On Sunday mornings from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Westlake, Calabasas and Thousand Oaks farmers markets fill with tents, tightly packed tables and hoards of customers carrying tote bags. Fruit is stacked high, the smell of baked bread and pastries drifts through the outdoor aisles, and behind each booth is a small business owner-whose story rarely fits the simplicity of their setup.
For many vendors, the market isn’t just a place to sell goods. It’s a place built on risk and passion. Their journeys into small-scale entrepreneurship reveal the level of work that continues long after each market ends.
One of the market’s most surprising stories begins more than 2,000 miles from Oak Park. Commercial fisherman Mason Pollium works as a “troller,” a method that relies on hook and line fishing rather than nets. He has spent 13 years operating out of Petersburg, a small community in southeast Alaska known for its tight-knit fishing culture.
Each year, Pollium and his crew leave their home in Joshua Tree and fly to Alaska for the peak season. Their boat remains docked in Petersburg, waiting through the off-months. By June, the work begins.
“We get the boat pulled out of the water with this tractor thing,” Pollium said. “We power-wash the bottom, get all the paint off, the mussels, the algae. We repaint, put new bindings on and put her back in the water.”
From there, the routine doesn’t slow. “We fish for about three months,” he said. “Five days a week.”
Over the course of the season, they catch and process nearly 20,000 pounds of fish. At the end of summer, they bring it all back to California, where the other half of the job begins: markets. Lots of them.
“We do about 15 farmers markets a week,” Pollium said, adding that they recently expanded into Brentwood.
While some vendors travel across states to reach the market, others arrive with a different focus: wellness.
At Arcana Apothecary, Joy Hooper built her business around herbal blends, natural ingredients and what she describes as “medicinal tea tools.” Each product is designed with a specific purpose.
“We’re a tea company primarily,” Hooper said. “We create medicinal blends. Peaceful Warrior is great for sleeping. Gypsy Rose is better for the respiratory system. Mystic Mama is perfect for pregnant women.”
In addition to her teas, Hooper sells raw honey, ancient garlic for immunity and ceremonial cacao, which often sells out. Every item on her table is organic and created with health benefits in mind.
Arcana Apothecary does not have a storefront, operating instead through online orders and a wide circuit of local markets.
“The markets are wonderful and really work for us,” Hooper said. “It puts us in the community and keeps us engaged with people.”
Another booth rooted in natural goods is run by Keith Roberts and Danny Finkelstein, small-scale beekeepers who turned a specialized trade into a multi-layered business.
Roberts first worked under an experienced beekeeper named Walt, handling live removals and relocating hives. After years in the field, he expanded into backyard beekeeping and education, teaching residents how to maintain hives on their own property. Eventually, he partnered with Finkelstein, and the pair began offering honey sales, pollination services and hands-on bee care.
“Sometimes we take our bees up to the mountains,” employee Maddie Jolene said. “We’ll pollinate, do pollination services and then bring them back down.”
Beekeeping supports local agriculture while allowing residents to participate in helping the bees pollinate.
The most traditional booth of the four is also the youngest: a small cookie company, run by a husband-and-wife team, Kevin and Diana Mirshekar. They met in law school and began the way many pandemic-era ventures did: with a hobby.
After graduating, Kevin started baking cookies for his wife. Diana encouraged him to take the skill further. The couple decided to test the idea outside their kitchen. They started selling anywhere they could: door-to-door, on nearby beaches and eventually at community events.
“Little by little, our small idea grew into a real business,” Kevin Mirshekar said.
Their stand features cookies made from scratch, using no preservatives and as many organic ingredients as possible. The farmers market was the most natural place to bring that kind of homemade product to life.
“We’ve always believed in keeping things simple and real,” Diana Mershikar said.
“Buisness is hard, but you’ll never regret doing it.” Kevin Mershikar said.
Across all three local markets, the vendors share that same sentiment. Whether they are hauling thousands of pounds of salmon from Alaska, blending herbs to ease stress, tending beehives across California or selling cookies shaped by late night trial and error, each booth represents work that continues long after the tents come down.
