Local Matters - March 2026

Mar 9
2 min read

Hi all,

Happy Women’s History Month! We’re excited to celebrate with our annual Women’s History Month Manufacturer Meetup at Heath Ceramics on March 19 from 5–7pm. This marks the fourth year we’ve gathered our community to celebrate the incredible women shaping the Bay Area’s manufacturing ecosystem.

All are welcome! We’ll be featuring five women-owned SFMade member brands for guests to sample and discover: Choc’late Mama Cookie Co, Salt Water Bake Shop, Saba Jam, Hippie Chai, and Chalos. Come connect with fellow manufacturers and community members while supporting local women entrepreneurs who are building and growing right here in San Francisco.

Community Corner

March 26: Optimize Your eCommerce Store Workshop

Join us on Thursday, March 26, 2026 from 1–2PM for a virtual workshop designed to help you strengthen your online sales strategy. In this session, SFMade’s Engagement Manager, Ryan de la Hoz, will cover practical ways to improve your product pages, streamline the customer journey, and increase conversions.

This workshop explores actionable strategies you can implement right away, like from optimizing product descriptions and photography to refining your checkout flow and building customer trust.

Interested in having an intern?

Reach out to SFMade’s Youth Workforce (youthandworkforce@sfmade.org ) if you would like to explore how bringing on an intern can support your operations while investing in the future workforce’s development.

We’ll connect you with our local partner organizations and resources if your company is related to any of these sectors:

Fashion
Climate focused
Arts
Health & wellness
Engineering & tech
Food & Beverage

Photograph by Lila GrayAp

MaryMar Keenan of MMclay was featured in a storytelling and portrait series by Ladysmith. The piece highlights her journey building a ceramics business in San Francisco, her commitment to keeping production local, and her belief that functional pottery can bring people together around shared meals and experiences.

March Community Happenings

March 14 @ 2pm: Dogpatch Small Business Stroll (more info here)
March 20: Castro Night Market is returning and will be held every third Friday of the month from March through September!
- Apply to be a vendor here..
March 20 @ 6pm: Shared Cultures Miso Making and Tasting Class (more info here)
March 28 + 29: Renegade Craft at Fort Mason (more info here)

Resource Hub

If you’re exploring financing options for your business, Main Street Launch offers low-interest loans (from $10,000 to $350,000) that may be a good fit. The loans have flexible & affordable terms, no application fees, no prepayment penalties, and no minimum credit score requirement.