COMMENTARY: Vashon Farmer’s Market looking for new ideas, vendors

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, January 13, 2016

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Joe and I created Sun Island Farm out of the blackberry and Scotch broom patch that was our land; we lived in a shipping container for three and half years while we built our house and then slowly developed our home garden into a farm that generates the majority of our family in­come.

The Vashon Farmers Market has been an inspiration and instrumental in our farming success. Over the years, we have been able to reinvest money from the farm to build greenhouses, a processing building, walk-in cooler, compost structure and farming equipment. The Vashon market has proven to be our most valuable sales outlet. With its established customer base and diversity of vendors, the market draws a wide cross section of customers that no single business could.

The market provides space, an umbrella business structure, hours and customers to over 40 island producers and generates roughly $300,000 annually in island revenue. But, what I have learned over the years at the market is that it has a lot of untapped potential. There are business niches that are wide open, just waiting to be dreamed up and made real. The wider the product line at the market, the more valuable it will be to islanders, island visitors, vendors and the island economy.

With more vendors offering fresh, agricultural products that differ from what stores carry, such as ready-to-eat food that comes with the market experience and unique crafts generated from the skills of local artists, the market can be built into a place that draws a wider customer base.

In the past, the market committee helped run events and vet new vendors, but the committee has been restructured to encourage growth through new vendors. Successful Vashon business owners from within and outside of the market have been invited to be on this committee and will advise people who want to start up a business at the market. The committee will identify and broadcast possible business ideas to attract entre­preneurs and then will help those people identify what steps they need to take to get a business up and running.

Islanders who are recently retired, changing careers, working part time or just graduating from high school or college and wanting to create a business should know that this market of ours is an engine beneath your idea. Many island businesses got their start at the farmers market and have moved on to become a part of our full-time island economy and beyond. Customers give honest feedback through what they do or don’t buy and through requests, complaints and compliments: The big piles of produce seen every week are demanded by our customers.

There are niches that no one is filling at the market that customers routinely request: Eggs, mushrooms, honey, fermented products and locally grown meat are just a few. VIGA’s market committee would like to see a whole row of services ranging from tailoring and small machine repair to shoe repair and even computer and editing assistance.

Unique processed foods like Kombucha, preserves, teas, herbs and herbal tinctures would be fun business ventures. There is also room for more ready-to-eat food: imagine a whole row of lunchtime choices that could draw crowds from Seattle. There are also many craft openings that could expand the market offerings in new directions: We could use a sandal maker, sheep skins (collaborate with some of the meat producers on the island) leather work, relief carvings or handmade wooden toys.

Finally, the market would benefit from craft demonstrations like blacksmithing, carving and weaving. Local chefs could do cooking demonstrations, which would build relationships that carry over to their restaurants and catering businesses.

Customers, imagine a market with all these offerings. Vendors, imagine building on the regional reputation of the Vashon Farmers Market. Together, let’s build this market, rev this engine and take off.

If you have ideas for services or goods you would like to see available at the market, send them to Caleb at marketmanager@viga.org.

If you want to run a business idea past the market committee, contact me at email celinayarkin@yahoo.com.

— Celina Yarkin is a farmer,

housewife and chair of the

marketing committee for the Vashon Island Growers

Association. VIGA represents

local farmers and those who

eat and use their products.

This column is part of a series

by VIGA members.