The sequel to last fall’s first-ever Lasell Flea Market, hosted by senior fashion merchandising and management major and Creative Director of POLISHED, Sydney Pesaturo, happened on Friday, April 14. This recent spring version featured more vendors, a total of 18, including an increased number of outsourced sellers, and was held in the Arnow Quad as opposed to de Witt Hall.
Last semester, the event was essentially school-sponsored, as they prorated select costs according to Pesaturo. This semester, however, the event was self-sustaining due to a lower-than-usual $20 vending fee put in place for artists. This cost was a far cry from the usual cost of urban markets, which can reach upwards of $100 according to Pesaturo. “I think a lot of the outside vendors were mostly appreciative,” she said.
Pesaturo said compared to last year, “it was definitely more of a variety. And I think that doing it outside was better also, just because people were walking to and from class or walking to 1851 to get food so they kind of saw what was going on and stopped by.”
To increase vendor presence and promote the event, Pesaturo utilized connections she had made through POLISHED, and her personal business endeavors. “I gave them the flier so they posted it on their story at least three times before coming… tagging Lasell fashion and tagging me so people knew who was hosting it and where it was,” she said.
One of those artists was Samantha Gottlich, whose brand is No Rhyme Or Reason (NROR) Art. Gottlich said she met Pesaturo at a fashion show in a store she was working with. Later on, Pesaturo and the POLISHED team used NROR jewelry for a photoshoot. “Lasell’s got a special place in my heart for all of these collaborations I've gotten to do,” she said.
According to Gottlich, Pesauro reached out through Instagram gauging her interest in attending the event as a vendor, to which she replied with immediate agreement to go. Gottlich was selling earrings, tote bags, vintage materials, and more at her booth.
Other artists had crocheted pieces, vintage clothes, and other unique art for sale.
“Everybody has their own unique branding. So it was great networking and a great learning experience for everyone to see what bits and pieces you might take from others, or how you can improve your own setup,” said Gottlich.
Gottlich said her experience from the selling side of the table was positive, so much so that she thinks “it's definitely something a lot of colleges should offer. Not only to showcase all the students' stuff, but also to pull in local brands and people to network with and hopefully, help people find people that they might want to work for or gain knowledge from.”
“Pop-ups are just such a great outlet because you get to meet so many other vendors who have maybe been doing it longer than you have,” said Pesaturo. “You can give them your business card or your social media, and you can just make connections so much easier in person… online it's so saturated, so you get lost in the crowd.”
Pesaturo plans to graduate after one more semester, so only one more encore is on the cards for the Lasell Flea Market. However, she says “if somebody wanted to carry it on then they could make it a club, and they could get fundraising… get food trucks and all of that. I just don't have time for all that myself.”
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