Local vendors showcase craftsmanship and artistry at Charleston’s historic city market
There’s a quiet bustle about the historic city market in Charleston, S.C.
Horse-drawn carriages can be heard on the streets outside the open-air buildings that have been there since the early 1800s, and though thousands of visitors peruse the nearly 150 stands each day, the pace is slow and laid-back—instilling a sense of southern charm for which the city is known.
The market was first used primarily for food purveyors, where people could come to get meat, fish and produce. When the land was given to the city of Charleston in 1788 by Charles Cotesworth, he required that it be used as a public market in perpetuity. Today, vendors sell everything from clothing, collectibles, handcrafted goods, paintings, drawings and ceramics, to southern produce, like tea from Charleston’s tea plantation, local rice, grits and dried okra, among many other items.
For vendors, the stands at the market are highly coveted, and there is a complex procedure for sellers to even be able to set up shop. Almost all of the stands are operated by permanent vendors, who pay a daily fee for their stand’s location, even if they don’t show up. Each morning, the market manager does roll call, and if a permanent vendor is not there, they then choose someone from a juried waiting list consisting of about 60 to 90 vendors, which means many show up only to be turned away.
Every two years, new prospective vendors have the opportunity to set up a display for the market managers and judges. Each vendor is then given a rating, which puts them on the waiting list.
Harrison Bell, who runs a ceramic art stand for his mother, Teri Whitner, said it can take a while to position a business well.
“There’s this whole game with getting into the market,” Bell said. “Most people start and work the night market exclusively for a while until they can climb up the list and start getting into the day market when they can.”
He said that after three years they are now comfortable showing up on a Saturday morning, knowing they will get a spot in the market.
Whitner had previously sold her art in galleries, but the market affords a much greater opportunity.
“They don’t get nearly the foot traffic that we get here — even the galleries on the side of the street of the market don’t get nearly the foot traffic,” Bell said. “Nowadays we only stock this table. It’s just not worth it to do anything else.”
Though the market offers a wide variety of goods from near and far, there has recently been an effort to showcase the local, handcrafted items that are unique to the area. Within the last few years, vendors have been able to apply for a certificate of authenticity for handmade local products. If approved, they receive a ceramic tile—which is ceremoniously awarded by the mayor—that they can display in their stand. This helps tourists distinguish between the products — trinkets, clothing, and jewelry — that could be found in markets anywhere in the world, from the ones that are actually local.
The vendors who do produce their own goods take a great deal of pride in their work, and they enjoy the social interaction that comes with selling in such a historic and popular venue. Many seized a chance opportunity to join the ranks of permanent vendors, and have stayed with it because of the freedom it offers and the lucrative business the market provides.
Tammy Varn, who owns Re-Funked, a stand that sells bottle cap artwork, has been at the market since 2008. She started out initially by selling her paintings, but changed business models after realizing her husband had a unique talent.
“I was working myself to death — working here every day and then painting all night long at home,” Varn said. “My husband is very, very artsy, but does nothing with it…I’ve always saved bottle caps and one day he just made a fish out of bottle caps, and I’m like, ‘That’s really cool!’” She encouraged her husband to make a few more pieces, and when she had a sufficient display, Varn got them approved by the market manager and started selling them at her stand. Now, she said, she can come during the day to sell and go home at night and go to bed without having to work all night on her paintings.
Nina Uccello also found herself at the market seemingly by chance. After falling in love with pastels, she went to art school to study commercial art. Her teachers encouraged her to move away from pastels, but eventually she came back to her passion. After many years of working for others, she finally took the advice of the people who told her she should try her hand at selling her work at the market. Today, she has been selling prints of her pastel drawing for more than 20 years.
“I enjoy meeting all the beautiful people that come here,” said Uccello. “It’s like, everybody’s different and they’re all on vacation, and it’s just nice to meet them. I like sharing what I do.”
That’s the attitude of many of the vendors at Charleston’s historic market—they are in business, but they are not businesspeople. For them, the interactions they have throughout the day are just as important as the sales they make. It makes a trip to the market an enjoyable one, because each stand is unique to the vendor, and each has a story as different as the product.
Jack Heidtman, a Charleston native and painter, has been selling prints of his work at the market since the late 1970s.
“It’s been an enjoyable experience,” Heidtman said. “I like people, and you’ll find that most vendors in here, they’re not — well, they are here for money, we’re all here for money — but we enjoy what we’re doing.”
