Spring McNeely Market to be held

The McNeely Market returns to Gorecki Fireside next Wednesday for the second time this school year. The market showcases students’ creative and entrepreneurial endeavors, with vendors selling a wide array of items including ceramics, jewelry, T-shirts and 3D-printed figurines.

The McNeely Market, originally sponsored by the McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship, has been an ongoing tradition for students at CSB+SJU. This year the event has undergone some changes, moving from Brother Willie’s Pub to Fireside in Gorecki and collaborating with the Art Club to bring more student artists on as vendors. Additionally, this is the first time the event has been held in both the fall and spring semester.

Michael Tripicchio, Entrepreneurship Club president, and Olivia Henson, Art Club president, are involved with planning the market. Tripicchio helped reserve the space and order food for the event, while Henson was responsible for bringing the event to Gorecki and recruiting students from Art Club to participate as vendors. Tripicchio and Henson are excited for the turnout next week after the success of the December market, which brought revenues of up to $700 for some student vendors.

Henson discussed the benefits of an event like this for campus artists who have talent to share but may struggle to get a table at larger markets or simply need practice creating for and selling to a smaller, more approachable population. Logistically, the McNeely Market removes many of the hurdles that vendors might typically face, including a tabling fee, applications to be part of an event and competition from other sellers. Additionally, Henson noted that this is a safe space for artists to try new things and make mistakes with the only risk being lost time.

Art Club members were thrilled at the chance to be involved in the market. After the first event in the fall, Henson recalled that vendors were asking right away when they could hold another market.

Tripicchio noted that he would love to see more students involved in the market.

“Anyone who wants to sell anything is welcome to this event. This is like the kid’s end of the pool for students to get involved in entrepreneurship. A great problem would be to have too many vendors for the space,” he said.

The success of the market has been important in showing just how much students are capable of. The creation of enough products to sell is a large task, with vendors dedicating hours of their time towards designing, testing and making products. They must also decide how to price their items and practice their skills at selling.

“This is an event that perfectly proves that there are lot of students that do a lot of great things and do things that no one else would’ve thought possible,” Tripicchio said. “I love seeing students get to show off what they do, and I hope that when others see an event like this that they think that ‘I can do that too.’”

Fofanah Mustapha, Rachel Eiden and Elizabeth Wold will be among the 14 vendors at the market next week. All have some experience selling at other markets and will be taking these lessons to the McNeely Market. Fofanah will be selling shirts through his brand Incentive, Eiden will be selling linoleum relief prints and copper etchings and Wold will be selling jewelry along with a devotional through her business Love Like Christ Co. Though it’s always great for students to get experience with sales, they all said that the best part of opportunities like this is connecting with others.

“I am excited for another opportunity to share my artwork with the students of CSB+SJU,” Eiden said via email. “My favorite part of these experiences is getting to talk to other students about my art and the process of printmaking.”