This year, I made it a goal of mine to participate in at least 3 markets. That may not sound like a lot, but given that I also work a 9-5 in addition to running this little business, it was a good goal for me. I participated in one in June, one in September, and then had my third in October.
When I was accepted to the October market, I had a bit of a gut feeling that it might not be the right market for me; but decided to shoot my shot and participated in it anyway. I figured it may not be super profitable, but at least give me the opportunity to network and sell a few things.
Boy, was I wrong! It became pretty abundantly clear that the people browsing this market didn’t show up for the market itself, but rather to take their children to their ballet & karate classes which was in the building behind the market. Now, some of the parents did browse the market after dropping of their kids, but they didn’t come out with the intention of market shopping. This makes a big difference in someone being an interested potential customer as opposed to someone who is just going to quickly walk past all of the booths. I realized quite early in the day was that the crowd wasn’t the right audience for my handmade jewelry.
I couldn’t help but feel that the market organizers could have done a better job in selecting vendors. When you curate an event, it’s crucial to consider the vendors and the audience and how they will connect. Instead, it felt like the market was simply aiming for quantity over quality, filling booths without much thought about whether the vendors’ products aligned with the interests of the attendees.
This experience taught me a valuable lesson: Not all markets are created equal, and it’s important to research the target audience of any event before signing up. But it also highlighted a broader issue with how some markets are run. Event organizers should be more selective and intentional when curating their vendor list. If there had been better communication about the event’s crowd or more consideration for vendor variety, I might have recognized that this market wasn’t the right fit and could have saved both time and money.
That’s not to say it was all bad. I met some wonderful people, networked with a few fellow vendors, and even learned some new strategies for engaging with an audience that might not initially seem like a perfect match. But ultimately, it reminded me of the importance of staying true to my brand and ensuring the markets I attend align with the customers who resonate with my jewelry’s message.
If you’re a small business owner or an artist, my advice is this: Always research your markets, and don’t be afraid to walk away from opportunities that don’t feel right for your brand. It’s not just about making sales—it’s about finding your people, the ones who understand the value of your work. Unfortunately, there is a lot of trial and error to this - trying both new-to-me markets and geographies to nail down the right fit, but I feel like I've learned a lot in the past few years of doing markets, and am slowly but surely figuring out where I should be.
One last note to end on - NEVER get discouraged if you have a no-sale day, or don't make back your market fee. This is oftentimes not about you, but rather finding your customer base! It of course is helpful to reflect on your setup and your signage to see if anything could be clearer, but I've gone to markets before with the same exact set up and tanked or done amazingly, without changing anything. The key is finding your audience. Persistence is key, and your art is valuable.