VENDOR FAQs

The Good Trade Makers Market is a community-minded gathering of small businesses - a weekend long party, really. Our goal is to help businesses connect with a crowd who is excited to shop small, and to introduce you to other small businesses you can network and make friends with.

We host a ticketed weekend-long event that takes place indoors, annually in Providence, RI the weekend before Thanksgiving (WaterFire Arts Center) and in Burlington, VT in early December (Hula). Each event features ~90 small businesses (including small batch food and beverage producers, artists, makers/artisans, and more) from New England and beyond, a bar, food and treats, a vendor-created playlist, and more.

The first Providence event was held in 2021 and in 2022, we made our way north to Burlington, a city we love in a state we spend a lot of time in. Each event welcomes over 4,000 enthusiastic attendees who are ready to shop small and support independent businesses.

Our goal is to curate a selection of vendors where 50% are local to the area where the market is held and the other 50% travel in for the event, stay in local hotels, network with area businesses, and create relationships in a city that is new to them. We believe in the power of building community, and that we will all be more successful if we help each other grow.

We are always looking for positive minded people who are enthusiastic about promoting their own businesses, the events they participate in, and the other small businesses in their community. We strongly believe that a rising tide lifts all boats. By working together as a community rather than as competitors, small businesses grow.

We review the social media accounts and websites of our applicants - your ability and willingness to promote your work regularly and participate in your community is key! We can’t accept applicants with private Instagram accounts because….well, we can’t promote what we can’t see.

All vendors at The Good Trade Makers Market must play a role in the creation, design, and/or manufacturing of the products they sell. We do not accept multi-level-marketing vendors or vintage at this event. If you're a vintage dealer, check out our sister event, Little City Thrifty, held twice a year in Providence!

The Good Trade is an event strictly for businesses who make/design/product heir own items. We cannot accept vintage dealers, resellers, crystals, or multi-level marketing sellers. We do not allow the sale of firearms, weapons, or racist/offensive materials at our events. Products containing THC and CBD are unfortunately not permItted, due to our insurance company’s regulations. f you are a vintage dealer, please visit our sister event, Little City Thrifty.

Please note:

If you have participated in a past event but were not active in working with us and your fellow vendors to help promote the event, we may not select you to participate again. We notice, and your fellow vendors notice. When everyone works together, we all have success.

If you have been removed from one of our previous events for mistreatment, harassment, or harm to staff, other vendors, venue staff, or event attendees, we unfortunately cannot consider your application and will not respond.

If you have no-showed us at a previous event, we will not accept you for any future events.

If you have not completed the required sales permit and/or sales tax paperwork at our previous events, it is possible that we will not invite you back. We are required by law, under the terms of our event promoter permit, to comply with State of RI event requirements related to tax. We’re here to guide you through the process and make it as quick and easy as possible for you.

Applications for the Good Trade Makers Market typically open 8-9 months in advance and remain open for a month or so.

Please be sure to add hello@goodtrademakersmarket.com to your contact list so that any application updates do not end up in your spam folder.

All applicants will be notified of their status in late spring. Be sure to add our email address, hello@goodtrademakersmarket.com, to your contacts list, so we don't end up in your spam.

Upon acceptance, you will have ten days to fill out the contract form for accepted vendors and remit payment. Vendors of food/beverage products must also submit a certificate of insurance within this time frame, with specific entities listed as “additionally insured”. ALL items must be received in order for us to consider you confirmed and reserve your booth space - so don't wait!

It isn't personal, we promise. The curation process takes us nearly forty hours to complete, it is extremely difficult, and we take it seriously. For all of our events, we have a number of factors that we take into consideration, in no particular order: your ability and willingness to promote your business (and your fellow makers) and promote the events you participate in, active social media accounts that give us a good idea of the types of things you sell and what your event displays might look like, the age of your business (we aim to make room for both newer and more well-known/established businesses), location of your business (50% of our vendors are local to RI and the rest are from New England and beyond, because we believe networking and collaborating outside of your own local community can help businesses grow), and what you sell (category, style, price points, gender and size inclusive clothing and accessories, etc. While keeping those factors in mind, we are also always looking to create a diverse and equitable event and make space for makers who are members of the BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and disabled communities.

The Good Trade reviews up to 1,500 applicants thoroughly for each event. Due to space and capacity constraints, we are able to accept less than 10% of businesses that apply. We often cannot accept our own close friends and beloved former vendors in order to make space for new folks. We now hold the event in two different New England cities due to demand, and may expand further in the future.

We retain your contact information, and if a spot becomes available in a category we think you would be a good fit for, we will reach out to you.

PLEASE NOTE:

Past participation in our events does not guarantee a place for your business at our future events. We love and appreciate you (and would love to have you back!), but we are also committed to providing opportunities for new businesses, too.

Welcome to The Good Trade! We work with area hotels to secure discounted room blocks, and we will share the information with accepted vendors via email.

We completely understand that cash flow for small businesses can be unpredictable. Reach out to us and we’ll be happy to work with you.

Bring anything you need to set yourself up for a successful weekend! This includes a table and chairs (rentals are available if you need them), a 20 foot extension cord and a power strip (please communicate with us about your electrical needs in advance), a reusable water bottle (both venues have refill stations), cash to make change with if you are a vendor who accepts cash payments (there are no ATMs on site), a back-up charging brick for your mobile device, a hand truck or wheeled cart to help the load-in and load-out go faster, ....and if you are participating in our RI event, you MUST bring a check to pay sales tax to the State of RI Department of Tax at the end of the weekend.

Please do not bring alcohol, drugs, pets, therapy/emotional support animals, or musical instruments/speakers to play music at your own booth (we've got speakers everywhere and a great playlist).

