Scenes from Norse Marketplace

Killian Baarlaer and Braden White

April 24, 2024

Vendors set up shop around Loch Norse on Tuesday for the first ever Norse Marketplace, featuring 50 tables representing student-owned businesses and student organizations.

Music boomed through the corner of campus as people checked out the tables and enjoyed the mild weather.

The Northerner captured scenes from the flea market-style event and caught up with a few of the sellers to learn about their businesses.

Students gathered in the early afternoon at the Oakley & Eva G. Farris Amphitheater as a deejay played music. (Killian Baarlaer)

Student vendors lined up along the sidewalk outside of the Math, Education and Psychology Center. (Killian Baarlaer)

Chalk markings on sidewalks around campus pointed people toward the marketplace. (Killian Baarlaer)

Reclaim Your Whimsy sold items made from recycled materials. (Killian Baarlaer)

Hand bags by Reclaim Your Whimsy, made by twisting plastic bags into yarn and weaving them together. (Killian Baarlaer)

Student vendors lined up by Loch Norse. (Killian Baarlaer)

A student got her hair done by a vendor. (Killian Baarlaer)

Miraj Shrestha, founder of WO:SA and Manashi Pandey sold t-shirts. For each shirt sold, a dollar goes toward an underprivileged sports organization in Nepal. (Killian Baarlaer)

Miraj Shrestha, a sophomore marketing student and founder of the apparel brand WO:SA, sold his products in a face-to-face format for the first time at the marketplace. WO:SA is an athletic clothing brand with a mission to make sports accessible for underprivileged children in Nepal, where Shrestha is from. For every shirt sold, a dollar is donated to a Nepalese organization that helps pay for sports equipment, said Shrestha.

“I’ve also been through that road. I also tried to become an athlete once in my life, but, you know, also all the finances and stuff comes with it, so I couldn’t do it,” said Shrestha.

The shirts he sold boasted a logo that read “Kathmandu,” the capital of Nepal and a homage to Shrestha’s native country.

Manashi Pandey, a sophomore accounting student who was helping out at the table, said Norse Marketplace provided a great venue to expand the brand’s outreach and sell in person for the first time.

“This is our first launch. We were always thinking about it, but we were not able to do it. But this platform gave us the opportunity to actually make it work,” said Pandey.

For now, the company sells their merchandise primarily through their Instagram account, but they have their sights set on appearing at some flea markets in the tri-state soon, said Pandey.

Jecylah Cook (left) Jadyn Johnson (right) showed off a crocheted blanket cook was working on during the event. Killian Baarlaer

Jekylah Cook and Jadyn Johnson sold an array of miscellaneous items, from books to clothes to crochet projects. While the duo doesn’t have a business, they saw the event as an opportunity to clear out some unnecessary clutter and make some cash.

Cook also crochets and sold her crafts for the first time at Norse Marketplace. She said it was hard to part ways with some of the handmade items, but the success she had selling them inspired her to create an Instagram account to advertise her creations. She plans to continue selling them down the line.

“I want to sell again at little fairs and things and farmers’ markets,” said Cook.

Garrett Scott sold Pokémon cards and CDs from his personal collection. (Killian Baarlaer)

Garret Scott, a junior public relations student, has a hefty accumulation of Pokémon cards and CDs from years of collecting and took to Norse Marketplace to downsize.

“I found all of this stuff, like, pretty much in my room,” said Scott.

Scott said he doesn’t subscribe to streaming platforms or buy music digitally, so CDs are the main medium through which he listens to music. The CDs he had for sale were ones that fell out of his rotation. As for Pokémon, Scott has been a mega-fan since he was a kid, watching the show, playing the games and collecting the playing cards. He even competes in regional Pokémon card game tournaments.

Scott said he’s been wanting to trim down his collection recently but isn’t interested in selling via online platforms. Norse Marketplace presented a convenient opportunity to do that.

“I get to keep all of the profit. That’s the best of the day,” said Scott. “I have exceeded my goal, so I’m more than happy with what I turned out today.”