I Made It Market is more than just a craft marketplace; it’s a celebration of Pittsburgh’s thriving community of local artists, makers, and small-batch food vendors.

Recognized as the Best Place to Buy Locally Made Crafts 2024 by the Pittsburgh City Paper Reader’s Poll, the market has become a trusted platform for artists to gain exposure, connect with the community, and sell their handmade products.

With multiple awards for its contributions to local culture and creative entrepreneurship, the market brings together talented creatives and eager audiences at juried events that run across the city.

All vendor applications are juried, meaning artists submit images and information about their work for approval before participating. Managing these submissions manually was time-consuming and error-prone, particularly when coordinating multiple events and vendors across different locations. Formplus’s seamless integration with Google Drive made organizing and reviewing submissions significantly easier, becoming an essential tool for both I Made It! Market and its urban flea market, Neighbourhood Flea, which runs monthly from May through October.

Q. Can you tell us a bit about your business: what you do, why you started it, and how that eventually led you to discover and start using Formplus?

• “I Made It! Market is a traveling craft market that showcases local artists, makers, and small-batch food sellers. Our goal is to help these small businesses gain exposure and connect with the community through juried events. All our events are juried, meaning artists must submit images and information about their work for approval before participating.

  Managing these applications used to be challenging, and that’s where Formplus became invaluable. Because we use Google Drive as our primary platform for sharing submissions with our jury, Formplus’s seamless integration with Google Drive made the process much easier. I’ve been using Formplus for a long time, and it has become an essential tool not only for us but also for our urban flea market, Neighbourhood Flea, which is similarly juried and runs monthly at different locations.”

Formplus addressed a key pain point: the time-consuming, error-prone process of manually managing applications and submissions.

Q. Can you walk us through how Formplus fits into your day-to-day operations, and in what ways it has helped solve the challenges you were facing before?

• “Formplus plays a central role in managing our applications and jurying process. When artists apply, their submissions, including images, are automatically organized and stored in Google Drive. We can consistently rename files so jurors can easily identify each applicant’s work without relying on the names provided by the artists. We also use conditional logic in the forms. Full-season vendors receive different questions than one-time applicants.

  All responses feed directly into Google Sheets, making it easy to manage, share, and review with our jury. Before using Formplus, this process was manual, time-consuming, and prone to errors. Applicants also receive confirmation emails through Formplus, which keeps them informed and reduces follow-up inquiries.
  For other organizations we support, such as the Craftsmen’s Guild of Pittsburgh, we’ve helped set up forms that attach PDFs summarizing each application, extremely useful for in-person jurying.”

By integrating Formplus, IMadeIt Market centralized submissions, improved consistency, and minimized manual work for both staff and jurors.

Q. What about using Formplus has been particularly helpful & made the biggest difference for your work?

• “Several features have had a significant impact. Renaming images consistently helps jurors identify each submission easily. Confirmation emails sent to applicants give them a record of their submission, which reduces confusion and follow-ups. Conditional logic allows us to tailor questions to specific applicants, depending on their participation status.

  Overall, Formplus enables us to maintain a structured and professional application process, which is essential given the volume of submissions and the need for clarity in our jury system.”

Formplus has not only streamlined operations but also enhanced professionalism and consistency in vendor management.

Q. Are there any specific results, improvements, or changes you’ve noticed since adopting Formplus?

• “Formplus has significantly reduced the time and effort required to manage applications. Everything is organized in Google Sheets, which keeps data structured and easily accessible. This has minimized errors that previously occurred when files were misnamed or when information was entered inconsistently. For jurors, the process is smoother because they can review and rate applications without confusion. For applicants, having their submissions confirmed and recorded ensures they feel confident and supported. Overall, Formplus has streamlined both our internal workflow and the applicant experience, making the process more efficient and professional.”

The company now manages large volumes of submissions with ease, improving both internal workflows and vendor satisfaction.

Q. Looking ahead, how do you see Formplus supporting your plans or helping you scale your services?

• “Looking forward, we aim to build our own CRM around artist and vendor profiles while continuing to use Formplus as a key tool. Features like pre-filling forms for repeat applicants would save them from entering the same information multiple times. Digital signatures for agreements could also simplify legal and insurance requirements. We are also going to use Formplus to collect payment for our Spring events to test out that functionality for our business flow.

  We plan to explore these features next year to make the application process even easier for our vendors and reduce administrative work. Formplus’s flexibility allows us to scale our operations while maintaining the quality and professionalism of our juried events.”

Formplus provides the flexibility they need to scale their events while keeping operations organized and efficient.

Closing Reflection

I Made It! Market’s experience demonstrates the power of structured, digital workflows for managing complex application processes. From organizing submissions in Google Drive to automating confirmation emails and applying conditional logic, Formplus enables the market to run professional, juried events efficiently.

As the company grows and adds more markets, Formplus remains central to its operations, ensuring vendor applications are handled seamlessly and consistently. Features like file uploads, conditional logic, and centralized data management allow the team to scale without sacrificing professionalism or quality.

With Formplus, your organization can:

• Build custom digital forms for applications and events,
• Collect files and submissions in one structured location,
• Use conditional logic to tailor questions to applicants, and
• Ensure submissions are confirmed and easy to manage for review.

Formplus helps companies, like I Made It! Market stay organized, professional, and scalable. Empowering them to focus on creating vibrant community experiences.

👉 Streamline your operations and manage applications effortlessly with Formplus. Try it today →