Yesterday we sent an email out to vendors of this past Saturday’s TIAM held at the Gladstone Hotel, asking them to tell us their thoughts about the event. Our goal is to do more of these markets and we really want to make sure they run as smoothly as possible, so vendor and customer feedback is important to us.

Vendors responded with a variety of issues that I will address in another blog post later this week after I’ve had time to do some further research (some of these require consultation with the venue to see what changes they will allow us to make).

However, one comment that came up, and that could have an effect on how we deal with some of the other issues (such as traffic flow) was that the admission price of $5 was too high, and that it was a deterrent to people who might have come in to shop had admission been less, or free.

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We’re still recovering this morning from our whirlwind day yesterday, but we just wanted to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped make the first Toronto Indie Arts Market such a great success.

To all the vendors who came with such beautiful work and made such gorgeous displays, thank you for your fantastic efforts, we hope the day was as much of a success for you as it was for us.

To the amazing staff at the Gladstone Hotel (and especially the AV guy they got out of bed to come down and turn on all the lights for us!), thank you for your patience and professionalism. We hope to be working with you again very soon.

And finally thanks to everyone who braved the rain and cold to come out and support some incredibly talented local artisans, writers, artists, food producers and craftspeople. Besides the commendable choice to purchase locally-made products, you also helped us raise over $700 for our charity partner FoodShare.

Despite the many compliments you offered us, we know some things about the event were less than perfect, and we’ll be working and planning to fix the flaws and make the next event even better. Issues with traffic flow, lighting, and the arrangement of vendor space (and the number of people in that space) will be at the forefront as we plan future events.

To keep track of what we’re up to, please follow us on Twitter or Facebook, or join our mailing lists (one for vendors, one for customers). We’ll be posting information about future events as soon as they’re confirmed.

And once again, thanks to everyone for their support!