For those just getting in to the open air markets for extra cash and experimentation of retailing products, or are fully fledged seasonal caravans of scaled product lines and banking wholesale accounts; between May and December you’re getting busy or booked.
Pittsburgh has seen a surge of outdoor markets expand and new venues come to life.
PGHretail has been blessed enough with the opportunity to assist in developing markets and connecting commerce players: consumers + makers. Cedar Arts Market began as an assistance to the flea market that had been slowly picking back up through volunteer organization in the Allegheny Commons East Park.
Through CAM, we joined the Deutschtown Music Festival for their annual July show full of free music provided by 150+ bands, street vendors, beer gardens, and community engagement for the last two years in the same park. Now in their fourth year, the festival organizers are calling all artists to join them this year.
http://deutschtownmusicfestival.org/vendor-booth-request/
Last August, CAM sponsored the Pittsburgh VegFest in their first-ever event in Allegheny Commons. With their loyal and eager audience, the all-vegan experience has expanded with twice as many vendors and is also in July for 2016. Vendor spaces are strictly for vegan friendly products and
https://pittsburghvegfest.org/vegfest-2016/
Having moved to organizing a new workshop series after the 2015 CAM outdoor market season closed, PGHretail helped to connect I Made It! Market to the Northside at the new Nova Place (Allegheny Center). With their partnership, the annual IMI! for the Holidays was held for the first time on the Northside. The breadth of artists that Carrie Nardini, owner and organizer, works with is inspiring and central to how IMI! (and Neighborhood Flea) is able to expand and be part of almost every neighborhood in Pittsburgh.
New markets for IMI! this year are: Wholey’s on the weekends, Open Streets, and Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank Feed More Festival.
http://imadeitmarket.com/events/
Specific to the Northside and not a regular selling opportunity; the Block Party Pgh hosts a once of month outdoor block party! The organizers are looking for hyper-local artists and crafters interested in holding a table with kids and/or adult art and/or craft projects. These interactions can be viewed as practice talking about your art, using member participation to build your art, or providing a canvas for public art for the community.
Interested artists can contact: ben@blockpartypgh.com
If you’ve made it through to this sentence, you may have ascertained that Cedar Arts Market has been placed on hold for 2016 as we make room to work on other projects and allow our partners to expand on the collective networks built to support communities, in common interest and on common ground.
Stay tuned for the next announcement!