I met the artist and arts educator Bailey Marie at one of my first Story Seeds stands at the 32nd Street Farmers Market in October 2021. On her seed, she drew an image of selling her first piece of artwork. In January 2024, we reconnected over London Fog lattes at Red Emma’s, located along the periphery of the market at the intersection of Greenmount and 32nd Street. Bailey reflected on how her arts practice has continued to evolve since that first sale, how her customers shaped her business with both enthusiastic and tough love, and how the 32nd Street Farmers Market welcomes aspiring entrepreneurs. Pets may not be allowed at the market, but portraits of them are!
The first piece of art Bailey ever sold was at the 32nd Street Farmers Market. It was a portrait of her cat Bonez. “I don't know what happened that day. I just was looking at my cat and I was like, ‘I need to paint my cat.’ It brought out this inner child in me. I’ve always loved drawing animals. When I was really little my dad built me a barn. I called it the art barn and I would go in there and just make art. I always knew, ‘Okay, I'm gonna do something with this.’ But I never thought about selling my animal paintings until the one of my cat.”
The late 32nd Street Farmers Market Community Liaison Marc Vernon bought the piece of her cat. “When he passed, it was just this moment for me, like, ‘I don't know what's gonna happen to that painting.’ But part of me knows, like, it's good. It’s gonna be passed on.”
Marc also welcomed Bailey to the market as a first-time vendor. “During Covid I was hanging out with some friends who lived close to the 32nd Street Farmers Market and they were like, ‘Hey, let's go to this farmer’s market.’ I went and I had an amazing time. It was just one of those blissful days. It was beautiful weather. I got some flowers and pastries and I was like, wait, ‘Why don't I sell my art at a market?’ I don't remember exactly how it happened. I might have just gone up to the table and been like, ‘Hey, I want to sell my artwork here.’ I got Marc's email somehow and that's what started it. It was super easy with Marc. He was always super excited, like, ‘Come on board! I'll fit you in!’ It’s one of the advantages when you just have a little table. You don't need much space.”
Bailey admits that her extroverted personality is an advantage when it comes to selling her artwork. However, the 32nd Street Farmers Market is an especially welcoming environment for first-time vendors. “At other markets sometimes people will avoid eye contact with you. But at this market most people will at least ask, ‘How are you doing?’ ‘Glad you’re out here.’ Whether or not they stop to buy my art or even look. This market just has a community vibe to it. That's what you want from a farmers market. You just feel welcomed. I didn't even have my own table when I started. I was borrowing a friend's table and a friend's canopy. I think that's the whole point of a community market is that people step in to have you be part of it.”
Customers have been an ongoing source of encouragement and influence in Bailey’s freelance practice.
“I sold my first couple paintings and then at the market I just started making more and more connections with people who would give me ideas, like, ‘Hey, why don't you do prints?’ I was selling my original paintings for way too cheap for how much time and energy I put into them, and there's nothing like an original, you know? I formed a connection with a local printer who could do high quality prints.
Some other guy I met at the market told me about Printful, which is an online company where you can print on shirts and bags. Just going to the markets and meeting people and forming connections kept fueling me to be like, ‘Oh my god, I can do this!’”
Even the tough love from customers helped her grow as an artist. “I did have one woman who came up to me and she was honestly kind of rude. She was giving me all this advice rapid fire. She was like, ‘My brother is an artist in New York and this is what he does and you need to do this.’ Usually people are just like, ‘Oh I love it, you're awesome, keep doing what you're doing.” But she was just spitting off critiques. She bought some of my cards. And she was like, ‘You don't even have your name on the back of them?’ So I was quickly writing my email on the envelopes and trying not to cry. It took weeks for it to settle in, but she had a point. Why don't I have my contact information on the artwork itself? So, no matter who you meet, even if they're kind of rude to you, they might have some wisdom.’”
Since Bailey sold her first painting at the 32nd Street Farmers Market, she has vended at other markets and she’s still exploring new ones. Currently, she’s working on a children’s book called Dogs of Charm City inspired by the pet portraits she’s been commissioned to paint of the dogs in her beloved city of Baltimore. It’s a childhood dream of hers to publish a book, and the community that she has built at the 32nd Street Farmers Market continues to encourage her.
“There’s no better feeling than someone seeing your art or your craft and physically seeing them be excited. And then for people who continue to come back, it’s not only about getting that sale. They’re continuing to be excited for me. There are people that now follow me on Instagram and are hearing about my book because I'm talking about it and they're messaging me like, ‘Oh my god, I can't wait to read this to my students in my classroom.’”
To aspiring entrepreneurs, Bailey says, “Just start even if you don't really know. Even if you have two drawings on a table and you set up and they don’t sell, you’re building connections and you never know where those connections are gonna go.”
Follow Bailey on Instagram @animalsbybailey for updates on her latest work and upcoming markets she’ll be vending at. You can also view her portfolio and purchase her work at www.animalsbybailey.com.
Interested in becoming a vendor or applying for a Guest Vendor space? See this link: https://www.32ndstreetmarket.org/become-a-vendor/
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