Projects for Public Spaces - Lessons learned



Projects for Public Spaces - Lessons learnedFMNS took part in a Projects for Public Spaces workshop about Farmers' Markets in New York-332105-742950The workshop covered:- * What makes a good market * Making markets public spaces and connecting markets to the community * Marketing at Farmers' Markets * Business planning and sustainable market operationsThe group also visited the Union Square and Fort Greene Farmers' Market as well as the Brooklyn Flea Market, two public markets and the Smorgasburg, a new prepared food market in Williamsburg.As you can imagine it was a great deal of information in a very short space of time and it only really touched the tip of the iceburg, leaving me wanting a lot more!Here are some key things that I thought would be useful to you:-The ten key qualities of successful markets 1) The right (individual) vendors; meaning the people as much as the products and the stand. 2) The right layout; Good market have great entrances (sense of arrival), a good flow, are memorable, have services (seating etc), have enough parking and good accessibility by other means and are flexible. 3) The right mix of vendors and products; try products and vendors out and don't be afraid to ask vendors to leave if they or their product are not the right fit for your market. 4) The right mission; markets need to know what they stand for i.e. helping vendors, building community, promoting health and making people happy! Don't lose track of why you are there. 5) The right location: markets should be located in places that people naturally gather anyway such as parks, church parking lots, community centres and other traditional meeting places. 6) The right connections: Successful markets reflect the communities they serve, are well connected and often are anchor points of the community. They involve partners who donate resources, time and money and they in turn give back to the community. 7) The right economics: Markets should provide good spin off opportunities for businesses and community groups in the surrounding area. They should build the local economy and not draw from it. 8) The right promotions: Markets often have limited marketing budgets so can stretch marketing dollars by holding events, tastings and demonstrations, writing effective press releases and creating effective tie-ins with other community events.9) The right values: Good markets affirm our sense of place and provide a sense of local control and ownership.10) The right management: Market managers need to have the same kind of management skills that ANY manager needs, plus a serious dose of kookiness.Other lessons learnedHere are some key points that I found useful either as new ideas or as a good reminder:-What attracts people to a place? Other people!When designing a market create the public spaces first and build your market around them. Happy customers = thriving market and conversely if you don’t have happy customers, you quickly won’t have a market. PDAs (public displays of affection) are a sign that your market is a healthy public space! I’m wondering if anyone has considered holding a ‘most kisses in a farmers’ market’ contest for across Nova Scotia. People are ten times more likely to talk to a stranger at a farmers’ market than at a grocery store: Let’s use that fabulous fact in our marketing! To create a really great destination a region needs 10+ major attractions with 10+ things to do – How many things are there to do at your farmers’ market and can you work with other organizations to increase that number? Are you working with other destinations in your area to cross promote your market and their destination with each other? When designing the layout of a new market, keep it flexible. Markets need to evolve over time and things that seemed a good idea on the blue print might not work in real life. Allow yourself plenty of wiggle-room. Allow room for amazing new businesses: It is better to not be quite full and allow a little space for that dream vendor, than have to figure out how you are going to ask another vendor to move or even leave. It’s better to have a little less money in the short term and build a better market in the long term. Parking matters: Although cars may seem to be the antithesis of farmers’ markets, people who drive to the market spend more money at the market. Vendors should NEVER park in customer parking. The more time people spend at a market, the more money they spend: How are you keeping your customers engaged? What factors cause them to leave early? Work with community organizations to offer services at markets such as composting, clothing drop off locations, community health services such as blood pressure testing etc. Most markets have ‘sponsors’ or partners: Market budgets are typically offset by the support; labour, resources or cash of other organizations, typically municipalities but increasingly food security organizations. When establishing a new market structure, negotiate great terms up front: Markets often have property taxes waived for 3-5 years (as do many businesses moving into an area and providing employment) and don’t pay for municipal services such a garbage collection. Get this in writing in advance! For markets to be financially sustainable, market vendors have to pay for the common areas and common costs as well as their own physical space – approximately only 55% of market space is useful retail space and the rest is aisles, washrooms, seating areas etc. In a typical retail operation the tennant does not only pay for the shelving, racks and cash register and expect to get the walkways, storage space and doorways for free. When billing, this ‘unused’ but essential space has to be included in the rent. Storage space is an important service to vendors and should be paid for by the vendors: Most vendors don’t like taking things to and from the market, so as a courtesy it’s a good idea to allow vendors to leave larger items in storage. However, because more storage space means less rentable table space, the storage space must be paid for by the vendors. For an outdoor market to be self sustaining the minimum cost of a table should be $35: Any less and you need to find sponsors and alternative revenue streams. Markets that charge less for table fees, spend proportionally more on staff time than on other market expenses because the staff have to spend more time finding alternative sources of revenue for the market. Other great stuff accumulated from this workshopAll FMNS member markets will have been emailed a wonderful ‘ market audit’ document which is a great way to engage customers in your market and receive valuable feedback about how your market is doing.We’re currently creating an FMNS members only stash of all the resources we’ve provided you with to date plus fabulous photos taken of markets and products in markets across Canada, London and New York. ................
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