Wednesday 3 February 2016

First Some Good Market of 2016!

Hi everyone!  We've all been really busy during our "down time" since Christmas. In case you missed it, our $20,000 goal in food and cash for local food banks was surpassed last year...that means we've upped the ante for 2016 to $25,000. Admission is free at Some Good Market but if you could bring a non-perishable food item or a monetary donation that is always appreciated. The Community Food Sharing Association and food banks in Bay Roberts and area put all those donations to good use!

For our first event of the year, we have TEN food vendors! Bring your appetite for:
Gluten-free Treasures
Jewish Deli
Flour of Scotland
NL Seasonings
Multi Ethnic Food Kitchen
Some Sweet Fudge
T Cakes
Steve Curtis
The Blue Box Pantry
Some Good Market

Exhibitors on the handmade craft front include:
Fabric Creations
That's Sew Dee
Foggy Rock Fibres
Pebble Creations
BubblePixie Soap Co
Anne's Creative Crafts
Yellow Rose
The Crystal Ball
Rock Scissors Paper
Newfoundland Collectables by Diane Budden
The Magnet King
Kabin Kozies
Vicki's Home-made Cards
BB's Bathbombs
Boou Dog Treats
Maeby at Home
Spindrift Handknits
Mewfoundland Purrrfections
Because I Felt Like It
Doodlepalooza
Babble Roo Washable Silicone Jewelry
Ragged T's
OneRoot
In Stitches
Katlyn's Designs
Bobbi Pike Art
Happywags Treats
Buttons
Useful Crafts

And the Refugee and Immigrant Advisory Council will have an information booth with member made craft and art.

See you from 10 until 4 at St. Thomas Church across from Coffee Matters on Military Road in St. John's.

Sunday 29 November 2015

Some Warm Welcome Project

Some Good Market is inviting knitters and crocheters from all over to make a warm hat (or mittens, vamps, socks or scarves) in any size or shape to welcome Syrian refugees when they arrive in Canada.

Update : Hi everyone! We are happy to report that we will be hosting Some Warm Welcome Knit-Along during Some Good Market at St. Thomas Church on Military Road, Saturday Dec 5 from 10 until 4 upstairs in the Comfy Couch Room...bring your project and a friend! Thanks!!

From CBC Newfoundland and Labrador :

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/knitters-want-to-give-refugees-some-warm-welcome-1.3342382

For those on Facebook:
On the Some Good Market page:

Some Warm Welcome

EXCITING NEWS! We are very excited to announce a partnership with the Newfoundland & Labrador Public Libraries for the Some Warm Welcome Project. 95 locations across our province will act as collection points for our generous knitters and crocheters as they make warm things for Syrian refugees! Check with your local branch to see what special events such as help with pattern searches and knit-ins! Some good thanks go to Jewel Cousens for contacting us and for lots of behind the scenes work! #welcomeRefugees #somewarmwelcomeproject #welcomesyrianrefugees

Check the www.nlpl.ca website for a library near you.

Laurie has made these tags to attach to each item with 'Welcome to Canada' in English, French and Arabic with a space for the giver to write a message. A template is available for anyone who needs to print off tags...please contact somegoodmarket@gmail.com to get them sent to you.

Hats can be dropped off at:
- Any Some Good Market (Nov. 28, Dec. 5, Dec. 19, Feb. 6 and continuing)
- Cast On Cast Off at 685 Water St., St. John's
- The Bay Roberts Visitor's Information Pavilion - call for hours 683.1798 

All 95 public libraries in Newfoundland and Labrador 

(more locations to be added).

 Hats will be collected and once tagged will be delivered to the Association For New Canadians where they will be distributed to people as they arrive.

Hats can mailed to:
Some Warm Welcome
c/o Laurie LeGrow
Hodgewater Line
Makinsons NL
A0A 2X0

Any questions? Please email somegoodmarket@gmail.com

Thank you!

Monday 13 July 2015

Some Good Market - Did you know?

