The District Magazine Vol. 2 Issue 3, Fall 2017 | Page 35
Rosey Williams
Founder
Indie Collective Company
theindieflea.com
The Indie Collective Company includes the Tampa
Indie Flea and St. Pete Indie Market. Rosey Williams
brings together local vendors - independent
businesses and artists, ranging from start-ups to
experienced merchants - to curate monthly markets
that are a vital weekend destination for those in
search of local flavor and the indie spirit. Rosey
knows what it takes to go against the grain, offering
retail alternatives that strengthen the community by
cultivating success. She has garnered support from
the Tampa Bay community and beyond, as well as
local brick and mortar shops, restaurants, breweries,
and other neighborhood establishments who
appreciate the traffic and business that the markets
bring to their community.
Beyond community support and engagement,
environmentalism is a top priority for Rosey, who
recently teamed up with Suncoast Surfrider and
Suncoast Compost to ensure that all of her markets
are zero waste events in which 90% of waste is
diverted from the landfill. The Indie markets started
organically through events she would have to
engage the community that surrounded her brick
and mortar vintage store located on an arts-centric
block in Downtown St. Pete. What began as just a
sidewalk market featuring a handful of friends and
family who were artists, musicians, and makers
became a business in itself.
Rosey's success is a direct reflection of her beliefs;
keeping a healthy perspective, maintaining loyalty
to her cause, not giving up when things fall apart,
community support and ability to adjust. Rosey
said, "When my daughter was born, I felt an entirely
different sense of drive. I think motherhood was and
continues to be the most challenging, but has had
such an impact on my motivation to take everything
I was doing to the next level, in a more empowered,
grounded, patient and determined way."
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THE DISTRICT - TAMPA’S URBAN DWELLING MAGAZINE
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