Oh Yes USA: New Made In America Online Retailer Launches

Move over New York's Made in America Store. There's a new USA-only retail destination in town. It's the Austin-based OHSAY USA, which open for business this past week, offering 250 American-made items -- all available over the Internet. Sorry, no brick and mortar store just yet. 

OHSAY USA is the brainchild of veteran interactive marketer Sherry Holdridge, featuring a wide range of "Made In America" merchandise, from a Rosie the Riveter water bottle to lawn flamingos.

Inspired by the ongoing series of ABC News reports on domestically made products and frustrated that she couldn't find U.S.-manufactured Christmas lights, Holdridge wanted to offer an online retail destination that showcased products that are not only made stateside but also appeal to her taste.

Said Holdridge to the Austin American Statesman recently: "I'm really picky about what I took ... To start, I picked things I would buy and that my friends would probably like as well. Then, going forward, I'll look at what takes off and go from there."

It wasn't as easy as she thought it would be, however. She found that online retailers offered few U.S.-made products, many of which she didn't like. 

"I didn't see anything exciting or fresh," she told the Statesman. "It's really frustrating when you can't find what you want."

Eventually after six months of tracking down manufacturers of products that actually appealed to her, she cobbled together a collection of sorts, showcasing some items that had never been available online until OHSAY USA came along.

To learn more about her company, see: www.osayusa.com.