March Scoop: The Local Pop Up Market Culture
Happy Spring, readers!
We’re back with the latest edition of the Asper Scoop.
March is a busy month for everyone, whether it’s because of school, exams, interviews, or other commitments. Some of you readers may also be busy supporting local businesses during pop up markets!
As a small business owner myself, I wanted to learn more about pop up markets. That’s why I reached out to and interviewed Marridel Cloma Tuazon, founder of Melted, and Mackinley Hall, co-founder of Rewind Vintage.
Without further ado, I present the March Scoop: The Local Pop Up Market Culture
What are Pop Up Markets?
Have you ever attended a festival or event and seen a bunch of local businesses selling products? Maybe they were selling jewellery, ceramics, art, vintage clothing, sweet treats, or matcha!
If you have, that means you have attended a pop up market.
Pop up markets are temporary retail or event spaces that allow local vendors and makers to sell their products for a short period of time. There has been a rise in pop up markets on the campus as well. I’ve witnessed the Asper CSA introducing more mini pop up markets during events like Shinerama Internal, Student Appreciation Week, and 5 Days Week.
If you’re a fan of pop up markets or interested in learning from local Winnipeg entrepreneurs, sit back, relax, and read!
Melted: Your Favourite Chocolate Covered Strawberries
“Just one thing, done sweetly—chocolate-covered strawberries.”
Marridel Cloma Tuazon is the founder of Melted, an Asper alumnus, and a mother of two. Last year, she left corporate for chocolate covered strawberries.
Marridel Cloma Tuazon began hand dipping chocolate covered strawberries in 2020, the same year she graduated from Asper with an Accounting and Marketing degree. After graduation, she worked at Fortune 500 companies with a focus on digital marketing and Google Ads.
Fast forward to 2025, Marridel was laid off during maternity leave, but she found another way forward. She became inspired by the viral London chocolate covered strawberries on TikTok and saw the opportunity to open it here in Winnipeg.
“I was telling my husband that I wanted to open something in the food industry,” Marridel comments, and it turns out her formal business education and experience with hand dipping strawberries came in handy. With the support of her husband, Godfrey Tuazon, and their kids, Marridel opened Melted. Their first ever TikTok got over 100k views, and that’s what put Melted on the map!
Marridel knew the foundation of running a business, but actually doing it was a different story. They started with a food tent. There were times when they lost money, but after a couple of months they gained traction, grew their team, joined a lot of pop ups, and began consistently selling out.
Social media marketing has been an integral part of Melted’s growth. It has been a free tool to reach her audience, be authentic, and share her story. When it comes to branding and authenticity, one of Marridel’s greatest inspirations is Hot Girl Pickles. In Marridel’s experience, while the food and presentation attracts people, it’s authenticity and connection that makes them stay.
“Be uncomfortable and put yourself out there,” Marridel says, because people want to support. Winnipeg has a small, tight-knit community compared to bigger Canadian cities. For local businesses like Melted, it’s the people who support local and spread the word that help make their pop up markets so successful.
Melted’s bestseller is the Bueno Berry, a cup with white and milk chocolate, wafers, hazelnut cream, and whole strawberries. The inspiration came to Marridel when she was craving a bueno bar at night. Now, it makes up about 50% of their sales! Additionally, the Ube Berry has been gaining popularity, a flavour which features a traditional Filipino flavour from Marridel’s heritage.
Though Melted grew fast, they’re not slowing down any time soon. If you didn’t get the chance to try them out at 5 Days Week, catch them at their upcoming market on the Melted Instagram page.
Rewind Vintage: Classic, Cozy, & Canadian Vintage Clothing
“Timeless nostalgia that invites you in. A place of community where we can’t wait to see you.”
Let’s rewind the story back ten years.
Mackinley Hall was in Grade 9 when his older brother Kieran Hall, a first year Asper student at the time, came home and said, “I started a vintage thrifting Instagram page.”
That was the beginning of Rewind Vintage. Around that time, vintage clothing thrifting was becoming popular. At first, Mackinley didn’t think that the business idea would work out, but he quickly changed his mind.
“Rewind Vintage started off casually, but it snowballed in a beautiful way,” Mackinley says. From an Instagram page to online retail, pop up markets, and a physical studio space, it has grown a lot. In particular, Le Marché was the first big pop up they had. “Once we did that, we realized pop-ups are where it’s at.” The Lucky Girl Pop Ups have also allowed them to grow and reach wider audiences.
For a long time, Mackinley and Kieran’s focus on Rewind Vintage was on and off, either because of school or work. For Mackinley, he was finishing high school and undergrad, and now he’s a few weeks away from completing his graduate degree. For Kieran, he was graduating from Asper, becoming a CPA, working at Deloitte, and now at Price Industries.
As the years passed, Mackinley and Kieran refined Rewind Vintages’ definition of vintage: comfortable, relatable, and Canadian clothing that tells a story.
