A Day in the Life of the Shopkeeps of The Rose Craft

Lately, we have been giving you quite a few how to guides in our previous blog articles, but today if feels like it would be a great time to delve into a little bit of a day-in-the-life sort of post.

Very recently we participated in our very first live market event at Black Circle Market. As an online business, live markets and pop up events are one of the few ways right now that we can actually get out there and see people to show off our products. And it was such a fun event too!

Why Are Live Shows Important?

Live markets and fairs are important in several ways, including having a chance at live social interactions, expanding customer base, networking with other vendors, and just simply getting out there. There is little that can actually replace the sort of energy that you encounter at live outdoor or indoor markets.

Being an online business right now, we try to keep a steady presence on our social media pages and hold live sales to show off our products. This has been helpful in many ways in reaching out to customers and showing we are here while answering questions about our crystals. But taking this recent opportunity to go to a live market event was just too good to pass up.

Being around people is such an important aspect of having a business that is meant to sell and cater to our customers. It gives us the chance to really interact with you as our customers and share our excitement over our products in a way that actually feels like a connection.

There are people at live events like the one we went to that helped expand our customer base. People getting the chance to see that there is a local business, online as we are, that is selling items they are interested in.

As unexpected as it was, there is a great opportunity at live events to build community and networking opportunities with other local vendors. A friend of ours has done many live events over the years to get her own work out there and has always talked about the friends she has made with other vendors. And there definitely is that feeling at these sorts of events.

Our goal is to one day own a brick and mortar location to have that experience on a daily basis with customers and local businesses. To be able to sit with people and walk them through the process of picking their first crystal or finding the right ritual supplies for them. To just meet new people and help them along their personal paths and journeys.

But until then, live markets will be a fun venture to continue to explore.

Why We Enjoyed This One

Our first live market was at Black Circle Market in the Broad Ripple area of Indianapolis. As a one day event, it was perfect for us to experience our first live show and set up a booth. And while the weather was a bit windy and chilly, it was still surprisingly great.

As an event that takes place each month on the fourth Sunday, Black Circle Market provides us with an opportunity to come back multiple months this show season to continue to experience these live events.

The excitement and anticipation leading up to this past Sunday was pretty high for both of us. There was worry about rain and cold and wind. Was our tent going to be good. Was the weights we got to hold the tent down going to be enough? Were we taking enough products to show? Everything was building up. And it was fantastic.

With a little practice of setting up the tent out of the way a couple weeks before, we hoped everything would go well. Cassie’s husband, thankfully, joined us and helped us in setting up and holding the tent down during major wind gusts. We set out our crystals and altar supplies on our table and bundled up in an hour's time and settled in to get ready for the five hour event.

Even though the wind and weather was not as conducive as it could have been, it was such a great event. Maybe it was the excitement of being out and around people, but we could not have asked for a better first market event experience.

Being able to see customers and friends stop by to support us and meeting new people, was worth more than anything else. And having the opportunity to meet and talk to other vendors and see what they had was also amazing.

I hope that future events we take part in will be just as great, if not considerably better weather. ;)

Special Thanks

We want to thank several people for their help and just the experience.

Cassie’s husband, for being there and helping with set up and tear down and holding our tent down when the gusts were rougher, and grabbing us coffee and food.

Black Circle Brewing for hosting this lovely event.

Jennifer Meeker, for her advice in set up and what to expect.

All of our friends and customers who came out to see and support us. Your purchases are definitely appreciated but it was also nice to see your faces and catch up with you.

Eat.Surreal for the AMAZEBALL plant-based cheeses.

Metal Honey for their tasty honeys. (I love flavored honeys).

Gold Leaf for their coffee that kept us going.

Indy Sweet Confectionery for their tasty treats.

And all the other vendors there at the event. You all were awesome!

What to Expect Next

With our first venture into live market events over and after having a great experience, I know we are looking forward to more in the future. Not just to sell our goods, but to meet people and make those connections that are all too important in today’s world.

We are looking into future events and will keep you posted on social media when and where they will be.

Keep your eyes peeled, and we hope to see you at our next event!