On April 20, Mission Plaza was filled with local artisans selling handcrafted goods such as candles, jewelry and clothing. Once a month on a Saturday, countless people can be seen strolling the plaza perusing the offerings of San Luis Obispo businesses.
Behind the market is SLO local, Angela Boyd.
Boyd has organized pop-up markets and events through her company, The Makeshift Muse, since 2018. Inspired by a screen printing event near Cal Poly’s campus, Boyd and her friend Kelly Edward decided to organize a market of their own.
Apart from the 45 businesses in attendance, the market also offered branding and headshot sessions onsite by local photographer Samantha Josette. In addition, art studio Couleur de la Vie hosted a walk up natural dye workshop.
Live music from artists such as Soul Maps, Carpool and Ava Ulloa accompanied the event, while Tiny Cat Coffee offered beverages next to the amphitheater.
Primarily, the market offers the opportunity for people in the San Luis Obispo community to find out more about businesses in the area.
“It’s really nice to meet local vendors and smaller shops and to support them,” industrial engineering senior Mackenzie Bunyi said.
Boyd utilizes her Instagram account to find emerging small businesses for her markets through an application form. Her posts include colorful reels, local products and pictures from the markets. One reel shows Boyd smiling at the camera as she posts flyers for the market around San Luis Obispo. Another shows clips from the market, as people shop and dance to the live music.
“Instagram helps me connect with the San Luis Obispo community and find more businesses for the markets,” she said.
One of the businesses, Sequoia Refillery, offers refills for commonly used household products, including laundry detergent, dish soap and all-purpose cleaner. Refillery’s owner, Joyce Eybsen finds the Mission Plaza market a great way to explain her business to potential customers.
“Most people don’t know what a refill store is and don’t realize they have the ability to disrupt the plastic industry,” Eybsen said. “It’s great to talk to people face to face about it.”
Another local vendor, White Noise Candles, was founded by Jillian Mercer in January 2024. White Noise Candles sells organic candles inspired by self care and relaxation. Mercer also emphasized her goal of creating unique scents that could not be found anywhere else.
“It’s been really fun getting to meet other vendors and people in the community and even people who are just here visiting. I had a goal of selling one candle, but I’m almost at 30,” she said.
In addition to monthly markets at Mission Plaza, Boyd hosts yearly holiday markets at the Alex Madonna Expo Center. She also expanded her markets to the Los Angeles Arts District in partnership with Truly LA and Angel City Brewery.
“I’m really grateful for these relationships that help me grow my business,” Boyd said.