Let's Talk Markets — What It Actually Takes to Show Up as a Solo Maker

A note before I start — this is my experience. I'm not speaking for every vendor out there. Just me, my cards, and my AuDHD brain trying to make it all work.

Finding the Right Market
First you have to find one. I search for markets within my budget and within Calgary — I haven't done one outside the city yet, though that's on the horizon. I sell handmade cards for $10 each, so markets charging $200 or more in vendor fees aren't worth attempting. And honestly it's getting harder to find affordable ones. As markets become more popular I think some people have figured out there's real money in running them — but that's a whole other blog post. 😄
Once I find one worth applying to, I submit my application and then I wait. The waiting is its own kind of anxious. Will they want me? Do I fit? Am I the right vendor for their market? I'm choosy about where I apply — I want markets that genuinely want to help makers get their products out there, not just fill vendor spots.
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Getting Accepted and Getting Ready
Once I'm in, it's payment, vendor information, layout details — things like electricity, wifi availability, what payment methods are accepted. Then the real work begins.
Making the cards.
This takes days. Sometimes more than days. I always want enough — I never want to sell out completely. So I make a lot. Then I'll sell out of one or two designs and think I should have made more of those. But every market is different. A card that flies off the table at one market might not move at another.
Time planning is actually a strong suit of mine. Sticking to the schedule? Thank you AuDHD for that one. 😁
Then it's the setup. Making sure I have everything. My table, my display, my card rack — which I bought so more people could shop at the same time without crowding. I've learned to always ask before bringing it though, because spacing varies wildly depending on the venue. At my last market I got the okay in advance, arrived, looked at the space and realized it just wasn't going to work. So I carried it back to my car, parked a few blocks away.
That's just part of it. Parking, load in, load out — you figure it out as you go.
Setting up always takes longer than taking down. Like putting up a Christmas tree. 

Working the Market
Then you work it.
Smiling. Engaging. Trying to find that limited window where you have someone's attention and make it count.
I like people. I'm just not good at small talk. I've noticed I have a monologue I say to almost everyone — at my last market I realized some other vendors do the same thing. Maybe that's just what we all do when we're trying to connect with strangers across a table.
When it works — when someone listens, falls in love with the cards, gets it — it's amazing. You feel like what you're doing actually matters.
When it doesn't — when someone smiles politely and walks away — I hear a little crack in my chest. I question myself. Wonder what I did wrong. Think about what I could do differently.
Then the next person comes along and they're interested and I'm joyous and grateful all over again.
Each market is a rollercoaster of emotions. By the end I'm usually grateful for having been there — for the people I connected with, the conversations that surprised me, the moments where I felt like I belonged. And others where I felt like the odd duck out. Both happen. Every time.

The Recovery
What most people don't see is what happens after.
For me, a market takes days to recover from. The emotional highs and lows, the small talk, the constant engagement — it's physically and mentally exhausting in a way that's hard to explain unless you've felt it. My AuDHD brain runs hot at markets and needs serious quiet time afterward to come back to baseline.
This is also why I'm choosy. I've gone from avoiding markets entirely to doing two or three a year. For me that's a win.

The Moments That Make It All Worth It
​And then there are the moments that make all of it worth it in a completely different way. At my last two markets, people have actually come up to my table with excitement saying they heard I was going to be there. Someone said "oh I've seen you on Instagram." Another person said "oh you're on IG — I need to let so and so know" and when they went to tag their friend, their friend already followed me.
If I'd never been brave enough to do markets, I never would have heard any of that. It's fricken amazing.
It costs something to show up that fully. But it's also where I get to see my cards in people's hands. Where someone picks one up, reads it, laughs, and says this is exactly what I was looking for.
Worth every crack in the chest to get there. 🌱
— Anita