PEABODY — After watching small businesses struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic, an idea popped into Lesley Keegan’s head.
Keegan, the owner and the artist behind Serenity Sage, decided to start an artisan pop-up market in 2020 at Mills 58 on Pulaski Street, where local craftspeople could gather, ply their wares, make some money, and keep their projects alive.
Keegan’s Serenity Sage makes plant-based skincare products, soy candles, pottery and smudge sticks ― bundles of dried herbs that are burnt to clear out negative energy and manifest the energy one desires. During the pandemic, many farmer’s markets, where Keegan used to sell her products, stopped accepting artisans like her, and she found herself looking for a way to reach customers.
Keegan then contacted Edward Greeley, owner of Mills 58, asking if they could start something together. Greeley offered her the option of selling her products in the lobby of Mills 58 and thus the first artisan pop-up market was born.
The market quickly grew, going from seven to eight vendors to 25 to 30, Keegan said. She tries to host it on a biweekly basis but in reality the markets had to follow the fluctuations of COVID-19.
“When the numbers would go up with COVID, I would have less vendors so people could be more spread out,” said Keegan. “With things now stabilizing again, I haven’t been limiting the number of vendors, but I try to keep it to one per genre.”
The markets usually happen on a weekend and vendors can sign up for one or both days. Visitors can find all sorts of unique products, from artwork and jewelry to pottery and candles to sustainable products for greener living.
It has been hard to predict the foot traffic during the pandemic, Keegan said, but overall vendors have been happy with the turnout.
“I have a lot of repeat vendors that continue to sign up,” she said.
The indoor market provides vendors a space to sell their products in any weather and an opportunity for the customers to see and hold items in person.
“Many people now know about us and make a plan to stop by,” said Keegan.
The market also helps to draw and increase foot traffic to the existing tenants of the building, said Julie Daigle, general manager of the Mills 58 and Peabody’s Ward 4 city councilor.
Keegan used to work in a packaging industry, specializing in color separation, quality control and design. After spending 10 years taking care of her children, she was looking to get back into the workforce as she was also going through a divorce.
She was already making smudge sticks as a hobby so she decided to package them and create a brand around them, adding a website and social media accounts to her portfolio.
The smudge sticks started to get traction and some stores began to request them, Keegan said. She then dusted off her old potter’s wheel and added pottery to her product line. Next, Keegan created some skincare products.
“I love gardening and I had always really been interested in herbal medicine and so I got certified as an herbalist so I could incorporate that into my business,” Keegan said.
Thus, her Serenity Sage business grew organically from one thing to another. Keegan’s creations now are in more than 150 stores.
“It’s been pretty amazing; I can’t believe what I do for a job,” Keegan said. “It’s just pretty cool to be able to work from home making art all day and still be home with my kids.”
As for the market, she loves having a space to sell her products and talk with customers. Sometimes she gets custom orders through these connections.
“It’s just nice to get to know people (and) be out again after being in quarantine or isolation for almost two years with COVID,” said Keegan.
To find out about the future artisan pop-up markets at Mills 58, please, visit www.serenitysage.com.