16/04/2021
The Easter weekend’s Pop Up Shop was a great success! Over 21 vendors from Caye Caulker contributed their work and every single item for sale in the shop was made right here on the Caye. We had art, handmade jewelry, homemade sauces, gadgets, artisanal soaps and wellness products, honey wine, handcrafted bags, and more. With only one exception, every vendor that was represented in the Pop Up Shop made some income from it. Overall, we did over $5,000 BZD in sales over the four days we were open and 100% of the proceeds from each sale went back to the vendor.
The Easter weekend’s Pop Up Shop was created to inject both a sense of community and of course, some money, into our struggling economy. The goal was to feature the incredible creative talent that exists on Caye Caulker and take advantage of the uptick in tourists that come with the Easter weekend. We are living in challenging times and the best way to face and overcome them is to do it together. To support each other as best we can.
Believe it or not, the Pop Up Shop was pulled together in only 4 days. For this, there are a lot of people to thank!
First off, our appreciation goes to Ms. Seleny and the Village Council for allowing us to make use of a street front Palapa Garden building to test the concept. Thank you for taking that leap with us!
The Shop would not have come together without the help of Amanda Badger. Amanda stepped in when one of our key team leaders was ill and worked tirelessly to stage the Shop. She was joined by Erica Sedacy, Gregory Michael, Nicki Aquilar, Paulette Salo and Aria Kat who all did a fantastic job in ensuring the arts, crafts, jewelry, and products were lovingly displayed. Thanks team!
Big thanks also goes to the many volunteers who stepped up to do shifts at the Shop. Many of the crew were people who had already given so much of their time and effort to the Soup Kitchen and to the Food Pantry, including Pam Kolbeson Lang, Cora Gangware, Erica Sedacy (again!), Leda Sagitario, Natasha Starshine, Carol Koris, and Marina Alamina. They were joined in the effort by Daniela Sartirana, Amanda Badger (again!), Christine Hayes, Valentina Zotte, Nicki Aquilar (again!), and Aria Kat (again!),
A huge shout out to Mr. Clayto who, when some strange woman asked if she could borrow some lobster traps to stage the Shop, graciously agreed. Thank you! They made all the difference!
Much appreciation goes to Bigg Sexxy who kept an eye out for our ladder and to the guys at the 7 Day Shop for letting us take their broom hostage. It felt great to know we could lean on the community to help us out!
And last but not least, a big thank you to the very talented Alyssa Madrill for painting our sign. Alyssa’s art and crafts were also featured in the Pop Up Shop.
We are hoping to find a permanent home for the Shop and we will keep you posted on our progress.
In the meantime, do you make products, artwork, crafts or provide services or experiences that you’d like to showcase? If so, please comment or message us.
Also, please share your ideas on how we can make the Shop even more successful!
