My final event to close out 2025! While December is known for holiday shopping, to be honest, I find the both increased competition and celebrations detrimental to my side-hustle. So I decided to only sell at one market this month, the Asian Christmas Market, hosted by Badass Asian Market and Leftie Lee’s.
The Asian Christmas Market was part of Winter Wanderland, an Avondale Estates neighborhood event where local businesses host their own pop-up markets. It creates a festive neighborhood atmosphere and a walkable shopping experience. I had attended Winter Wanderland last year with Sundat Studios and My Parents’ Basement, which is when I’d first heard of Leftie Lee’s and BAM from visitors carrying delicious looking pastries!
Signing Up
After the Asian Night Market in October, Naomi, the event coordinator, reached out through text and asked if I’d be interested in any other upcoming BAM events. Once I confirmed with her that the Asian Christmas Market was part Winter Wanderland I told her to keep me posted. I’d also asked if I could be moved from the back hallway to the gallery section… it seemed there was more foot traffic up there!
A few weeks later around mid-November, Naomi sent out an official email with more details and payment information to officially sign up. The price had gone up from $50 to $60, which is fair since Asian Christmas Market was seven hours instead of four. Then a few days before the market, we got another email with load-in and load-out information. When I looked at the layout map, I realized my request to be moved from the back hallway had been missed. I was frustrated, but perhaps I could’ve sent a reminder of my preferred table placement along with my vendor payment.
And so, I emailed back asking if it’d be possible for me to take one of the outdoor spaces instead. It looked like there were quite a few unclaimed outdoors spaces unlike the gallery, which was full. My reasoning was that if it was going to be an all day event I could make that work with my tent setup, even if I would’ve preferred to keep it more lowkey. Plus, if the whole neighborhood was opening up markets, maybe an outdoor booth would be more accessible to shoppers? And fortunately, we were only a few days out and the weather forecast predicted beautiful weather. Naomi wrote back, letting me know it was more than alright for me to move outdoors. And that she would update and send me the new map… I never received an updated map ^^;
Asian Christmas Market
I got to Olive + Pine early, not just to setup, but also to make sure I could get me some Leftie Lee’s. I definitely came right on time, because their glass case was packed full of desserts. They were also hosting a special brunch with an expanded menu! I didn’t get to order off of it, but apparently this is an annual event that draws in lots of their regulars.
Unloading was easy enough, I was able to park right near the entrance and then parked in the free lot for vendors and employees. I wanted to wait for a representative of BAM to arrive before setting up, since I never got that updated map with my final placement. Naomi said in her emails that she planned to arrive around 9:30, but I hadn’t seen her around the front of the building. Around 9:50 I figured it was time to get started with my tent, and fortunately I did see Han, another BAM staff member, and confirmed with her that my tent would be in the right spot.
Interestingly, it seemed there were quite a few changes from our initial map. A number of our outdoor food vendors didn’t show up. I’m not sure what happened there, but there were a few last-second activity table additions that helped fill out our area. Face painting, a raffle, and some form of duck game, set up in the empty space next to me and attracted families and kids throughout the day. It turned out, I may had inspired a string of musical chairs ^_^; Quite a few folks ended up swapping spots and I think even another indoor vendor decided to move outdoors with me. I haven’t really worked with such flexible event organizers before, maybe it just goes to show that the squeaky wheels get grease.
My sales for the Asian Christmas Market did improve from the Asian Night Market. Which is good! You’d expect a longer market to have more sales than a shorter one. I was able to clear the higher table fee by three times, almost four times. Traffic did seem best near the beginning around lunch, I made my best sales within the first hour, but it did pick up a little again around 2 PM. The crowd was lots of families, with a mix of young and elder adults. My smaller items like stickers and buttons moved the most. Both Han and Naomi did come over a few times to check if we vendors needed anything, and Mai, their social media coordinator, came by to take footage for promotions.
I think being outside was definitely the right call, because it allowed me to be immediately accessible to the neighborhood browsers. Another thing about the indoor spaces was that, while they depend on the inside businesses to draw in traffic, it turns out not all of them were even open for Saturday? Which does confuse me, some of them I haven’t seen open during any of my visits to Olive + Pine. And since Leftie Lee’s doesn’t have dinner service they also closed before the event was over at 5 PM. When I went inside briefly to take a restroom brake, it looked like the traffic inside was very slow.
Since BAM does allow their vendors to pack up early, I did begin tidying up around 4:30 PM. Traffic had really slowed down and I had a friend’s holiday party to attend. Other vendors seemed to agree and were also packing up early. I was lucky enough that my friend Jon saved a parking spot right behind where my tent was on the street, so loading up my car didn’t take too long!
Billie’s Vendor Review
| Foot Traffic | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Attendee Vibes | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Restrooms | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Pokémon GO | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Organization | ⭐⭐ |
I really wanted to see how I’d do at the Asian Christmas Market, because with the boost from Winter Wanderland, I figured this would be the optimal conditions for the Olive + Pine location. Comparing numbers, there was an increase from the Asian Night Market but I did about the same as last year’s Winter Wanderland at the My Parents’ Basement location… which I guess does track because they’re only a block away from each other.
So I think in general, Olive + Pine makes for some cozy neighborhood markets. They haven’t been gangbusters sales for me, but I do enjoy the plaza and the opportunity to connect with more local vendors. I’m still trying to find my fit for Asian American markets around Atlanta, so I’ll be keeping tabs on BAM.
To close out the year, I did make some quick Deltarune buttons, inspired by the latest Game Grumps playthrough.
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