We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sara Buxton a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sara, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
I started this business in 2017. It originated with me trying to apply to get on the show Making It with Nick Offerman and Amy Poehler. I had someone helping me at the time to hash out the details of the application process. We met up after finding out I did not make the cut. Being a metal artist, I wanted to figure out how to do something similar on a local level and they threw out doing Night Markets, as we had both traveled and experienced different artisan markets. The unique and wondrous feeling of doing this at night appealed to me. I was all in. We had our kick off in August 2018. I had secured the financing through sponsorships from businesses that I had already held art shows with. I was out of my comfort zone running the social media as my business partner was working multiple other jobs. I also ran logistics and procurement of equipment. Our first location was in the historic City Market and Market Hall in downtown Raleigh. Paying homage to traditional Night Markets, we successfully produced a whimsical street fair full of vendors, sparkling lights, street performers, food trucks and libations. We added a second location in Durham, NC in 2019. Everything was going in the right direction. In November of 2019 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and in February 2020 we held our last night market before closing down due to the COVID Pandemic. I went though the pandemic also taking 6 rounds of chemo and 37 rounds of radiation, completing that portion of treatment July 24, 2020. Not working was not a big deal until I was abruptly displaced from my ex’s home sans my ride or die dog Oliver who had passed two weeks prior. See, cancer treatment (especially chemo and hormone blocking) makes a person different. Memory lapses, mood swings, body aches, and lethargy makes it unappealing especially when the “treatment” is over. But I have friends who never let me give up. I ended up on a friend’s door step who had a back house he let me stay in while I was trying to get well. Soon after, I grabbed my RV that I’d kept in storage and headed out to the country to try and get better. I was trying different preventative chemo derived drugs and just getting sicker. All while still working events as my business partner had their own family sicknesses arise. I eventually had to have a hysterectomy and a plan was created: I was going to move in with my best friend so we could be there for each other. The week before this surgery, and the day I was moving in, i spoke to my best friend on the phone. Not three hours later, I arrived to her home and found her dead. All this is to say it takes a lot to be successful. I ended up buying out my business partner. I look back and I see a lot of things I missed while being sick for the last 3 years. A lot of people, “friends” and businesses tried very hard to squeeze me out while I stood on my own sick feet and fought. I fought my *ss off to keep MY business and I have now grown it with an amazing team to 9 locations that run monthly.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I grew up in South Carolina. I attended the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC. I lived in Tennessee for a bit and have been in North Carolina for the past 13 years. I have been in some sort of social work/government work most of my adult life (Child Protective Services/Residential Treatment Programs). As an outlet, I started working with wood and metal building bike racks and other functional art. My first build was a metal and wood bike rack for Chef Gregory Hamm. Soon after, I was commissioned by a local brewery called Neuse River Brewing to replicate their logo out of metal. I quickly googled how to cut metal, googled the tools I would need and YouTubed how to use a plasma cutter. Off I went. I knew nothing and got the job done. To this day I feel I need to redo the project; This was my debut into the art world. I then started making custom pieces and would have shows at various spots throughout town. I had also quit working a 9-5 job and started working in the service industry bar tending, I met a lot of great people doing both. I gained a lot of knowledge about business while starting my small creative company. Managing restaurants, working a 9-5, and bartending gave me many examples of great leadership and tyrannical bosses. I am definitely a unique package. I am quite giving and loyal while being a fierce competitor and extremely honest/blunt. I don’t sugar coat a thing and not many people like that. Making the move to start this company was a bit scary, but as we have learned from the plasma cutter I am up for a challenge. The Raleigh Night Market was started basically out of pocket with some sponsorships. Being a small for profit business is tough at times because you don’t get a lot of financial help so a lot will fall on your shoulders especially if you are trying not to take out huge loans. I started with one location and now have grown to 9 and counting that run monthly. I have done this with a team of three, a slew of contract employees, and my box trailer that totes all my equipment. Recently we have rebranded the company as a whole. I wanted to encompass all of my market locations and let the community know you are all welcome. We changed the name of the parent company to The Night Market Company with a rainbow triangle as part of the new logo. Being one of the few -if not the only- lesbians in the event organizer game, I take a lot of pride in what I have to offer. Organizing events that host at times 100+ artisan vendors and 10,000 patrons in multiple locations every month takes a certain skill set that only my little recently diagnosed ADHD, Dyslexic, PTSD, TBI and Auditory/visual impairment self could offer. Also, I don’t write anything down. Ever. No notes, no planner, nothing. This makes everyone around me nervous. Back to that skill set. I have been called a logistical wizard. I am not sure I even know where it comes from.
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
Being a queer business owner with a large platform I always like to show support where I can. My past business partner did not like to “rock the boat” so to speak, so when I bought her out I saw it as an opportunity to rebrand the company. I changed the name of the parent company to be more inclusive of expansion to The Night Market Company so taking over a new territory wouldn’t be hard. I also gave full creative autonomy to our Marketing Manager to rebrand the logo which now has more neutral colors and includes a rainbow triangle which is totally me. I started having Drag Story Hour and Drag Shows as part of the spotlight programming during the markets. I want to give a safe space and income to the Trans community. So I would hire Trans men and women in particular for these shows. I myself have never dressed in drag, but have always been curious as I am a more masculine lesbian. I also have a deep respect for the Transgender individuals that are also part of the drag community as I feel like they are at the forefront of every movement, protest, and challenging every bill put in place to take away rights from all marginalized communities. They put their personal safety aside to make sure we have ours. So as an homage to my trans family I (with the help of a talented make up artist and a gift photographer) had a photo shoot dressed in drag for marketing material for my first ever Pride Night Market which took place on June 16th, 2022. I remember walking the streets of City Market in Downtown Raleigh with my red glitter beard on thinking why do I feel so anxious right now? I mean most people don’t don a glitter beard, but it was more than that. I had on a tux and my face was contoured. I am 5’11” and 270 lbs and built like a linebacker. So I already have eyes on me anyways. My hair is still short, because after I lost it to chemo I decided that I would keep it short as a reminder that I won. My aesthetic with the make up making my face more chiseled and the brows more pronounced was very masculine. They don’t call me the Lumbersnack for nothing. I could feel the hateful eyes of certain people that walked past me during the shoot. I mean, let’s face it. I was born and raised in the south. I have always felt that glare, been called those slurs, and been harassed out of women’s bathrooms. But these glares were more intense. More hate. More venom. I don’t know what it feels like to live this everyday, but I do know the pride I felt to stand there authentically, scared and true. The posters were made and hung up all over the city. Now I am considering joining my queer family on stage later this year to do drag performances and read for Drag Story Hour.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
My reputation for honesty and forthrightness is one I’ve earned, rather than sought. Part of earning this is being face to face with people. I have not missed any markets to date. Even when I was sick going through cancer treatment I was at times the only one on location, but I did it. As an employee, I rarely had those business owners I worked for who would do as I do. They were more of the “do as I say”. I never wanted to be like them. So I have always shown up. Also, as I have been developing new territories, I have made it a priority to invest in the communities I am moving into by actually living there. Currently I lease an apartment and live near my newest location of Burlington, NC. I frequent the food hall, coffee shops, and co-working space to get to know people. My favorite place to go almost daily is the local Habitat for Humanity Restore.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thenightmarketcompany.com
- Instagram: thenightmarketcompany
- Facebook: Raleigh Night Market
Image Credits
Photos by J. Cutt Photography Make up by Felisa Brown