During the Christmas season, Kamloops has a variety of markets and craft fairs the community can attend. These events help promote local small businesses and local crafters in the Kamloops and surrounding areas.
The Valley Markets is one of the many markets that happens over the Christmas season. They host multiple events in the Sahali Mall over the fall, with 85% of vendors having booked a spot for the rest of the market’s season. They have a variety of small business owners at the event with a variety of products including self-care, crochet products, jewelry, artisan snacks, homemade clothes, knick-knacks and many more.
On Saturday November 16th, we spoke to Jasmine Thiessen of Charity Creations and Catrina McTavish of McTavish Designs. They are two separate small business owners who have experience at the market and talked with us about their experiences as small business owners.
Jasmine Thiessen runs a faith based small business called Charity Creations. She is originally from Brooks, Alberta and has just recently moved to Kamloops. She sells Christian based sweatshirts, glass tumblers and wooden nativity scenes. Her sweatshirts have a variety of bible verses, spiritual words and Christmas themes.
While she lived in Brooks, people would reach out to her for her products as there was not a lot of variety for apparel as a Christian, and what small amount there was did not appeal to a younger audience. She created very trendy sweaters that match the style of most people. She does recognize that it might not be for everyone but still wanted to make her own rendition on simple faith-based clothes.
Jasmine said her biggest struggle as a small business owner was finding her target audience. Over time she slowly figured out who she wanted her target audience to be and has created a variety of items that she hopes buyers will enjoy. She also said that the current economy is not as easy to work with for her business.
This is her first year at the Valley Markets and she had really enjoyed it. Her goal as a small business owner is to spread the Lord’s word to the community through her small business. She hopes to make an impact with her products as she continues to grow her business and attend more markets in the coming Christmas season.
Following Jasmine we talked to Catrina McTavish, a TRU law graduate who has created a business focused on unique jewelry. She is currently practicing as a lawyer while creating jewelry on the side. She uses semi-precious stones like quartz, jasper, agate and many more in her jewelry’s designs.
This is her second time attending the market, with her first time being back in 2021 while she was in law school.
“I really enjoy doing the markets,” Catrina said about being a vendor. “Talking to people and it’s very rewarding when someone comes and says ‘you make beautiful things’”
“It’s been a bit more difficult in recent times because of covid as people ended up not going out, not buying as much local stuff, ordering more things online. And on top of that obviously having some of the more handmade pieces that are a bit more expensive, it’s not as accessible monetary wise,” McTavish said, relating to how she’s found running a small business in Kamloops.
Her biggest struggles as a small business owner have been getting the word out and having people see her stuff as unique, as well as stuff not being seen as fast fashion and making everything seem uniform.
Catrina did have her jewelry for sale at The Art We Are on Victoria St in Kamloops, but no longer does. “I felt like I was sort of part of the art community trying to have other artists supporting other artists, and sort of having the community come and spend on the smaller businesses that have a little bit more unique things to offer.”
When asked for their advice, both small business owners gave similar answers to people thinking about starting a small business
Jasmine Thiessen said to, “just do it. Put all your time and energy into it and just see what works, see what doesn’t. Connect. It pays to know people. Most of the time, what you are doing is pretty niche but you will find that community, you just gotta advertise, branch out more and all that.”
Catrina McTavish had a very similar message. She said, “just give it a go, like you know it’s not even a big thing for me, I don’t really have anything besides my Instagram page and I kinda just do it on the side. I would just say, just stick to it, just put yourself out there. Take the risk, and take the small wins if they are small, just go with it.
You can follow Catrina McTavish on Instagram, @mctavish.designs.by.cat.
There are many more opportunities in the upcoming weeks to attend the market. With upcoming dates on:
- Saturday, November 30th
- Saturday, December 7th
- Saturday, December 14th
- Saturday, December 21st.
The market runs from 10 am to 3 pm at the Sahali Mall. Jasmine Thiessen said she will be at the market again on November 30th, and Catrina McTavish will be back on December 7th. If you have any questions about the Market or are a small business looking to promote yourself, there are multiple social media platforms under @valleymarkets for TikTok and Instagram and Valley Markets on Facebook. They also have a page on the Tourism Kamloops website with information on the event and future events they hold.
Bobby Helms – Topic. (2019, March 14). Jingle Bell Rock [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0ajuTaHBtM