Tea leaves, crystals and curious creations at RVA Moon Market
RVA Moon Market customers shop Efua’s Baby soy massage candles and skin care. Photo by Kieran Stevens.
Maeve Bauer, Contributing Writer
With Women’s History Month coming to a close, RVA Moon Market threw a gathering at Stone Brewing Company on March 22.
The market included a period drive, a raffle for Virginia’s Reproductive Freedom Project, a clothing swap, food and live music, according to the RVA Moon Market website.
Lauren Vincelli, founder and director of Moon Market, said they want to fundraise for Virginia’s Reproductive Freedom Project to send support to the project and the women it supports. Moon Market works with them every year.
“March and April are a part of a larger event. They have a spring fund-a-thon that happens through the national network of abortion funds, and we raise funds along with dozens of other teams in the area for the Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project,” Vincelli said.
The market is for the “weirdos” of Richmond, and over the years it has just gotten weirder, according to Vincelli.
“When we first started, we knew a lot of weirdos and they were great at their art and not necessarily that great at putting themselves out there. We wanted to sort of make space for the people we knew, the artists we were working with,” Vincelli said. “We just wanted to make a space for small and independent businesses that was accessible, affordable and weird.
The first Moon Market event took place in 2013, according to Vincelli. The market was created by Vincelli and Elysia Honey Horn, founder of Elysia Honey Hair.
Vincelli said that over the past 12 years, the event has gotten bigger and weirder. When she started the Moon Market, they only had about a handful of vendors in small spaces.
“We were just sort of doing smaller events at this artist studio that is now closed on Southside,” Vincelli said. “Since then we’ve been really embraced by the brewery scene in Richmond. We found a wonderful home base at Stone Brewing Company. I think the first event we had maybe 15 vendors, now we have almost 50 in every market.”
Christina Watt, founder and owner of chrisTEAna, was one of the 50 vendors present.
ChrisTEAna is a brand that specializes in tea fortune card readings, a practice inspired by traditional tea leaf readings, according to Watt. Each symbol is related to the traditional symbols found at the bottom of someone’s teacup.
“My readings focus on periods of time, so I do one-month, three-month and six-month look-aheads, where we’re basically seeing what’s in store month by month for whoever’s getting the reading done,” Watt said.
Educational material about tea leaf readings, mindfulness practices and herbal medicines can be found on her various social media platforms, according to Watt.
“I am really passionate about helping people discover new ways to drink tea and enjoy tea,” Watt said.
ChrisTEAna is based primarily online, with occasional appearances at markets, according to Watt. She said one day she hopes to open a physical location.
Watt said her first appearance at Moon Market was in November 2024, and she has been doing readings for about a year. She said she enjoys the variety of merchants.
“Every vendor here is completely unique. You won’t really find two people making or doing the same thing, which I think is really amazing,” Watt said. “It creates a space where we’re allowed to show our talents and excel and support each other and all of the things that make us unique.”
Caillyn Jeffery, the owner of Kale and Conjure Arts and Rams Connect Coordinator at VCU, was another vendor at the event. Her business sells prints, specializing in Linocuts, a process of cutting and printing linoleum.
Jeffery said she sticks to in-person sales but hopes to expand online one day. As of now, her only facet of business is markets in the area. The Moon Market is one of the regular markets Jeffery sells at.
“I’ve been to quite a few of them, not every month, but it’s one of the regular ones that I am applying to and vending at,” Jeffery said.
Erica Claiborne, or DJ EASE, played music for the Moon Market event.
Claiborne said that she is good friends with Vincelli and enjoys performing at events that support the Richmond community, especially women.
