Vendor Criteria

Criteria for admittance into the Orcas Island Farmer’s Market

The OIFM strives to allow only goods and services that are “Island Made and Island Grown.” Historically the OIFM has been an agricultural and artisan market, promoting “all things local and handmade.” The OIFM hopes to represent the “flavor of the Islands” to those who visit it. The Market uses the concept of a meaningful “transformative act” to asses whether a product or service can be considered “handmade” or “hand-crafted.” “Local” is defined as Orcas Island & Waldron Island, then secondly San Juan County. It is important to the OIFM to maintain it’s agricultural and artisan heritage. It is the job of the Market Manager and OIFM Board to interpret and implement the Market’s goals and policies.

Vendor Categories:

Eligibility criteria for products and services sold at the OIFM:

Farmers

  • locally grown agricultural crops
  • grown on Orcas Island, Waldron Island
  • no reselling of plants or food grow elsewhere
  • concept of the “transformative act” applies to farmers in terms of selling potted-up plant starts etc.

Crafters

  • a “transformative act” must be performed which makes a product a creation of ones own
  • reselling of goods that have not been transformed in a “meaningful way” – Market reserves the right to define “meaningful”
  • the “transformative act” must occur on Orcas Island at least a significant amount of the time
  • made on Orcas Island – crafter must reside on Orcas Island at least part of the year
  • the more “handcrafted” or “meaningfully transformed” the better

Food Vendors

  • food should be “hand made”
  • rules for food vendors entry into the Market are similar to those for crafters
  • a transformative act must be performed to a food product to make it “hand made”
  • reselling of food goods – canned drinks, potato chips in bags, even drinks from mixes are discouraged
  • the transformation of component ingredients must be “meaningful” to qualify as “hand made”

Services

  • “Handcrafted Services” are a part of the market face painting, tarot readings, massage have all historically been a part of the OIFM over the years

Not-for-profits

  • information sharing / educational
  • bake sales – though food vendor rules apply

Orcas Kids Creative Co-Op

  • For local children to explore their talents while learning how to run a small business
  • All items must be crafted by the child with little or no intervention by an adult, aside from adult participation for safety (i.e. firing a kiln, operating power tools, etc)
  • An adult must please be present during operating hours of the Market

Other

  • Vendors that do not easily fit into the above named categories above but fit the criteria for one or more of them

Non-Orcas/ Waldron Island based vendors

Vendors from elsewhere in San Juan County will be admitted by the decision of the Market Board and Market Manager. Non-Orcas/ Waldron Island vendors must both meet the above criteria for admittance and not duplicate goods or services provided by an already existing Market vendor. Non-Orcas/ Waldron Island vendors are admitted primarily for the purpose of adding breadth and depth to the Market’s offering, and are considered an exception and not the norm at the OIFM.

These items have been Historically Disallowed

  • yard sales
  • import clothing and jewelry
  • educational presentations that are clearly vehicles to sell non-handcrafted products
  • used books
  • political booths
  • new goods that are not of ones own design – even if assembly requires significant skill or technique

Review process for admittance to OIFM

The Market Manager determines if applicants are compliant with the above criteria and suitable for admittance into the OIFM. In cases that are difficult to determine the OIFM Board will have the final say as to whether an applicant shall be allowed to vend at the Market.

Apply for the 2024 Orcas Island Farmers Market Season by clicking here