I remember our first day at the Brighton Market like it was yesterday. It was almost 3 years ago to the day and we had just purchased our farm a few months prior. We were thrilled to have been accepted as vendors at the market and we had high hopes that it would be the perfect home-base for our business.
We hoped to make a great first impression and start out strong, right out of the gate. We planned to bring a little bit of everything that first week. But we had some mishaps along the way including with a family of foxes who settled in on our farm and picked off most of the chickens we had in the fields the week before the market started.
We planned to bring eggs, too, but the hens were too young and hadn’t matured enough to start laying yet. And even though we had pigs on the farm, they were still weeks away from being ready to go to the butcher. So, no pork either.
So we needed to make do. Which meant that we brought the handful of broiler chickens that had managed to evade the foxes and 12 heritage breed cockerels (which we quickly learned is a type of chicken that no one wants to buy). And. That. Was. It.
We thought we were toast. But, I bet you can guess what happened next? If you’re thinking that we sold out of cockerels, then guess again. No one even knew what those things were!
What happened was that we fell in love with our market. Folks could could tell we were new (I have no idea what tipped them off….) and they made a point to come over to introduce themselves and offer support and encouragement. The shoppers were and kind and caring and were genuinely interested in what we were doing and why we were doing it. Even the other vendors, like our neighbors and “Market Moms” from Newbury Park Pastries and Pasta Classics, took us under their wings and showed us the ropes. It all just felt right.
From that very first day onwards, the Brighton Market has been our home. It’s where we’ve come into our own as farmers and it’s where our business has flourished. And It’s where we get to connect with YOU and serve you with the best of the best, week after week.
Your Farmers,
Jenney and Greg