Resurgence Markets started as a small dream to bring together cool people that make and sell cool things in a cool space in West End Winnipeg. Maybe it was the disenchantment both Laura and I were experiencing as solopreneurs and creatives searching for ways to make a living and also make a difference in the world or maybe it was just a desire to have a space where we actually felt like we belonged, but Resurgence Markets become the answer to a question we didn’t know we were asking the universe.
By definition, “resurgence” is “an increase or revival after a period of little activity, popularity, or occurrence.” Resurgence is a revival of that which once was dormant or repressed. Aptly named as the world was awakening after two years of lockdowns and restrictions, our first market included only 10 vendors, and 2 of those were me, selling my stained glass art, and Laura, who, at the time, still made gitch for the masses.
As we started envisioning the market(s) for 2023, it was important to us to ground down into values that could guide our planning. We settled on the following core values; ingenuity, equity, and collaboration.
We value the creativity and genius of Winnipeg small business owners and we want to support them by giving them space and time to create. This is one of the reasons we choose a different theme for each market. (Side note: our theme for our 2023 Spring Market is Emerge). Supporting this ingenuity means providing our vendors with resources to market their business and using our own platforms to get people in the doors to shop their wares.
We also value fairness and justice, which for us means keeping the cost of participating in the market as vendors and shoppers affordable, as well as prioritizing vendors that may have additional barriers to succeeding at markets. This equity work looks like a lot of listening and a lot of reflecting on our own biases in an attempt to disrupt and mitigate those biases. This also looks like a marketing campaign that makes it clear that our market is a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community.
Laura and I recognize that we do our best work in collaboration. Resurgence is a collaboration with our vendors, and one of the opportunities we provided to our vendors is to join our editorial photo shoot.
Planning this photoshoot was a true joy and I’m in love with the outcome. I know from experience that photography is becoming more and more of a necessity for small businesses, especially since we spend half our lives - if not more - online. The whole experience of collaborating with these lovely souls was a gift and through it, I experienced a revival of creative joy I hadn’t experienced in a while.
Resurgence has been for me a homecoming, and I hope that it will be the same for you.
Tickets to our 2023 Spring Market are now on sale - see you there!
