By MADELYN FAIRBANKS
Published August 1, 2012
Kids learn entrepreneurial skills at farmers market
SNOHOMISH – Kellen McClure stood proudly behind her handmade goods on a table at Kids Vendor Day in the Snohomish Farmers Market last week.
Nine year-old Kellen sold a various assortment of crafts, but most impressive were the neat, bright circles of soap in yellow, pink and purple, all wrapped in airtight plastic.
Kellen said she was learning about how to talk to people as well as handle money, and had even figured the cost of her overhead and anticipated profit margin.
“I want to make more than 10 bucks,” Kellen said. She hoped to use the money for a trip to the American Girl store to get a doll.
Her booth, Kellen’s Kreations, was one of eight kids booths set up at the entrance of the outdoor market on Thursday.
Market manager Karen Erickson said she saw the idea to have a set day for kids to sell homemade goods in a nearby newspaper, and decided to set up a day for Snohomish kids to do the same.
Erickson hopes giving kids the chance to enter the free market gives them a sense of what it’s like to do business, she said.
Kids each paid an entrance fee of $5, which Erickson said will be donated to the Snohomish Community Food Bank.
Some kids like Bree Ewalt, 11, from the Snohomish Boys and Girls Club worked to make creations just for the event; they were selling vases made from diligently saved glassware, covered with a mosaic of brightly colored paper.
The vases went for $2 to $5. All the money earned went back to the Boys and Girls Club.
Bree said she was learning a lot about math and writing from the experience, and even admitted with a smile that it was maybe more than she wanted to learn.
Kids Vendor Day invited children across Snohomish County to participate. The couple of teens who were there brought items that looked professional and even marketable.
Sister and brother Alex Leyde, 16, and Angelo Leyde, 8, used bits and bobs collected on the farm they live on to make items that looked store-bought. They stood behind a large table that held horsehair bracelets, hair clips with dangling feathers, bird houses, dog toys and bagged dog treats.
Alex started making creations after looking up a biscuit recipe online to make for her three dogs. She then started giving them away as gifts, and is now selling them.
Caris Ristoff, 17, sat behind her display of ceramic bowls, plates, mugs and more, the fruitful effort she said, of a pottery class she takes in her spare time.
Caris said she tried selling her wares on the independent craftmakers website www.etsy.com, but found that shipping delicate items was too expensive.
Kids Vendor Day was her first time selling her pottery in person, and by 4 p.m. that day had already sold 15 pieces at $10 a piece.
The money she made that day went to a savings fund for a trip to Europe next year, she said.
