Urban Market sets up shop at Peoples Park

From her earliest memories, senior Kathleen Clark said she was captivated by the eclectic, eccentric world of garage sales.

“I remember waking up early with my parents so we could get there first,” she said. “I told people that I was probably raised on the floor of a garage sale.”

Now, Clark draws inspiration from remnants of the past to provide gently used, recycled goods for current vintage-lovers. She founded the Urban Market on a chance entrepreneurial impulse. Her local business specializes in the sale of shirts, slacks, jewelry, art and other items.

“It started at the beginning of last May,” she said. “We were here after school ended, and nothing much was going on.”

Bored by her summer internship, Clark decided she wanted to make enough money to purchase a beer. She grabbed a selection of extra vintage-style clothes from her closet and displayed them on a blanket in Dunn Meadow next to a sign reading, “Make an offer.”

“It was probably illegal,” she said, laughing.

After earning a profit of $30 that day, Clark said she was inspired to expand her venture. She and her boyfriend, senior Jacob Kowalczyk, began peddling more items from Peoples Park, a paved area on Kirkwood Avenue. But now, she has more business than what fits in a backpack.

“As time went on, it got bigger and bigger and bigger,” she said. “Now, instead of a backpack, we have wagons and a bike buggy. My apartment is stacked with boxes up to the ceiling with old stuff.”

After attracting substantial community attention, the market encountered an obstacle: the law. Without a valid city permit, the duo wasn’t allowed to conduct street-side transactions with their another-man’s-treasures.

“I remember thinking, ‘If the police kick us out, we’re going out to dinner because that means we’re a big deal,’” Clark said.

After temporarily leaving Kirkwood Avenue, Clark and Kowalczyk obtained insurance and a permit three weeks and $400 later. Soon, the Urban Market flourished from a simple business to a community event.

“It goes way beyond selling clothing,” Kowalczyk said. “There’s always music, lots of discussion. It transcends the idea of just a business.”

Clark said the Market adds intimacy and invitation to the Kirkwood sidewalk. Friends chatter and musicians play around the selection of goods any given Friday between 2 and 8 p.m. A box marked “free” is available for those who enjoy rooting through ancient oddities, sans expense.

“We’ve made at least 30 new friends,” Kowalcyzk said.

Among the new comrades is Will Burgett, a local artist who is now in business with the Market.

“I was hanging out at Peoples Park when I saw them, talked to them and asked to get involved,” Burgett said. “I support the whole grassroots aspect.”

Burgett said he supplies the Market with his artwork regularly.
“You can find some really good bargains,” he said.

Clark said she and Kowalcyzk plan to continue running the Urban Market post-graduation. Ideally, she said the business would grow to be run out of a warehouse with sewing machines and sequins and a bar to have frequent dance parties.

“I think I always had a romanticized image of gypsies and what they do,” Clark said. “I look for things that are colorful, things that speak of another time. I can’t explain it, but I can see it. It’s my art to a certain extent.”