The Beach Flea Market set up for their biweekly pop-up on the campus of Long Beach City College consisting of over 200 vendors selling Sanrio items like vintage, Y2K style clothing, handmade items and more.
The event took place on Aug.27 from 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. and was open to all ages as well as furry friends.
Young small business owner Sadonna Liu built a table full of crocheted plushies and clothes. The plushies ranged from Sanrio characters to different animals.
She learned to crochet back in 2020 when her family asked her to make them hats in return for money and they eventually led her to sell her items on Etsy.
Once the pandemic died down and things were more open, Liu started attending more pop-ups, although this is her first time at The Beach Flea she says, “I think it’s pretty good, there’s a lot of foot traffic.”
Liu explained that she has great support from her mom who always comes to her events and helps keep her on track to sell her products. She also commented that her favorite Sanrio character is Cinnamoroll.
Moving towards a different themed booth, Jasmine Torres has her own brand called Latina Enough, where she highlights the Latino community.
“Now in our generation sometimes we get disregarded because we’re not number one, we don’t know the language, we’re not the right color, we’re not the right percentage, and I didn’t like that we were disregarded because of that,” Torres said.
She makes it her purpose to bring something to the Latino community because when she figured out she was not the only one who felt like this, she felt more connected to those who supported her.
Going back to the Sanrio theme, Anahi Hernandez has been selling really trendy glass cups and bracelets.
She started up this small business about two months ago because she found herself purchasing tumblers and decided one day she wanted to make and sell her own.
When asked what the best part is of being her own boss Hernandez said, “I think being able to give people something when they see it and like it.”
She feels a mutual connection of joy when she shares the work, she created with someone who also enjoys it. Hernandez says her favorite Sanrio character is the original Hello Kitty.
The people who put this together are an organization previously known as the Pacific Coast Market Place before changing their name to The Beach Flea.
They have hosted this market every other Sunday since Oct. of 2022 at LBCC.
“Because of the pandemic, we realized there were a lot of small businesses struggling.”
“Obviously the pandemic occurred but as soon as they opened up and ads started going out people saw an opportunity and they took it,” said event organizer Mia Parra.
Parra and the rest of her team are determined to give people a chance to come out and sell their items, especially to young adults.
The Beach Flea market is a great way to get out of the house and spend time with your friends and family along with supporting the dreams of small business owners.
