Bloom is a big fun plant party held annually (indoors!) in Providence, Rhode Island and Burlington, Vermont.

We are a community market style event, featuring 85+ small businesses, not a flower & garden show. You’ll find plants, fresh and dried floral arrangements, home decor, art, apothecary products, and more.

Bloom has pop-up restaurants on site, as well as a full bar, featuring fun cocktails, mocktails, and beer.

Bloom is an indoor event, and is held annually in April in Providence, Rhode Island, at WaterFire Arts Center (475 Valley Street) and at Hula (50 Lakeside Ave) in Burlington, VT.

Bloom Flower & Home accepts vendors of indoor and outdoor plants, flowers and floral arrangements (dried and fresh), home decor, art, jewelry, vintage, candles, and apothecary goods, among other categories. As the event is curated and we receive hundreds more applications than we have vendor space for, we unfortunately cannot accept everyone who applies.

We are always looking for positive minded people who are enthusiastic about promoting their own businesses, the events they participate in, and the other small businesses in their community. We strongly believe that a rising tide lifts all boats. By working together as a community rather than as competitors, small businesses grow.

We review the social media accounts and websites of our applicants - your ability and willingness to promote your work regularly and participate in your community is key! We can’t accept applicants with private Instagram accounts because….well, we can’t promote what we can’t see.

We do not accept multi-level-marketing vendors at this event.

We cannot accept multi-level marketing sellers. We do not allow the sale of firearms, weapons, or racist/offensive materials at our events. Products containing THC and CBD are unfortunately not permItted, due to our insurance company’s regulations.

Please note:

If you have participated in a past event but were not active in working with us and your fellow vendors to help promote the event, we may not select you to participate again. We notice, and your fellow vendors notice. When everyone works together, we all have success.

If you have been removed from one of our previous events for mistreatment, harassment, or harm to staff, other vendors, venue staff, or event attendees, we unfortunately cannot consider your application and will not respond.

If you have no-showed us at a previous event, we will not accept you for any future events.

If you have not completed the required sales permit and/or sales tax paperwork at our previous events, it is possible that we will not invite you back. We are required by law, under the terms of our event promoter permit, to comply with State of RI event requirements related to tax. We’re here to guide you through the process and make it as quick and easy as possible for you.

Applications for Bloom are only available on this website. We never send applications out via email or via direct messages on social media. We do not solicit for vendors in vendor event groups on Facebook. Please beware of scammers, as we cannot be responsible for payments sent to people who are not associated with the event.

Bloom does not charge an application fee.

Applications for Bloom typically open 8-9 months in advance and remain open for a month or two. All applicants will be notified in the fall.

Please be sure to add hello@bloomflowerandhome.com to your contact list so that any application updates do not end up in your spam folder!

Bloom is run by a small but mighty team of communications-minded event-planning marketing professionals who love throwing a big parties. We take the promotion of our events incredibly seriously.

Each participating vendor will be announced via a dedicated post on Instagram and Facebook, using a personalized digital flier (which we share with you, so you can help promote, too!). We send out press releases and communicate with media outlets for coverage online/in print/ on air, distribute thousands of event postcards, hang posters all over the states where the events are held, and we focus hard on digital marketing for the ten months leading up to the event.

We expect all participating vendors to actively join us in promoting, and we make our vendor selections partially based on our belief in your ability to do so. This means helping distribute postcards while you're popping up at other events and/or hanging posters in your community and at your own brick and mortar shop, as well as sharing promo material online.

If we all work together, the 90 small businesses in the room will have a great weekend!

Yes, all vendors must commit to vending at both days of the event for the entirety of the event. Packing up or leaving early will cause you to wind up on our no-no list forever.

Welcome to Bloom! We work with area hotels to secure discounted room blocks, and we will share the information with accepted vendors via email.

Bring anything you need to set yourself up for a successful weekend! This includes a table and chairs (rentals are available if you need them), a 20 foot extension cord and a power strip (please communicate with us about your electrical needs in advance), a reusable water bottle (both venues have refill stations), cash to make change with if you are a vendor who accepts cash payments (there are no ATMs on site), a back-up charging brick for your mobile device, a hand truck or wheeled cart to help the load-in and load-out go faster, ....and if you are participating in our RI event, you MUST bring a check to pay sales tax to the State of RI Department of Tax at the end of the weekend.

Please do not bring alcohol, drugs, pets, tents, therapy/emotional support animals, or musical instruments/speakers to play music at your own booth (we've got speakers everywhere and a great playlist).

PLEASE NOTE:

Vendors are not permitted to tape or affix any items such as banners, backdrops, or merchandise to the floors or walls with tape, nails, or tacks of any kind. Failure to adhere will result in the vendor paying for any damages caused.

