This summer, you can shop The Millie Market’s beautiful, artisan-made tabletop, home and décor objects at Yorkville Village. A social enterprise and artisan shoppe, The Millie Market promotes traditional crafts and supports women-owned and women-led businesses in 19 countries around the world.We talked to founder Chelsea Brown about the inspiration behind the market, and what you will find in store. Can you tell us a little bit about Millie?We are woman-founded; I am the owner and the founder. We launched in 2018, pre-pandemic, really to put a focus on connecting women around the world through stories. We did this through global female travel to places like Jordan, but then when the pandemic happened, when travel became much harder, we had to turn our focus.We wanted to continue to create economic empowerment for women, and also connect women around the world, not just women artisans, but women around the world, and we're doing that now through several ways and this specific division is The Millie Market, which creates economic empowerment for makers around the world and also creating access to stories and conscious consumerism for shoppers.

What inspired you to launch The Millie Market?In 2017, I worked on a project called The Pin Project, which works with artisans in the crafts industry with Turquoise Mountain. Although we weren't selling these pins directly on The Millie Market, it was almost as if it started from that point.What are some of the products that are available at your Yorkville Village pop-up?In ceramics, we have Mayū, which is women-run—everything is women-led—and then we have Topis. I was just in Guatemala in February on a buying trip where I discovered these makers. We also carry different lines: French couple living in Brooklyn and Soft Serve, which is in India. We also have Glass Forest, which is mouthblown glass from India.

We have baskets from Africa, and storytelling pillows that are actually my personal favourite. These were custom made for Millie and they all tell a different story.Shop The Millie Market at Yorkville Village until August 31, 2023.