ABOUT WHY IT’S SO IMPORTANT. I’M HERE AT THE BLACK MARKET, WHICH IS PART OF PEOPLE’S GAS HOLIDAY MARKET. SMALL BUSINESSES ARE SELLING GIFTS LIKE PURSES, JEWELRY, EVEN BODY BUTTERS. IF YOU LIKE HOMEMADE GIFTS AND WANT TO SUPPORT LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES, THE BLACK MARKET IS THE PLACE TO BE. PATTI ANN GLEISNER LIVES IN VIRGINIA, BUT MAKES A TRIP TO PITTSBURGH TO FIND UNIQUE HOLIDAY FINDS. I LIKE THE LOCAL BUSINESSES, AND I ALSO LIKE GOING TO CRAFT SHOWS WHERE THE PEOPLE MAKE HOMEMADE ITEMS BECAUSE THEY’RE SPECIAL AND YOU DON’T FIND THEM EVERYWHERE. AND YOU KNOW THE WORK THAT THEY PUT INTO IT. SHOPPERS SAY THEY LOVE GIFTS LIKE HOMEMADE CANDLES, JEWELRY, SCARVES, AND EVEN COLD PRESSED JUICES. THE PRODUCER OF THE BLACK MARKET, SHAYLA HAWKINS, SAYS THE HOLIDAY SHOPPING EVENT HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE 2020. IT’S A WAY TO SHOWCASE PRODUCTS IN PARTICULARLY BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES THAT MAY NOT HAVE ACCESS TO A WIDER AUDIENCE. AND BUSINESS OWNERS CAN NETWORK AND LEARN FROM EACH OTHER. I THINK THAT IT’S IMPORTANT TO SHOW BLACK BUSINESS IN PITTSBURGH, AS THERE’S NOT THAT MANY. SO IT’S GOOD TO LIKE, COME DOWN HERE, BE WITH OTHER BLACK VENDORS, CHOP IT UP, SEE WHAT THEY’RE GOING THROUGH, WHAT WE’RE GOING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, TO HELP EACH OTHER. SHANTE HOWARD STARTED MAKING NATURAL BODY BUTTERS FOR HER GRANDCHILDREN. THEN, WHEN HER TEENAGE SON PASSED AWAY IN A CAR ACCIDENT, SHE POURED THAT PAIN INTO THE PASSION OF A NEW BUSINESS. I STARTED STUDYING AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, LIKE, HOW I CAN HANDLE THIS WITHOUT STEROIDS AND DIFFERENT STUFF LIKE THAT FROM DOCTORS. AND SO I CAME UP WITH A CREAM FOR THAT. AND THEN MY SON PASSED AWAY. AND THEN IT GREW INTO ALL OF THIS BECAUSE I NEEDED SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE PAIN AND THE GRIEF. LAST YEAR, THE BLACK MARKET WAS LOCATED AT MARKET SQUARE. WELL, THIS YEAR, SINCE IT’S PART OF THE PEOPLE’S HOLIDAY MARKET, IT’S NOW MOVED TO THE CULTURAL DISTRICT INSIDE THE MARY MARKETPLACE SPACE ON SEVENTH STREET. VENDORS SAY THEY HOPE THE CHANGE IN LOCATION DOESN’T STOP SHOPPERS FROM CHECKING THEM OUT. THAT WAS A WONDERFUL SPOT LAST YEAR. WE UNDERSTAND THE CONSTRUCTION AND HOPEFULLY WE’LL BE BACK THERE NEXT YEAR. THE BLACK MARKET IS THE NEXT TWO WEEKENDS, AND IT’S A SHORT WALK AWAY FROM THE OTHER VENDORS AT THE ENCORE BUILDING. COVERING ALLEGHENY COUNTY IN
Pittsburgh’s Black Market showcases local and Black-owned businesses
Updated: 7:56 PM EST Dec 12, 2025
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The Black Market, part of the People Gas Holiday Market in Pittsburgh, is a venue where small businesses sell unique homemade gifts like purses, jewelry and body butters.What can you find at The Black Market? Watch the video abovePatti Ann Gleichsner, of Virginia, made the trip to Pittsburgh to find special holiday items.”I like the local businesses, and I also like going to craft shows where the people make homemade items, because they are special and you don’t find them everywhere and you know the work that they put into it,” Gleichsner said.Shayla Hawkins, producer of The Black Market, said the holiday shopping event has been happening since 2020. It serves as a showcase for products, particularly from Black-owned businesses that may not have access to a wider audience. Business owners also have the opportunity to network and learn from each other.”I think it’s important to show Black business in Pittsburgh, as there is not that many, so it’s good to come down here and be with other Black vendors, chop it out, see what they are going through, what we are going through to help each other,” said Bruce the Juice Man, from 1:11 Juice Bar.Chantai Howard, who started making natural body butters for her grandchildren, turned her pain into a business after her teenage son died in a car accident.”I started studying, trying to figure out how I can handle this without steroids and different stuff like that from doctors, so I came up with a cream for that, and then my son passed away and then it grew into all of this because I needed something to do with the pain and the grief,” Howard said.Last year, The Black Market was located at Market Square. This year, it has moved to the Cultural District inside the Merry Marketplace space on 7th Street. Vendors hope the change in location does not deter shoppers.”That was a wonderful spot last year. We understand the construction, and hopefully we will be back there next year,” said Gloria Hargro, from Gospel Pearls.The Black Market will be open for the next two weekends and is a short walk away from other vendors at the Encore building in Downtown Pittsburgh.
The Black Market, part of the People Gas Holiday Market in Pittsburgh, is a venue where small businesses sell unique homemade gifts like purses, jewelry and body butters.
What can you find at The Black Market? Watch the video above
Patti Ann Gleichsner, of Virginia, made the trip to Pittsburgh to find special holiday items.
“I like the local businesses, and I also like going to craft shows where the people make homemade items, because they are special and you don’t find them everywhere and you know the work that they put into it,” Gleichsner said.
Shayla Hawkins, producer of The Black Market, said the holiday shopping event has been happening since 2020. It serves as a showcase for products, particularly from Black-owned businesses that may not have access to a wider audience. Business owners also have the opportunity to network and learn from each other.
“I think it’s important to show Black business in Pittsburgh, as there is not that many, so it’s good to come down here and be with other Black vendors, chop it out, see what they are going through, what we are going through to help each other,” said Bruce the Juice Man, from 1:11 Juice Bar.
Chantai Howard, who started making natural body butters for her grandchildren, turned her pain into a business after her teenage son died in a car accident.
“I started studying, trying to figure out how I can handle this without steroids and different stuff like that from doctors, so I came up with a cream for that, and then my son passed away and then it grew into all of this because I needed something to do with the pain and the grief,” Howard said.
Last year, The Black Market was located at Market Square. This year, it has moved to the Cultural District inside the Merry Marketplace space on 7th Street. Vendors hope the change in location does not deter shoppers.
“That was a wonderful spot last year. We understand the construction, and hopefully we will be back there next year,” said Gloria Hargro, from Gospel Pearls.
The Black Market will be open for the next two weekends and is a short walk away from other vendors at the Encore building in Downtown Pittsburgh.