It isn't personal, we promise. The curation process takes us nearly forty hours to complete, it is extremely difficult, and we take it seriously. For all of our events, we have a number of factors that we take into consideration, in no particular order: your ability and willingness to promote your business (and your fellow makers) and promote the events you participate in, active social media accounts that give us a good idea of the types of things you sell and what your event displays might look like, the age of your business (we aim to make room for both newer and more well-known/established businesses), location of your business (50% of our vendors are local to RI and the rest are from New England and beyond, because we believe networking and collaborating outside of your own local community can help businesses grow), and what you sell (category, style, price points). While keeping those factors in mind, we are also always looking to create a diverse and equitable event and make space for makers who are members of the BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and disabled communities.

Bloom reviews hundreds of applicants thoroughly for each event. Due to space and capacity constraints, we are not able to accept all businesses that apply. We often cannot accept our own close friends and beloved former vendors in order to make space for new folks. We now hold the event in two different New England cities due to demand, and may expand further in the future.

We retain your contact information, and if a spot becomes available in a category we think you would be a good fit for, we will reach out to you.

PLEASE NOTE:

Past participation in our events does not guarantee a place for your business at our future events. We love and appreciate you (and would love to have you back!), but we are also committed to providing opportunities for new businesses, too.

Bloom accepts a limited number of popup restaurants/concessions vendors, and we also welcome producers of small batch packaged food items to apply (crackers, salsa, you get the idea!). All food and beverage producers must supply a certificate of insurance with a specific list of entities included as "additionally insured" - we will give you all the info you need in order to do this. If you are participating in our RI event, you must also supply us with a RI Dept of Health certificate. If you don't have one - don't worry. We will point you in the right direction!

In Providence, we have a two-hour period on Friday night for vendors to load-in, from 5-7 pm. We strongly recommend participating if you can. Saturday load-in begins at 8 am. All vendors must be in the building and actively loading in by 9 am. Late arrival may cause us to remove you from the event and replace you with someone from the waitlist.

In Burlington, Friday night load-in is not available. All vendors must load-in on Saturday morning beginning at 8 am. All vendors must be in the building and actively loading in by 9 am. Late arrival may cause us to remove you from the event and replace you with someone from the waitlist.

PROVIDENCE: Onsite parking is free and plentiful at the venue, in WaterFire Arts Center’s parking lot. Handicap spaces are right out front. It goes without saying - please do not park in a handicap spot unless you have the legal authority to do so. We will have you towed.

BURLINGTON: Vendor parking is available on site for a discounted day rate of $5. We’ll share details with you via email. Please do not park in handicap spots outside the venue unless you have the legal authority to do so. We will have you towed.

We are family friendly and your kids are welcome! If they're under 12, they must remain with you at all times and cannot roam the event alone.

Pets, emotional support animals, and therapy animals are unfortunately not allowed due to insurance restrictions, but certified service dogs who are specifically trained to provide medical assistance are welcome.

This event is held indoors (with an occasional food truck popping up outdoors!) and will take place rain or shine.

WaterFire Arts Center and Hula are fully accessible venues, with handicap parking outside the front entrance. Bloom is an accessible event and mobility aids are welcome.

It’s happening! Bring your gently used books of all kinds and swap them at the table right behind the check-in. Don’t have a book to leave? Take one anyway! Please, no text books or encyclopedias.

Yes, we have an incredible security team who patrols the event area while monitoring all entrances and exits. We hire non-police security who focus on calmly deescalating any situations that arise.

While we do have security, we cannot guarantee that theft will not occur. If you see something, please find a member of our security team or staff to assist you.

The Good Trade, Hula, and WaterFire Arts Center are not responsible for any theft or loss of items at our events.

You are welcome to leave your displays intact overnight. The venue is locked and secured directly upon the close of the event.

We recommend that vendors take any high-dollar items, cash, computers, tablets, phones, and POS systems with them.

We do not recommend leaving your vehicle at the venue overnight.

The Good Trade, Hula, and WaterFire Arts Center are not responsible for any theft or loss of items at our events.

Yes! We’ll have a full bar with cocktails, mocktails, beer, and more. If you’re planning on drinking alcohol, bring a valid ID.

Coffee will also be sold at the event - OBVIOUSLY - along with sweet treats, and lunch from two pop-up restaurants.

Our vendor booths are non-refundable and are not transferrable to other vendors.

We work hard to curate an eclectic event, and all participants sign vendor agreements agreeing to all event terms.

Sure! We are able to rent tables and up to two chairs for each vendor. We are not able to rent linens. f you need to rent clothing racks, refrigerators/freezers, or other equipment, we may be able to connect you to a local events rental company.

Bye! We have a zero tolerance policy for rudeness to our staff, the venue staff, our security team, our vendors, and other attendees. We will remove you from the event immediately and without a refund, so please just don't. We’re here to host a fun party, and we want everyone to have a good time!

Our most important rule is: don't be a jerk. We have a zero tolerance policy for rude behavior, and we will remove you from our events immediately (and permanently) if you are disrespectul to us, our staff, the venue staff, or fellow vendors. This rarely happens, but we have to say it - so please just don't. We're here to have a good time.

Oh, and - we really need you to be on time for load-in! Late arrival may mean that we cannot let you participate in the event, as it is disruptive to your fellow vendors and our staff.