Over 100 local vendors participated in outdoor market at Westfield Mall in Palm Desert

Esther Rosenfeld showed News Channel 3 around the all-local vendors outdoor market in the parking lot of the Westfield Mall in Palm Desert.

“These are vendors who are creating things by hand," Rosenfeld said. "You won't find any of these people in the stores and it’s nice for the customer to be able to see what everybody in the valley has to offer," she added.

As a local business owner herself, she came up with this idea; an outdoor market to help small businesses struggling from the pandemic.

"I definitely have a lot more vendors at this one," she said.

After her first market was a success in February, she was able to nail down another market this month.

“I was able to include a little bit of foodservice," she added. "We aren’t doing too much, just a couple food vendors, music and a DJ, the raffle so a couple of new things that make it a little more interactive," she said.

The demand to be included in her outdoor markets has grown exponentially.

“We were definitely not able to accommodate everyone that wanted to join because there were over 80 people on my waiting list for my last one," she shared. "I was able to open up some spots so I added about 20 new vendors but I still have a waiting list. I technically deal with over 200 vendors right now," Rosenfeld said.

She said she plans for more markets in the near future to help more local businesses.

“I would definitely like to do one right before Easter with like a 'sweets and treats.' We’ll see how that goes and then obviously we’re going to have an April 17 event which is going to be here, the same layout and then for Mother’s Day we’re going to hopefully go inside the mall and do something with the mall indoors," she said.

“I feel blessed that I get to help the community, help families and I love our desert. It’s really nice to be able to get out and do something and get as many local people involved, it’s awesome," she shared.

Her market ran from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 20 in the parking lot of the Westfield Mall in Palm Desert. There were 110 vendors there. Her next official market is April 17 at the same location from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. as well.

If you are a vendor interested in getting on her waiting list, Rosenfeld encourages you to reach out to her via Instagram messages @epblacklabel