To them, the nostalgia piece in vintage is crucial. Mackinley and Kieran’s parents would say things along the lines of “I used to wear that,” and “I remember those,” and those moments stood out as inspiration. Younger people also love the style, so it’s a win-win!
In September 2024, Rewind Vintage made a big leap from selling online and at pop ups to selling at a dedicated retail space at Parlour Coffee.
Now, they’re making a bigger leap. On Friday, April 3rd, Rewind Vintage will be moving to the second floor of 468 Main Street, sharing a retail space with other small local businesses. Having a physical retail space has always been the goal for eight years, and Mackinley and Kieran are proud to be doing that.
With regards to sustaining the business, “It’s hard, but in the short term it’s gotta be discipline. Long term, it’s the relationships you create with customers and people.” Especially in a city like Winnipeg where word of mouth is strong, you want to be a business where people want to keep coming back.
Visit Rewind Vintage in 468 Main Street on Friday, April 3rd. Or, take a look at the Rewind Vintage Instagram page!
Fromeki Shop: Combining Art & Business
Finally, before we end this section, let me tell you about my own small business!
Fromeki Shop is a small art business owned by twin sisters Melinda Khov and Melissa Khov, myself and my sister. Fromeki Shop combines our love for anime, art, and cute things, which we turn into stickers, sticker sheets, and art prints.
My sister and I started drawing when we were eight, watching YouTube tutorials and copying the drawings our older brother would make. When he introduced us to anime, we took a strong interest in learning how to draw that too.
In high school, the idea of starting a small art business came to us, but it sat collecting dust. It was only when we entered our first year of university that we changed that.
With the support of the University of Manitoba Student-Organized Market Initiative (SOMI), co-founded by Katherine Bardelas and Elysa Lu, my sister and I began tabling at campus pop up markets as Fromeki Shop. The best part about SOMI is that they put students first, and so students table free.
We spent late nights drawing, conceptualizing ideas, planning social media marketing, managing inventory, tracking sales, and maintaining finances. Not to mention full days of tabling! It takes a lot of work, but it never feels like work.
Now, Fromeki Shop has over 50 products and we’ve tabled at eight campus markets. Our most recent one was the SOMI x MSA Spring Market & Eid Bazaar.
Since then, we’ve gotten a lot of support from our friends and the community at Asper! As well, our mom has been our biggest supporter. If Melissa and I never pursued Fromeki Shop, we wouldn’t know our creations would be loved by so many people.
If you have a hobby, a skill, or an idea, consider starting your own small business! You never know what amazing opportunities or people will arise. Pop up markets on campus are a great way to start out because traffic is high, the community is strong, and tabling is oftentimes free.
If you want to support Melissa and I, here’s the Fromeki Shop Instagram page!
5 Days Week Recap: Message from Cynthia Tran, 2025-26 CSA Vice President Community
5 Days Week 2026 was a huge step forward for the campaign, bringing together a full week of high energy and high impact programming. We kicked things off with a Krispy Kreme donut sale in partnership with MARO Matcha, followed by 5 Days External on Tuesday, where volunteers booth’ed across the city, from 201 Portage to UM Bannatyne, Polo Park, and St. Vital, to spread the word about 5 Days UManitoba and RaY.
Wednesday’s Paint ‘n Plant Night offered a more relaxed evening with treats from Oh Doughnuts and Baked Expectations, plus a fireside chat from RaY. Thursday marked our inaugural 5 Days Internal Market, which brought over 15 local vendors to campus, including favourites like Melted and Yelo Avenue, and really helped bring a strong, visible 5 Days presence to campus. We wrapped up the week with 5 Acts at The Nob, featuring Shay Wolf, Doubletalk, Orvis, Mourning Glory, and Lowlife.
During this year’s 5 Days Week, we raised over $5,000, an incredible feat which speaks to the level of planning, collaboration, and effort that went into the week. Huge congratulations to our committee, Brooke Traimany, Dimitri Apa, Erin Sagun, Adria Ruest, Anna Kissel, Larissa Cunha, Cassidy Turcan, Moyo Awe, and Shelly Yosef, for executing five incredibly well-run events.
A special shoutout to our co-chairs, Lexie D’Antonio and Henrick Papelleras, who are stepping into their new roles as CSA Vice President Professional Development and Vice President Community. They’re just getting started in their CSA journeys, and I couldn’t be prouder. Stay tuned on Instagram @5daysum as we share our final campaign total!
And here’s the end of the March Scoop!
Thank you to Marridel from Melted and Mackinley from Rewind Vintage for being a part of this blog! And thank you to 5 Days UM for the wonderful recap!
This will be the last blog in a long time. To the readers in the distant future, I hope you someday look back on this blog and think about how cool the blog writer Melinda Khov was!
Finally, thank you for your loyal readership!
Pookie Out!