Last October, Warby Parker uprooted from it’s NYC headquarters and has since been touring across the nation bringing its eyewear products directly to the people in what may be the longest Class Trip ever.
When we found out Warby’s yellow school bus would be rolling into San Diego in February, we knew we had to get involved. So, we combined all of our favorite things (street fairs, good music, good food) and came up with the Common Good Urban Market. Aiming to create a new outlet for social enterprises, we invited vendors rooted in purpose from Southern California to help us put on a new kind of block party.
Sprouted out of the idea of the potential growth in bringing like-minded ideas together, the 5-hour event brought together a community of artisans in different realms all in support of shifting the idea of what commercial markets look like. 14 vendors, mostly from the San Diego area, set up pop-up shops, including Plant with Purpose which helps restore rural communities around the world by planting trees and investing in the economic rehabilitation of the villages it works with. Typewriter Boneyard also showcased its modern yet artistic vision of old-world lighting fixtures. With a very eclectic collection of vendors and food trucks, the market provided event-goers with endless opportunities to interact, learn, and of course eat delicious food.
In many aspects, Invisible Children sees the idea of community as a foundation of why and how we do things, so the opportunity to host this event allowed us to open our doors to our neighbors and transcended the value of community into actuality. Music and art is one of the many ways we foster an innovative and creative environment, so we reached out to San Diego’s own Tiny Telephones and TV Girl to provide the soundtrack for the day and had DETHKILLS‘ creative vision come to life as they painted an original piece over the span of the event.
Warby Parker’s mission is based in making it financially possible for everyone to receive the necessary eyewear they need and for every product they sell, they provide someone in need with a pair of glasses. Because of this, partnering with them was not only an easy decision but it inspired to create an open-air market curated by for purpose artisans and organizations.
Stay tuned for a full recap of all the vendors that helped make this event possible. Make sure to watch the above video made by an aspiring filmmaker who was at the event.
– Juan Frausto
(Photo credit: Invisible Children, Sarah Yee)
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