Always on the lookout for businesses that will print things like 'Sister of the Bride' and 'the Best Man' on T-shirts as well as those that have unique gift ideas for wedding parties, Robin Jackson found both in Hang Ups in Niagara Falls. It was almost like a match made in heaven.

"I'm the person that dreams up these things (for wedding parties) and these are the people I have to go through," said Jackson, who recently established herself in the Niagara Region. "Now we are good friends."

"She needs a place to get product from," said Jim Briggs, of Hang Ups. "We'll try to help her business become successful and it will help us be successful, too."

A little bit like a trade show, a little bit like speed dating, Niagara Networks was the perfect place for small business owners to meet people, make connections, exchange ideas, do business and have fun.

Niagara Networks attracted business from across the region to the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort's Grande Ballroom Tuesday for a networking extravaganza. It's the third time the Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce organized the event in partnership with chambers from Fort Erie, Lincoln, Welland/Pelham, Grimsby, Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. Catharines/Thorold and West Lincoln.

"The aim was to put on a show that was truly represented Niagara and Niagara business," said Carolyn Bones, president of the Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce.

For Patti Fagan, who runs the Cafe on Main in Welland, the event was a good place to get to know the people who run the businesses she often sees in newspaper ads. And because she wants to serve the best products of Niagara, whether it's locally baked bread or environmentally friendly coffee cups, something like Niagara Networks was a good place to make those connections and spread the word about her business and what she is trying to do.

"This is a fabulous way to meet people you've always heard about and a great way to get your product known," said Fagan.