Treasure hunting? Find handmade pottery, earrings, hats and community at new makers market

For just under three years, Nellys Siria has been making earrings in a rainbow of colors — green monstera leaves in a mustard vase, blue raindrops dangling from a bubblegum pink umbrella, half-moons in any pastel. At her booth at the last Rain or Shine Community Market in Tacoma, she also had adorable orange carrots.

‘Tis the season, she said on April 3 at The Drake, a multi-use venue on Pacific Avenue and 9th Street downtown.

It was mid-day, and the two-story building was streaming with guests eyeing a piece of handmade jewelry and pottery, or custom clothing from one of a couple dozen vendors. Have you ever dreamt of bucket hats? You will when you see Designs by Noona, who meticulously embroiders this 100 percent cotton accessory with tatreez, a Palestinian tradition of threading several colors into traditional motifs.

These are things you can’t just find at the store.

The next market is scheduled for Sunday, May 15 at the Chong Wa Playfield in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District, a celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage month. On June 25, it returns to the Phinney Center. Follow instagram.com/rainorshinemarket for a forthcoming Tacoma date.

Makers markets like this one are a significant avenue for microbusinesses to reach potential customers directly, and offline. But many carry hefty vendor fees, especially for small business owners trying to get their idea off the ground, or otherwise carry implicit and sometimes explicit barriers to entry, according to vendors The News Tribune interviewed for this article.

“I’m Latina, and that’s a really important part of me and my designs,” said Siria, who typically sets up a table at markets around the Puget Sound three or four times a month. At some, “You can’t quite put your finger on why.” She paused, “but you just feel out of place.”

CREATING THE RAIN OR SHINE MARKET

Rain or Shine was spearheaded by Jenni Liu, a Seattle-based artist who since 2018 has created “cheerful, functional” ceramics. As a newcomer to the market scene, she noticed high fees for established markets — they can reach into the hundreds of dollars, vendors said — and a general sensation of “not feeling super welcome.”

She started talking with other artists who, like her, identified as a person of color. Countless others chimed in with similar sentiments.

“I thought, gosh, maybe I should do something about that. Is there a need?” Liu recalled.

Within a matter of days, she had created The Community Market, hosting the first event in Phinney Ridge last October. The next month, the name had morphed to Rain or Shine, with organizing support from fellow potters Della Tosin and Tacoma-based Katharine Dawn.

They planned a holiday market for Dawn’s home turf at Parable, a newer boutique in the McKinley neighborhood that doubles as a community venue. Owned by a trio of cousins, the shop self-identifies as woman-owned, Black-owned and LBGTQ-owned.

There, a couple of food vendors joined, including the upstart Yeastside Bakery with homemade bagels, malasadas and sourdough bread, and the decadent treats filled with gooey chocolate or marshmallow from Coping Cookies. At other editions, Everett-based Velnalita Bakery, a one-woman enterprise, has showcased her cookies in flavors like PB&J, maple with bacon salt and double espresso chocolate.

After the third market in February, Siria of Cocoa Loves Grey said on Instagram, “Once again, my heart is so full after another wonderful Rain or Shine Market today. What Jenni has put together by creating this market is truly remarkable.”

DROPPING BARRIERS TO ENTRY

In addition to the fees, said Nisha Moore, whose gemstone jewelry glimmered at The Drake in April, this market differs from others in simple ways.

If desired, organizers will connect new vendors with veteran sellers — ideally in their category — in a kind of informal mentorship program. They answer questions like how much product to bring and which cash app works best; they share tables and tents. Applicants can also request a sliding scale fee based on their ability to pay.

“It just encourages you to be like, ‘You can do this! You can be here,’” Liu said.

Volunteers also help vendors haul in, set up and break down. They walk around offering bathroom breaks or bottles of water — “and that’s not always available,” said Moore, who works alone. “It’s nice to have that community support, especially when starting a small business.”

Like many others at this market and all over Instagram, she dove further into her creative endeavor during the pandemic, after she lost one of her two jobs. Building a brand virtually feels daunting and maybe just no way to live life, she added.

“Is everything going to go virtual? I don’t want that,” she said. “These markets make you feel alive in that way.”

“A lot of people did start businesses during the pandemic,” Liu said, “and so this is a way for folks to be out meeting people. Social media is so hard to get followers, to know how to do branding, know how to put up a website, and so if you can just get a table at a pop-up, that can be a way to get your foot in the door, to talk with your customers. Customers can touch your pieces, and that can really help grow your business.”

Rain or Shine assists that effort, too. Their Instagram page is awash in posts about all of these small businesses, a “Meet the Makers” series with images, origin stories and inspiration from the people behind the products.

RAIN OR SHINE COMMUNITY MARKET

▪ Details: BIPOC-focused market, monthly events in Seattle or Tacoma

▪ Next up: May 15, 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Chong Wa Benevolent Association, 522 7th Ave., Seattle

▪ Then: June 25, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Phinney Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N, Seattle

This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 5:00 AM.