How we verify

Every shop on Maker Row is approved by a person before it can list anything. This is slower than open signup, and it is the whole point.

The application asks for things a reseller can't fake cheaply: what you make in your own words, three to five photos of work in progress (the bench, the kiln, the hands — finished-product photos alone aren't enough), links to where your work already lives, and the handmade pledge: you, or the named people on your shop, design and make everything you list, and you disclose any production partner per listing.

A reviewer approves, asks a follow-up, or declines, with a 48-hour target. Approved shops carry the Verified maker mark and the date they joined. Declines get a one-line reason and can reapply.

After approval, any buyer or maker can report a shop or listing with one tap. Three open reports pause the shop's listings until a reviewer looks. Confirmed violations remove the shop. Every listing has an optional “Made with” field for production partners, shown publicly, so the honest case for outsourcing stays honest.

Verification material is stored privately and never shown on a profile.