Bang the Drum Brewery hosted the first ever Makeshift Makers Market Saturday, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 3. The event showcased art and creations from more than 30 local vendors along with live music, live painting, food trucks and local brew.
This makers market was created by friends, Kelly Edward and Angela Boyd, who felt the need to show off the creative talent that San Luis Obispo has to offer.
“I’ve always loved swap meets and miss the diversity of ones put on in L.A.[Los Angeles} and bigger cities,” Boyd said. “Why not curate a local makers market?”
As the head brewer at Bang the Drum Brewery, Edward did not hesitate to propose the idea of hosting an event like this to her boss and owner of Bang the Drum, Noelle DuBois.
“One of the interview questions at the brewery is ‘What is your passion and how can you bring that here?’ So when I told her about the market, she was like, ‘Yes, 100 percent. Let’s do it!’” Edward said.
Edward and Boyd spent about two months planning and promoting this event through word-of-mouth social media. Boyd mentioned that she never imagined that this even would receive the attention and support that it has.
“Once we hatched the idea, things seemed to fall into place and then gather momentum,” Boyd said. “We are hoping to make this a monthly event on the first Saturday of every month, with anywhere from 23 to 32 local crafters.”
The four-hour event included live performances by Carmine Terracciano and Bear Market Riot and an art display from Forever Stoked artist, Chris Pederson.
The vendor that inspired
One of the vendors showcased at Makeshift Makers was VNNYL Clothing, owned by business administration sophomore Anne Marie Moffatt.
Boyd met Moffatt through a boxing class they took together at Cuesta College. She remembers Moffatt sporting shirts with the word VNNYL on them and was surprised to learn that she started this brand on her own.
“I knew she was probably a bad*ss because she was taking this class and after talking to her for a few minutes, I realized she was just that,” Boyd said. “Not a lot of college kids her age have their own clothing brand.”
Boyd and Edward both acknowledged that Moffatt’s creativity played a role in the curation of this Makeshift Makers Market after they attended a VNNYL pop-up party in December.
“Kelly and I were blown away by the detail, staging and overall appearance of the pop-up,” Boyd said, “Everything was set up in an eclectic retro fashion, from the couch area to the bar, all the way down to the sick outfits Anne Marie’s girl gang was wearing.”
The pop-up left the two friends feeling inspired.
“We took Anne Marie’s pop-up and envisioned it on a large scale with multiple vendors showcasing their passions and culture,” Boyd said.
Getting to know VNNYL
VNNYL adheres to the motto “Handmade with Sarcasm.” What started off as a fun pastime is now a vintage-inspired clothing brand driven by friends, art, photography and videography.
Moffatt started VNNYL two years ago when she made the decision to take time off from school after graduating high school. A week before starting her freshman year at San Francisco State University, Moffatt described the feeling that went through her body as she sat at orientation.
“I was sitting there and I was like, ‘No. I can’t do this,’” Moffatt said. “I knew I wouldn’t like it and I always go with my intuition.”
Moffatt had always prepared herself for the four-year college track. She said it was always something that was expected of her from family, peers and herself.
With this sudden change of plans, Moffatt decided to pick up a new pastime.
“I knew that I kind of had to start doing something with the free time I was going to have,” Moffatt said. “I’ve always been into fashion and photography, weird sh*t like that, so I started making t-shirts and stickers”
Moffatt says she started making prints for t-shirts and stickers after a surf shop owner in her hometown of Encinitas asked her if she had ever heard of vinyl cutting. Vinyl cutting involves a small vinyl cutter that controls the movement of a sharp blade like a knife. The blade is used to cut out shapes and letters from sheets of thin self adhesive plastic or vinyl.
Because her family has always encouraged her idea of starting a business, Moffatt saw this passion she had as an opportunity to do just that.
“I was just listening to a vinyl record that had a baby squirrel on it and it kind of just inspired me,” Moffatt said about naming the brand. “I wanted something cool and retro and I wanted something that had the same letter twice because I thought it would stand out.”
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About a year after she learned how to do vinyl cutting, Moffatt introduced screen printing into her practice.
“Almost everything I’ve learned came from hours of YouTube tutorials, research, books, and advice from other small business owners,” Moffatt said.
Moffatt never imagined that her brand, which started off as a hobby, would receive the support and recognition it has.
“I honestly didn’t really mean for it to take off,” Moffatt said. “I did it more for fun and ,like, something to do because all of my friends were away at college and I was bored as sh*t.”
Moffatt said that the defining moment for VNNYL was when she and her friends created a promotional video to post on social media.
“We just brought all of our coolest stuff like roller skates and old typewriters and put a bunch of girls on roller skates wearing the shirts,” Moffatt said. “It was like a test run to see where the brand was at.”
Once this video was posted, Moffatt received a significant amount of positive feedback which made her realize her business was actually turning into something bigger than she expected.
“That was the moment when I realized this could actually be kind of cool,” Moffatt said.
When the time came for Moffatt to move to San Luis Obispo for college, she brought VNNYL with her.
“I think, if anything, I almost pushed VNNYL into the city because I really wanted to reach out to college towns.”
Moffatt explained that her friends play a major role in keeping her business afloat in terms of marketing, social media and outreach. Having friends all along the coast allows VNNYL to grow as a business.
“When someone places an order online, I can see where it’s being shipped to, so it’s cool to know that it’s reaching to all of these different cities,” Moffatt said.
Moffatt mentions that she wants to present her brand to the best of her ability, from the packaging to outreach, and hopes that VNNYL will continue to grow in the future.
“I want it to be a small brand, not some big company like Urban Outfitters. What’s the fun in that?” Moffatt said. “I want it to be a small and personal brand where I can get to know my customers, meet new people, and eventually take it with me traveling and selling to people around the world.”
For now, Moffatt continues to promote her brand by reaching out and making new connections that will help VNNYL thrive. She mentioned that VNNYL has connected her with a number of people she now considers close friends.