How we started
Market Stall Co is based in Brooklyn, Melbourne, Victoria. We established in 2016 to meet the need for designer market and event infrastructure and quickly developed further into manufacturing retail display solutions and bespoke custom pieces for event, home, retail and office spaces.
Market Stall Co was born from a need. Owners, Paul and Laura previously ran a homewares business and quickly realised that popping up and attending design markets was a lot harder than it needed to be when it came to displays and setting up and packing down. They developed some flat packable pieces which were so well received they registered a business name and got to work on creating a website straight away.
Our Expertise
Together, Laura and Paul have an eclectic background that allows them to bring to Market Stall Co just what it needs to tick and grow and adapt.
Laura has 12+ years experience in retail, event and digital marketing, and a love of design and floorplans and product development. Paul studied commerce and economics and has worked in family businesses in project management and general management. He had a hammer in his hand well before he begun school and has grown up in and around carpentry. His father and his grandfather were both carpenters and one of his first jobs was even at Bunnings - a place we still spend quite a bit of time at!
The pair work together on client briefs, custom design and product development. Market Stall Co has now grown into a small but amazing team with experienced personnel in the workshop and admin and client support in the office who all contribute to bringing the designs, briefs and products to life and supporting our clients.
Our challenges
After the coronavirus pandemic entered all our lives in March 2020, we knew it was going to be tough for a business based in retail and events.
Market Stall Co was and is no exception. Lockdowns, enforced business closures/restrictions, staffing absences (thanks spicy cough), staffing shortages, timber pricing increases, courier delays. These are just some of the immense challenges Market Stall Co has overcome to be here today.
It is now mid 2022 and after more than two years, we know there is an uphill climb still ahead of us to recover and thrive but we can do it, Australian small businesses can do it. Resilience and grit have really come to the forefront and whilst we as a collective may be tired, we know those qualities are what keeps us in the game. Still wanting to grow, adapt and move forward.
If you purchased or plan on purchasing from any of our "pivot" ranges - office furniture and home furniture - we thank you. We admire your choices. We are grateful for your support.
Our plans
We are excited for what is to come, to get back on track with the plans we had in place for 2020 and to work with our amazing existing and new clientele.
Launching this new website in May 2022 will allow us to tick a lot of the digital boxes we have been wanting to do for years!
We have new products planned to land monthly on the website for the next 12 months and beyond, we have some exciting website functional additions coming and you can now select dates for rentals and see if your ideal pieces are available in real time. Extending our range online will make it easy for you to source fit out pieces for your shop, market stall, event or permanent dwelling, and to purchase them as needed.
We'll be offering more options and variations than ever when it comes to pegboards and plinths too. Such amazing staples that we want to be able to service and offer in an easy, seamless way.
We hope to be extending our team - qualified cabinet and furniture makers keep your ear to the ground, first year apprentices and event based team members, here's hoping you can join us in 2022.
We are pumped to be servicing more events than ever (though did we ever really say no before) and we're trialing working with a 3rd party logistics company when it comes to events too.
Bring on 2022/2023!
Being an Australian Manufacturer
It took us a while to realise we were an Australian manufacturer.
We went from building in garages to building in a small commercial space, to a workshop and now to our current location in Brooklyn, Victoria. Laura still likes to call it a workshop but Paul is 100% correct when he says Manufacturing Facility, operated by a small but amazing team.
There are a few hurdles to overcome in the Australian Manufacturing scene, mainly when it comes to supply chain, pricing and perception. Our years of product design and creation have developed us into experts for our craft - flat packable and minimal display infrastructure. We hand select every individual piece of pine we use. We custom finish our pine and hardwood lengths to the thickness we know gives strength but appears refined. We respect the timber and plywood we use and we think this shows in our finished product.
We work with as many other local businesses as possible to develop relationships that mean we have access to materials and can minimise supply chain delays, keeping our production timelines tight and fast.
We're very proud to be an Australian-owned and operated small family business, making pieces locally and supplying them nationwide to others who value Australian made too.