About Our Program

HUDSON RIVER EXCHANGE

Online Shop

2020 Holiday Season - Nov 27 to Jan 31

MISSION: 

  • Promote Hudson Valley Makers and the amazing work you all do!
  • Transparency in pricing - help educate value vs. price. How many times have you heard people ask why something is “so expensive.” Most people don’t know how retail operates so we want to show them how it works and give them an alternative while shifting how they view what they consume. 
  • Evolve the way money flows through our community - creating a way for people to support makers beyond buying a product through the community micro loan program.
  • Shared values - communicate the sustainability and ethical commitments you’ve made through the choices you’ve made in the production process.
  • Act as a collective - be able to combine resources to amplify and access more. 
    • Marketing power
    • Fulfillment
    • Hiring help
TO PARTICIPATE: 
$50 - holiday shop fee (special rate as we launch!)
  • Unlimited* product listings until Dec 31st. 
  • Virtual Maker Happy Hour - Nov 19th - preview the site together and meet fellow makers before the launch!
  • Quick Crit - Dec 10th - it’s a busy time of year but we could all use a minute to connect and find a space to re-energize.
  • Access to community micro loans: $500 per business; 0% interest; available on a first come, first access basis. 
  • Call us with questions, concerns as they come up!
  • //PENDING// Product Photography - Let us know if you need photos of products you’d like to sell. We’re trying to team up and as a collective coordinate a day(s) to book a photographer. Details to follow!
PARTICIPATION LEVELS:
Hudson River Exchange doesn’t require exclusivity of products but consider making certain products exclusive to the site for the duration of the holiday shop. If you have a special launch or exclusive, it’s something we can help promote. So if you decide to make a product exclusive,  remember that it would be just for the 5 weeks of the  holiday shop and  you can continue to sell through us or make the exclusives available on other channels after the holiday season. Exclusivity required  for the items HRE provides product photography - we request makers make these products exclusive to HRE for the duration of the holiday shop. You will be given the assets for future use and other channels.
CONSIGNMENT OPTIONS:
MAKER DROP SHIP - products
70% Maker / 30% HRE 
each agrees to contribute 2.5% per sale of item to micro loan fund = 67.5% MAKER / 27.5% HRE / 5% FUND
> we let you know when an order comes in and you ship orders directly to the customer. Drop shipping must be completed within 1-3 business days of receiving the order (unless you provide a made-to-order product). We will send you some HRE branded material to include in your shipment.
HRE FULFILLMENT - products
60% Maker / 40% HRE 
each agrees to contribute 2.5% per sale of item to micro loan fund = 57.5% MAKER / 37.5% HRE /  5% FUND
> you drop off your inventory to our HQ and we fulfill and ship orders for the duration of the holiday shop. We will be branding our shipments and using recycled or recyclable packaging.
CONSULTATIONS / WORKSHOPS - services and virtual sessions
85% Maker / 15% HRE 
each agrees to contribute 2.5% per sale of item to micro loan fund = 82.5% MAKER / 12.5% HRE /  5% FUND
> we’d like to promote special services that are provided by talented creatives! Consider offering a special package exclusive to our site so it’s different from what you offer on your site and priced in a way that makes sense accounting for the commission we take. You will receive a notification when an order is placed. Depending on your scheduling platforms and systems, we might have to figure out logistics individually. Feel free to give Stella a call with any questions and happy to brainstorm ideas to come up with something that’s the right fit!
OPTIONAL ADD-ON (for consignment participants): Sign up for co-op work days. $150 value. Help upload product listings or shipping for 1 day (5 hours, 10am-3pm). HRE will not collect consignment on the first $150 sales. PLEASE NOTE, co-op work days requires coming to the new HQ in Leeds.
WHOLESALE - limited  to specific makers:
PERISHABLES + FOOD / All items are under $20
> Hudson River Exchange will purchase perishables and from select makers whose product lines are all $20 and under. Will you be willing to adjust your wholesale pricing to give 2.5% to the Fund? Hudson River Exchange will match and give 5% of all sales to the Fund. 
RESPONSIBILITIES:
