Echo Garden Nursery celebrated their first anniversary of hosting small businesses, local artists and a cat adoption Sept. 17 with a special edition of their usual Sunday Market, which featured live music, games, a raffle and crafts.
Aubrey Iwamoto, the owner of Echo Garden Nursery, said the inspiration for the market was to provide an affordable way for small businesses to sell their products. She said the Sunday Market started shortly after becoming in charge of the nursery. As someone who used to own a small craft business, Iwamoto said she has faced significant emotional and financial challenges when selling at large events.
“I’ve vended at huge events in New York where you pay $200 to go and there was so much foot traffic but I did so poorly, and my self-esteem was through the floor,” Iwamoto said. “It’s the worst feeling in the world, and I never want anybody to feel like that.”
According to Iwamoto, the Sunday Market aims to uplift small vendors by maintaining a reasonable fee for vendors to sell at the market.
“We want to support each other,” Iwamoto said. “It’s not about making money, but I put [the fee] in there to be fair to us because we do put a lot of time, money and resources into promoting.”
According to Elijah Richard and Reina Prado, vendors of Good Mexican Girl bakery, the Sunday Market attracts community engagement. As a regular vendor, Prado said her goal is to introduce a diverse crowd to her primarily vegan and gluten-free products.
“During the pandemic I was going through my own health hardships, and so there was a lot of stuff I couldn’t eat,” Prado said. “Eating a plant-based menu was actually healthier for me, but the challenging part was to find food that was enjoyable.”
Lily Fawcett-Dubow (sophomore) said she loves the variety of vendors, but her favorite part about the Sunday Market is the cat adoption. Fawcett-Dubow said she was initially drawn to the Sunday Market after seeing a sign that said “cats” while walking on York Boulevard.
“There was this cat named Koda, who was crying in her cage, and I picked her up and she just melted into me,” Fawcett-Dubow said. “She wouldn’t let me put her down for two hours. Ever since then I have been going back and it’s been amazing.”
Kate Brandt, director of operations at Anthropawlogy Animal Rescue, said she has been working with Echo Garden Nursery for almost a year and that the Sunday Market is a big help for her.
“It’s really tough as a rescue to get your animals out in front of people,” Brandt said. “[People] are coming to the market to eat food and buy other stuff, they can come up and they can meet the animal and pet the animal and get a vibe off of them.”
According to Brandt, she estimates that over 100 cats have been adopted since Echo Gardens began hosting adoptions about 10 months ago. According to Iwamoto, the cats have also been helpful for the nursery.
“The cats brought the good vibes to a whole other level,” Iwamoto said. “There’s just so much joy [in] watching the cats get adopted, and watching people fall in love with the cats.”
Iwamoto said the anniversary celebration drew a large crowd.
“So many people showed up to support: my mother, her husband and my grandmother, friends, neighbors, people in the community and even some vendors that weren’t vending came,” Iwamoto said. “It’s times like that, like when everybody’s there, showing that they love you, they love what you’ve built, and just supporting it — that’s the goal.”
While the anniversary market was a success, Iwamoto and her husband, Bill Zsunkan, said the past year has come with many challenges.
“When we first took over, we knew that there was going to be a lot of repairs that needed to be done,” Iwamoto said. “We knew there were things that were falling apart. We didn’t know how extensive that really was.”
According to Iwamoto, Echo Garden also endured heavy rains in the spring and extreme heat over the summer resulting in the loss of many plants. There is still a lot of work to be done, Iwamoto said, but she is deeply grateful for the support from friends and volunteers.
“The goal is for it to be a neighborhood event,” said Iwamoto. “Creating a space that’s full of nature and free serotonin from the cats and the plants and feeling like you’re part of something. [So] please come be part of it with us.”
According to Zsunkan, Echo Garden offers a discount for Occidental students and staff with an Occidental ID.
Contact Sabastian Luyen at luyen@oxy.edu
