The events industry is still in crisis and struggling to survive along with the numerous small business makers and crafters it supports. Many are wondering what’s next? When will artisan markets be back? How is it that some seem to be resuming operations while others still aren’t? We spoke to the Los Angeles Times about this and what we’ve been doing and what we think is next.
“From seasonal events to weekly affairs, indie makers set up stands filled with one-of-a-kind items. Style-savvy crowds by the thousands snap up statement jewelry, organic skincare products and eco-friendly clothing, while engaging with the artisans who made them. Food trucks often flank the periphery, keeping crowds sated, and DJs set the scene with background beats.
However, 2020 has disrupted much of that. As coronavirus restrictions were put in place, most L.A. retail markets had to pull the plug on their festivities months ago.”
“What we do is largely dependent on in-person community events,” said Shawna Dawson Beer, chief executive of Sauce L.A., which produces Artisanal L.A. markets in Santa Monica, downtown L.A. and Pasadena. “We’ve understandably but effectively been mandated out of business.”
Beer gave a similarly cautious forecast. “At this point, if I’m being entirely candid,” she said, “I don’t see what we do returning in a meaningful way until sometime in 2021, if not 2022.”
Read the rest of the Los Angeles Times’ story “Your favorite indie craft market might not survive the pandemic’ in this weekend’s Sunday, September 6 Lifestyle section and online here. Scroll on to read the full interview in its entirety.
Leigh-Ann Jackson for the Los Angeles Times (LAT): Can you walk me through what it first felt like for you and your team when you realized that COVID was going to change the way you do business as usual?
Shawna Dawson for Shop Artisanal (SA): We'd been traveling out of the country in early February and having seen the reports and heard from family overseas, had already ordered masks and gloves and disinfectant wipes for our flights. We were also in touch with friends doing business in other countries, including Asia, and had a better sense than most of what was coming our way. When we got back to LAX in February we were met in the international terminal by the CDC in their khaki vests. For those reasons we had held off finalizing any contracts for our usual spring and summer events and in some respects were spared by that foresight. When official word of the quarantine and mandatory ban on events came down the week of March 16, we'd already made a last trip to our office and were preparing for the worst.
Leigh-Ann Jackson for the Los Angeles Times (LAT): Please fill me in on any work-around efforts you’ve made thus far into 2020, with regards to Makers Market events and any other direct-sales events under your business' umbrella (be they in the L.A. area, or elsewhere). Any online events, social media strategies, etc.? If so, what was the response to those?
Shawna Dawson for Shop Artisanal (SA): What we do is largely dependent on in person community events and private partnerships to make those events happen. Without those – as you know, events of all sizes were the first to be mandated entirely closed and will be one of the last things to return – we've understandably but effectively been mandated out of business.
Once it was clear we'd not be going back to business as usual this year, we considered investing in an online platform for virtual markets, but knowing we wouldn’t want to take a dime from our makers during this time, not even on a sliding or percentage scale, and that the resources required to do it well would be significant, while also knowing that we were likely not see any monetary return, and we would have no other sources of income, it just did not add up for us.
Some things in the event space lend themselves to the drive in / drive through / at home / small attendance experience, but what we do does not. For those reasons we've been quick to advise and support some of our makers and colleagues who could to pivot, but for us, it wasn't realistic.
We are also one of the small businesses that did not receive PPP in either round. We were also one of the small businesses not selected for any of the multiple grants we applied for, private or public. In the end, we received a small EIDL loan, but that was barely enough to cover six weeks of our operating expenses and only added to our debt. Not enough to consider serious investment into a new area of business let alone ride us through a year or more without the ability to generate any revenue.
Despite a lot of talk about supporting small business, little is actually being done in a meaningful way to support small makers and small businesses like ours who have been and will continue to be the most impacted by this public health crisis. Small business is essential but it hasn't been treated that way. It’s being slaughtered everywhere, including here in California where no one is even tracking how many small businesses have already gone under and won't make it back. For many like us, AB5 was already crippling to the very seasonal, feast and famine nature of our business. Now COVID is another nail in the coffin. This is all doubly true for the events industry and everyone who relies on it for their livelihood. We were the first to go and we will be the last to return. Maybe next year, but the way things are looking, more likely not. Right now, the future looks grim for anyone doing business like this, but especially here in California.
Leigh-Ann Jackson for the Los Angeles Times (LAT): What are your plans for possible shopping events going forward into the holiday season? If nothing's set in stone yet, what options are you weighing?
Shawna Dawson for Shop Artisanal (SA): If you'd asked me in March or April, I was optimistic we may see the return of some smaller outdoor events for the holiday season. And in March and April I thought we'd be able to return to some of our national trade shows outside of the state by January 2021. At this point, if I'm being entirely candid, I don't see what we do returning in a meaningful way until sometime in 2021, if not 2022. I've spent a decade reading the market, predicting trends, and making calculated gambles, and with the data we have right now, my money is on 2022.
Beyond my interpretation of the data, the private partners we depend on to make these events happens are expressing zero interest, need (everyone’s working from home!) or ability to host or fund events for the holiday season, or any future markets at this point, when things are so uncertain, their bottom lines have also been heavily impacted, and so many variables still remain unseen.
I know this has produced many mixed feelings in the industry – we're creators, producers, out of the box thinkers, and smart, nimble do-ers – and I know some are still pushing forward, flying under the radar of the flea market loophole, or simply hosting illicit events as safely as they can knowing they want to test new mechanisms, there's little bandwidth for enforcement, and they can't hold on without business any longer. But from where we're sitting, that's only pushing us further and further from the goal of being able to safely open up for everyone. Like we said in our blog post on March 27, we won’t be back until we’re absolutely confident it’s safe for all involved to do so. Right now, that's not in the foreseeable future, so, as uncomfortable as it may be, we wait and see – and I'm working on my resume for the first time in more than a decade.
Thinking further into the future, I've had the opportunity these last few months to spend more time with my husband who's a long time games industry expert and consultant and we've talked a lot about what the future looks like. Not just for gaming and community based events like mine, but for all events, from sports to movie premieres, and I think the future, in part, is in VR (virtual reality). This is our generation's first pandemic, but it's likely it's not going to be our last. It won't be tomorrow, next year or even the year after that, but seeing how quickly we all shifted to digital this year, when the technology to create real experience and human connection is there, I think we're now all primed to take more of our lives, and our events, online into the virtual world.