On Wednesday mornings in the summer, sophomore Olivia Brenner starts baking her baguettes and focaccia bread at 8 a.m. By 3 p.m. the next day, her breads and other baked goods will be lined up to sell at the Kingwood Farmer’s Market.

“The thing that really made me want to start baking was my grandma, she made the focaccia bread and that’s what I started selling,” Brenner said. “She gave me the recipe and I tried it and I just really liked it.”

The Kingwood Farmers Market has created a welcoming community for small businesses and vendors of all ages. It originally started as the Humble Farmer’s Market more than 10 years ago before the manager at the time decided to move it to Kingwood. The market welcomes vendors with no application fees and no long-term commitments. It is held every Thursday from 3-7 p.m. and once a month on a Sunday. With such a flexible schedule, the market attracts a wide variety of booths and vendors.

“Anyone who creates something unique is invited to apply to join our market,” market manager Cheryl Austin said.

Brenner has had her booth, “Liv’s Baked Goods,” at the Farmer’s Market for several years and loves working there. She became a vendor the summer of 2020 when she was looking for ways to make extra money and cure her boredom. She decided that the Farmer’s Market would be fun and flexible with her schedule.

“You learn about hard work, and that some days just aren’t very good and that’s okay,” Brenner said. “You really have to do it for the experience.”

School and extracurriculars keep Brenner busy so the main time she runs her booth is in the summer. She visits the market during the school year as often as she can to keep in touch with the community.

“All of the vendors are super nice, very friendly, and the market managers are also very nice,” Brenner said.

Despite Brenner only being able to work during the summer, she has made an impact on the market community.

“Olivia’s booth always feels like a happy place,” said Claudia Washington, who runs the “Beaded Soul” booth. “If you are a bread lover like me, you will stop by her booth every time she is at the market. You can definitely taste the love she puts in her baked goods.”

The Market has brought Brenner a lot of joy and she’s grateful for the experience she’s receiving from running her own booth.

“The Farmer’s Market has given me a reason to bake a lot of things in a large quantity and to try new things and be able to share that with a lot of other people,” Brenner said.