RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The first BLK Market event took place Saturday with the goal of showcasing a variety of art, food and vintage goods from Black-owned businesses in Richmond.
On Saturday, March 9, from noon to 4 p.m., For The Culture hosted the first BLK Market at the Red Bird Social, located at 100 N. 6th St., to showcase Black-owned businesses in Richmond.
According to a spokesperson for the event, For The Culture is a collective of Black employees from Arts & Letters Creative Co., a Richmond-based creative advertising agency. They created the BLK Market to celebrate Black excellence and creativity in the Greater Richmond community.
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Art from a Black-owned business displayed during the BLK Market on March 9. (Photo: William Berksteiner, 8News) -
On Saturday, March 9, from noon to 4 p.m., For The Culture hosted the first BLK Market at the Red Bird Social, located at 100 N. 6th St., to showcase Black-owned businesses in Richmond. (Photo: William Berksteiner, 8News) -
(Photo: William Berksteiner, 8News) -
(Photo: William Berksteiner, 8News) -
Pottery from a Black-owned business displayed for purchase at the BLK Market held on March 9. (Photo: William Berksteiner, 8News) -
A customer smelling an item for sale from a Black-owned business at the BLK Market on March 9. (Photo: William Berksteiner, 8News) -
(Photo: William Berksteiner, 8News)
For The Culture’s marketing and design representative Alana Robinson said the BLK Market is a collaboration to bring different kinds of Black businesses in Richmond together and show their amazing work.
“We wanted to showcase Black people that are doing amazing work in collecting and vintage, and things you don’t traditionally see, gather them all together and really give them a place to be successful,” Robinson said.
For The Culture’s public relations representative Lauren Hudson said the event took six months to plan.
“It started in late summer. We brainstormed a lot of different ideas on how we could work with the Black community in Richmond and how we can help enrich that, and settled on BLK Market,” Hudson said. “And, yeah, we started vendor outreach and putting all the pieces together, and here we are.”
Robinson said Richmond has a large community that has a lot of vendor fairs and markets, but she did not see any markets that were like the BLK Market that showcases Black businesses all year instead of just during Black History Month.
Saturday’s BLK Market featured a diverse selection of items to purchase from Black vendors including vintage books, handmade pottery, paintings and custom tea blends. Lillie Pearl and Buttermilk & Honey also provided food and drinks at the event.
Robinson said the event was a labor of love with the goal of bringing a piece of the community forward, because it is a part of Richmond that she loves the most. Hudson agreed and said she hopes the market continues to grow.
“We hope it grows. We hope we learn a lot this first year. That we get the word out. That we’re able to continue this for years to come, and maybe it gets bigger and bigger, and bigger spaces,” Hudson said. “And that we have more participation from the community.”
Any vendors interested in participating in future BLK Market events can email blkmarket@artsandletters.xyz.
