Moscow midweek market welcomes new vendors
Sep. 22—For purveyors of produce, crafts and other goods, a small market every Tuesday in Moscow serves as an opportunity to gain exposure for their businesses.
The Tuesday Community Market at the Latah County Fairgrounds is nearing the end of its season, which concludes Oct. 5. The small-scale market is intended to provide valuable learning experience for its vendors, said Iris Mayes, small farms and horticulture educator at UI Extension.
New farmers can try their hand at selling produce, she said. Artists can showcase their handmade crafts with few restrictions.
"Each vendor is responsible for recruiting some of their own customers," Mayes said.
For Natalie Redmond, University of Idaho graduate student and owner of Creating Wildly, it has benefited her in two ways. Not only has she gained customers, but the Vermont native has been able to meet people in the community through the event.
Redmond started Creating Wildly last fall to sell plants and macrame items. She started it as a way to make some money from her hobby. Now, she has her own business cards, something she never thought she would need.
"Yet, here I am, I got some business cards," she said. "So, it's been a lot of good exposure for me and then also just a good time."
Julia Selzler of Genesee saw it as an opportunity to get her first market experience for her business, Thimbleberry Candle Company, in a low-pressure environment.
"I just felt like I didn't know what I was doing and I just called them up and they said, 'Yeah, come join us,' " she said.
Mayes said this is the second year the market has occurred weekly at the fairgrounds. In addition to helping the vendors, she said, it also provides people access to food in the middle of the week. It gives people a chance to make community connections, and residents in the surrounding neighborhood are close enough to walk to the Tuesday Community Market, she said.
The Tuesday Community Market has been gaining popularity, Mayes said. Word about the event spread in the past few months.
"We have seen the customer count go up over the summer," she said.
It also features live music and a beer garden hosted by Moscow Brewing Company.
Rod and Michelle Johnson, owners of Heritage Farmstead in Potlatch, moved to the area last year from Alaska.
They have been selling soaps and lotions since 2007, but this year have added produce and other goods to their inventory. They found out about the Tuesday Community Market on Facebook and thought it would be an effective way to earn exposure, in addition to the Latah Farmers Market they sell at every Saturday in Troy.
Rod Johnson said the experience has been "very positive."
"It's worth it for us to come down and set up every Tuesday and do this," he said. "The people here have been wonderful."
Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
