Fremantle Markets

Y’know That Chick That Sells Onya Bags At Fremantle Markets ? Well…

People have responded to my call out for juicy information.  Love it! Thanks!

If you’re not up to speed, I asked you if you’d tell me a bit about yourself and let me share it here.

The spirit of this being about the people who are in some way connected to Onya. I’m nosey and I love hearing about almost anything that relates to humanity as a whole. There. That’s narrowed the brief down a bit hasn’t it?

First up, it’s  Danica  – a 30-something yoga loving, snow boarding author and blogger who’s spent the last umpteen years living in a peaceful little shack by the beach.

She sells Onya Bags by the sea shore.

I first met her in Fremantle Markets about 7 years ago. Pre numbat.

She was manning the Fremantle Markets stall beside Onya and attempting to extol the virtues of natural mosquito repellant and organic face cream to anyone who’d listen. She was great. I bought some.

A few years and a couple of babies later, Danica kindly stepped in and took over Onya at Fremantle Markets whilst I hung out at home making play dough and having sneaky naps.

She writes here about market life and it brings back great memories.   I’d like to add a couple of extra points about Danica before I let her take over below.

She’s far too modest to let you know about her awesome blog www.castleofcreation.com or her book Husband Hunting.

Both make fantastic reading – everything from bunion surgery to backpacking in Hawaii is here. Husband Hunting is an ebook about to become available in hard copy ( a proper papery book!)

…and one last thing… she’s terribly nice about me in her post. I promise that no money changed hands 🙂

 

MARKET LIFE – By Danica Cook

Hi! Just thought I’d write in to say a little about Market life.

Running the Onya Market stall at Fremantle Markets for the past couple of years has been a wonderful experience. I work mostly on my own, but occasionally my husband Max will be in the shop with me.

It can be fascinating to watch the people go by, especially Sunday’s when the crowd is at it’s strongest. A busker will be playing more often than not, and familiar songs fill the hall. I love studying what people are eating. Maybe needless to say, the organic doughnuts are very popular! I find myself trying to make up my mind whether to have chocolate or strawberry filled when I have my next one. Other popular food choices are the crepes, gozlemes and the hotdogs. Being vegetarian, hotdogs aren’t my thing but the spinach and feta gozleme is tasty but light; and easy enough to eat in between serving customers!

I also enjoy watching the children. All their little antics as they pass on by. One will be singing, another dancing, another crying. Parents will be calm or frustrated depending on their mood. I stand and witness the full spectrum of human emotions all in half an hour.

I notice that when I approach customers with the intention of ‘how can I best serve them?’ both the customer and I end up with a rewarding experience…and this is irrespective of whether they buy something or not. I’ve worked out over time that a goal of just wanting to sell someone something gets tiring after a while and unfulfilling. It’s far better to have a genuine interaction with people, and help them with their needs, rather than focusing on my wants. I really like Max being in the shop with me; we can bounce ideas of each other and keep a more dynamic vibe happening. We can challenge ourselves to continue to interact well with those that come to us.

Sometimes boredom can creep in, when it’s quiet, when no one comes to the stall, sometimes for no apparent reason. Then the challenge is to make peace with the present moment. Fighting it never works. I find I have to submit to it, then release often follows.

I’d like to acknowledge here in this post how much I enjoy working with the people behind the Onya products. Jon, Trish, Vicki all working away in the warehouse behind the scenes. They are an extremely talented, creative bunch. Always seeking ways to better the products and come forth with new ingenious ideas for saving the planet. They genuinely care about providing customers with excellent environmental solutions that are practical to their everyday needs. They work with integrity and passion, and it’s always  a delight to see them for my weekly stock pick ups. I have appreciated immensely the opportunity they gave by passing on the little Onya stall at Fremantle Markets to me. My life is richer for it and them.

Come say hello to Max or me when you are next at Fremantle Markets! We are located around the corner from the bar and next to Morish Nuts.

Danica J

Thanks so much for contributing Danica!

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