Myla’s Markets

My daughters Myla and Brielle love attending handmade markets, just like I did as a child growing up. It is so special seeing the hard work that artisans put into their creations with everyone’s creativity on display! A while back, Myla asked if she could have her own booth at a market one day. She learned how to crochet chains when she was 7 years old, and in December 2023 when she was 11 years old, she learned how to crochet in a round to make amigurumi and read crochet patterns! This was a major turning point on her crochet journey as she went through many patterns, learned new techniques and really honed her skills.

I kept my eye out for any markets that gave children the opportunity to sell their handmade pieces. My friends Dori of Jars of Clay Calligraphy and Lindsay of Haiku Lane Jewelry invited “Mini Makers” to their Hello Pretty Market in April 2024, so we applied! It was very exciting when we were accepted, and Myla spent about three months preparing stock for her very first market. Ryan designed a logo in collaboration with Myla and we came up with the name “Myla Makes” (we love alliteration). We printed off her banner display through Staples and looked for ideas on how to display her creations on the table. Thankfully, we have friends who regularly do markets, so we were able to borrow many of their pieces without needing to purchase them, such as wooden crates and gold trays. We signed up for a Square account (we have a referral link HERE) so we could take credit card payment, but we told our customers that cash was preferred since there are processing fees through Square. [Note that if you sign up using our referral link, we’ll both receive a reward of our choice, such as free card processing fees for up to $1000 in sales within the first 180 days or $20 off Square Hardware.] We were so excited when market day came!

In August 2024, Myla did her first outdoor market! This community farmer’s market had a lot of foot traffic, and we were so thankful that the weather was amazing (there were potential thunderstorms in the forecast, in which case the market would have been cancelled). Myla was a part of their “Young Vendor” program, and they provided a tent and table. Myla made some new items for this market, and we documented how many plushies she started off with and how many sold in this video here (also on YouTube HERE):

After posting this video on social media, many people were interested in the patterns that Myla followed! Here are all the pattern links:

We are so proud of Myla and how hard she worked to build up her stock, learn new techniques and try out different patterns (she even helped me pattern test my teddy bear pattern). She loved taking inventory, learning how to use the Square device for payment, and seeing so many children excitedly come up to her booth and admire her creations! Brielle has always been such a loving sister as she helped restock and gave lots of moral support! We are so thankful that we could do these markets together as a family. We all learned so much, and we are very thankful for these markets and how they give these young vendors the opportunity to have their own booths to encourage entrepeneurship.

I found this free resource called “Guide to Writing a Business Plan” by Biz Kids HERE and worked through it with Myla so we could talk about marketing, startup costs, profits, etc. We tracked all our expenses so we could see how much money we put into her business (e.g. printing her banner, yarn, market fees, etc.) and how much profit we made when the markets were finished. Some people asked if we had any market advice, and here are some of our pointers:

  • Greet every customer who glances your way or approaches your booth!
  • Have a “wow” item that draws customers’ attention and brings them closer to your booth. For us, we had the large chicken (who we have affectionately named “Bertha” as she is the mother hen of all the chickens) as many people commented about this big amigurumi and wanted to come forward and feel her. We also offered free candy at our booth, so many people came closer to our table to get the free candy!
  • Display your amigurumi with multiple levels so there is some elevation to your table (rather than all flat on one level). We achieved this with our wooden crates, gold trays and keychain holder!
  • Clearly display your prices so people know how much each item is without needing to ask you.
  • Have cash on hand so you can give change when you need to ($5, $10, $20). I would say half our customers paid with cash and half our customers paid with credit card. We made our prices round numbers so we did not have to deal with loonies and twonies (e.g. $10 versus $8).
  • When applying for markets, keep in mind who their target audience is and whether it matches with your target audience. There are a lot of crochet and amigurumi vendors nowadays, so try and see if the organizers try to balance the type of vendors (it can be hard if there a lot of similar vendors at the same market selling the same items). If you would like your children to be vendors, keep an eye out for any local markets that have these opportunities or ask the organizers whether they would be open to having mini makers/young vendors. We paid a discounted vendor fee at the Hello Pretty Market as a Mini Maker and we did not have to pay any fees at all for our local community farmer’s market!

I cannot believe that we have done two markets now, and both were such great experiences. We do not have any further markets planned in 2024, but perhaps we will do more in future years! After attending so many handmade markets throughout the years, it was so neat to be on the other side as a vendor and experience what that was like. Myla LOVED selling her amigurumi and she said a highlight was when friends and family came to visit us. We are so thankful to everyone who came out to support Myla and for all the people who were so encouraging and eager to support these young entrepreneurs. It is so special seeing the next generation develop a passion for the arts and see them express their own creativity! Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you found it helpful!

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