I’m unclear if the name of this event was Winter Wanderland or Wonderland, but either way, it was my first visiting Avondale Estates. The downtown area was so cute, I hope I visit again to properly explore. Their local businesses were working together to put on a town-wide holiday event and I was stationed at My Parents’ Basement with an art market hosted by Sundat Studios.

You may have noticed I didn’t make a blog post to promote that I’d be at WInter Wanderland, and that’s because it was a last minute addition to my schedule. Earlier when I was at Giga-Bites Cafe for their autumn artist alley, my table neighbor, Meow the Kitty Kat, told me about Winter Wanderland and that they may still be accepting vendors. I opened up my phone and applied right then and there, haha! While I’d had my eye on Sudnat Studio’s Facebook page, it was helpful to have a personal recommendation to commit to a date and place. Plus, I’d heard god things of My Parents’ Basement before as a nerd-themed restaurant, so I hoped my art would do well with their regulars.
Applying was easy enough, Sudnat Studio uses Eventeny for vendor applications, and I heard back within a week of my acceptance. Terms, conditions, and general schedule were communicated through the Eventeny page, along with an email to address any further questions. While they did tell us street parking would be available, on the day of the event staff from My Parents’ Basement directed vendors to their employee parking lot where we could park for free. So helpful!

It wasn’t until the week leading up to Winter Wanderland, that I realized this wasn’t a market only for My Parents’ Basement but a whole neighborhood holiday event! I even learned of a bakery called Leftie Lee’s that was hosting a Badass Asian Market pop-up!!!! Sadly, I didn’t get a chance to visit but through the day I did meet customers who’d just come by Leftie Lee’s. And they had such tasty looking pastries and cute things on them, buh. Next time, Leftie Lee’s…
With all the local businesses working together, there was a fairly steady flow of customers coming through the day. It seems that My Parents’ Basement may be a popular weekend destination by itself! I did get recognized a few times from nearby shows. Shoppers did slow down towards the evening and especially once it got dark. Sundown in December is certainly cold, but My Parents’ Basement also held their artist market longer than the other nearby establishments. We were allowed to load-out early, officially the event ended at 8 PM but some of us started packing as early as 6 PM. I was relieved since I did have ATL Holiday Market the next day and looked forward to a good night’s rest.

I did face a pretty strong environmental hazard at Winter Wanderland, the wind. While it was not the first time I’d seen an improperly weighed down tent take flight, the consistent wind challenged my usual vertical display tactics. I even had to take down my display shirts and back wall of my tent, they were just flying around so much and hitting the back of my head. Not good for displaying shirts at all! And the few minutes I did have the back wall up, it threatened to create a giant sail and put my whole tent in danger. It made me grateful for my clothing rack, but I have to wonder if not having the display shirts did hinder shirt sales. Other than heavy weight mannequins, which isn’t a viable option for me, I’m not sure what good defense there is for displaying shirts against the wind. The weather report on my phone said wind was going 10 mph, so maybe it couldn’t be helped? While weather can be unpredictable year round, I will say the experience has made me more cautious of scheduling multiple winter outdoor events.

In the end, Winter Wanderland was my most profitable December market and I really enjoyed the neighborhood’s atmosphere. As event organizers, Sundat Studios seems to have garnered a good reputation amongst their regular vendors. They take the time to make individual graphics and branding for each of their many markets. I appreciate that they’re one of the few without a strict rain or shine policy, and are willing to work with vendors if weather forecasts are poor so I’ve heard.
A bit of a preview, I’ll have a rainy story to tell when I get around to blogging about ATL Holiday Market! ^^;;;Billie’s Vendor Rating
Billie’s Vendor Rating
German Food Specials | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Foot Traffic | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Attendee Vibes | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Restrooms | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Pokémon GO | ⭐⭐⭐ |
I’d like to join Avondale Estates for another Winter Wanderland if they’ll have me. And I’ll have to keep an eye out for future Sundat Studio markets that match my niche as well.
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