Heide Market
On Saturday 9th of September, I held a stall at the Heide Markets in Bulleen, my first market stall for the business. It was a very busy week and half preparing for it. Doing my best to space out jobs each day leading up to the market, so I wasn’t doing everything at the last minute. The week before, I spent my time preparing labels, making flyers, sticking labels on containers, writing order lists, posting on social media, picking up aprons, buying a marquee, organising a last-minute application through the council (which was incredibly stressful) and planning out my cooking days. There was a lot to be done and even know I was very organised, the night before prepping all the food started, my mind went racing about everything I could have possibly missed- and of course I found that I hadn’t organised tables to use at the stall, a somewhat important detail I missed! Not only was I thinking about tables, but I was constantly going over everything that had to be made and cooked over the next two days. Although I tried to tell myself that nothing could be done about it, these thoughts kept me awake most of the night, only getting a small number of hours of sleep.
I woke up the Thursday morning very tired, nervous but also super excited to get started. My morning started firstly with an appointment and then a stop at the butcher, a stop to pick up the eggs and vegetable order and lastly a quick stop for a takeaway coffee at my favourite local cafe Matta, and then it was go time! I had my prep list all ready for Thursday, bake Cookies, make 4kg-5kg of Pasta Dough, roll out as much of the Pasta Dough as I could (laminate, cut and dry out), make Napoli Sauce, bake Caramel Slice. Unfortunately, I couldn’t roll out all the Dough as by 5pm my body was ready to stop working for the day. It was the best thing I could have done for myself to stop then, as it meant I was very ready the next day, with a more clearer mind to get the job done. On top of all of this I was contacting friends to organise a trestle table otherwise I was potentially going to have to make another trip to Bunnings at the end of the day- luckily I never had to make a last minute trip! The whole day was actually going too smoothly (which is a little too good to be true, especially in my books) until a storm hit and we had a power outage for about an hour. Luckily, I had finished baking and cooking, (and we don’t have electrical stoves) and I was just rolling Pasta. But the house was starting to get dark so it made things harder especially since I was getting tired. So an hour later, everything came back on- thankfully! My beautiful cousin even called me to say she would get her fridges ready for me to bring the food over if the power didn’t turn on soon. But everything ended up being fine! The trouble was trying to fit everything in the fridge once I had finished, but that also ended up being fine! I finished up the night packing away the cookies in their bags. Did a good clean up and then I was able to clock off for the day. I came home and had a quick dinner before bed. I slept very well that night!
I was up early again, was in the kitchen ready to go by 8am. I wanted to start early so I wasn’t stuck cooking till late. I still finished after 6 but it wasn’t too bad in the end. Friday’s list was finish Caramel Slice, set and cut, make Bolognese Sauce, make 3kg more of Pasta, roll all the Pasta (laminate, cut and dry out) and make Brownie (cool and cut). Once everything was made and the Sauce had cooled down, the last jobs was to pack everything away into their containers. This job was actually pretty good because it meant I could have a seat (which I hadn’t really done during the day) and pack everything seated. Once it was all packed, I put everything in the fridge or in boxes. Did a big kitchen clean up and just went over everything to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. I ended the night by ordering a pizza and sat down to watch the Carlton, Sydney game. Those of you who know me very well, understand I am no footy fan, but when its finals, Carltons playing, and you need them to win so Mum will be happy to work at the stall the next day- I will 100% be watching the game. Mum was a very happy women on Saturday! To surprise everyone a little bit more, I will be watching the Carlton, Melbourne game aswell!
I managed to sleep pretty well the night before, not many hours as we were up early but still a solid sleep. I got out of bed, firstly did my morning meditation which really helps me get focused, centered and grounded ready for the day, especially when I know I will be around a lot of people and energies. The last job I had to do was pack away the pasta, which didn’t take too long as everything was already weighed and then, Mum and I packed up the car together, somehow managed to fit everything, had a quick coffee and we were on our way to the Heide Market.
We arrived and really had no idea what to expect. We also never did a practice run of the marquee so we really took a risk putting it up on the day. We had no idea, but we got a good laugh out of it. The hardest part was packing it all away in the bag it came in- they never make these things to be put back in the bag, do they?!
We got a car spot, asked one of the workers where Green15 was (our store position), made our way over and then we started to set up. My beautiful friend Giulia helped with setting up and was an absolute superstar staying most of the day to help with sales and also take photos and videos for me! Thank you Giuls.
The day went quickly, I had a lot of friends and family come to the stall and buy lots of goodies. Everyone who came has been such a huge support with everything related to running my business. I honestly could never do any of it without them. Seeing all their faces on the Saturday, just made me super happy and incredibly grateful. I had many other friends who where unable to attend mainly because they live interstate but sent me messages to wish me luck and have fun. I’ve just got to find a way to send all my goodies interstate-soon hopefully! I have already thanked everyone but thank you again!
Also, a huge shout out to my incredible room mates who I have only known for a short time but were so supportive throughout the whole lead up to it all (and everything around me running my own business). Making me take breaks when I needed, dealing with a very sleep deprived gal and coming along on the Saturday to support me. Thank you heaps!
The whole market experience was super positive, and I had a lot of sales which was amazing. After speaking to other market stall holders, the markets where not as busy as they normally are, but for me the experience was really valuable. It was a good insight of what to expect moving forward, especially as I will definitely be doing more of them in the near future.
When 3pm came around, it was time to pack up and of course a small rain shower hit just at that time. We were actually pretty lucky with the weather, there was only one shower during the day but otherwise it was sunny. Mum and I packed up the car and then made two delivery stops for a few people who couldn’t make it to the market. We arrived home, spent about an hour unpacking everything and putting away any leftover foods. Probably the worst job of the day as we where both exhausted by that stage. Once we had finished we sat down, had some Cheese and Biscuits and later I cooked up some of the leftover Pasta with Bolognese for dinner. I was very hungry so a big bowl was definitely needed after such a big day. With lots and lots of Parmesan Cheese of course!
Sunday was the biggest rest day I have had in a while and it was much needed. I am signed up to do the next Heide market in October which is exciting. Once it is all finalised I will be advertising all about it so keep an eye on my socials! I have also spent some time during this week looking into other local markets. There are a lot more around then I realised. All of which will be really good. I am really excited for what the next few months will hold leading up to Christmas. Doing the market has just given me that extra push and drive I really do feel like I needed to take things to the next level. I am also starting to speak to more and more people who have very successful business to help me move forward as well. All tips that I am sure will help me out a lot.
It's now time for me to get ready for this weekend’s Pasta Workshop! I am so excited! Trying some new things out in this class which will be great. If all goes well, I will definitely be incorporating them into the future classes.