Eastside Flea x UBC

Only one-and-a-half years old, the Eastside Flea market has grown in both power and reptutation in its short life under the leadership of its co-founders, Linda Ounapuu and Jill Whitford.

UBC’s Student Union Building is no stranger to Eastside Flea, with its most recent visit lasting from October 7 until October 9. It offered students a variety of unique vintage clothing, handmade jewellery, backpacks from other countries, and art pieces – all from local vendors. Linda and Jill have been involved at every level of Eastside Flea, from the booking of vendors, to social media management, to hauling tables on market days. It was only recently that they hired their first-ever staff member, Jessica, who has become their “right-hand woman” in making market days a success.

The most recent Eastside Flea event at UBC boasted an array of vendors, many of which had handcrafted items for sale. Among the vendors offering self-made products at this October’s event was Arthur Yuen, a local hairstylist and artist at Beehive. Arthur was not, however, offering on-the-spot ‘dos at the market; instead, he was selling his own artwork with proceeds going to the Richmond Animal Protection Society, where he is a volunteer.

 Linda and Jill described one of the most rewarding aspects of Eastside Flea as the ability to act as a sort of incubator, “helping [vendors] through the growing pains of DIY small [businesses]”. In this way, Eastside Flea vendors – such as Arthur – can have the opportunity to be supported through the first stages of a small business endeavour. Some vendors even move on to open their own retail storefronts, a reward “unlike any other” for the flea market’s co-founders.

Eastside Flea took its roots shortly after the closure of the Waldorf Hotel, that brought with it the end of two market events that took place there. As vendors at various markets over the years, Linda and Jill saw the Waldorf’s closing as an opportunity to make use of their market experience, saying that they “had always thought about ways [we] would improve or do it ourselves”. Their original concept was to create a community-based, family-friendly marketplace; however, their success has taken them beyond this initial goal, and they now appeal to a community that more closely represents their own demographic of 20- to 30-something-year old adults. Many such young adults at UBC called for the return of the Eastside Flea after its inaugural visit, and Eastside Flea responded. The high volume of traffic that lasted throughout the entirety of the market’s visit to UBC is only further proof of its success.

In describing Eastside Flea, Linda and Jill refer to it as an on-going project, as they are constantly learning and growing as a result of each event that they host. What is their mission? To put on events that they would personally want to attend, and to ensure the happiness of vendors and attendees alike.  Events of this nature are very laborious, and demand a great deal of organization in order to achieve the sort of success exhibited by Eastside Flea. During the stressful times, Linda and Jill say that expressions of gratitude and appreciation from those who participate in the events help them remember why they are doing what they’re doing, and that in the end it is worth it.  

Did you miss out on October’s Eastside Flea at UBC? Fear not – ESF will be back next month for two days on November 12th and 13th!

Find out more about upcoming events on ESF’s Facebook page or at their website.

• UBC
• University of British Columbia