Now in their sixth year of business, the Sleepy Bees duo enjoys working for themselves and doing something good for the land, all the while supporting themselves on 21 acres of land. They use no pesticides or herbicides, and also keep bees — which love the lavender plants and create amazing honey.
Together, they make a variety of bath, body, home, and culinary products, all handmade in small batches and all including lavender essential oil. Their favorite product is the Whipped Body Butter: “The scent is amazing, and if you use it after a shower at bedtime, you wake up with soft, glowing skin,” Holly raved. They keep busy doing various shows throughout the year and can be found every Sunday at the Farmers Market at College View. They dream of being able to have a shop on their land and have enough space to expand the culinary side of things.
Studio Trouvaille
Shane and Ann Walsh
Shane and Ann Walsh, the husband-and-wife duo behind Studio Trouvaille, originally met as coworkers at a frame shop. Connecting through their shared backgrounds in art and graphic design, their unique wood creations — a craft and art hybrid — are on full display in Union Bank Place’s Small Business Pop-up Shop now through the end of April.
In business for the last two years, Ann and Shane rely on the inspiration they draw from the people they meet and visit with at vendor shows. These self-professed introverts chat and bond with other art fans, offer a safe space for other introverts, and often make art out of cool tattoos and T-shirts they translate into pieces. Other inspiration comes from nature and more abstract and obscure concepts they visualize.
Their original works in wood, glass, and paper begin with an idea and raw materials, resulting in stunning shadowboxes, décor items, and other gifts. Ann designs each item, paying special attention to aesthetics and the technical aspect of how each piece fits together during assembly. That’s where Shane comes in — laser-cutting the creations, hand-finishing the wood, cutting glass, and doing careful assembly. His eye for detail informs any changes in design and fit.
Sunflower House Cookies
Stacy Tamerius
Stacy Tamerius started Sunflower House Cookies in 2020 as a part-time gig and was able to take it full-time in 2023 — thanks in part to a new house with a newly remodeled kitchen and a cute baking nook (and a lot of extra time thanks to the pandemic).
Not a believer in crunchy cookies, Stacy sells cookies and cookie pops. Most of her cookies start from a single sugar cookie recipe, which was passed down by her late Aunt Shelly — except for the recent addition of a chocolate chip cookie last year. Her Flavor of the Month Club is her favorite product. Every month, she introduces a new flavor variation of her classic sugar cookie. “There’s a ton we’re able to do to get all kinds of fun flavors,” Stacy said. “And it’s a fun, unique way to keep the menu fresh and exciting.”
Some of the Flavor of the Month flavors have been German Chocolate, Pineapple Upside Down Cookies, Strawberries and Cream, Frosted Gingerbread, and Caramel Apple Pie. She’s done more than 30 flavors without any repeats and has many other ideas brewing. All small-batch and handmade, her cookies can be found at Second Saturdays, Butterfly Bakery, Creative Collabs, and Country Sliced Ham. Online ordering is also available.
Tasty Good Toffee
Katie Becker
Katie Becker’s grandma passed down her toffee recipe to her in 2002, and for years, she gifted toffee to family and friends. She sold her first official bag of toffee in 2013 when she was in the middle of a corporate restructure that left her with a severance and a newborn baby. Tasty Good Toffee was also born that year. She went full-time with the venture in 2017.
“I started making and marketing Tasty Good Toffee as a fun holiday treat in to fill my time and quench my creative nature. I found myself empowered and emboldened by the fact that people wanted to pay me money for this toffee,” Katie said. “When I realized that the corporate machine wasn’t the place for me, I left my 8-5 job. And now I work 24 hours a day!”
Tasty Good Toffee is small-batch, homemade toffee crafted here in Lincoln, and her favorite flavor is the Milk Chocolate Pecan because it was her Grandma B’s original recipe and holds a special place in her heart. Her favorite part of running a toffee business is meeting other wonderful makers within the vendor community. She enjoys traveling to vendor shows like Love, The Locals and Junkstock. You can also order her products online.
