This was my first weekend at Shops at Don Mills vending with Toronto Artisan and it felt like a real turning point.

Hosted by Toronto Artisan, this outdoor market blessed us with beautiful weather, which definitely helped create a great atmosphere.

But what really made this weekend feel different was my booth.

I seriously upgraded my vendor booth setup for this market. I added a carpet to ground the space, curtains along the back wall, a coloured tablecloth, and even repurposed a scarf that matched my brand colours to tie everything together. These upgrades completely changed the look and feel of my booth.

For the first time, the space felt cohesive.

And then there was the support.

My niece came out on the first day and purchased one of my notepads. The following day, my sister came by and bought a different one. A close friend also came through and ended up purchasing multiple items — which meant pulling out a bigger bag to carry everything (always a good feeling 😊).

But the moment that surprised me most was when an old coworker came out. We hadn’t spoken or seen each other in years, but he told me he had been seeing my posts on social media and wanted to come out to support. He ended up purchasing a tote and three bookmarks.

That meant more than he probably realized.

All of that support added to the energy of the weekend.

And the results reflected that.

This was the first time I made my booth fee back and then some!

That felt huge.

Overall, I left this first weekend at Shops at Don Mills feeling encouraged, confident, and excited for future markets.

Until next time ♡