Oak City Move

In todays episode of Oak City Move, Sophs sits down with the founder and CEO of the MAKRS Society, Max Rivera. We discuss how MAKRS Society dedicates itself to supporting local makers, artists and small businesses. We discuss the the inspirations behind its creation, the challenges and rewards of building a platform for locals, and how important local markets are in creating community. Learn how the organization helps turn passion into business while fostering connections across the triangle and beyond! Tune in to learn more... 
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Creators and Guests

Host
Sophs Magnanini
Public Affairs Director (2025-2026)

What is Oak City Move?

A radio program and podcast from WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 celebrating those who enact positive changes in the Raleigh community.

00:00
Speaker 1
Oak City Move is a podcast on WKNC's 88.1 FM HD 1 Raleigh where we highlight people and organizations creating positive change in the Triangle and beyond. Oak City Move can be heard on air Every Monday on 88.1 FM HD1 Raleigh or online at wknc.org to listen to Episodes and more, go to our blog at blog.wknc.org or follow us on SoundCloud at wknc881. Hello, 88.1 WKNC Raleigh. The song you just heard was Sweaty linen by Surf Ninja 3. I'm Sophia Magnanini, your host and you're listening to Oak City Move. Today we are joined by a very special guest, Max Rivera, founder and CEO of the Maker Society, an organization that exists to create experiences in Raleigh and the surrounding areas by providing farmers markets, pop ups, festivals and more. So first off, I just wanted to say thank you so much for joining us.

00:55
Speaker 1
And for listeners who may not be familiar with Makers, what is the Maker Society and what inspired you to create it?

01:06
Speaker 2
Yeah, so thanks for having us, first of all. And yeah, with the Maker Society, you know, it exists to kind of bridge the gap between artisans, musicians, local food and the community. So our goal is to, you know, bring those local small businesses to the community while also being able to create experiences for the community as well.

01:36
Speaker 1
That's awesome. And it's also so important especially to bring community together, make sure that small businesses, local artists, all of them can kind of come together and help each other grow. You launched makers in 2020 with a single market. What was the first event like? And how did you ever, how did you imagine that it would grow into what it is today?

01:58
Speaker 2
Yeah, so we actually started during COVID and it was, yeah, it was interesting. Thankfully, you know, we started outdoors and so were able to run the events. It was just obviously a little bit different because it was during COVID we had to keep all the booths six feet apart from each other. Everyone had to kind of come in wearing masks, the vendors and the attendees. So you'll see some of our pictures from back in like 2020, 2021, where all, you know, all the attendees were masked and everything. And so we had to also like kind of manage people during that time as well and ask people to put their masks on if they weren't wearing them and stuff like that. So it was a interesting time to start running markets.

02:52
Speaker 2
And our first one was at North Hills Midtown park, which we're currently still running. So this is our sixth Full year now running that event. And so North Hills and Durham Central park were our first two markets that we started running.

03:08
Speaker 1
That's really cool. Also. It's so cool that even though you guys started during COVID a time where it's kind of risky if like a lot of people are going to show up or not, it's so awesome that you guys have continued going and built such an awesome thing where you've created so many different places that like the communities can come together and support one another, wear new people, meet new people. So that's really awesome. That kind of leads into my next question. With the maker society, you've built something that blends business community and creativity together and how do you kind of balance those three goals when you're planning a market or a festival?

03:49
Speaker 2
I think it's, you know, sometimes it's tough. We eat the, you know, you want to be creative, you want to think outside the box, but you also have to obviously think about your financials when it comes to, you know, when it comes to running an event and so really trying to be as creative as you can, you know, as still a small business and so trying to think outside the box and in what we're doing. And you know, for pop up markets specifically will we started out just running, you know, just kind of calling them pop up markets.

04:32
Speaker 2
And so we've developed and changed those ideas over time to now being our foodie fairs or our underground markets or our twilight market where you know, twilight markets will bring in live DJ and it'll be at night and our underground markets will bring in full bands and our foodie fairs are mostly consisting of food trucks. So just trying to think of ways to you know, draw people in and create experiences that are different also because we've seen a lot of, you know, pop up market companies come and go that have been running markets throughout my past, my six years with the maker society. And so it's kind of like okay, part of it is how do we separate ourselves? And those are kind of some of the things that we have done.

05:33
Speaker 1
That's awesome. And yeah, I feel like you guys really have separated yourselves from the other like quote unquote pop up markets where that kind of feel way more not organically produced. And it's so cool also how you guys have kind of branched out in different directions giving people like different choices, different places to go especially. It's like yeah, like you're saying if maybe they're not too into like or they don't Want to like go later at night for like something like the Twilight market, then they have the foodies fair or the underground market or if people don't really like loud music, then there's all these other places. So that's really cool that you're able to kind of balance that and it brings a wider array of customers also with that.

06:18
Speaker 2
Yep, for sure.

06:19
Speaker 1
One thing that stands out about the makers is its emphasis on local and small businesses. Why do you think supporting local entrepreneurs is so important to you guys and to the maker society?

06:34
Speaker 2
Yeah, I mean, I think a couple reasons. Obviously, you know, there's a dividing wealth gap in America. So that's one big reason why supporting local is important to keep supporting small businesses. And you know, keeping our money here as well will also help to flourish the local economy too. And so the more we can spend money local, it'll help Raleigh grow, it'll help a triangle grow, but it'll also help these small businesses who may not have the opportunity or the marketing funds that, you know, an Amazon or these larger companies have so that we can continue helping hopefully decrease the wealth app in America.

