Hi everyone,
We just wrapped up two incredible weekends of events at Market Street Creatives, and I wanted to take a moment to share the results with you.
Last weekend’s Warehouse Marketplace was a huge success in several ways.
Early on, some vendors had understandable concerns about us hosting a “flea market”-style event and whether it might take away from sales on the main floor. Because of that, we intentionally held off until we could create a concept that truly made sense — one that would not only drive traffic into MSC, but also feel more curated, upscale, and aligned with the overall experience we want to create here.
That is how The Warehouse Marketplace came to life, with its own branding and social media presence.
The vendors for this event are hand-selected based on what they sell so that we can avoid hurting our existing vendors, while also making sure the event maintains a higher-quality feel and does not become a place for random or low-value merchandise.
The results were extremely encouraging.
Our vendor sales for the weekend increased to 5.3 times the previous weekend (posting Christmas holiday season sales numbers), and foot traffic brought more than 600 additional people through our doors. That is exciting because it did exactly what it was supposed to do — bring more people into Market Street Creatives and get those people shopping with our main-floor vendors.
It also created more awareness for MSC overall. I personally spoke with many customers, and more than 50% of them said it was their first time visiting us. On top of that, the vendors participating in the Warehouse Marketplace also did well and were very happy with the results for a first event.
Because of that success, this will now become a regular event scheduled for the third weekend of each month.
We also want to give a huge thank-you to Corey Simons for running the event, making sure everyone was taken care of, and for managing and vetting the vendors who participated.
If you are interested in signing up for the next event, please visit this link:
https://marketstreetevents.com/e/nnin7d
Last night’s Comedy Show was also a major milestone for us.
It was the first comedy show in the new Warehouse, and it was amazing. We planned for 125 people for dinner and the show, and ended up with 138 guests. We had a total of five comedians, all of whom put on a great performance. It was also our first event using the new sound system and professional stage lighting.
Seeing everything come together last night made staying up until 2:00 AM the night before completely worth it.
Of course, it was not without a few hiccups, but we learn quickly, adapt quickly, and have already started identifying improvements to make the next comedy show even better.
The bar was busy all night, and Rob and I want to sincerely thank Abby, Tessa, Kaylee, and Corey for all of their help in making sure guests were taken care of as quickly as possible.
I also went from table to table during dinner, talking with guests, and this event accomplished one of the most important things we hoped it would do — it brought brand-new people into Market Street Creatives.
I can confidently say that more than 60% of the people I spoke with said it was their first time at MSC, and many shared that they were excited to come back to shop, spend more time here, and attend future events and workshops.
Later in the evening, Rob and I sat and watched the show, and we were both incredibly humbled. Looking around at a beautiful space filled with guests, hearing the laughter, and seeing everyone genuinely enjoying themselves made all of the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into building Market Street Creatives feel worth it.
We are deeply grateful to everyone who has helped us along the way and continues to support what we are building here.
And most of all, we want to thank all of you — our vendors — for your continued support.
Today also marks the start of the weekend train season with the Torrington Express (https://www.rmne.org/excursions/torrington-express), which should be pulling into Market Street Station at around 10:45 AM with the first group of shoppers. I will send a separate message soon with more details about the railroad plans and upcoming events.
We hope you all have a great weekend.
– Erick