Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market

We only have three more weeks left in the inaugural season for the Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market, so come out out and help us wrap up the season in style! With the Market wrapping up on September 15th, don’t miss your chance to buy real, locally-produced items.

In case you’ve missed the last few weeks or haven’t had a chance to make it out to the Market, it’s located in historic Downtown Tipp City at the corner of Main and Dow Streets, adjacent to convenient parking in the Methodist Church parking lot. We have fourteen local vendors at the Market each week, selling a variety of fruits, vegetables, baked goods including pies, cakes, breads, cookies, sweet rolls and foccacia, along with plants, flowers, soaps, candles and other items. We’re also in the planning stages for next year — if you’re interested in helping it out, let us know by stopping by the Market Booth. And see you at the Market!

We had great weather and lots of steady traffic at Week 5 of the Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market this past Saturday. Sales were up by about 20% and we were at maximum capacity, with a record-high 18 vendors occupying all of our 20 spaces. We might be able to squeeze in one or two more vendors before we have to investigate expanding. Sales for our Breakfast Vendor, the Market Grill and Creamery, were higher than last week as the word got out about the hot sandwiches and Market-made ice cream. Most of our other vendors did as well or better than last week.

Vendors: The Map for week 6 (July 21) is up. The Earth’s Center and Soul Creations won’t be joining us for week 6 and the Market Grill and Creamery may not be there due to a prior commitment. Also, one of our Nashville Farm’s folks was on the cover of the Dayton Daily News last week! If you get a chance, stop by for an autograph.

Market Meeting: There will be a meeting on Wednesday for members of the Market staff and anyone interested in helping out with the Market. We’re getting pretty busy, so any help would be greatly appreciated - we need help with planning and organization as well as on Saturday mornings with setup, traffic control and breakdown. [digg=http://digg.com/offbeat_news/Tippecanoe_Farmers_Market_Sales_Up_in_Week_Five] The meeting will be held Wednesday, July 18th at 5pm at the Tipp City Chamber offices located at 12 S. Third Street. If you are interested in volunteering but can’t make the meeting, send us a note at visittippcity@yahoo.com.

The Market did well on July 7th. It was not as busy as the week before, the weekend of the Antiques and Artisans Show, which was to be expected as that week was our busiest ever. For the first time, all of our Vendor spaces were taken - an amazing accomplishment for a first-year Farmers’ Market, and in only our fourth week. Moving forward, all of our spaces are spoken for and we are fielding weekly inquiries from new vendors interested in selling at the Market, so the Market Committee will put our heads together and plan for the future. For next week, business should be strong on July 14th as everyone’s schedules should be back to normal. The Market Map for July 14th is up on the website, so check out where everyone will be.

Also, help us welcome our newest vendor, the “Third Street Market Grill and Creamery”. They are the first vendor to prepare foods at the Market, and will be preparing fresh sausage and turkey links, along with homemade ice cream, each week at the Market. Stop by and see them! The sausage biscuits are excellent!

There are lots of photos up now on the Market - click on the “Photos” page. Andrea Nay, a local photographer, has been at the Market over the last few weeks and her gorgeous photos, along with mine, are all up on the website.

Customers
We received great feedback from customers this week, some of whom had heard our radio ads on 107.7 and 99.9 or seen our ads in the Independent Voice and Tour Great Miami newspapers. The Market was the subject of this week’s “Man on the Street” question series in the Independent Voice - four locals were asked to give feedback and advice on the Market, and they all had positive responses. Yeah! One customer told me on Saturday that the Market was “the best thing to happen in Tipp so far this year.” We also got a visit from Dayton Public Television, who shot customer and vendor interviews. I spoke to the videographer, Larry, and he’ll work on getting a tape for KIT-TV to air sometime soon. Keep those eyes peeled!

Vendors
As a reminder to our vendors, the Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market is now operating at capacity with all of our spaces taken each week, so please be sure to communicate any cancellations or problems with our staff. Also, unpaid spaces may be reassigned on a first-come, first-served basis, so make sure you’re paid up with Matt.

Even with the dark clouds looming and a few droplets of rain, the Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market had an outstanding second week, with two new vendors and lots of customers. Lisa Howell joined us, bringing pies, foccacia and other baked goods to our Market — between our two baked goods vendors, customers can find almost anything they’re looking for. The Earth’s Center also joined us, handing out coupons and getting potential customers interested in their pilates, zumba and reiki classes.

Thanks to everyone who has come out to support the Market the first two weeks - it’s been a huge success. Don’t miss next week’s official GRAND OPENING, when we’ll have lots of new vendors for you to shop from. And don’t forget to buy your “Friends of the Market” membership - your support makes a difference!

The members of the Farmers’ Market staff want to thank our local friends for the great turnout and excellent sales at the first week of the Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market on Saturday. If you got a chance to come out, thanks a lot!

