Holiday Market Application

Thank you for your interest in joining us as a vendor at the 3rd Holiday Market at the Westtown School Athletic Center in West Chester PA. This year, the Market will be held on November 22-23 to kick off the holiday season. We will again be showcasing a curated selection of 110 small businesses offering our customers from Chester County, the Main Line, Delaware County and beyond one stop shop for unique handmade and vintage holiday gifts and decor.

IMPORTANT: please read through ALL of the FAQ's on this page, even if you have participated at the Holiday Market before, before submitting your application using the button below.

KEY APPLICATION DATES:

• Deadline to Apply: Monday August 11, firm
• Vendor Notifications:  Monday August 18
• Payments Due: Thursday August 21
• Cancellation Policy: a 50% refund is available until Monday 9/22. Refunds are not offered for vendor cancellations after 9/22.

The application confirmation email will come from notifications@typeform.com. Vendor notifications will come from helloclovermarket(at)gmail.com. Be aware of scammers; vendors are never notified about their application status on social media channels. 

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

What are the dates and hours? The event will be Saturday November 22 & Sunday November 23 from 10-4 pm both days. Participation in both days is required. Load in takes place on Friday evening November 21. A decision will be made shortly on bringing back the VIP 1 hour early entry on Saturday only (9-10 am).

This year the Market will be taking place earlier to kick off the holiday season and avoid conflicts with sporting events happening at the school in December. Students, including boarders, will be home on their Thanksgiving week break, allowing for a more open campus with no school activities to work around.

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Can I participate for just one day? No this is a 2 day commitment.

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What is the location? Vendors are located on the main Athletic Center/Field House floor (33,000 SF of space) which has excellent overhead lighting, a wall of large windows and a light colored, soft rubber floor. Load in is directly onto the show floor, no elevators to manage. There is a map at the bottom of this page. 

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What is the vendor fee? The fee is $425 total for the 2 days for a full 10' x 10' space with no height or display restrictions. Accepted vendors will receive an invoice when notifications are emailed out. 

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Who should apply?  We are looking for a diverse mix of vendors with:

• Handmade: unique handmade items in all categories including bath and body, candles, clothing, baby and child, cards and prints, ceramics, glasswork, gourmet pantry, home goods and decor, jewelry, leather goods, pet-focused, seasonal knitwear, woodwork, and affordable original art*. 
• Antique/Vintage: at this event we include a small number of high quality antique and vintage vendors with a holiday gift/entertaining/decor focus only. For example linens, glassware, vintage ornaments and other holiday decor, vintage jewelry and accessories, and vintage artwork and maps. No furniture.
• Food: stay tuned for information regarding our onsite food needs.

There are 110 vendor spaces, and a target number of vendors will be accepted for each category to avoid oversaturation of product. A price point of $50 and under is recommended, and gift sets and smaller stocking stuffers are encouraged.  

*Fine/original art at "affordable" price points, or reproductions of your original work such as cards, prints, is the best fit for our Markets including this one. 

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Who should NOT apply?

We do not accept vendors with merchandise which is wholesale, buy/sell (e.g. Temu, Alibaba), direct to consumer/multi-level marketing, AI-designed, trademarked, directly imported, made from kits, or made from purchased designs or components without the clear creative imprint of the applicant on the final product sold. Vendors who misrepresent their work on the application may be asked to leave the Market and will be cancelled without refund from future scheduled Markets. We do not offer spaces for businesses for strictly marketing or promotional purposes.

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NEW - will you accept products produced outside the US?  We have decided to focus our limited spaces at this event on locally designed and locally produced goods. We will not be accepting applications from vendors with imported products of any kind including those designed in the US by the vendor but manufactured elsewhere including via fair trade partnerships. This will allow us to prioritize our limited spaces for makers designing and producing their own work locally.

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What do you consider to be "handmade"? We consider handmade products to be those which are original in design and which require a level of skill and creativity in their final execution. We value seeing the maker's personal imprint on the final products sold versus products with minimal handiwork on purchased components

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How are applicants evaluated?  As with our outdoor Markets, we consider product quality, craftsmanship, uniqueness, cohesiveness of design, the overall mix of sellers, and fit with the Market’s aesthetic and what we feel will resonate most with our customers. Product display and presentation are very important considerations, and we look for applicants with creative and carefully styled displays as we are looking to create a high quality shopping experience for our customers.

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How much space do I have and what can I bring for setup? Vendors will have a full 10' x 10' space. Everything including excess inventory and packing materials must fit within the booth space or neatly covered at the back. Grid walls and backdrops (or side panels) may be brought in addition to your tables and display pieces. Tent frames, even without canopies, may not be brought. 

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Will you provide tables, chairs and tablecloths?  No, vendors supply all of their own items necessary for their setup. 

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Do I need to be personally present? We understand the holiday season is busy and weekends are limited. For this Market, you may send a team member to represent your business if you are double booked. That said, we do prefer you to be there representing your business if possible and may consider this if we have to break a tie between two applicants. 

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What is the suggested price range?  We recommend $50 and under as a "sweet spot" for pricing, although prior years' vendors did sell at higher price points too. Having a variety of items and price points is always recommended. 

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Do I need to have a website and social media to apply? A strong social media and online presence are important as we ask all vendors to help promote the Markets in partnership with us. They also allow us (and customers) to view more of your work before and after the event. We will need either a website/shop page or a social media page to evaluate your products, ideally both.

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Can I share a spot?  Spaces can be shared for up to 2 vendors but both must apply and be accepted to vend. If only one of the two vendors is accepted, the space will be offered to the accepted vendor as a solo spot. We do not match applicants.

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Where and when do I load in?  Load in is Friday night (targeted for 7-10 pm) and all vendors will dolly in and out from an adjacent parking lot and at the curbside next to the Athletic Center (first come first serve on those spaces). The roadway from the parking lot into the space is inclined and an image is at the bottom of this page. Given the logistics of the event and the food vendors loading in Saturday and Sunday mornings, we do not have a Saturday load in option. 

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Can I request electric access?  Perimeter spots will have access to electric outlets in the walls; interior spots will not have access to electric but the space is bright for everyone. Vendors are welcome to bring decorative holiday lights if they wish. We do not take specific requests for spaces or for electric.

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What is the cancellation policy?  A 50% refund is available for vendor cancellations before Monday Sept 22. There are no refunds for vendor cancellations after Sept 22. This takes into account how early vendors who may be on the waitlist book other holiday shows, making finding substitutions much more difficult as we get closer. 

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What happens if the weather is bad? The Market is indoors and will be held rain, snow or shine. 

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Where will I park during the event?  Free parking will be available for vendors onsite in the South parking lot (see map below)

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Is there anything else I need to know?

• This is a family-friendly event on a drug, alcohol and tobacco-free campus.
• All merchandise must be appropriate for all ages. Items with adult language or images should not be brought OR must be placed out of sight (i.e. by request only if your customers know to ask for them).
• We do not take specific space requests, and will spend considerable time putting together a layout that will be interesting and appealing to customers and benefit vendors as well in terms of placement.
• The building is locked overnight with security and cameras present so everything can be left in place over the weekend.  
• Vendors will have time to do a quick restock of merchandise on Sunday morning before the opening of the Market if needed.
• Vendor parking is free and in the campus South lot (<.2 of a mile or 5 minutes walk at a slow pace, see map below) during the event.
• Service animals as defined by the ADA are permitted indoors, no pets.
• A dedicated wifi will be set up for vendors during the event.

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The image below shows the roadway which leads directly onto the vending floor through the rolling door (vendor parking lot is immediately adjacent). A side door entrance onto the floor is also available with parking at the curb.