Spotlight: A glittering showcase for women-owned businesses at the Bank of America Winter Village

There’s no place quite like New York City at holiday time. And there’s no Christmas-season marketplace quite like the Bank of America Winter Village in NYC’s Bryant Park. Every year, millions of visitors from around the world shop at the almost 200 “jewel-box” booths set around a huge Christmas tree and busy skating rink. This year, five businesses from the Bank of America Marketplace by Seneca Women had a chance to sell their products in-person at the Winter Village—and came away with valuable new experiences and insights.

From October 25 through January 5, the five businesses occupied a booth dedicated to the BofA Marketplace during five consecutive two-week stints. The businesses were: 

  • Maika, thoughtfully designed canvas bags and accessories for women on the go (photos: top row, center and bottom row, center)
  • Twee, fanciful, colorful handmade chalk for children (photo: top row, right)
  • Mercado Global, handcrafted totes and accessories made by Guatemalan women (photo: bottom row, left)
  • La Cana, crocheted baby toys and ornaments made by women in Mexico’s prisons (photo: bottom row right).

For Maika founder Viola Sutanto, the Winter Village booth provided an opportunity to get up-close to customers’ needs and desires. “In-person shoppers engage emotionally,” she said. “They want to touch and feel the products and connect with the stories behind each design. This speaks to the power of curating meaningful, immersive experiences that invite customers to interact with our products and brand on a personal level.”

Meeting so many new customers was also a plus for Evana Oli, co-founder of Beautiful Curly Me. There were a lot of tourists, both domestic and international, at the Winter Village, she observed. “It was great connecting with so many people and making them aware of the brand and of course making sales!”

Becky Chrisman from Mercado Global said her time at the Winter Village reinforced for her the impact of visual merchanding—being able to convey “instant clarity”—as well as how important a business’ backstory is. “We realized that clearly communicating our nonprofit mission—how each purchase supports women artisans in rural Guatemala—played a crucial role in motivating purchases. This reinforced the importance of storytelling in our branding and the need to highlight the meaningful impact behind our products.”