El Paso Salvador Melendez El Paso Salvador Melendez

Are There Too Many Artist/Farmers Markets in EP?

It seems every week there are market events occurring. All different sides of town. There are a few main markets, and new ones are popping up. Is this too many? Is the “market” getting saturated? There are a few similarities and differences between them. Here’s a quick guide on the main differences.

It seems every week there are market events occurring. All different sides of town. There are a few main markets, and new ones are popping up. Is this too many? Is the “market” getting saturated? There are a few similarities and differences between them. Here’s a quick guide on the main differences.

Ardovino’s Desert Crossing

  • Actual farmer’s market vibe

  • Fresh produce

  • Fresh ingredients

  • Artisans

  • Very traditional

  • Very simple booths with a table and their products

The vibe here is definitely something that you get from traditional farmers that are living off the land and are self sustaining. They make everything they eat from ingredients they have grown. No processed foods. Skilled in different ways of preserving, and making the most out of their resources.

Upper Valley Artist and Farmer’s Market

At the Substation and at Mesa Plaza in front of Hobby Lobby on the west side

  • Modern market

  • Lots of vendors

  • Similar products within the market, but different execution

  • More elaborate booth presentations

A modern take on the markets. These booths have a more elaborate presentation. Tables with table cloths, shelves with decorations. Presentation is a big part of their image. There are lots of vendors. Some will sell very similar products with very slight differences in execution. For example if they sell tumblers, some will be themed as very cute, while other may be themed as darker horror themes, but again still the “same” product.

Kaleidoscope Art Market

Currently occurring mostly at Sunland Park Mall aside from occasional LARGER market such as 4-20 market and Krampus Fest.

  • Niched

  • Dark themes

  • Knick-knacks

  • Curiosities

  • Replicas

Kaleidoscope is more of an art market. Very little farmer’s and home grown products. There are a lot of homemade products along with artwork. This includes things like crotchet, jewelry, candles, and more. This market is more niched and themed. A lot of fans of anime, horror, musicians, vintage, etc.

El Paso Downtown Artist & Farmer’s Market

  • Modern Farmers

  • Vegan and Lifestyle options

  • Modest booth presentation

  • Original Artwork

This is a middle ground from the Ardovino’s Market and the Upper Valley market. This is modern take on the farmer’s market. There are farmers and other homegrown goods. They cater to the different lifestyles such as vegan, gluten-free, non-processed foods, etc. Artists are very original and unique. Very few of them use trademarked themes and characters.

Now you know!

Another little side note is that most of these markets are pet friendly (except the indoor markets) and some vendors even offer dog treats. More consistently at Upper Valley and Downtown markets.

We have sold at all but the Ardovino’s Desert Crossing market. So like us, a lot of vendors overlap in the markets. Each market did feel different, and attracted different customers. We felt different and responded differently to the different crowds and customers. We have been on both sides now.

We would love to hear from you? As a vendor or customer. Which markets do you like more, and why? Which vendors? What do they have that the others don’t? How do you stand out in the different markets? Or continue the discussion on our Facebook group for Artist/Vendor Improvements.

If you’d like a few tips, this is how Super Bowl ads stand out, and you don’t need a big budget.

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El Paso Comic Con 2022. Pros and Cons and how we can continue to have other great events!

What was a pleasant surprise was the talent of local artists. I’m not surprised at the talent, but it was cool to see them all in one place back-to-back from one booth to the next.

Experience El Paso Comic Con 2022

It has been a while since we attended El Paso Comic Con. Maybe since 2016. We figured it was about to time we check it out again. It was no disappointment.

Summary

  • Comic Conventions are for all things geeky and nerdy and fun.

  • Great guests, including William Shatner.

  • Extremely talented local & regional artists.

  • Non-regional artist companies.

  • El Paso’s communication struggles.

  • Artists contact info

What is a comic convention?

If you don’t know what a comic convention is… it is pretty much a convention for a bunch of geeky and nerdy fun things. It’s not just about comic books and super heroes. It can range from pretty much anything that gets a really hyped up fanbase. Movies such as Jurassic Park, Ghostbusters, Disney (including Marvel and Star Wars), and TV shows such as anime, The Office, Breaking Bad, etc. Across all genres. If there was a show that has very recognizable characters that may inspire you to dress up, you may find it at a comic con.

Pros: Great guests and local/regional artists.

Fun stuff of this magnitude is hard to come by for El Paso. They had great guests. William Shatner (Star Trek) and Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad & The Mandalorian) to name a few. Of course to meet them comes at additional costs. I imagine putting an event like this is hard work.

More event photos...