PLEASE NOTE:

Vendors are not permitted to tape or affix any items such as banners, backdrops, or merchandise to the floors or walls with tape, nails, or tacks of any kind. Failure to adhere will result in the vendor paying for any damages caused.

We are family friendly and your kids are welcome! If they're under 12, they must remain with you at all times and cannot roam the event alone. Pets, emotional support animals, and therapy animals are unfortunately not allowed due to insurance restrictions, but certified service dogs who are specifically trained to provide medical assistance are welcome.

The Good Trade Makers Market is run by two long-time communications-minded event-planning marketing professionals who love throwing a big parties. We take the promotion of our events incredibly seriously.

Each participating vendor will be announced via a dedicated post on Instagram and Facebook, using a personalized digital flier (which we share with you, so you can help promote, too!). We send out press releases and communicate with media outlets for coverage online/in print/ on air, distribute thousands of event postcards, hang posters all over the states where the events are held, and we focus hard on digital marketing for the ten months leading up to the event.

We expect all participating vendors to actively join us in promoting, and we make our vendor selections partially based on our belief in your ability to do so. This means helping distribute postcards while you're popping up at other events and/or hanging posters in your community and at your own brick and mortar shop, as well as sharing promo material online.

If we all work together, the 90 small businesses in the room will have a great weekend!

The Good Trade Makers Market accepts a limited number of popup restaurants/concessions vendors, and we also welcome producers of small batch packaged food items to apply (crackers, salsa, you get the idea!). All food and beverage producers must supply a certificate of insurance with a specific list of entities included as "additionally insured" - we will give you all the info you need in order to do this. If you are participating in our RI event, you must also supply us with a RI Dept of Health certificate. If you don't have one - don't worry. We will point you in the right direction!

Yes, all vendors must commit to vending at both days of the event for the entirety of the event. Packing up or leaving early will cause you to wind up on our no-no list forever.

Yes, the venue is fully ADA compliant and mobility aids are welcome. Handicap parking is available right out front. If you have any questions or require any additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to ask.

On-site parking is available for all vendors. We have a designated parking area directly behind the venue that provides you easy access to your vehicle.

Parking at our Providence event is free for all vendors and attendees.

Discounted parking rates are available to vendors for our Burlington event.

We do not recommend leaving your vehicle at the venue overnight. If you do leave a vehicle overnight and something does happen, we are not responsible and WaterFire Arts Center is not responsible.

Yes, we have an incredible security team who patrols the event area while monitoring all entrances and exits. We hire non-police security who focus on calmly deescalating any situations that arise.

While we do have security, we cannot guarantee that theft will not occur. We recommend all vendors to take collateral such as an ID of any attendees who try on apparel. If you see something, please find a member of our security team or staff to assist you.

The Good Trade and WaterFire Arts Center are not responsible for any theft or loss of items at our events.

Yes! You are welcome to leave your displays intact overnight. The venue is locked and secured directly upon the close of the event.

We recommend that vendors take any high-dollar items, cash, computers, tablets, phones, and POS systems with them.

We do not recommend leaving your vehicle at the venue overnight.

The Good Trade and WaterFire Arts Center are not responsible for any theft or loss of items at our events.

In Providence, we have a two-hour period on Friday night for vendors to load-in, from 5-7 pm. We strongly recommend participating if you can. Saturday load-in begins at 8 am. All vendors must be in the building and actively loading in by 9 am. Late arrival may cause us to remove you from the event and replace you with someone from the waitlist.

In Burlington, Friday night load-in is not available. All vendors must load-in on Saturday morning beginning at 8 am. All vendors must be in the building and actively loading in by 9 am. Late arrival may cause us to remove you from the event and replace you with someone from the waitlist.

No. The Good Trade Makers Market does not charge an application fee.

The Good Trade Makers Market brings an 8-foot tall Plinko game to each event, and we welcome a local 501c3 non-profit organization to host the game for the weekend. Donations of $5 per game are paid directly to the participating nonprofit, and all players receive a prize, ranging in size from a sticker or branded swag to larger prizes donated by community members and vendors. If you’re interested in participating as a non-profit, send us an email!

Vendor booths in Providence measure 8 feet wide by 7 feet deep. Vendor booths in Burlington measure 8 feet wide by 6 feet deep. Larger sizes may be available for event sponsor - get in touch!

The Good Trade Makers Market is held entirely indoors. We’re having a party, and if you’re outside, you’ll miss it!

Our vendor booths are non-refundable and are not transferrable to other vendors. We work hard to curate an eclectic event, and all participants sign vendor agreements.

Sure! We are able to rent 8 foot tables and up to two chairs for each vendor. We are not able to rent linens. f you need to rent clothing racks, refrigerators/freezers, or other equipment, we may be able to connect you to a local events rental company.

The Good Trade Makers Market follows all state and federal regulations related to sales permits and the collection of sales tax. This information varies from state to state, and once you’re accepted, we will provide you with the information you need to be succesful. Obtaining a sales permit is not optional - and if you don’t have one, we will point you in the right direction! You must collect sales tax on all items that are taxable. Failure to collect sales tax on taxable items means that unfortunately won’t be able to invite you back.

Our most important rule is: don't be a jerk. We have a zero tolerance policy for rude behavior, and we will remove you from our events immediately (and permanently) if you are disrespectul to us, our staff, the venue staff, or fellow vendors. This rarely happens, but we have to say it - so please just don't. We're here to have a good time.

Oh, and - we really need you to be on time for load-in! Late arrival may mean that we cannot let you participate in the event, as it is disruptive to your fellow vendors and our staff.