Fifth Annual Feminist Flea Market at UWM’s Entrepreneurial Center

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Feminist Flea Market

Celeste Carroll, also known as Celeste Bernadette, stands by her booth with handcrafted star earrings, stickers, and brightly colored prints on display. Her neon green patterned bellbottoms highlight the big yellow flower earrings hanging from her red hair; she perfectly matches her artwork displays. A degree in graphic design and a lifelong love for creative play brought her to the December 1 Feminist Flea Market in the UW-Milwaukee Lubar Entrepreneurship & Welcome Center, promoting her small business among other creatives.

“Writing a children’s book would be a dream,” Carroll says. After graduating from UW-Madison, Carrol, 25, has been in Milwaukee for the last few years, working in graphic design. Having been active in other markets and pop-ups around the area, this is Carroll's first time showing her work of hand-linoleum-printed tea towels and stickers at UWM. “It’s a really good opportunity, to be able to see what other artists are out there. I really like connecting with people at these kinds of events, and seeing everyone's work,” Carroll continues.

Starting as a passion project in 2017, the Feminist Flea Market is presented by UWM’s Women's Resource Center and Lubar Entrepreneurship Center. The flea market supports Metro-Milwaukee’s local femme and non-binary-owned small businesses and entrepreneurs. The atmosphere is enlightening, full of young, excited artists rubbing shoulders with advocate groups focused in and around Milwaukee. There’s a sense of welcome throughout each interaction between vendors.

Fox is a fourth-year women and gender studies student at UWM and the representative and executive assistant of the Women's Resource Center. Jo Fox stands assertively in a colorful crochet vest and corduroy trousers as they chat with booths full of friends and artists. Many vendors are Fox’s friends and acquaintances, and each booth spread across the corners of the Welcome Center has a different story. “Everyone here has something really unique to bring to the table, and all of it is rooted in intersexual feminism—which is the best part,” Fox says.

Overseeing the market, Fox’s vision of an area where feminine-identifying artists and community members can feel heard and welcomed in an entrepreneurial space is uplifting. "Since the entrepreneurial world and the business world in general is such a male dominated field, there’s not a lot of spaces like this available to femme and nonbinary people, to be in a community with like-minded individuals, and also just be in a safe space to sell their products,” Fox continues.

UWM’s Women's Resource Center has been involved with many programs including co-sponsoring events at the Roberto Hernandez Center on helping Latina Women find campus community and Strike Out Abuse bystander intervention training. They have worked with the Student Health and Wellness Center to help promote sexual assault prevention and advocacy at UWM.

Tucked back towards the far wall of the Welcome Center, a girl with long black braided hair sits behind her booth. Black shirts with white lettering, “Raised by a Strong Black Woman” and “Self-Worth,” cover the table. Alaina Whitson, 19, is a junior at UWM and the owner and curator of Afiyana Apparel.

“The purpose of my business is to give people the opportunity to express the love and gratitude that they have for the strong black women in their lives,” Whitson says. Afiyana Apparel launched in April of this year, and Whitson has seen a lot of personal growth within that time. “It’s been a learning experience and I’ve really enjoyed getting the opportunity to get into things I never would have experienced if I hadn't pursued a business,” she says. Pursuing a degree in marketing and a certificate in entrepreneurship, Whitson is an example of the young entrepreneurs the Feminist Flea Market hopes to uplift and encourage.