Soda City Market is a longstanding tradition that supports local entrepreneurs and positively contributes to the community culture in Columbia. This event provides an outlet for students to transition their personal endeavors into profit and jumpstart their businesses.
According to the you will 鈥渇ind everything you need to nourish your brain, body, and belly" there.
One notable vendor Soda City supports is the Student-Made Store.
The Student-Made Store presents an with real-life opportunities for students to gain momentum as small business owners. The organization extends across multiple universities, with a branch serving the University of South Carolina.
The mission of the Student-Made Store is Student-Made Store helps to promote a variety of eager artists at 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 through their participation with Soda City.
Allison Lambert, a fourth-year sports and entertainment management student at 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒, is one of those artists.
When she was a high school upperclassman, she began creating pieces of embroidery as a hobby, but it didn鈥檛 take long before her art caught the attention of close friends and family. Once she began receiving offers from others to purchase her work, she said an idea was born.
鈥淚 was doing my own social media, but I wasn鈥檛 getting the reach,鈥� Lambert said.
Before discovering Student-Made, Lambert said she had never even thought about selling her art at a market. But with the store's support, Soda City was only one Saturday away.
Lambert is a loyal fan of Soda City: 鈥淚 was there the first weekend they opened, and since then I've missed maybe, like, five or six Saturdays since then,鈥� she said.
With that impressive attendance record, she couldn鈥檛 help but fall in love with the close-knit community of vendors and customers. Lambert said her favorite thing is to see returning customers. She said some of these customers will return to her tent, ecstatic, to share pictures of her work hung up in their rooms.
Community doesn鈥檛 stop with the customers. Lambert said one vendor arrives early to set up his truck, allowing himself spare time to help another woman set up her tent before opening. It鈥檚 these simple, but intentional, actions that have Lambert (and the city of Columbia) eagerly awaiting Saturdays.
Connecting to the Columbia community is an essential aspect of the student experience at 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒. College is an opportunity to meet people from different cities, states and even countries. Part of what brings us together is the excitement of exploring a new environment. Try something new Columbia has to offer 鈥� you might find the feeling of togetherness you've been searching for.
Lambert serves as an excellent example of a student who seized the opportunity Soda City presented to her. To folks who feel like they just don鈥檛 know where to start, she gives a few words of wisdom.
鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid to market yourself,鈥� Lambert said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid to put your voice out there.鈥�
Sometimes, we confuse pride with self-centeredness; Lambert said students are absolutely allowed to take pride in their creations. She said if she hadn鈥檛 personally decided her work has value, she wouldn鈥檛 have taken the leap.
And, as a professional Soda City-goer, Lambert had a suggestion for next Saturday morning. Try jotting down a few things that catch your attention, so you鈥檒l never run out of ideas to delve into on your next visit. Whether you want to explore a different international cuisine or talk with a vendor you鈥檝e never met, there鈥檚 always something new to check out at Soda City.
Soda City is open on Main Street every Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.