I Have Been Priced Out of the Claremont, CA Farmer's Market

After almost 9 years I gave up my monthly space at the Claremont Farmer's Market. For the last year a friend and I

shared a space to halve the $32 dollar charge that was implemented at the end of 2013. It was hard to survive the new fee. The former fee was 10% of sales. The percentage plan kept me coming back because no matter the spending habits of the customers, Sunday strollers, or impulse buyers I felt the satisfaction of displaying my creations even if sales did not cover the morning Starbucks.

At a few nearby Farmer's Markets I learned artisans or craftsmen get charged the flat fee where the farmers are charged a percentage fee. It disappoints that somehow the artists have been set in a class that somehow has been deemed a group that can be charged more.

Plenty local markets are showing mass produced hardwares and frankly I feel those products may not be a good fit to be shown along with the food stuffs of our local farmers. The spirit and aesthetics of the handmade and artisan objects is the same as the local grower. Indeed, the time and effort that goes into handmade is the same as the farmer or produce grower. Artists are local to the communities and neighborhoods and deserve the same consideration as the local grower. After all, they espouse the same ideas for reducing foot prints and treading lightly.

As community members, artists support the local books for prisoners and each market's efforts for helping another less fortunate by shopping their local farmers market.

Each space at the market is now reduced to a business formula of how much is each 100 square feet worth?

The participation of the local craftsman, artist, seamstress or serious hobbyist is now ignored and priced out of the local economy because why?

Can you tell me in a few whole sentences why that is so?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Sincerely, Sherry Venegas