Try something new for Saturday night and support local vendors at the Lollygag Night Market. The market showcases different local vendors who sell clothes, jewelry, food and much more.
The most recent Lollygag Night Market was held Sept. 10 at 1000 Diesel Drive, and was filled with more than 20 small businesses from across El Paso. Some of the vendors included Cloud Nine, Maeve Coffee Club, Mars & Vega, Third Eye Vintage, 6Vzvz6, The Craft-E Post, Rane Boutique, Record-Deli, Hex by Lex, Lucky Charm Necklaces and many more.
One of the many booths that customers congregated at was Third Eye Vintage which sells vintage clothing, and had racks filled with retro shirts and awesome sales.
“We started going to swap meets and started buying old T-shirts, pants and collecting hats and then little by little we got a store,” said Michelle Favela, founder and owner of Third Eye Vintage. “My family has always worked with antiques and vintage furniture. I decided to try and do the same but with clothes. I hope to one day own a larger store.”
Every shop owner has their own passions and dreams that they would like to accomplish. They all love participating in unique farmer’s markets in order to showcase their art. Mars & Vega is one of the booths at the market that sold its art and sustainable items.
“We started our business at the beginning of this year after we both graduated from UTEP,” said Miriam Vega, co-founder and co-owner of Mars & Vega. “After that we decided to take the journey to start our own small business. We sell prints that are printed locally, pastel drawings, handmade stickers and bottle bags made from secondhand materials. We try to be conscious with our work but also have a way to still pursue what we’re interested in and still make it accessible to our customers.”
Many of the shop owners have been practicing their art since they were young. Owners such as Claudia Cornejo started her crochet business, Yayale_Handmade, five years ago. Her creations include amigurumi dolls and crocheted clothes. Charly Meza, owner and founder of Maeve Coffee Club, has been perfecting his coffee making skills since his freshman year of high school.
“I started my business this past April, but I’ve been making coffee since freshman year of high school,” Meza said. “Kids used to come to school with a duffle bag full of chips and I would come to school with a duffle bag full of coffee jars.”
“Over the years my small business has expanded, and I saved up enough money to get into the world of craft coffee and home baristas. I have a manual expresso brewer. It takes a little bit of work, but it makes for a very unique cup of coffee,” Meza said
The facility the market was being held in is owned by a local event studio and organic cotton candy cart, Cloud Nine. Every local business in the market has their own special niche, whether it is handmade, sustainable or unique, there is something for every customer at the market.
“People should come to the night market because we have great art here and customers should support local artists,” said Marissa Whitaker, co-owner and co-founder of Mars & Vega. “Everyone who is here at the market does such amazing work and it shows how supportive the community is.”
The market is currently accepting vendor applications for their next Lollygag Night Market Oct. 15. To learn more, follow Lollygag on Instagram @lollygag.group.
Alyson Rodriguez is a staff reporter and may be reached at [email protected]; @alyson_rod1127 on Twitter.
