From a single market map to a brand that became a forest
Eight years of market curation taught us this: it was never about running events, it was about telling stories.
A market is more than stalls lined up in a row
A good market has a theme, a curatorial logic, and a brand people want to return to. At the first Haoren Liangwu Market in 2013, Howdy Creative had no idea this would become a ten-year project.
Over ten years, we moved from indoors to outdoors, from the city into the forest, from busy foot traffic toward deep community connection. What the Haoren Liangwu Market represents is not how many people came, but how much community was truly built.
The essence of a market is community, not exhibition.
Community, not foot traffic
A market's real asset is not the number of visitors, but the relationships between vendors and visitors, and among visitors themselves.
Ten years of market curation experience taught us a simple but profound truth: a good market is proven not by numbers, but by its community.
Across ten years of market curation, we moved from indoors to outdoors, from the city into the forest, from busy foot traffic toward deep community connection. Every market told a complete story, and the protagonists of those stories were the relationships between vendors and visitors.
What the Haoren Liangwu Market represents is not how many people came, but how much community was truly built. What we count is not the number of visitors, but how many people became repeat visitors and advocates of the market.
Three defining moments in ten years of market curation
2013: The birth of the Haoren Liangwu Market
Extending from the concept store on Huamei Street in Taichung, food, food education, food tourism, and tableware became the first four thematic pillars. That market was Howdy Creative's first practice of what a market should be. A simple idea was set at that time: a market should have logic, not just a crowd.
2016–2019: Toward the forest
From indoors to outdoors, from the city to nature. In this phase, the Haoren Liangwu Market found its most important brand position: the forest. This was not a simple visual image, but a complete curatorial philosophy — letting different creators grow within the same forest, nourishing one another and forming an ecosystem.
2020–2023: Transforming through the pandemic
The pandemic paused the market, and it also made Howdy Creative rethink the core value of a market. Not foot traffic, but community. During these three years, the Haoren Liangwu Market stopped chasing more events and instead deepened the community connection of each one, building a market culture and sense of identity all its own.
Curation, not exhibitor recruitment
Vendor selection follows a logic, vendor pairing follows a narrative, and every market tells a complete story.
Brand, not event
A market is not a one-off event, but a living brand — every one makes people look forward to the next.
Lasting, not a short burst
A good market should take root in its community's heart and become part of everyday life.
FAQ · Frequently Asked Questions
What you might want to know about this topic
The following Q&A was compiled by Howdy Creative to help you understand this design topic in more depth.
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