Fall 2023 Desert Air Market

Thank you for your interest in the Desert Air Market!

We are not currently accepting applications for our Fall market

Desert Air Market (DAM) is a recurring outdoor popup market created and run by Tucson artisans for Tucson artisans since Winter of 2020. As fellow creators, we uniquely understand the highs and lows of running a small business and navigating the world of popup markets. We are bringing our experience together to create a one of a kind popup with a focus on our local creators.

Each market aspires to create a day of joy and connection by bringing together a diverse community of local Tucson makers and artists. You may notice some familiar faces and we are always striving to uplift new, budding creators!

We ask a little bit more from you in the month leading up to the popup because we believe it takes teamwork for us to get the word out to create a successful popup market.

The definition of community is "a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals." We all want to be successful and grow within our fellow community. Let's grow together and create a strong maker community here in the beautiful Sonoran Desert.

* This Fall's Desert Air Market will be located on the corner of 6th street & sixth avenue in front of the Firestone Building hosted by Let's Sweat and neighboring businesses on Saturday, November 11th from 10am until 4pm.

You must be able to attend our vendor mixer on Sunday, October 22nd 4th from 5 pm to 7 pm or you will forfeit your space to vend at the market. Location is TBA. This mixer is just as important as the event! No one else can attend on your behalf. There will be no refunds for vendors who don't meet this criteria.

Vendor Requirements if participating:

There will be a $120 table fee per vendor. This fee helps cover costs going towards purchasing Facebook and Instagram ads, paying a DJ to perform day of, paying artists for signage/fliers/designs, hiring a photographer for the event, vendor mixer supplies, secretary work, and physical fliers for local businesses. *
10% of your table fee will be donated to a local nonprofit, chosen by the majority. All payments for fees are final.

Before market actions required:

Vendor Mixer - a chance to meet and network with other local makers and artists. Get to know who you will be vending with before and at the market! Dinner will be provided; if you can, please bring a beverage to share (bottled wine, a pack of soda or sparkling water, etc)
This mandatory mixer will take place on Sunday, October 22 from 5-7 pm. Location TBD.

Social Media Requirements:

We have been successful in creating a local algorithm on social media that connects all of us and boosts engagement. This helps get the word spread as far and wide as possible here in Arizona! Thus, bringing more faces to our popup (we have seen it work many times before!)

Please make sure that you are able to be on and engage on Instagram leading up to the market. Not being present or available on Instagram is not an option for this market.
We understand that social media can be tiresome, but we ask for this specific event that you be present and engage for the duration of the month leading up to the event. *A tip that we recommend is setting aside time each day, or every couple of days to spend 15 minutes catching yourself up with all posts; commenting, liking, and sharing fellow vendors posts and within stories.

Please be certain to post to your business Instagram a minimum of:

1 post of the market flier (we will send you an example post and who to tag).
2 stories of the flier
2 stories of what you are bringing to the market
Follow everyone that is participating in the popup market including @desertairmarket. You will receive an email after being accepted with all participating vendors and their instagram handles.
Interact with @desertairmarket posts. This includes liking and commenting with the option to share.
Commenting, saving, and sharing any posts that other participating vendors publish really helps connect us all through the algorithm.
You will also be included in an instagram group chat with all vendors. We will be conveying lots of useful market information in the Instagram group chat. Please DM us if you have any questions. If you want to share information with other makers, please use the facebook group for this. We want to keep the Instagram group chat strictly informational for the market.

Market Day actions:

We ask you to please show up between 8:00am - 8:15am and be fully set up and ready to sell by 9:30am. We plan to take a group photo at 9:30 so you must be set up and ready to go.
The maker themself must be at their table on the market day. No sub ins, please! The guests and customers are there to meet the craftsperson who makes these unique items.
You may have 1 person to assist you at your table/booth but please no more than that, space is limited. If you are sharing a table with another vendor, only the 2 vendors/makers are able to stand behind the table.
This is a very busy market. It's expected that you keep your table stocked through the entirety of the market. We understand that this may be new for some of you and we will share more information leading up to the event on what sales flow may look like throughout the day. We want you to succeed!
Please be sure to have a clean and beautiful display. We ask everyone to put extra effort into making their table display look well put together (using shelves or boxes to display products) and curated (not a lot of empty space or cluttered). If you are selling clothing, please have a nice rack to display clothing items using wooden hangers if possible and have your items clearly marked with prices and sizing. We also would like to encourage vendors to bring any extra decor for your table - to bring a little more love to the space. We trust your eye and know you will do the best!
Make friends with your neighboring vendors - some of us are in a popup routine and others are new so let's make everyone feel welcome!
Do Not pack up early. It is required that vendors stay for the duration of the event. Please allow a 15 minute grace period after 4pm to allow your lingering customers a chance to make their final purchases.
If you have any down time, hop onto social media and post or make a story about the popup to remind your following where you are and how long you will be there. It also helps to share the map of where the market will be to your followers to help them find you easily.
Network! This is a great opportunity to represent yourself to Tucson. Pass out your business cards and be attentive to shoppers. Always be ready to offer information.
Have fun! Popups are always more fun when we are all trying our best to enjoy ourselves!

Thank you for all of your hard work. We appreciate every one of you!

We understand this is more than what most markets ask of you but this is how we can make the market about community and success. Cheers to all of you and looking forward to the upcoming event!