Vancouver Fashion eZine - Online Magazine | Marketplace

Portobello West, an artisan monthly sale at Rocky Mountaineer Station on the last Sunday of that month, connects local talent with eager customers in an open market place concept.
Creator Carlie Smith first fell in love with the joys of shopping at markets while living in London, England. She frequented London's own Portobello Market, which offered mainly antiques and household goods, but her favorite weekend hide away was Spitalfields Market; once supplying fruit and veggies to London, this market is now the home to many fashion forward local and international labels.
Upon Smith's return to Vancouver, she craved those artisan markets but could not locate anything close to it within the city. So, while ready to continue her marketing career, she decided to change gears and take the brave dive into self-employment, creating her own version of the markets so missed.
Portobello West first opened in August 2006 and was located at the Plaza of Nations. November 2006 it was moved to the Rocky Mountaineer Station and has been there since. The market offers great exposure for its participants; with a relatively low cost to partake (booths range from $115 to $225) designers can interact with their consumers gaining immediate feedback, and retailers and the media, who frequent the market, can scout them out.
With a focus on helping young designers, Smith places only a few qualifications to participate in the market. The applicant must design the items and preference is given to items hand made or manufactured in Canada. Jewelry must be hand made and all participants must have samples of their items when applying. Of course, the designs should be fashion forward and bring something new to the market.
Smith has also extended this concept in Calgary, creating the same shopping experience there twice a year for a three-day market. The Calgary experience will be celebrating its second anniversary this spring. Many designers, from Vancouver, partake in both cities furthering their exposure.
Additional exposure Smith has created for Vancouver's young talent is the Portobello West Graduate Award. This competition is for newly, or recently, graduating fashion design students and was created to help with the transition from student to professional. With $15,000 worth of prizes for the winners, including a website and a booth at the markets, this competition is ideal for the 'go-getters' in any class and highly recommended by all.
For more information on the market, becoming a participant, or applying for the Graduate Award, please go to www.portobellowest.com. Looking forward to the next shopping spree on November 30th, see you there!