07:39
Speaker 1
That's, that's awesome. And that's also, yeah, really important, especially in today's time because as we see, it's like bigger corporations are just growing and growing. But we need to help support our local and small businesses because at the end of the day that's all we can really do is support one another in times like this. So it's really awesome that you guys are doing that, kind of following up on like small businesses and the local people, local artists that you guys help include into your markets. What kind of qualities do you guys look for when selecting vendors?

08:16
Speaker 2
Yeah, for us, a few qualities we're looking at branding is one of them. Making sure they, you know, have a business essentially that they're trying to build, that they have a website and social media and they're looking to build a brand and to grow as well. And some of, you know, some of them don't start out that way and that's fine. Like we want to give opportunities to everyone and for them to connect with the community. But we want to at least see them kind of like growing over time. And the quality of products I think is another one, just making sure they, you know, have good quality products. When they're coming into our markets.

09:16
Speaker 2
We want people to come to the events and see a wide array of different types of vendors selling different Types of goods and stuff that people want to buy.

09:30
Speaker 1
Mm. Because that's awesome. Because it really helps ensure that the people that are coming to these markets are getting good quality products. But then it also helps make sure that you guys know that this vendor isn't going to do anything that might make the market look unprofessional and is just going to help the partnership between you guys grow. That's really nice. Speaking of how have you kind of noticed the Triangles makers and artisans community evolve over the years that you guys have been creating these markets?

10:06
Speaker 2
Yeah, I think there's just more and more people coming into the area now. And so we've seen kind of some, especially some other like international type vendors. I mean, I think we also just started an event called around the World Raleigh which is. Is an event that brings diverse cultures together from food to arts and performances and stuff like that. And so I think with a lot more people coming to North Carolina and coming to the Triangle area, we're also. And an influx of, you know, different cultures and different types of products that are coming into the area. And so it's cool to see, you know, kind of that diverse that diversity come to Raleigh with us kind of being one of those up and coming tech hubs essentially.

11:17
Speaker 1
Mm. Because yeah, I can only imagine as more and more people come in, how things have kind of changed and new things are being brought to the Triangle in Raleigh. So it's awesome that you guys get to kind of show. Help. Help show off these new things and kind of get people included. I know you're talking about the around the World Fair. Are there any past events that you want to mention as well as new events and upcoming projects that you're excited about?

11:52
Speaker 2
Yeah, that's the main one that we started that's new, the around the World Raleigh Festival. So we just hosted that. That it was our first annual on May 30th a few weeks ago. Turned out to be a great turnout. A lot of people came out to the event and you know, really had a good lineup of just diverse food trucks and vendors and performances at the event. And so that's a big one that we're going to continue expanding throughout the years. Our next one coming up will not be to October, but that'll be our Bull City Booze Fest, which is a Halloween festival that we've been running in Durham Central park for a while now.

12:40
Speaker 2
And we're putting a plan together for that event to really grow and expand it and also hopefully get Grant money from the city of Durham that would help to lower ticket prices and kind of expand the performances and even may possibly the footprint of that event in the future.

13:08
Speaker 1
That's awesome. I love the versatility that you guys have in these markets. And also it's just like really cool how also like when you were saying you guys are trying to help lower the ticket prices, it's awesome that you guys are thinking of the customers and the people that are coming to these events just as much as you are creating the event and finding the vendors and making sure everyone's happy, which I, I can only imagine how much work goes into all of that into planning a market like this. So kudos to you guys because I know that you guys have. Your markets are always so fun. So awesome. I've been to a couple and it's always a great place and a great time.

13:49
Speaker 2
Yeah, I appreciate that.

13:52
Speaker 1
And as we kind of come up onto the end of our chat, if there are any messages that you would like to leave listeners with about supporting local businesses, artists, Makers, as well as where to find the Maker Society and if maybe they want to get involved or volunteer or something of the sorts.

14:13
Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah. So were all around the Triangle area. So we run events in Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Apex. So all of our monthly markets are held at North Hills Durham, Central Park, Bond Brothers and Cary, Sweetwater Town center and Apex and Smoky Hollow in downtown Raleigh. So check us out on makers.com m a k r-s.com or on Instagram just at makers@m a k r s we always have a listing of our monthly events that will be. Or the weekly events that we'll be hosting for the month. So you can see that pinned on our Instagram as well as our website has all the dates for all the events that will be running. Yeah, keep supporting local. We'll always have local vendors, food trucks, musicians, performances.

15:17
Speaker 2
And so yeah, like we talked about earlier, it's very important to continue to support our local businesses and help the local economy. Local economy flourish. So I would love to see you guys at our events.

15:36
Speaker 1
Perfect. Well, thank you so much again for coming on and talking with us about Maker Society. You guys are such a cool and just amazing organization and I love what you guys are hoping to do with the community around Raleigh and the. Just the Triangle in general.

15:52
Speaker 2
Yeah. No, again, I appreciate you reaching out and was glad to connect. So. Yeah, thanks again.

15:59
Speaker 1
Yeah. As we end the interview, I just want to thank Max Riviera so much for coming and talking all about Maker Society. It's such a cool organization. And you guys should definitely go check out the markets because they are so cool. And I just want to thank you all for listening to Oak City Move once again. I'm your host, Sophia Magnanini, and if you're interested in listening to this episode again, welcome or to past episodes of the show, you can go to wknc.org podcast and make sure to tune into our show every other Monday on WKNC 88.1 FM Raleigh. Have a great day, guys.