Market Days are here again: every Saturday, 160 local vendors converge on Broadway to sell home grown and hand made wares of every kind

A bright, cool morning finds tents and tables going up all along Broadway, from 9th to 13th Street. The crowd soon follows, overflowing the sidewalks with browsers, couples with children in tow, people with dogs. The crowd ambles among the myriad vendor booths, selecting fresh produce, accent pieces for home and garden, and tasting the wide variety of snacks for sale. Market Days are here again, and Saturday mornings are alive with commerce, community and fun.

What began nearly 10 years ago with eight reluctant vendors has grown into a four block-long span of 160 local vendors selling everything under the sun.

“The vastness of the product offerings at Market Days is fantastic,” says Becca Zajac, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Uptown Columbus, which hosts the weekly event. “I would put it as one of the best in the southeast.”

Running north from the 900 to 1200 block of Broadway in Uptown Columbus, Market Days is a rain-or-shine market, where customers can find local produce, eggs and meat, crafts of all kinds, the up-cycled and recycled, all from community creatives. Even in unfavorable weather, the dedicated vendors are there, every Saturday morning, to provide their eager customers with an impressive range of products.

“We believe the best markets have homegrown and home produced [products],” Becca says, “and we have made sure this year’s vendors reflect that.”

Market Days reflects the creative prowess in the Columbus area, and has grown into an incubator of new businesses. Becca says the Market is the perfect place to test a new idea. Becoming a vendor costs only $150—for the entire year, which “makes it approachable for people looking to try an idea.” Many vendors have built their booth from a side gig into a full career. With regular attendance into the thousands—the Market, though it spans four blocks, does get crowded—there is room for “multiple people to succeed,” Becca says, even with similar products.

To learn more about Market Days and for information on how to become a vendor, contact Becca at becca@uptowncolumbusga.com.

Plant Magic Medicine Shop

Olivia Hight opened her first booth, Golden Milk Columbus, last year at Market Days, and the response was immediate. Her first product was a turmeric paste made with black pepper, Himalayan pink salt, cinnamon and ghee; Olivia recommends the paste be mixed with almond milk for a healthy concoction purported to have many health benefits, including use as an anti-inflammatory, immune system booster, liver detoxifier, and metabolism regulator. Following the success of her first year, Olivia changed the name of her business to Plant Magic Medicine Shop.

The name change marked a move to include even more natural, healthy products. Olivia even makes her own ghee, a clarified butter originating from India and long used for culinary, medical and religious purposes. You can find her at Market Days, and also through her online shop, plantmagicmedicineshop.bigcartel.com.

Olivia’s booth draws throngs of regular customers, and has also inspired new vendors. Her good friend, Kara Brakefield, was so impressed with Olivia’s success that she started her own business, Chattahoochee Wax Co., which you can also find among the many Market Days booths.

Rita’s Retro

Laura Walker is a long-time Market Days shopper. She worked for the United Way, but says she “wanted to make a business I could do anywhere.” She began by selling vintage items online, and soon realized she needed to directly reach a younger hipper audience. Naming her vintage booth for her mother, she sells records, clothing and accessories, including ties, hats and purses.

Now in her third year at Market Days, Laura loves the diversity of Market Days’ shoppers—the students, soldiers and families, the people who live downtown. She also appreciates the way Market Days has put her in touch with people she might not otherwise come to know. “I meet people who are transient,” she says. “I get to know them.”

She encourages new vendors. “First thing about Market Days,” she says, “is you can sell every weekend.” Per Market Days rules, vendors must commit to regular attendance, to keep the Market consistent for shoppers. This is good for vendors and customers alike. We asked about the way seasons impact her business; Market Days is now a year-round event, and we wanted to know how business waxes and wanes. Laura surprised us by admitting her best weekend is in February, when the  Georgia Thespian Conference comes to Columbus, which brings more than 5,000 high school thespians to town.

For Laura at Rita’s Retro, selling vintage wares at Market Days is a year-round career. Find her on Facebook @ritasretro.

Bent by Courtney

Courtney Johnson began making jewelry while in college, as an outlet for her creative energy. Her business grew through sales at local boutiques, and in 2012, at her mother’s suggestion, she brought her jewelry—some pieces are bold, others understated, but all eclectic and genuinely unique—to Market Days. The move has been a great success.

Courtney says coming to Market Days has helped with sales, and also helps the community get to know who she is. One of the great joys of Market Days is the personal connections that develop between vendor and customer. This is one of those rare retail spaces in which experience is as much a pleasure as the products sold. Courtney enjoys the personal connection. “I get to see the response,” she says of meeting customers face to face. The personal connection also helps her get a better feel for what people like, helping her to create ever more interesting jewelry.

In addition to sales through her website, bentbycourtney.com, making jewelry is a full-time gig for Courtney. For prospective vendors, she advises not to undervalue their work. Don’t be afraid to ask what you’re worth; if your products are quality, people will respond.

Little Bit Farms

Due Ian Steel and Mary-Martin White purchased Little Bit Farms, located in West Point, three years ago, and share their labor of love with the Columbus community every Saturday at Market Days. Their mission is three-fold: to share with the community, showcase the beauty of the earth, and educate people about sustainable eating.

Neither have an agriculture background. Ian took an urban farming course while living in Oregon, and when he met Marty-Martin in Utah, they started a garden together. As both were unhappy with their day jobs, they decided to take their gardening experience and see how much it could grow. Deciding on the Columbus area, where Mary-Martin is from, they’ve never looked back.

Farming is hard work, especially in the late spring and early summer, but Ian and Marty-Martin are up and working at 7 a.m., even as Ian pulls double duty as a Harris County volunteer firefighter. What they cultivate is as much of the earth as it is of the community, and Market Days puts them face to face with their customers each Saturday. For all the hard work, this duo is having fun, and love getting to know their customers.

You can find more information about their story and their offerings at littlebitfarmgeorgia.com.