Land of 10,000 Markets holds grand opening

STEWARTVILLE — The grand opening for the Land of 10,000 Markets was this weekend with dozens of attendees showing support for local crafters.

The Land of 10,000 Markets was an idea from Saqer Alqoulah and Ahmad Yaseen. The two own and operate Brooklyn Moving in Stewartville and come to the area from their homes in California every few weeks.

“Everyone here is very helpful and nice, so we really appreciate it,” said Yasmine Yaseen, Ahmad’s partner and artist for Land of 10,000 Markets. “We have three different locations, one here in Minnesota, one in Los Angeles and one in the Bay Area and this is our favorite because, just because of all the support that we get from the community, everyone feels like home.”

Yasmine painted two murals for their location and has been asked to do a few more around town. She is excited to continue painting in the community, when the weather warms up again.

“We're willing to accept everything you know, as long as it's something acceptable, definitely not crazy stuff,” Alqoulah said. “We have respect for the community over here. Hopefully it's gonna be packed. Just come and sell your products.”

The two have owned the space for about a year and finally decided to do something with it. They started planning a few months ago and renovated the downstairs space to open a flea market location.

The idea was to create a big flea market and farmers market that had the capability to function seasonally. They have markets year round in California that have become a part of their life, and they wanted this community to have a space for local makers and growers to have a spot year-round as well.

Prior to the renovations, the location was an auto parts store that had been vacant for years. They renovated the first floor and have plans to finish the second floor sometime in the future.

Currently, they have room for around 20 vendors on the first level and are looking forward to expanding and filling the space. A few vendors were lined up for the opening weekend. And feedback from customers, they said, indicated they would love to see more produce and food items in the future.

The market will be opening Friday, Saturday and Sunday every week with rotating vendors. Vendors interested in renting out a space are available to lease a table short-term or for longer durations. If a vendor wants to keep their things at their table, they are welcome to leave their display up for as long as they lease the booth for as long as they lease the space.

Ein Hain sold some of her artwork at the grand opening. She is an artist who began to take classes at Earthbound Designs Pottery Studio a few months ago and is now selling her work. She found Land of 10,000 Markets online and was excited to try it out.

“I saw it on Facebook and I just thought it was a really cool opportunity that has a lot of potential,” Hain said. “I just thought it'd be fun to come out, and if I sell stuff great. It’s fun to see. I think it's going to be great.”

The downtown Stewartville area has continued to expand in the last year with the opening of Bungalow Boutique and Darlin Bakery and Cafe.
“Like when did Stewartville become cool?” Hain said with a laugh. “I can say that. I grew up here!”