This post was updated Aug. 20 at 8:52 p.m.
At 10:42 flea market, it’s always the perfect time for new opportunities.
Bearing the title of UCLA’s flea market, 10:42 has held events on campus and off, anywhere from Pasadena to Long Beach. From tattoos to music to clothing, 10:42 flea market offers a variety of vendors for students and locals to shop from. 10:42 director and rising fourth-year gender studies student Mia Parra said the market’s name was conceptualized while eating sandwiches with rising second-year biochemistry student Sabino De La Cueva at The Study dining hall on campus.
“Not a lot of people know what it (10:42) means – I would like to keep it hidden,” Parra said. “If I start to get close to vendors, I start telling them what it means. It’s a very special place in my heart. … I believe it’s an archetype for what potential could possibly blossom into.”
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Before accumulating five years in the flea market industry, Parra said she began making rugs at the age of 17 and ended up working at a flea market because she was unable to find a job because of her lack of experience at a young age. However, Parra steers clear of the word CEO when it comes to 10:42, instead opting to call herself “the girl who helps,” as she said she believes the focus should be on the vendors.
“10:42 flea is a really important project for me because I curate vendors on not only what they sell, but if you’re a new business, you have an automatic spot with me,” Parra said. “I’m starting to understand the potential and the faith in starting a business.”
As she sifts through vendor applications, Parra believes in the power of craft and potential and prioritizes creating opportunities for new vendors to start gaining clients, she said. Though she offers a range of prices for a booth at 10:42, she said she’s inclined to lower it further for students who communicate their challenges. For attendees, Parra said her experience with homelessness in her teens led her to treasure free events, which is why admission to 10:42 is always free.
When it comes to safety, she said any vendors planning to offer tattooing or piercing services must present proof that they are legally able to do so. Parra also only allows tattoo artists for indoor events, not only because their equipment requires electricity, but also because outdoor tattooing is unhygienic, she said.
Almost every venue Parra books has an indoor restroom – with Pasadena being the exception – which Parra said she ensures are regularly cleaned. Foot traffic also plays a heavy role in determining which venues Parra seeks, as she said she wants to make sure her vendors can make back their costs and end the day with a profit, all while having a good time.
“The dream with 10:42 was just an idea,” Parra said. “Right now it still is an idea. It’s a hallucination. I see it getting big, I do, but I just want to make sure my vendors know that I’m not just the person you buy a space from.”
A past flea market manager, Parra said she prefers sharing cleaning duties among the three-member staff team as opposed to having someone else do it for her. Manager De La Cueva said he checks in with vendors during the market and helps them pack up at the end. Ultimately, Parra said she prioritizes the comfort of her vendors, as that helps them feel safe and able to succeed.
“I found pride in knowing that I’m making a difference,” Parra said. “Not globally, not in the state, but making a difference within my friends, making them feel comfortable, making them feel excited to make stuff and sell it because they know they’re going to do great because my audience is strictly for them.”
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With half a decade of flea market experience, Parra said she’s noticed the industry is male-dominated. She said she hopes to make her 10:42 vendors feel safe at her Latina-led market. Stitchin vendor and rising fourth-year at UC Riverside Gabriela Flores said seeing a fellow Latina like Parra develop a flea market that fosters community is inspiring. Drawing on his experiences, De La Cueva said owners tend to be in their 30s or 40s, so having a UCLA student-run flea market shows the limitless possibilities of what anybody can create.
Looking back on everything that’s followed since 10:42’s first Instagram post in March, Parra said she’s proud of what she and the flea market have accomplished. In the coming months, she said 10:42 will be tagging along with Patches and Pins Expo to San Francisco and New York. Though she emphasized that 10:42 will eventually end, almost 21-year-old Parra said she plans to continue the market until she turns 26.
“It’s (10:42 is) for my homies,” Parra said. “It’s for the homies that don’t have a job. It’s for my homies that want to get creative with their craft. It’s for my neighbor, it’s for them. … That’s my goal, to build an empire of just confident people. That’s it.”
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