You guys I just woke up from my third nap of the day. It’s the day after our first ever The Found Cottage Mercantile Market in Holland Michigan & I still can’t believe how amazing it turned out. I don’t think I’ve ever been this exhausted, but it’s all because I just had one of the best weekends of my life. It was a HUGE dream come true. From the amazing talented vendors who joined our market, to all of the amazing volunteers, to the perfect food trucks, to the weather, to the whole vibe of the market… It. was. all. so. perfect. The Found Cottage Mercantile Market was one for the books & I’m so glad a lot of you were there to experience it in person!
You see, I’ll forever be the girl who plans something or does something & think that no one will show up or that no one will like it. It’s an annoying trait to have, but thats me, one big ball of anxiety always. After three months of sleepless nights, planning the market in any free time I had, stress over every small detail, & countless other things, imagine my surprise when our two day market went off from beginning to end without a hitch. The whole vibe of the market was so good & every vendor & shopper was so happy. That’s all I could ever wish for. I will also forever be the girl that wants everyone to be happy. It brings me true joy. Don’t laugh, but the entire time I felt like I was floating because of how much joy I had in me to see that everyone else was so happy & enjoying our market.
Another amazing part of the market? I got to meet SO MANY of you! Holy crap that was cool. I get to meet a lot of you while I’m out and about, when I’m at our store, & when I travel, but meeting you at the market was so cool. I got to chat, cry, swap stories, & hug so many of you that it completely made my whole year & reminded me why I love blogging & having this platform just for that reason.. to connect with so many people with stories, interests, journeys, & dreams. It’s a true joy to get to know you guys in person, especially in such a happy place like our mercantile market! You guys came from all over! I met so many blog readers from Texas, Missouri, Indiana, Canada, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, & beyond! I’m still floored when someone says they read my blog so to meet you guys from all over… it makes my life every single time. Thank you! I know it’s not possible to meet you all, but that’s just another reason for me to be thankful for this market, to bring us together for one big celebration.
My only regret from the market? I didn’t have enough time to shop at all the booths of the talented vendors & eat at all the lovely food trucks while I was there. Of course I did a little of both & found some amazing treasures that I will share with you soon, but I wish I could have done a LOT more. It was so fun to be surrounded by the most creative vendors who inspire me & recharge me. It was also amazing to gather all 150 of them for the market to celebrate their creativity & show them off to the market visitors. I loved hearing the feedback of the shoppers when they walked into the booths. The gasps, the kind words, the excitement.. it all fueled me to love what I do & to realize why I absolutely love what I do & made all of the hard work worth it. I am so filled with inspiration now. I can’t wait to get enough rest to use that inspiration to do some creative stuff… I haven’t felt inspired in quite some time so I’m so grateful that this market could recharge me again.
Basically what I’m try to say is that even though I have not caught up on my sleep yet & even though I have not had enough time to even comprehend the amazing things that happened this weekend, I am so thankful for every moment of the market, I’m thankful for all the talented vendors who joined us, I’m thankful for the beautiful weather, I’m thankful for all the volunteers, I’m thankful for our team & my two amazing business partners, I’m thankful for our families who stood by our sides & cheered us on, I’m thankful that God provided in ways we could have never imagined, & I’m thankful for you guys who were there with us near & far… I’m going to bed one thankful girl! Stay tuned for more news about the future of The Found Cottage Mercantile Market here in Holland Michigan. Thank you again & now I need to go to bed & hopefully tomorrow I can truly soak in the awesomeness that this weekend was. God is good… xx
photos by Kristin Jones
This is wonderful to see! I wish I were closer as I would have been there with bells on! Congratulations!
Each photo was more jaw-droppingly awesome than the last! What a great market! I have plans for our ‘canned ham’ camper to be incorporated into our booth. Fun! Now get some sleep!
Oh how I wish I lived closer
Maybe a road trip is in my future
When will the next one be?
Loved it!! Great job we had so much fun!!!
My mom and I came up on Saturday from northern Indiana. We had a wonderful time! Food was delicious. Lots of great vendors! Already looking forward to the next one 😉
There was a spinner???? totally missed that and we went through twice!!!!
Had a great time……. A few more benches to rest on would be nice……….
So glad it turned out so good, it looks like it would be lots of fun, live too far but enjoyed the pictures, thanks.
I had so much fun at the market!! I came by myself and met so many nice people including your in-laws at the end of the night. They were just the sweetest! All of the vendors had the most amazing displays and adorned their booths with many treasures! All of my friends want to come next time after seeing pictures & Insta Stories!! It was so nice to meet you on Friday! Thank you for taking the time to talk with me!
Jodi Carless
I LOVED the Market. Lot’s of great finds, the food booths were amazing and the weather certainly good not have been better! If you do it again I will prepare with a wagon and a pond of friends!
It was a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for letting me help out here and there. You have a very nice staff around you. Kevin
My three friends and I drove over 7 hours from southeastern Ohio to come to the market and it did not disappoint! The vendors, the food, the weather, everything was great! We also enjoyed shopping, eating, and sightseeing in Holland. We Vickilook forward to coming again next year!
One of the greatest weekends of my life. Thank you for the gift.
Hi Liz!!
It was amazing..funny thing I ran for that amazing dresser and it had a sold sign on it!! Glad you got it!!
The picture of the table with the large dough bowls who is that??
Hope you are resting!! A job well done!!
What an event!! Thanks for the photos, Liz…to remind me of all the sights I took in on my 4 circuits around the market (I could easily have doubled that!!) To think that I very nearly didn’t go because I had no one to go with!! Now that would’ve been a crime! It’s like you said, everyone there was so happy and so friendly…it made me giddy! Kudos to you and everyone involved in making it happen. I’m a fan for life.
Wow, looks like so much fun!
Maybe next year.
Loved this event!! Does anyone know who the vendor is in the picture with the white long table with white chairs that have white and blue cushion seats?? I’m trying to figure out who this was. Thanks!!
Congratulations! It looks like a dream-success! I totally understand the anxiety and the feeling of wanting everyone to be happy! Well, you certainly succeeded! The photos are simply amazing and each one tells its own story! Makes me sad to live out here in CA….I miss all the incredible vintage markets. Blessings on your next endeavor ☺️
Will you have another next year I couldn’t make it?
This looks so dreamy! No wonder you were floating 🙂 Congrats on the success! Would love to go to a market like this!
WOW!!!! What an undertaking!!! You are AMAZING!!! And it all came together because of your planning so well! Wish I’d been there!
I lived in Holland, MI for 7 years and sure wish you had been back in MI when I lived there! Ironically, I now live in NC, so we “traded places”. Love following your blog and happy for you that the weekend was such a magical success!
I have just recently discovered your blog and am now following. We live in northern MN so we will have to plan a road trip for next year. It all looks so wonderful. How is Grace? She is the cutest thing. Rest up girl so you can create good things.