Your First Maker's Market: The Basics

If you've decided to finally take your art to the streets & sell at a local market or vending event, congratulations! Figuring out where to start can totally be overwhelming, so here are some of the nuggets of information I've developed over the past 3 years of doing markets around San Diego county 🌞 ✨

 

The Necessities

-Pop-up tent (if outdoors)

-Folding table

-Table cloth or covering

-Folding chair or stool

-A way to accept payment (if you don’t have a credit card POS system, that’s totally fine– a printed venmo QR code will do the job!). I recommend accepting at least cash, Venmo, and one other kind of digital payment like Zelle or Cashapp.

-Water & snacks!!!

Finding Your First Market

-The best place to start is by talking to your fellow artists and makers in your city and finding out where they sell! If you don’t know anybody in the market scene, go to a market in your area and chat with the vendors about how they went about getting in as a vendor at the event. I’m always so happy to talk to other artists getting started in the market scene when they come up to my booth and strike up a conversation!

-Go to the instagrams of artists in your area and find out what events they sell at by checking their tagged photos and highlights

-Not to sound like an annoying hustle culture grifter, but your network is your net worth! The more people in the scene you get to know, the more you’ll be invited to so many markets and pop-ups you won’t know what to do with yourself. Your first time is just dipping your toe into a huge network of artists, makers, and event organizers that will now have you on their radar for future events!

Booth Fees & Red Flags

-Vendor booth fees will vary from market to market and are, I’m assuming, totally dependent on the region you’re located. In my experience vending in San Diego, booth fees typically range from $45-$100 for a four to six hour long event

-Sometimes there is an application process where market organizers will extend an invitation to their event if they think you’ll be a good fit. Other times, you’ll simply be able to secure your vendor space by paying the booth fee without any application. It just depends! 

-There’s a few things to keep in mind when deciding how much you want to spend on an event. I’ve overwhelmingly come across fabulous market organizers who put so much work and time into creating events that are great for the vendors and shoppers alike, but unfortunately I’ve also come across market organizers who only see that vendor fee going straight into their pocket (and couldn’t care less about how the actual event turns out). This is why, especially for events with a higher price point, I make sure that the market has an extensive social media presence with evidence that they promote their events either online or in-person. Be cautious of markets that are brand new and have no history of organizing successful events!

-There’s no foolproof plan for choosing a good market or having a successful event. Sometimes you’ll flop at an otherwise busy market, or you’ll end up sitting around all day with only a handful of people stopping by your booth. If you bomb at a market, don’t take it personally– there’s so many factors like time of day, the weather, and the neighborhood where the event is taking place. I’ll always recommend that you try markets during the day, after dark, indoors, outdoors, and in different areas of your city. You’ll be able to collect information about what works for you and what doesn’t.

The Day Of

-If you have a lot of different products and displays, do a test setup at home a day or two before the market! You can make sure everything fits and looks nice before the actual event, and take a photo so you can reference it while setting up at the real thing. 

-In the weeks leading up to the event, the host will typically send out an email with the load-in time, parking information, and anything else vendors will need to know. 

-Bring something to work on while you sit at your booth! It’ll make you feel less awkward when people come up and shop your booth. 

-Don’t feel the need to be super salesy if that’s not your vibe– just greeting your customers & letting them know that you’re happy to answer any questions works perfectly! I’m a big talker and I love chatting if the person on the other side of the table seems conversational, but I never want to hold someone hostage in a conversation who just wants to shop in peace 🧘♀️ ☮️