A patio on Cherokee Street in St. Louis will turn into a market of tiny treasures on Saturday, October 10, as Mini Mart returns for its second year at Ssippi. More than 12 local vendors will set up shop from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at 2926 Cherokee St., selling everything from sterling silver jewelry to spoon-sized wedding cakes and one-inch tattoos, all built around the event's miniature-scale concept.
The pop-up market and art installation grew out of a successful summer event the year before, according to Sauce Magazine. This time around, organizers are leaning into the idea even further, assigning local artists and creatives specific themes to build miniature work around, turning the patio into what the outlet describes as a series of miniature worlds rather than a simple shopping event.
One of the vendors behind the concept is Samantha Koor, founder of the jewelry line Meltdown. Koor was living in New York City in 2024 when her Instagram-based jewelry venture had only about 50 followers, selling hand-sculpted sterling silver pieces before she completed her first official pop-up at a Ssippi summer market, per the same account. She told Sauce Magazine that Mini Mart was inspired by nostalgia and the feeling of childhood, and said she hopes to bring new experiences from New York City to St. Louis.
From Lost-Wax Casting to Mermaid Letters
Koor learned metalsmithing after becoming interested in lost-wax casting, a traditional technique in which a hand-carved wax model is encased in investment material, then melted away in a furnace and replaced with molten metal to form a solid piece, the article notes. For Mini Mart, she'll create aquatic-themed pieces built around the assigned theme letter from a mermaid, with Sauce Magazine reporting that she has focused more on the creative process than the finished product, describing Meltdown as a brand for people who think outside the box, take risks, embrace authenticity and accept imperfections.
Other vendors are tackling their own assigned prompts. Baker Taylor Kirsher of pop-up bakery Frosted by Taylor drew inspiration from the nearby Missouri Botanical Garden in the Shaw neighborhood to design spoon-sized, two-tiered mini wedding cakes decorated with edible flowers for the market's botanical gardens theme. Meanwhile, Datura Tattoo, a St. Louis studio specializing in fine-line, botanical and illustrative custom work, will offer one-inch tattoos of household items as part of a house tour theme, alongside a table manners theme rounding out the market's thematic lineup.
Pizza, Jell-O Shots and a Growing Vendor List
Food will also get the tiny treatment. Nicky Slices will sell mini cheese, pepperoni and chicken parmesan pizzas for $5 each, according to Sauce Magazine. Founder Nick Williams originally launched his Detroit-style pizza concept as an Instagram-only take-and-bake pop-up during the COVID-19 pandemic before opening his first brick-and-mortar restaurant, Nicky Slices Pizza Club, on The Hill in October 2025.
Ssippi itself will keep the miniature theme going behind the bar with drink specials including lychee martini Jell-O shots. Other confirmed vendors include Residential Ghost, Datura Tattoo and The Lady in the Bloom, with the full lineup featuring sterling silver pieces, miniature furniture, tattoos, bouquets, portraits and ceramics spread across the patio.
A Natural Wine Bar Anchoring a Growing Corridor
Ssippi has operated at 2926 Cherokee Street since opening on July 1, 2022, under co-owners Brogan Drissell and Emily Kostiuk, taking over a space previously occupied by Red Oak Biscuits, according to Sauce Magazine's earlier coverage. The bar operates as a natural wine and draft cocktail destination with an outdoor patio, part of a broader wave of low-intervention wine bars that have expanded at double-digit annual rates since 2017 and turned spots like Ssippi into neighborhood gathering points.
The event lands in a commercial corridor that has seen significant growth in recent years. Taxable sales within the Cherokee Street Community Improvement District rose 85% between 2019 and 2023, climbing from $19 million to $35.7 million, per the Cherokee Street CID. As of 2026, the corridor is home to more than 150 small businesses, including 42 women-owned, 23 Hispanic-owned and 21 Black-owned storefronts.
Cherokee Street's history as a commercial hub stretches back to its development as a major South St. Louis transit corridor along old streetcar lines, built above natural cave systems once used for lagering beer by 19th-century breweries including Lemp Brewery, according to Wikipedia. Mini Mart's return adds another chapter to that commercial legacy, giving local makers like Koor, Kirsher and Williams a chance to test new ideas in front of the neighborhood's growing foot traffic.