MAKERS will be responsible for:
  • Fill out intake form + pay holiday fee by Wed Oct 28th to participate in the holiday shop.
  • Meeting deadlines to provide requested information, drop offs/pick-ups and shipments.
  • Drop Shipping must be completed within 1-3 business days of receiving the order.
  • Commit to a number of pieces available for each piece. Whether it’s a one-of-a-kind or a production run with lots of stock, let us know how many you can make sure we have available for the duration of the season. We will reach out when we’re running low and you will keep us posted if something sells out of your personal inventory. 
  • Providing the following for each product listing
  • Image(s) of product. At least one is on a white background
  • Item description 
  • Dimensions
  • Weight
  • Price
  • Quantity
  • Production + Material Info (ie. organic, local, ethical sourcing, etc)
  • Care Instructions
  • Exchange/Repair policy
  • Special shipping instructions
HUDSON RIVER EXCHANGE will be responsible for:
  • Paid advertising on FB and IG.
  • Print Campaign - design a flyer campaign to be distributed throughout the region w/ QR codes directing people to the online shop.
  • Individual Vendor Highlights on newsletter and social media.
  • Managing the community micro loan fund.
  • Shipping fulfillment orders within 1-3 business days of receiving the order.
  • Shop customer service. We will handle interfacing with the customers during this period unless they need to communicate directly with you regarding repairs (this will depend on your individual policy). 
  • Coaching + Support! Here for you!
IMPORTANT DATES:
  • NOV 6th - Upload product photos/info and those participating in HRE FULFILLMENT, drop off inventory at 1130 Main Street, Leeds NY, between 10am-6pm.
  • NOV 10th-14th - Co-op work days for product data input. Product photography will be scheduled for this week.
  • NOV 19th - Virtual Maker Happy Hour!
  • NOV 27th - SITE GOES LIVE.
  • NOV 28th to JAN 31st - Co-op work days for shipping.
  • FEB 4th-8th - Pick up inventory for HRE FULFILLMENT participants who are not continuing into new term. 
FOR CONSIGNMENT LEVEL PARTICIPANTS:
From here out, the shop will operate on a quarterly calendar. A maker will commit to having their products online with Hudson River Exchange for the entire quarter before withdrawing the product. Payments will be made monthly. For the holiday shop, there will be a payment + reporting Dec 13th
  • Holiday shop will be live from NOV 27th to JAN 31st. 
  • New term will be from FEB 1st to APRIL 30th.
  • Opt-in to new term by JAN 21st.
  • If you opt-out, next opportunity to join is Q2.
MORE ABOUT THE COMMUNITY MICRO LOAN PROGRAM:
How to operate a business has changed with technology -- the model of huge upfront costs for a retail space or stocking up on inventory is no longer the only way to run a business.  We believe access to capital should evolve too because small businesses still need a cash infusion from time to time. They perhaps don’t need as much access to a large sum at one time but smaller amounts over a period of time. 
With this insight and the support from The Spark of Hudson, Hudson River Exchange is excited to announce the launch of the pilot Community Micro Loan Program. The Spark of Hudson is contributing $2,500 to help kick off the program. As participants of the online holiday shop, you will have access to a loan of $500 per business, 0% interest. If you could use it, take it and pay it back through sales of the online shop or a monthly repayment plan. Once you’re done, we can pass it on to another business in the Hudson River Exchange network. This loan will be distributed on a first come, first access basis. And once the online shop launches, 5% (2.5% from you and 2.5% from HRE) of all sales via our online shop, will continue to feed the fund.
No complicated forms, just let us know you could use the loan, how you’d like to repay the loan and at the end, report back and let us know what you used the funds for. Because we understand that some expenses or opportunities come up unexpectedly and if some cash helps smooth out the bump in the road, we’re looking to help! During this pilot period, we’re looking to learn as much as possible and will continue to evolve the Community Micro Loan program, so help us learn by taking advantage of this resource!
Have questions? Suggestions? Need to talk out logistics? Feel free to call Stella 917.297.0197. Really! (I say we but you all know it’s just me here.) I want to hear from you!
LET’S WORK TOGETHER!