In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many small businesses struggled to survive the new economic environment, but for Deniz Karmona, she saw an opportunity to inspire local artisans to grow their craft.
“The small business community needed support way more than the other times before so I think that’s where Dreamers Market comes and I think it had a really great impact on the local economy and the small business community,” Karmona said.
Karmona owns and operates Dreamers Market, a pop-up market for small businesses. As a former small business owner, she said she understands the impact the pandemic had on small businesses.
Although outdoor pop-up markets are growing in popularity in Orange County, there are only about 6 markets that sell regularly.
All these markets function like small businesses of their own; each with a unique way of running their markets, but with no unifying standards or regulations. Each market is responsible for finding and supporting their vendors, obtaining permits to operate in various locations and attracting customers to visit the market.
Maria Ongpauco, the owner of Vintage Renewals upcycled boutique, said she used to have a storefront in Pomona that closed during the pandemic. She now sells at popup markets and helps with vendor logistics as an on-site market manager for Modern Markers Mart and Weekend Night Market.
“A lot of people don’t like to go into places anymore. I feel like they’re more intimidated to go into retail locations,” Ongpauco said.
Ongpauco said she thinks popup markets had the opposite trajectory of retail locations and have grown since the pandemic.
“It’s the new mall really, because people don’t really go to the malls,” Ongpauco said. “A lot of malls are already kind of ghost towns. So these vendor markets are nice because they always have different selections of vendors to choose from.”
The predecessor of popup markets: farmers markets
Popup markets may be the new mall, perhaps, but outdoor community markets are not a new concept. Other markets, like farmers markets, have thrived in Orange County even before the pandemic began.
“As you can see if you go to our local farmers markets, they also serve as a community gathering. So that’s the role that farmer markets have been playing for many years and I can see a similar analogy with popup markets and communities and families,” said Jose Arriaga, the Orange County Agricultural Commissioner.
The Agricultural Commissioners’ Office helps oversee the agricultural standards of all certified farmers markets. They inspect the quality and type of produce each farmer grows and ensure that local farmers markets sell local produce.
Arriaga said in Orange County, there are over 250 producers who sell at farmers markets. There were about 39 certified farmers markets in Orange County prior to the pandemic, however during the pandemic, 13 markets closed. Today, Arriaga said they have returned to 39 farmers markets throughout Orange County.
Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, Arriaga said the way that farmers markets functioned did not change very much and neither did the role the Commission’s office plays.
“We actually protect farmers from other sellers who might not be playing by the right rules,” Arriaga said, “We also ensure there is a fair playing field.”
The risk of selling without regulations
Although he thinks there is a space for different types of outdoor markets to exist, Arriaga said the Commissioner’s office only regulates certified farmers markets, where markets apply for approval and pay a fee for the certification.
Arriaga said he does not know about regulations for popup markets. However, he said the Commission’s office’s knowledge of the regulations, authority to enforce agricultural standards and the relationships with locals to help farmers markets grow.
“Not only are we inspecting them but we’re also helping them. We have the expertise to help them head up their markets, meet requirements, the regulatory requirements,” Arriaga said.
Although regulations vary from market to market, as well as cities in which they operate, Karmona said she prefers the way her market runs now.
Depending on whether these popup markets are located on private or public properties, regulations might change to reserve the area for a popup market. On private property, like parking lots for businesses, popup market owners work with the owners to reserve the space. In contrast, in public areas, market owners work with city staff to reserve the space and adhere to the rules provided by the city.
Aubrey Yarborough, the director of community development at Farm Habit, said most popup markets rely on self-reporting and if these markets wanted regulations, it depends on what questions were asked to shape those standards.
“I haven’t really thought about what sort of large oversight might be needed or wanted for that,” Yarborough said.
Similar to most certified farmer markets, Farm Habit started before the pandemic and has been operating for about 14 years. As a former farmer, Yarborough said farmers markets felt a strong obligation to provide produce to people when grocery stores were struggling to stock their shelves.
Yarborough said although both farmers markers and popup markets focus on unifying the local community, certified farmers markets require a certificate with a list of what you grow and where you grow it to ensure the produce is locally grown.
Every farmer must have a list of what they grow and posting it on their booths or tables to inform customers. Popup markets, on the other hand, can have both artisans and food vendors, but not farm stands.
“Farmers markets transform ordinary neighborhoods, you know, one morning or afternoon a week into a destination,” Yarbrough said.
Similarly, Valentina Hanley, the owner of the Beso Del Sol Boutique, she said she thinks popup markets break down barriers and help customers see the people behind the brands.
“These markets represent the heart of community and opportunities for small businesses to come out and share their art,” Hanley said.
Tiffany Randel co-owns a California casual lifestyle boutique called Salt+Pine with her sister, Tracy. Randel said she thinks popup markets will continue to grow because customers have become pickier about the quality of their purchases and seek more sustainable shopping options.
“I think in general, markets kind of got better during Covid just because so many stores were closed and it gave small businesses a chance and opportunity to sell in different areas,” Randel said.
Securing a space to sell
Hanley said she thinks outdoor popup markets blew up during the pandemic due to the community’s eagerness to connect again. However, Hanley said she cautions vendors because the rapid popularity of popups may saturate the market for local vendors and the exclusivity may wear off.
“I hope we’re able to remember the human aspect of these markets because it would be really sad if we lost that for money-focused reasons,” Hanley said.
Karmona said she encourages vendors to try other markets as well because she believes the small business community should support one another and vendor markets do not compete with each other.
Despite the changing economy, new popup markets are continuing to expand throughout Orange County with new concepts and areas, suggesting that the charm of these local vendors is continuously spreading.
While the pandemic forced small businesses to step up their game, Karmona said she thinks the community also stepped up and the consumer behavior around these local vendors shifted.
“Small businesses have big dreams. That’s why I believe the consumer started to realize that after Covid. And this is not something they are going to forget about,” Karmona said.
•••
Since you’ve made it this far,
You obviously care about local news and value good journalism. Help us become 100% reader funded with a tax deductible donation. For as little as $5 a month you can help us reach that goal.