Many people might be new to Some Good Market...so here is its story.
Back in 2012, Some Good Market started in the "event tent" in the front garden of what I call The Compound - nine acres in the woods on Hodgewater Line a little over 5 km from the nearest community of Makinsons, NL. We had a fish pond for the kids, and handful of handmade vendors, a tour which included the chickens and goats, and were open from 10 until 4 to whoever dropped by. We had quite a bit of fun that summer.
Then a decision had to be made. Would Some Good Market actually be a "thing"? With the weather changing as we moved into fall (we actually had a summer that year), I wondered where we could have an indoor event. I had voted in provincial and federal elections in Makinsons at the Community Centre (a converted church) so I headed down to take a look. Makinsons is a local service area not a town with a council so I thought it would be excellent to rent the building on a biweekly basis and at least that way they would have a guarenteed bit of money to pay the heat bill.
Makinsons. Not many people had even heard of it but we had lots of events and workshops for craft. I always wanted to have the vibe of the Anna Templeton Tea & Sale, with a not quite juried craft fair with a tiny bit of farmer's market. I also wanted to have a venue where  handmakers of craft  could sell their product at a sensible price...aka try to make a living versus "it's just a hobby so I don't need to charge a sensible price for the fruits of my raw materials, skills and time".
The townies  (I grew up on Hayward Avenue and spent my summers in the pool at Bannerman and the rest of the year at Bishop Field School so I can talk about townies) wanted to know why SGM wouldn't come to town. So I said fine we'll come to town. And in 2013 we went to town every 6-8 weeks. Our venue? St. Thomas Church Hall aka Canon Wood Hall across the street from Coffee Matters on Military Road. Where I had been a Brownie and a Girl Guide...the toadstool upstairs is very old in case you are wondering. In 2013, SGM ran from February until December.
In 2014, we headed to town a bit more often, lots of vendors and a bit more food. We got our licensing with Service NL for food vendors. SGM filled a niche for the vendors of other markets that didn't run year round, focused on food rather than craft or might have been looking for a less crowded venue, were just starting out or wanted to come out of craft retirement once in a while.
The middle of 2014 also marked a move out of Makinsons to Bay Roberts and a partnership with the Community Food Sharing Association. We had events at the Visitor's Information Pavilion, the Red Fishermans Shed on the heritage walking trail and the Search and Rescue Building. We also had the very first FallPalooza with Roots Country Farm and Bay Roberts during an actual hurricane...there was also a pie competition in which only husband and wife entered! The four months we collected food and cash on the door in lieu of an admission fee the food banks received donations valued at $6124.30.
In 2015, we've rolled with the punches and have continued to support the Community Food Sharing Association setting a goal of $20,000.00. We currently (as of July 11 SGM) have collected $7030.25 of our 2015 goal. Since last year $13,154.55 in food and cash has been collected by the CFSA in town or dropped off to the Helping Hand in Bay Roberts.
Thank you for that!
So this year we had our first event in January and only missed a couple Saturdays (due to other events we need to attend). We will be popping up in even more locations! St. John's once a month. Bay Roberts at either the Search and Rescue Building or Visitor's Information Pavilion. Coley's Point at the St. John the Evangelical Church Hall on Neck Road. Brigus at the Academy Hall. We hope to see you there!
Whether it's the Best Kind Bakeshoppe selling out of hundreds of cupcakes in minutes, new craftspeople selling their first item, smoked meat lovers, carrot cake jam addicts, tourists travelling from all over the world to find us specifically, locals coming with their lists or just to say hello...there have been hundreds of vendors and thousands of visitors over the years...and it's been a blast. We've been on the radio, in the Telegram a couple times, in the Herald, hand delivered hundreds if not thousands of flyers in mailboxes, to shops and onto poles.
If you haven't heard of us till now I'm sorry..we do our best to get the word out but we need to keep costs down.
This has been the short version of the story if you can believe it...but the little market that could keeps going...if you want to be a vendor email somegoodmarket@gmail.com for more info...we have lots of room at our spacious venues year round. If you want to help...tell someone about us by sharing this story, liking us on Facebook (Some Good Market) or following us on Twitter @somegoodmarket or stop by one of our events to say hello.
Thanks for reading to the end...have some good day! (Don't forget your local food bank wherever you are...they always need stuff and summer can be a forgotten time)

I would like to thank my mom and dad especially for all their help and support with SGM. Without them it would never happen.
Thanks to Sam for spending every Saturday at home with our bazillion animals and making signs and whatnot.
Thanks to all the vendors for coming back and the patrons for coming back and my Facebook friends for putting up with all the invites (which won't be stopping any time soon lol )
Thanks to all the communities and groups for renting your buildings and being so agreeable.
Thank you for everyone who has pushed me in a positive and negative way to keep up these sleepless days.
If you can't make it to Some Good Market you can find many vendors at the Winter Market in St. John's from January - May on a monthly basis and at the St. John's Farmer's Market on a weekly basis from June until December  (they are also fundraising for their new bigger venue at sjfm.ca with great perks)

Thursday 14 May 2015

Some Good Market Schedule

Change is good...some good. 4 months of SGMs under our belts so far in 2015 and the schedule for the rest of the year has been figured out! You'll find us in various locations and we're gonna have some fun!

