“We showcase clothing, accessories, handmade, reclaimed/repurposed, salvaged, vintage goods and gourmet food items all under one roof,” Brow said. “We’re a juried event, scouting the best-of-the-best in unique and local businesses.”
RELATED: Changes coming for 2017 installment of Hamilton Flea
The expo, which made its Ohio debut at the fairgrounds last October, features a bevy of shopping opportunities, plus food trucks and a wine tasting with local wineries.
Featured local businesses include Front Room on 7th in Hamilton, Hampton House Boutique from Springboro, Alley Cat Chic from Kettering and Fleurish Home, which has stores in Cincinnati and Springboro and is soon opening a third location in Hamilton
“Expect vintage rusty goodness, home décor, repurposed furniture, gourmet foods, handmade items and the coolest fashion trends and accessories for women and children of all sizes,” Brow said. “We also feature handmade artisans like (Hamilton-based) LahVDah, which makes incredible bath, body and laundry products.”
MORE: Butler County fairgrounds become year-round venue
The expo also is expanding its food selection with several food trucks including Sweet Meat BBQ, Just Jerks and The Best Thing Smokin’, plus a newly added food tent with Troy’s Café, The Boozy Baker, Paleolicious Cincy and SugarSnap! Sweet Treats inside.
Ruffles and Rust Expo will also be hosting a wine tasting featuring wine from three Ohio vineyards.
Brow said Hamilton is “a great location” for the show because it is centrally located between Cincinnati and Dayton.
“Indoor, heated/cooled venues with the amount of space we need to house our show, are few and far between in the Ohio region,” Brow said. “ With Hamilton small businesses and city involvement in rebuilding the downtown areas, it is the perfect place to get people back into the spirit of shopping local.”
The creation of Ruffles & Rust Expo came from a passion for decorating and a desire to help other local business grow and succeed, said Brow, an entrepreneur, mother and military wife originally from Texas.
That’s where she opened her first shop and met the event’s founder, Camey Maldonado, who was operating a business across the street.
“Camey … adores all things sparkly and funky but her husband prefers the old rusty things, and so Ruffles and Rust Expo was born,” Brow said of the event, which first launched in Oklahoma in 2013. “With Ruffles and Rust Expo already on the rise, talks of expansion to other states were on the horizon.”
Brow’s husband received orders to move to Ohio in early 2015, so she sold the business she loved but began to dream big again for her new adventure.
“After settling into Ohio, Camey and I decided it was time to partner and make the dream happen,” she said.
The primarily indoor event has tacked on an additional 10,000 square feet of indoor, heated tent space to offer 34,000 square feet in all.
“This will allow shoppers a more enjoyable shopping experience with a more dispersed crowd and even more unique vendors,” Brow said.
— — —
HOW TO GO
WHAT: Ruffles & Rust Expo
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Butler County Fairgrounds, 1715 Fairgrove Ave., Hamilton
MORE INFO: Visit www.facebook.com/rufflesandrustexpoohio or email rrexpoohio@gmail.com
— — —
Download the free Journal-News app, Butler County’s #1 source for local news
About the Author
