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.
Versal and the creation
There was no question in my mind that I had to get my butt off the couch and into the kitchen. It was on! I had to replicate these and eat them all!
So from our previous blog titled “Do you feel creative?” you learned a little bit about Sal and well…creativity. I would love to think that I am a creative person as well however, I don’t always make time to express my creativity. BUUUUTTT…I love to EAT! And feed people. So because of this, while Sal was doing a painting or editing photos, guess where I was? In the kitchen? Nope, more like on the couch. Binge watching…Netflix. Oh yes and it was so great, except I swear the couch was getting a dent in it. Anyway I started watching The Great British Baking Show and fell in love instantly. I loved seeing these typical people make amazing desserts and pastries. I started to think to myself humm…..I can do that! Did I do anything? Nope. HA! I did continue watching it though until one day there was this beautiful pastry called Kouign Amman (Queen ah-mon). It is a layered pastry that was apparently super hard and time consuming to make. It’s name comes from the Breton language, the words mean butter cake. I was instantly transported to San Francisco.
San Francisco, if you don’t know, has amazing bakeries and patisseries. While on vacation my amazing cousin was showing us around town. Well ya know what you do on vacation? Thats right, A LOT of eating! Plus we are so good at it, especially the sweets. Anyway we stopped at this bakery that is very well known: b patisserie . Needless to say, my mouth had fallen in love and never wanted to leave SF.
So we stocked up on this delicious treat, but by the end of our vacation, the snacks we had purchased to bring back home were all gone. Somebody had eaten them all. I guess we couldn’t help it. There is a lot of walking to do in SF and there are a lot of trails for hiking. So you know we had to replenish our famished bodies with our delicious treats. Never the less they were all gone, we would need to wait to return to SF for delicious treats years later. I digress, going back to the baking show! As I sat watching these people make Kouign Amman the beloved pastry that we had eaten for days in SF. There was no question in my mind that I had to get my butt off the couch and into the kitchen. It was on! I had to replicate these and eat them all! I made a batch and thought, “Humm not good enough.” Delicious yes, how can you go wrong with so much butter and sugar HA! But I had to try again. Each time that family or friends were going to come over, I hopped in the kitchen and began the 6 hour long process of making this delicious treat. These things were warm and crispy on the outside with tiny pockets of melted sugar and flaky buttery layers.
Kouign Amann
Butter cake
Our family and friends were very happy being taste testers for these. But, as time went on, they started to say, “ You should start selling these.” Maybe those calories began to attack the clothes in their closet. Our journey to sales had begun. A local coffee shop with a super sweet owner asked if she could buy and sell them. This only worked for a few weeks and then poof, that magic slipped through our fingers. We were on a mission to find out how we could sell Sals’ photography and my baking. Long story short we began doing the El Paso Downtown Artist & Farmer’s Market.
We are now inspired to expand the little world of Versal Arts. We love doing the markets and being around the awesome people every weekend. However, with our new baby boy who is now the center of my universe, we are having to take a break from going to the markets. We are now taking orders and I am working on new and fun baking ideas to share with you all. If you have an idea or need something weird to be baked for you, we are here to explore and adventure the universe together. Thank you for visiting Versal Arts!!!
For those that would like to explore the universe with us, join our universe and sign-up for e-mail updates and newsletter. Those signed up are entered in a drawing every month to win an 8x10 print from our gallery. With that being said, we would like to congratulate Liana Diaz for being the February 2019 monthly-drawing winner. Congratulations! That could be your name next month!