The Pink Elephant Antique Mall’s Trunk Sale holds a space for all kinds of vendors, ranging from vintage items to homemade treats to even handmade treasures. No matter if one is looking for an exquisite silver piece of jewelry or an art piece created by a local artist, there is something for everyone.
The antique store holds the Trunk Sale on Saturdays during their business hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., where sellers set up shop in the parking lot in front of the business. Customers who walk through the market can lay their eyes on what all of these small businesses have to offer.
While antique items and artwork dominate the market, the selections of baked goods measure up to the level of variety present in the sale. Cassie Davis owns Sourdough Bread Co., where she sells all sorts of sourdough products such as bread, muffins, cinnamon rolls and more. Davis’ business began in her home, and it presented her an opportunity to do what she always wanted to do.
“I started baking bread for my family at home and not buying store-bought bread,” Davis said. “I kept saying I wanted to bake and stay home with my kids, and so that’s what I do.”
Davis began baking because of the concern for where store-bought food comes from. She wanted to be sure of what was in her food as well as what she was feeding her family. In making her own food, she can be certain of what’s in it, and she uses organic ingredients.
Even though it started out as a human concern, her business allows her to do what she loves every day: bake. Davis said it is her hobby and her happy place. Her presence at the Trunk Sale is a way for her to get her name out and advertise her products.
Despite the love she has for her hobby and business, she emphasized that it is still work, and there is hardship within what she does. She feels that the hardest part of managing her business is time management.
“It’s a lot of work,” Davis said. “It’s 16-hour days, so trying to find balance of not making your hobby too much work.”
Baking is not the only thing that requires meticulous work with one’s hands. Also at the Trunk Sale, Gianna Militana showcases Art by Gianna, where she sells an assortment of handmade pieces like prints, journals, stickers and sketchbooks.
Militana started selling her creations in college, searching for pop-ups at local bars on the weekends. She then began looking for more and more places that had available spots and were looking for vendors.
Militana was inspired to start her business because of her never-ending urge to create art.
“I will never stop making art, like, I cannot stop making art,” Militana said. “So this is just a way for me to share what I do with other people, and if they like it, they can take it with them.”
While Militana does believe that sharing what she does and connecting with others is her favorite part of running her business, she feels the hardest part is exposing herself to so many people. She includes very personal aspects within her art, and it is vulnerable to put herself out there — but in exposing herself, the connections she makes are worth it.
As she puts herself out there with her own art, Militana’s favorite item that she sells in her shop is her collage kits, which is where she gets to see the creativity in others come out to play. This is where she can see her customers’ vulnerability show. The kits vary from mini to small to large, and they include prints or other glueable items perfect for collage-making.
“I love making mixed media work,” Militana said. “I have always done a lot of just cut-and-paste paper collage, and so, I love that other people are getting into that. I love seeing what pieces they pick out, and what they’re drawn, and their ideas and what they want to do with those pieces.”
Owner of Savvvvy Creations Savannah Guarino makes jewelry out of silverware; whatever one can think of, she can make it. At her booth, she displays assortments of rings, bracelets, necklaces and pendants.
Guarino’s inspiration behind her shop is none other than TikTok. She saw users making jewelry out of silverware and knew that she immediately had to start collecting. To do exactly that, she had to figure out where to start.
“I started by collecting spoons. I went to every single antique shop I could and found the ones that I liked, and then I had a whole bunch collected, and I was like, ‘I don’t know where to start,’” Guarino said. “That’s when my best friend’s dad was like, ‘I’m gonna buy everything, I’m gonna learn everything, and I’m gonna teach you how to do everything.’”
Her favorite item that she sells is her fork bracelets because of the amount of difficulty that goes along with making them. They are forks bent into a circular shape meant to fit the wrist, and the sharp tips are bent to resemble a swirl-like shape. She said she first saw one in California, and she knew she had to make them one day because of how beautiful they are.
Guarino said her favorite part in running her business is meeting a lot of cool people, as well as getting to do a lot of cool things. However, the hardest part is keeping up with what’s going on.
“I feel like that’s the hardest part of every business because if you’re not in the know, and you’re not constantly trying to learn new things, it’s not worth it,” Guarino said.
The Trunk Sale is a perfect opportunity for any up-and-coming small business, and it also fosters a safe space for the Baton Rouge community.
“Go out and support your community,” Militana said. “Whenever you can, any sort of pop-ups or sales, you should totally go and see all the faces in your community.”
