This weekend was Space Type’s first market of the new year!
Welcome to Chinatown’s annual LNY fair is an application-based community event focused on uplifting legacy businesses and newcomers within the AAPI community, and this year’s event falls on Super Saturday weekend.
The entire experience has been really lovely, and we still have another day to go. All of the organizers, volunteers, vendors, and community members have brought a really warm presence to the event, and people have shown their support to one another in the form of food, snacks, hot beverages, purchases, and kind words.
I’ve never been given so much food by so many different people while sitting behind the table. Here are all the things I’ve been given so far, in two half-day shifts:
- At least 4 cups of hot ginger tea from Mee Sum Cafe
- Rice cakes from Fong On
- A crispy pork banh mi
- Steamed chicken and rice with hot and sour soup
- Mini garlic croissants
- Wonton noodle soup from Maxi’s
- Curry puffs
- breakfast buns
- Egg tarts from Na Tart
- At least 10 different starburst candies
- skittle gummies
This is the first time we’ve had to sit outside (well, inside-outside) during the winter, and as expected… it gets cold. The booths themselves were within small shipping containers, and there were a few hiccups and adjustments needed for day two, but everyone’s been really flexible and understanding, and folks have constantly been checking in to provide love and attention.
The red heat packs from the volunteers were killer 😌
It’s also incredibly satisfying to go home at the end of the day and eat a warm meal. I made congee after day one and y’all….I forgot how much I love congee.
We’re vending with Jess (Looky Goods) and Jessy (Datum J Design), and I’m pretty sure we have the best boothmates. I mean just saying. Their vibes are off the charts.
New signage for a new year
In preparation for the WtC event and future events, I printed new signage, which I shared as part of the fourth edition of Lynne and Liz’s informal “not-residency” program. I had opted out of participating in the (not-)residency this time given my return to full-time work, but ultimately joined the final-day showcase with the work that I did at home!
Upcoming markets
2024 was a slow year for Space Type. Lynne and I had a ton of travel plans, and we ended up only vending at three events last year due to a number of conflicts.
Our goal for 2025 is to jump back into the community and vend in as many places as possible! We vended at eight events in our first year, and I think we can surpass that this year while expanding outside of our immediate region.
This month, we’ve got three markets lined up: the LNY fair, Pyperbleu’s Heart to Heart market on Feb 15, and Jersey Art Book Fair from Feb 22-23.
We’ve also got Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair in May that we’ll be preparing for. If you’re in Los Angeles around that time, come out for our very first west-coast event! 💖