But what was a pleasant surprise was the talent of local artists. I’m not surprised at the talent, but it was cool to see them all in one place back-to-back from one booth to the next. The art is not just pretty pictures. They are very skilled drawings and paintings, but they have a lot of meaning.

Chuco Chamuco

One in particular that stands out is Chuco Chamuco. He can take a lot of familiar characters and places and turn them into representations of many things to tell a new, yet familiar story.


Bloonmac

Bloonmac is another one that does something similar, taking popular characters and placing them with local landmarks. They also have some original characters, and also offer social painting classes. Check out their contact info for more information.

Louie Diaz - Black Blood Artistry

One of our other favorites is Louie Diaz, Black Blood Artistry. He is an incredibly talented artist that specializes in photo-realism. It is unreal how real it looks… if that makes any sense. He can be frequently found at Kaleidoscope Art Market. Louie was also one of our featured Versal Artists. You can check it out here.

There were also some very talented semi-local/regional artists, from Austin and New Mexico, and even California. We heard a lot of compliments on the turn out, and the people from El Paso which is always good to hear.

There were also some non-local, artist companies. Much better resources, set-up, and mass production. It is good to have a diverse selection, but it does tend to take away a little bit from the “El Paso” Comic Con. I have mixed feelings about this. There was some really great stuff there too, but I dislike that it can take away from the local artists. Most artists, especially getting into it as a business, understand what they’re getting themselves into. Competition and resources, etc. I assume the sign-up is open to everybody and it is the local artists job to sign-up and sell along with the other art companies. In the end, we definitely had a stronger connection to the local artists because they are catering to us. they know what we like and how to put their artistic touch to still make it theirs. (I have attached contact info to most of the artists we encountered below)

Cons: El Paso’s communication struggles…

Like we have mentioned, this was a really fun event and I recommend going to it if you have the faintest interest. However, our city struggles with communication. From freeway lanes being closed and not being notified until it is too late. Finding out an event sounds fun to attend, then finding out it already happened. O dimply displaying signs to get a simple message across.

  • Allowances into the venue - I have a DSLR camera, aka a “fancy” camera with removable lens. It was not allowed into the venue, but the last time we came it was not an issue. Allowing the camera in or not is not the issue. Policies change, I understand that. But there were no signs.

  • Meet & greet section - We were vlogging the event. (Video link above). I understand if we are not allowed to film in a certain area, but we were confronted by security to delete a video I caught of Giancarlo Esposito. I am not upset about this. I understand if it is a stipulation the guest had or the event…BUT this is the first I hear about it. It was little surprising to be approached somewhat aggressively about filming. Luckily, the security guard was understanding. I explained that I did not know, I had not seen any signs or warnings. We complied and got rid of it. No harm no foul. On another occasion, a similar thing happened to somebody else. A different security guard was loudly informing that there is no video allowed in this section. The person, to us appeared to be complying, but the security guard continued to reiterate that the was no video in this section. To me… this is what can escalate situations. It feels like when your mom would nag at you about something you are already doing. “Ok mom ig et it!” 😜. So I think a simple sign could solve some problems I understand also here in El Paso we also have another tendency to think, “That sign doesn’t apply to me.” 😑. But I think a sign could do more good than harm.

  • Getting the word out - We bumped into an old colleague at the event, and said he had just found out it was going to be that weekend. Luckily we knew from a little longer ago that the event was occurring. But it happens countless times, that I see something about an event, and it either already happened, or it is happening as I’m discovering it. I honestly don’t know where the communication breakdown happens, but it happens quite frequently in our city. Our people sometimes complain that there isn’t anything to do. I disagree. I just think that nobody knows what is happening. They don’t know there options. Maybe using a common hashtag. Especially for local events. #supportelpaso #supportelpasobusinesses #elpasoevents or create a new one that we ALL use. Consensus.

The pros clearly outweigh the cons. But the cons still need to be addressed because it is a common issue at other El Paso events. We would like for El Paso to continue having great events like this with as few hiccups as possible, so here are a few things that can help:

Signs

  • Directing to parking for the event

  • Parking signs for cash/card/which floors or areas of parking facility.

  • Allowances into the venue

  • Areas of the event guests can access

Promotion & Marketing & Timing

  • 2 weeks to a month and more frequently as it nears.

  • More exposure in more places as it nears.

  • Social media networking and getting different bubbles to post your stuff. Your bubble already knows. Find a way to break into other bubbles.

We are working on putting together a calendar where these events can be placed for everyone to see with easy access and visibility. They can be sent in to us to be put on the calendar. Our calendar is not ready, but if the event is far enough in advance, you can send it to us and hopefully by that time, our calendar will be live. We look forward to having great events and #supportelpaso 😉

Artist contact info

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