Toronto Market Week: What a Wild Ride (Part 1)

What a wild ride.

We are still buzzing after attending Toronto Market Week at the International Centre in Toronto, Ontario — and honestly, we are so grateful to have been part of such an incredible event.

Jaclyn — officially coined the Market Queen (by Amanda, obviously) — and I have both done markets for years. Every pop-up, every early morning, every long day somehow prepared us for this moment. All those experiences led us right here.

From weeks of planning the booth, to creating special packages for new wholesale partners, to marketing materials, signage, outfits… you name it — every tiny detail was thought out, planned, and executed.

Then came load-in day.

It began with Jaclyn pre-loading her brand-new Ford Bronco — truly breaking it in with the obscene amount of stuff that was about to be shoved inside. Once she picked me up, I ran out of my house and we somehow managed to jam the car even fuller with my bags.

Just when we thought we had everything…

📞 The phone rings.

It’s our printer.

A full box of our prints had been missed at pickup.

Thank goodness they caught us when they did — so back around we went to grab them. And then… finally… off to the highway we go.

The drive was filled with talking, planning, dreaming, and nonstop excitement. We were nervous, but beyond excited for what was ahead.

Jaclyn had attended these events before as a buyer — I, however, was going in completely blind.

When we arrived at the venue, it was already buzzing. Thousands of people loading in and out, trucks everywhere, carts flying past — organized chaos at its finest. We waited patiently for our turn, and then it was off to the races.

The long, tiring process of unloading began.

And did we mention… it was the coldest day on record?
A casual –50°C.

We froze.

But we got everything inside — only to discover that the warehouse wasn’t much warmer. For hours we worked in near-freezing temperatures building backdrops, hanging signs, assembling shelves… basically turning into full-on Bob the Builders.

Then came the fun part: making it all look beautiful.

Thankfully, Jaclyn is the master of all things pretty — because watching the booth come together was pure magic.

We hit the road at 9:00 AM and didn’t finish setup until 9:00 PM. A full twelve-hour day.

Exhausted, frozen, but proud — we were ready for dinner, warmth, and our hotel.

Until we realized…

We booked the wrong hotel.

Instead of five minutes away, it was twenty.

So in true Amanda fashion, I went inside and begged for a switch — and thankfully, since it was the same hotel chain and there was availability, it worked out.

Bless.

Even better? There was a Moxie’s right in the hotel.

Double bless.

With the help of our amazing friend Sarah, we unloaded all our stuff, grabbed dinner, and finally took a breath. We were exhausted — but riding a full adrenaline high.

We made it back to the room around 10:30 PM. One would think we’d collapse instantly…

But no.

Instead, our hilarious, energetic friend had us laughing hysterically, recording random skits, and posting nonsense on social media. We laughed until we cried — finally falling asleep around 1:00 AM.

Only to wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for our first day as exhibitors at Toronto Market Week.

And that… is where Part 2 begins.

Stay tuned 💛