Aleasha Smith opened Boutique Bellini in 2018 as an online shop. She would attend markets like the Dayton City Market as a vendor to get her name out there and sell items from her boutique. Through these vendor markets, Smith was able to grow her business and eventually opened a brick-and-mortar location on Far Hills Avenue in Oakwood.
“When I first started my business, it was not always really easy to find events to do,” Smith said. “There are so many really great vendors out there who have handmade items, hand-poured candles and local businesses that not many people know about. To see all of that come to light at these vendor events that I would do was truly remarkable.”
She’s hoping through the newly founded Dayton City Market, she can help vendors and small businesses like herself get more exposure in Dayton.
“I see the opportunity for other vendors to grow their business and I also see the opportunity for them to get out there and really share their products and make more people aware of what they have,” Smith said.
Because it’s Smith’s first time being on the planning side of the market rather than the vending side, she said it’s been a learning process but one that has brought her a lot of joy and excitement. Watching as an array of different local vendors sign up and getting to select which ones would be perfect for the market has been a lot of fun for her, Smith said.
Planned for June’s market are a number of attractions and activities designed with the whole family in mind. Wrappin’ and Rollin’ Café, a Clayton-based food truck, will be at RiverScape for the market selling wraps and burgers. Waynesville country musician Tesa Marie will perform at 1:30 p.m., and an exercise class held by Space Three, a locally owned fitness boutique in downtown Dayton. Spider-Man and Ariel character actors will be stopping by the park from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. to hang out with market goers. The interactive fountains at the park’s Festival Plaza will be open as well.
The Dayton City Market will return to RiverScape MetroPark on Oct. 15 for a fall market featuring more small businesses and vendors. As a downtown resident and a mom, Smith said she’s especially excited to bring an opportunity for kids to trick-or-treat for Halloween goodies to the downtown area at the fall market.
For more information on the Dayton City Market, visit the market’s Facebook page or Boutique Bellini’s website.
RiverScape MetroPark is located at 237 E. Monument Ave.
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