Markets
How to shop a market day properly
Artisan's Mercato · August 5, 2026 · 3 min read
Market days reward a particular kind of patience, and almost nobody arrives with it. Here is what regulars do differently.
Walk the whole row before you buy anything
The first stall always looks like the best stall, because it is the only one you have seen. Ten minutes of walking recalibrates everything, and the piece you were about to buy either survives that or it does not.
Ask what took the longest
It is a better question than "how do you make it", because it gets you the honest answer instead of the rehearsed one. The maker will point at something you would never have noticed — the combing on a fringe, the second stain coat on a hat brim, the foot trimmed on a bowl.
Come back at the end
Not to haggle — makers price close to the bone already. Come back because the piece you kept thinking about while you walked the rest of the row is the one you actually want.