The Awkward Flock
Amanda Plugge
Amanda Plugge describes herself as a “disco squirrel” who enjoys all forms of art, media, and creating. Her favorite creations involve doing things that are bright and unexpected. Forming The Awkward Flock in 2022, this creative outlet of hers has been fulfilling and lucrative. Her father built her an oversized chalkboard she would get creative with for birthdays, holidays, or random generic designs, and she ultimately decided to level up and share it with the world.
Her products combine sarcasm, wit, and humor to decorate the world. She uses the tagline “Flamboyant Goods” because her products are designed in full color and meant to stand out. She has a collection of greeting cards, notebooks, permanent chalkboards, beaded bracelets, lawn ornaments, key chains, lapel pins, and apparel. Her favorite products are whatever she’s made most recently. “During the past year, it would have to either be the beanies that keep the voices out of my head, or the tattooed flamingoes,” Amanda joked.
She’s enjoyed the creative outlet and is proud of how far she’s come since her first show. She’d love to have products in multiple retail locations. Her products can be purchased online, and some are for sale at Butterfly Bakery. “My art isn’t for everyone,” Amanda said. “And that’s OK. Seeing those who connect with my art keeps me making things. Live your life loud!”
Twin Springs Pecans
Dave Willnerd
Twin Springs Pecans is a family-owned producer and processor of northern pecans owned by Charlie Willnerd, Julie Willnerd, Dave Willnerd, and Sarah Ferdico. Northern pecans have a milder, more buttery taste than their southern counterparts. The crew has two orchards near Panama and Firth in southeast Lancaster County, Nebraska, where they currently have more than 40 acres of orchards and where they grow close to 500 trees that are in various levels of production.
Charlie had experience working with pecan growers in the southern U.S. while working as an agricultural financial lender. Upon his retirement, he was looking to diversify his agricultural production and was fortunate to have mentorship in pecan growing from a neighbor who had a mature northern pecan orchard. Charlie began managing the orchard and eventually took ownership of operation.
Twin Springs Pecans has raw pecan halves and pieces, as well as a variety of flavored pecans that include candied, Cajun, sea salt, and sea salt and cracked black pepper. They also sell chocolate bars that are produced locally that contain their candied, sea salt, and Cajun pecans. Their dream is for their grandkids to become involved and grow the business for generations to come. Other than at Second Saturdays, their products can be found online, at all Lincoln Hy-Vee stores, Leon’s Gourmet Market, A Street Market, and at Lincolns’ farmers markets.
Wild Orange Creations
Breanna Greenwalt
Breanna Greenwalt started Wild Orange Creations in 2018 as a wedding and event planning business, but after realizing she didn’t enjoy that work, she pivoted to creating T-shirts, tumblers, and stickers. When rural parts of Nebraska flooded in 2019, Breanna felt a pull toward helping in any way she could. So she sprung into action, creating four T-shirt designs and putting them up for sale with all proceeds going to flood relief efforts. Before she knew it, she’d sold her first 150 tees.
Further pivoting to tumblers in 2021, she later added her weather- and waterproof design stickers to her product lineup. Her favorite product is her stickers, because she enjoys the design process and when they arrive it feels like Christmas day.
A couple years ago, Bre added vendor event planning to her repertoire and has planned numerous vendor shows in the area through that new arm of her business. She loves being able to run her business out of her home, where she’s a hard-working stay-at-home mom to her two kids. One of her favorite aspects of running her business is the people she meets — from customers to other vendors. Check out her online shop and make sure to stop and check out her stickers at Second Saturdays.
Yummi Tummi Mixes
Kaye Rhodes
Kaye Rhodes is retired from the accounting world and has been the owner of Yummi Tummi Mixes for 15 years. When she founded her business, she was looking for a product that was different than what everyone else was selling, and she capitalized on a niche market she carved out for herself.
Yummi Tummi’s mixes are all handmade fresh before each show and are full of flavor. Most of her products are purchased from a small business in Iowa that sells only natural or organic dry ingredients. Typically, with her mixes, a customer would only need to add one or two ingredients to make something delicious for snacking or company. She points to three products as her favorites: beer bread mix, French onion dip, and dill dip.
Other than mixing and inventing new mixes, Kaye loves working a vendor show and talking to customers who came to the show just because she’s selling there. Her products are available online or at Willow & Sage in the Piedmont Shoppes in Lincoln.