We continue to have events in St. John's once a month at St. Thomas Church across from Coffee Matters on Military Road.

We will continue to have some events at the Avalon North Wolverines Search and Rescue Building on Station Road in Bay Roberts and will return to the Visitor's Information Pavilion on the Veteran's Memorial Highway in the Fall including our 2nd Annual FallPalooza in partnership with the Tourism Dept of the Town of Bay Roberts (Lois and Ron) and our favourite farmers of Roots Country Farm, Farmer Lisa and Farmer Corinne.

New to Some Good Market events...we'll have two special summer events in the town of Brigus at The Academy Hall...it's a large venue in a beautiful and historic town and we are all looking forward to it.

Some Good Market is also heading to Coley's Point at the St. John of the Evangelical Church Hall on Neck Road. We'll have a number of events here including a special Halloween event on October 31.

Some Good Market continues to support our local food banks and the Community Food Sharing Association by collecting donations of food and cash at the door...admission is free. Our goal this year is $20,000.00 and our YTD is already at $4605.35!

All events are listed on Facebook on the Some Good Market page and will be updated with who will be on hand for each event.

We invite craftspeople, musicians, food vendors and anyone who makes anything really to apply to become part of the Some Good Family...just send information about your product to somegoodmarket@gmail.com to apply and we'll go from there. We do have an application process which takes quality, originality and pricing into account.

Thanks to our patrons, vendors, communities and local halls for helping SGM grow and make a difference in the community. Spending local dollars does makes a difference to the local economy and spending time at local events makes a difference to the Community.

Friday 24 April 2015

Some Good Market Goes to Town 2015

Finally...the remaining dates for town are worked out. In town, our location continues to be St. Thomas Church across from Coffee Matters on Military Road. 
St. John's SGM dates:
May 23
June 27
July 4
August 15
September 19
October 10
November 7
December 5
Bay Roberts and other locations to be announced soon.
If you are a craftsperson, musician, baker, artist, foodie, or maker of just about anything please email somegoodmarket@gmail.com to apply as a vendor.
Admission is free with donation to the Community Food Sharing Association...our goal for this year is $20,000 in food and cash. Please help us help our fellows in need.

Wednesday 31 December 2014

Some Good Year in Review 2014

Another year over...and it was some good!
In 2014, there were 34 Some Good Markets in five venues in three communities. We continued to go to town, we said farewell and thank you to Makinsons and started a great partnership in Bay Roberts.
We welcomed thousands of visitors and hosted almost 150 different craftspeople who showcased food, textiles, jewellery, sealskin, wood, paper, fibres, clay, words and more in so many creative and wonderful ways!
We held workshops and special events within our regular events.
We also partnered with the Community Food Sharing Association and local food banks in the Fall and we collected a combination of food and cash valued at $6124.30! We don't think a goal of $20,000 is out of reach for 2015 :)
I'd like to thank each and every one of you for your support in sharing a Facebook post, retweeting a tweet, telling a friend, visiting a market, buying something, giving a ride and doing anything to keep craft of all sorts alive in our province.
Here to some good goings on in 2015!

Thursday 18 September 2014

Exciting Updates from Some Good Market

Hope everyone had some good summer. Some Good Market has been making plans! We have some new venues for some upcoming events:
We would like to thank the Town of Bay Roberts for welcoming us to their town!
On September 20, we will be holding Some Good Market at Bay Roberts VIC Pavilion on the Veteran's Memorial Highway. Admission is FREE but we ask that you make a donation to the Helping Hands Foodbank (non-perishable food item or cash donation of your choice). The Root Seller from the Roots Country Farm will also be on site.
On October 4, we will be holding Some Good Market at the Red Fisherman's Shed in Bay Roberts on the Shoreline Heritage Walking Trail (French's Cove Access). Admission is FREE but we ask that you make a donation to the Helping Hands Food Bank.
Our last two events in St. John's have raised close to $1500 in cash and non-perishable food for the Community Food Sharing Association. We have partnered with them for the remainder of our events in St. John's. Help us help them keep food in people's pantries. And we will will be sharing a list soon for our Fixins Drive (which will provide all the things people need to go with the CBC Turkey Drive). It will include foil roasting pans, cranberry sauce, savoury, split peas, pudding bags and pickles.
We will be back to St. John's October 11!
Hope to see you all at Some Good Market soon :-)