About Me

Welcome to Meet the Minnesota Makers!

I’m Michelle M. Sharp—the founder and content creator of Meet the Minnesota Makers. My family, especially my husband and two daughters, help in product sampling. When I’m home, you’re likely to find me in the kitchen or the garden. These are my happy places.

I founded Meet the Minnesota Makers in 2021 to celebrate the unique stories of Minnesota’s small businesses: small farms, cottage producers, studio artists, specialty artisans, sustainability seekers, independent boutiques, and local non-for-profits.

This project started as a newspaper column “Meet the Minnesota Makers: Land of 10,000 Treats” in early 2021 in the Sun ThisWeek and Dakota County Tribune. Our family shopped locally to support small businesses more than usual during the pandemic. Our purchasing choices didn’t seem like enough.

I previously taught Spanish at the college level. I’ve researched and written about Spanish women’s food writing as a tool for community building. I enjoy this research. It can, however, feel detached from what’s happening currently.

Writing these features combines my research skills with my desire to support the real-world small businesses that make Minnesota thrive.

The more I know about a business owners’ story, the more invested I become in supporting that business. I know this is true for others as well.

I established this website along with my Facebook and Instagram sites to provide a searchable resource for makers looking to connect and collaborate and for anyone who wants to support local.

I created my Maker Services  in response to meeting with local makers through the creation of their features. As I learned about area businesses, I discovered that I am able to help business owners strengthen their website, distinguish their product descriptions, organize their social media messaging, and creating workshops for small business owners and civic leaders.

I moved to Minnesota 10 years ago after growing up in Chicago and later living in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin. I’ve fallen in love with this state by choice. At the risk of sounding hokey, I created this site to celebrate the creative people of this chosen home of mine.

Contact me to suggest businesses, including your own, for profiles. Please share the word about these resources with your fellow makers and with your customers. The more we share these stories, the more we all win.

I enjoy the journey of discovery. It is privilege to learn and share these makers’ stories with you.

Follow along to meet the amazing people who make Minnesota a wonderful place to live!