LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — It's still a little chilly, but the dry weather is a welcomed sight for Little Rock businesses after last weekend's rain put a damper on several big community events.
"This last weekend was a deluge of water and a lot of the festivals got rained out," SoMa501 Executive Director Elizabeth Michael said. "We were hearing from a lot of our vendor friends that they were left with a lot of merchandise, so the garden was available... this market is free for all vendors."
Michael said that being in this type of industry, you begin to develop a close relationship with the small businesses, and they start to become a second family, so you try to do your best to support them in a time of need.
"If you're a vendor, you're used to working this festival circuit or farmers markets and you kind of all know each other," Michael said. "You're a family and anytime you have a family member that's hurting, it hurts everyone. I think to have them have a space where they can all come together, it's not something that not only supports them, but it supports the whole community and family of vendors."
The first Friday of every month is SoMa After Dark at the Bernice Garden, so this month, SOMA501 decided to do a surprise pop-up market to have artisans like Shannon Begley showcase their work in the community.
"Being here regularly has really made me feel involved with the community," Begley said. "It's my favorite venue to be at because everybody knows everybody. I have a lot of regulars here. The organizers are wonderful to work with and it's just a really beautiful environment with the sculptures and all the artists around. It just feels so nice."
Running a business takes hours of dedication, and for some business owners, like Begley who handmakes jewelry out of clay preparation takes weeks.
"I am full-time in my business. I do it for more than 40 hours a week and it is really quite literally blood, sweat and tears," Begley said. "I think more tears than blood and sweat because it is an emotional rollercoaster having a small business. You invest so much of your emotional and mental energy into it."
For other business owners like Christopher Mansur, owner of Murder Farm Hot Sauce, had thousands of hot sauce bottles left over from last weekend, but is happy he has a chance to sell at SoMa After Dark.
"I was talking to somebody the other day I was like, 'I'll never go into a casino but we're gamblers.' If you're in the market, this is because you never know what you're going to get, so I think this weekend's going to be a lot of fun. The weather looks good."
SoMa After Dark will be from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Friday with the cornbread festival following on Saturday.