Kaitlyn Hughes | features editor

Eight years ago, Monica Grunick and Kelly Sanders met “serendipitously” at a Pittsburgh Technology event.

“We were the only two creative people in the room,” Grunick said. “We hit it off right away.”

They were both involved in the maker community. Grunick taught pop-up craft workshops, and Sanders made her own upcycled fabric notebooks.

The pair clicked immediately, bonding over the fact that they both wished there was a place where they knew they were shopping exclusively local items.

In July 2017 they started love, Pittsburgh, a localized gift shop featuring Pittsburgh-based artists and creatives.

“History was made,” Sanders said.

On opening day, they had a ribbon-cutting ceremony where a local councilwoman and loved ones were present

It just so happened that their first customer was a tourist, which is exactly what they wanted to happen.

They both had the instinct to follow their hearts and create the shop together, despite not knowing each other that well.

The women-owned business strives to give customers a way to support the maker community within Pittsburgh by providing a curated variety of gifts that celebrate the creativity within the Steel City, according to their website.

The shop contains different trinkets including candles, mugs, t-shirts, towels, art prints and more. Overall, the shop tries to incorporate what they deem to be tasteful gifts.

“It’s just really fulfilling to know that you can help support artists, giving them an audience for their work, connecting them to more customers and knowing that we’re making a difference and helping them make a living at doing something that they really love,” Grunick said.

This was the dream.

When the shop first opened, they carried only 40 different makers, now they have expanded to more than 120.

Grunick said that supporting local creators feeds the economy within the city. They host artwork from people who are both full-time artists and those who do it as a side hobby.

First starting in a space on Mount Washington, the shop now has two other locations in Downtown and the Strip District, and a sister store called love, located in Market Square.

The affiliate store came about after love, Pittsburgh became known for their city-based gifts.

“[Love,] is more of an expression of other cute things we want to bring into the world,” Grunick said.

The store is a tribute to all types of love, but specifically it is a reminder of self-love.

Both Grunick and Sanders came from corporate backgrounds, so they were able to combine their experiences to start the love, Pittsburgh business from the ground up. They also tapped into resources such as the Small Business Administration, which offers funding programs, counseling, disaster recovery and more.

The business has not gone without facing challenges. Downtown has gone through quite a lot, Sanders said.

She said people from the suburbs view the area as a scary place because that is how the news portrays it.

“There’s just such a disconnect in how people view Downtown Pittsburgh,” Sanders said. “I’d love to change the perspective of Pittsburghers and how they see Downtown.”

The store tries to change this by spreading a positive message about the city.

Amber Hartung, a manager at the Strip District location, said that the staff gets to have interesting conversations about Pittsburgh with customers.

“Oftentimes, people are shocked at how beautiful the city is,” Hartung said.

She said that the shop creates a loving and friendly environment by offering products from all different types of artists. They try to include a diverse mix in their collection, so that everyone can enjoy their gifts.

A lot of the products displayed within the store are from women-owned businesses.

“It feels really wonderful that we are able to spread that joy and love around and give them an outlet,” Grunick said.

The shop is always looking for new products to incorporate to ensure they are creating a varied collection.

“It makes you feel good that you are contributing to the community and helping other local, small businesses and a lot of women-owned businesses,” Hartung said. “And showing a lot of people from Pittsburgh and also from all over the world some really cool, talented art from our artist community.”