We estimated more than 400 shoppers visited the Market between 9 and Noon, and our eleven vendors did great business; in fact, a couple of our vendors sold out of products and vowed to bring more products next week! We will be adding add at least one more new vendor next week and, in week 3 on June 30th, we’re expecting our biggest week to date, as we celebrate our Grand Opening with several new vendors joining us, including three more fruit and produce vendors. Thanks for coming out! And, if you didn’t make it this week, be sure to come see us next week!

Sales of the “Friends of the Market” bags were off the charts — thanks to everyone who became a new member - you are really helping support the Market. As we move further into the season, the mix of coupons included in the bags will change, but we guarantee good value for your $25. If you didn’t purchase one this week, you can either buy one from our website via Paypal or purchase one next week at the Market! For more information, visit the website at www.tippecanoefarmersmarket.com and click on “Friends.” And see you next Saturday at the Market!

The Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market Committee and the Downtown Tipp City Partnership would especially like to thank our vendors, including Spring Hill Nurseries, Bowman and Landes, Soy Michelle, The Muddy Truck Patch, EAT for Life Farms, Trophy Nut, Spring Run Farms, and Soul Creations. We’d also like to thank the Monroe Township Trustees, the City of Tipp City, Glaser Softwater, Weiler Welding, Remax Professionals, ERA Comprehensive Real Estate, and Tipp Monroe Community Services.

[digg=http://digg.com/offbeat_news/Tippecanoe_Farmers_Market_Starts_Off_with_a_Bang]Did you take photos of the Market? Do you have a Flickr account? If so, tag your photos with “tippfarmersmarket” to get them to show up in our photo group. I took a whole bunch of photos of the Market and put them up - to see all photos from the Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market, click HERE.

The Earth’s Center was opened in October 2005 by Nicole A. Mikel, a Holistic Health Practitioner, Holistic Life Coach, and Non-Denominational Ordained Minister. The Earth’s Center, located in downtown Tipp City above Feather Your Nest, is focused on offering relaxation, exercise, and balance of the body, mind, and spirit through a variety of services and classes. The Earth’s Center offers Acupuncture, Massage, Pre-Natal Massage, Life Coaching, Reflexology, Reiki (by appointment and certification classes), CranioSacral, Healing Touch, Belavi Facelift Massage, Aromatherapy, Yoga, Zumba, Pilates, Belly Dancing, Tai Chi, and Life and Art creativity classes.

At the Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market, the Earth’s Center staff members will be offering Massage, selling organic perfume oils, and distributing coupons for their services and classes along with current class schedules. Their staff will rotate each week at the Market so that the Earth’s Center can offer an ever-changing selection of products and services. Nicole and her staff invite you to stop by and try something different at the Market!

This is the first in a series of profiles on our Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market Vendors.

In 1849, while thousands sought their gold fortunes in California, Peter Bohlender started a small nursery in North Dayton, Ohio – Bohlenders Nursery. Peter had immigrated from Bavaria with his family at the age of 6. With few schools and no opportunity to attend, he went to work in a tobacco stripping house. Before he reached his teens he was employed by a nurseryman where he received his training for his life’s work.

Peter Bohlender moved his nursery to Tipp City, Ohio in 1889, and during World War I he renamed the nursery Spring Hill Nurseries. He derived the name “Spring Hill” from the hill located across the creek from the present day location of the garden store’s growing area.

Spring Hill Nurseries was originally a wholesale garden store nursery, owning nearly all the property surrounding its present location. Over the next 40 years, Spring Hill slowly began to move out of wholesale and into mail-order. Spring Hill shifted the majority of its focus to mail-order in 1930.

At the Tippecanoe Farmers’ Market, Spring Hill Nurseries will be selling plants, selected plant support products (such as fertilizers and pesticides), and backyard birding products. Spring Hill Nurseries will also be selling catalog closeout items such as plants and plant-related supplies.

[digg=http://www.digg.com/offbeat_news/Vendor_Profile_Spring_Hill_Nurseries]The retail store for Spring Hill Nurseries is located at 110 West Elm St. and their phone number is (937) 667-4079. Open year round, their retail store offers a large selection of trees, shrubs, and roses. Their website is located at www.springhillnursery.com.

We’re getting the Farmers’ Market set up, with our opening day set for June 16th, but we’re still looking for a few more great vendors.  Do you want to sell at the Market?  If so, contact us at visittippcity@yahoo.com.   Our Early Bird pricing program is wrapping up, and we’re getting ready to start our marketing and we want to make sure everyone gets a chance.  Email us today!

Interested in becoming a Vendor? We’d love to send you some information and a sign-up packet. Please contact Matt Owen at 667-8300 for more information. We are taking reservations now, so if you are a local farmer or vendor interested in selling at the market, please contact Matt Owen at 667-8300. Spaces are filling up fast, so act now!

We are particularly interested in:

• Local Vendors,
  
• Organic (certified) Vendors, and
  
• Vendors with Interesting Products.
  

Drop us a line…