We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Wengsi Chiu. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Wengsi below.

Wengsi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Back in May 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, it was difficult for any single business to take on an entire storefront alone so we decided to divide up the space and offer 6′ x 8′ stalls to local vendors to have their own little shops (hence the name 6×8 Market). However, we quickly discovered that there was very little interest even in these smaller stalls we were offering especially with many small businesses being just a side hustle or hobby for vendors. Several people began to approach us for even smaller shelf and wall spaces, so we adapted our business model, kept our now not-so-relevant shop name, and that’s how 6×8 Market came into being!

In the last two years, we’ve sadly seen many businesses come and go in the neighbourhood within a matter of months. It’s difficult for any small business to take such a risk and set up a full shop. Bringing vendors together to create this market has made it possible for many of them to grow or even to start their businesses. Though this type of business model exists across the city, it was the perfect addition to our diverse and eclectic neighbourhood Kensington Market. It has allowed us to welcome over 80 local artists, makers, and budding entrepreneurs to our shop and share their beautiful products with the city. It has been an incredible experience to work with such creative and talented individuals. Seeing our businesses grow together is one of the most exciting parts about the shop!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Wengsi and this neighbourhood where the shop is located is where I grew up. A little over 30 years ago, my parents opened two businesses in Kensington Market bringing the yummiest cheese and baked good to the community. My mum still runs the cheese shop that is right next to us! Though I never imagined opening a shop up myself, I’ve always had the entrepreneurial spirit and running 6×8 Market has been such an incredible opportunity and learning experience.

It has been two years since opening this shop with my partner Diego (and our store pup Lola). Having a shop is a lot of work and comes with many challenges, whether it’s the long hours tending to customers or dealing with a leaky roof, but we have come a long way especially having started during the pandemic. It has been inspiring to work, learn, and grow with other budding businesses in our shop and being able to help share their work is something very special. We don’t just see our vendors as our business partners, but we see many as friends – a team of support. It’s an awesome little community that has been created here and we can’t wait for it to continue growing into our third year :)

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

During the last two years, the number of small businesses has really grown with many people turning “covid hobbies” into side hustles. We’ve seen a huge increase not only in the number of makers and artists, but also in the number of pop up markets and events that host them. The word about 6×8 Market has quickly spread through our vendors and followers at these events and now we’ve got a waitlist of over 300 applicants!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Our audience on social media has largely grown thanks to the help of our team of vendors. We work with over 80 small businesses, the majority with a social media presence, and having them share about their products at our shop helps grow our audience, which in turn brings more customers to the shop to support the work of fellow vendors. While we understand that not every business has the opportunity to work with such a large support group and we find ourselves in quite a unique circumstance, we would recommend small businesses to collaborate with other vendors in the community (such as through giveaways) to grow their social media presence together. Collaboration is key and there is always room for more growth!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.6x8market.ca
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/6x8market
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068297606878