The Alameda Children’s Business Fair, organized by Ashley Lorden, was designed to fuel the entrepreneurial spirit of kids and to teach them some fundamental basics of business. The Downtown Alameda Business Association liked the idea and offered to tie the event to the annual Spring Market.
In the application process, the young entrepreneurs had to express their business concept and how they would prepare for the fair. And on Saturday, May 3, Alameda Avenue hosted 19 booths from aspiring youth, ages four to 15, from Alameda and surrounding areas. The wide variety of wares was a testament to the creativity of youth.
From greeting cards to catnip, from flower crowns to duck eggs, the booths offered a little something for everyone. Some booths even offered an activity such as building your own bracelet or spinning a wheel for a prize. The items were all reasonably priced, and the children seemed to enjoy shopping with each other as much as selling at their own booths. At a few booths, the children proudly handed out homemade business cards, and a few even had created their own websites for future sales.
As the end of the Children’s Business Fair approached, the booths were judged in three categories. Om and Prem Shah, ages 10 and eight, who live in Dublin, won the award for Most Likely to Turn a Profit. The brothers’ booth, Das Button Boyz, featured a button-making machine that they worked deftly with quick, sure hands. They had multiple binders with both printed and upcycled images pre-cut into circles and sorted into categories. Their booth also featured a discount for buying multiple buttons, and the boys were very familiar with their image inventory and could speedily direct you to various options based on your interests. Not only were their buttons selling, the Shah brothers were genuinely enjoying the process and carefully handled money and made change from their toy register.
The award for Best Sales Pitch went to 10-year-old Elle of Bee My Beads, whose shop featured hairclips and other accessories. The clips were embellished with a variety of beads and charms featuring flowers and bees. Continuing her theme, even her gift bags were printed with darling bumble bees. And if her wares weren’t enticing enough, Elle was donating a portion of her profits to Save the Bees. Elle’s visually appealing display was complimented by her confidence and ease when speaking to customers.
Ryan Betts-Ng, a 10-year-old who attends Mills College Children’s School in Oakland, won the prize for Most Creative Product for his caricature booth. Not only did Ryan draw caricatures and photo strips on the spot, but he created a cardboard caricature machine. Patrons bought tokens for the product they wanted and inserted them through a slit in the machine. The custom artwork was returned to the customer from another slot, recreating an experience Ryan had witnessed on a trip to Korea. In addition to his custom caricature art, Ryan was also selling copies of two graphic novels that he wrote and self-published.
The Children’s Business Fair buzzed with excitement. A steady stream of curious shoppers ventured through, lingering at each booth, and examining displays. Sister team Penny and Thea, Alameda residents, sold boxed sets of greeting cards made from their artwork, incorporating various styles and media including oil pastels, watercolor crayons, and acrylic paints. The Little Buds & Barnyard Friends booth, run by Alameda homeschooler Wilder Keen, sold chicken and duck eggs, along with a variety of succulents. At Tabitha Kadel’s booth, you could commission a custom pet portrait or purchase from a selection of animal portraits or note cards featuring her animal art. In addition, this enterprising Encinal student, sold catnip that she grows herself, and acorn cat toys made from needle-felting fur from her own cats.
Crowds gathered at the Wonder Shop display of items from anime and Minecraft. The bracelet shop was a hot spot as patrons selected the charms and beads for their bracelets. Rubber Bands & Lanyard Strands offered every color combo you could think of for lanyards, keychains, and more. One budding businessman created Prakash Prizes where $1 got you a spin of the wheel of prizes, which ranged from hot wheels to handmade ninja stars to candy. I won a very nice blue VW Beetle. Another young woman upcycled tin cans and plastic water bottles to plant vegetable seeds. The containers were wrapped in strips of yarn or upcycled socks.
By every possible metric, Alameda’s first Children’s Business Fair was a success. Organizer Ashley Lorden hopes that it will not only become an annual event, but will also have a fall counterpart so that young entrepreneurs have two chances per year to learn about business by running their own. Whether they were selling services or handmade items, it was clear that the participants gained more than just a monetary profit, and the biggest winner was the Alameda community.
Kelly Rogers Flynt contributes reviews of theatrical productions to the Alameda Post. Reach her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Kelly-Flynt.
