- Ryan, how do you describe yourself?

- I tell people I'm just a nerd with local pride.

(bright upbeat music) - [Sandy] To say Ryan Laessig is proud to live in Milwaukee is an understatement.

- I tell people I eat, breathe and sleep 414.

I even have 414 on my glasses.

- [Sandy] Ryan is a mixed media artist.

He makes art from what he loves, and the two things he loves most is pop culture and Milwaukee.

- [Ryan] So a lot of my artwork themes are from video games to Star Wars to superhero characters, but I always try to put a little bit of Milwaukee in there as well.

Hey, morning, morning.

- How are you?

- Good.

- [Sandy] Aside from being an artist himself, he's also a major champion of artists in Milwaukee.

Ryan is the owner and founder of the Milwaukee Makers Market.

- Tell us what Milwaukee Makers Market is.

- So Milwaukee Makers Market is a amazing community of local small businesses, students, artists, being able to come together at a once-a-month market to then showcase their products to the Milwaukee people.

- [Sandy] The Makers Market showcases the immense artistic talent in Milwaukee and provides a place for artists to be discovered and connect with the community.

- [Ryan] You know at a big box store, you're just a receipt number.

Here, you're shaking the hand of the person who made it.

You can see that they put their passion into their products.

- [Sandy] On this episode of "The Arts Page", we meet - your friendly neighborhood maker.

- [Sandy] Ryan Laessig.

- Yeah, thank you.

(bright music swells) (gentle bright music) - [Sandy] After years of attending other festivals, street fairs and events, both as a working artist and as a volunteer, Ryan decided to start the Milwaukee Makers Market in 2016.

(gentle bright music) (traffic noise humming) - Good morning, everyone.

Make sure you get around today.

Check out everybody in the promenade, in the pavilion.

If you have any questions, come and track me down.

Again, my name's Ryan.

I'm wearing all pink today.

(people chattering) I think it came time where I saw what I didn't like at some of these events and I saw what I loved at some of these events and just started bringing it all together.

And as I became friends with a lot of these makers, it was just like, hey, we can all do this together.

Let's kind of team up.

And that's where I got that push to go, okay, we can make this happen.

And so Milwaukee Makers Market then became an official formation.

Appreciate you guys.

The fact that we have so many makers with us that go, "This is my first event ever, Ryan."

And I go, "You're gonna do amazing."

- What a gift to give artists confidence.

- Yeah, and that's kind of the goal, showing them that you can take that step forward.

That definitely builds that confidence of them to go, "Hey, I'm gonna keep growing my craft."

- The Milwaukee Makers Market has been so successful that Ryan has been able to open a permanent location in Bay View.

Talk about the evolution from pop-ups to the space we're in now.

- That's always our goal for a lot of our small businesses to go, well, one day you're gonna have your own store.

And finally, it became true for us where we now have our own store with the Milwaukee Makers Market Place and Gallery.

So we host over 60 different local businesses in the marketplace; cookies, candles, cards, you name it.

You know we're practicing what we preach in a way, 'cause we keep rooting for you to get your own store and now we finally did it ourselves.

(upbeat music) - Ryan's role as a leader in our community has grown beyond the Makers Market.

In 2024, he became the caretaker of one of Milwaukee's most prominent art destinations.

Talk about what you do on the East Side.

- Yeah, so I'm also the Executive Director of the East Side Business Improvement District Number 20.

I definitely help these bars and restaurants and amazing collaborators like Milwaukee Film with the Oriental Theater.

But now again, the art scene, bringing Black Cat Alley I think into a 2026 revitalization.

But just within my one year as East Side Executive Director we've been able to put seven new murals up in Black Cat Alley, all from local artists.

- We hear your energy about supporting local artists.

If somebody kind of comes to you and goes, "Well, does it make that much of a difference?"

- It's such a big ball of awesomeness, in my opinion, where you're supporting local community, you're supporting a small business, you're supporting someone's dream and you get the instant gratification of going I now know their name, I know their story and I'm now a part of their growth.

I love just being part of Milwaukee.

I love creating.

I love making, being an artist, being a photographer and being an entrepreneur, but also a facilitator for artists and makers and bakers of Milwaukee.

So, I try to wear as many hats as I can that will help push Milwaukee's art scene forward.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music swells) (gentle bright music) - [Sandy] Thanks for watching "The Arts Page".

Please Like, Subscribe, and turn on notifications for more stories of art in our community.

(gentle bright music fades)