The Brief
- Vendors at the Corey Ave. Art & Craft Festival say events like this are essential for small businesses, helping them connect directly with customers and grow beyond online sales.
- North Port Apiary’s Davyd Fedotenko transitioned from the Air Force and manufacturing work to running a family beekeeping business full-time, using festivals to raise awareness about the importance of bees.
- Artists like Red’s Shadow owner Alecia Peck and painter Christopher Mize turned lifelong passions into careers, saying their love for their craft keeps them going through the challenges of small business ownership.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Along Corey Avenue in St. Pete Beach, tents lined the street, artwork filled display booths, and business owners shared more than just products with customers.
For many vendors at the Corey Art & Craft Festival, the event represents years of hard work, career changes, and the pursuit of lifelong passions.
From Military Service to Beekeeping
The backstory:
For North Port Apiary’s Davyd Fedotenko, the road to running a small business looked very different just a few years ago.…