Upbeat music boomed through Broxton Avenue on March 15 as the Bruin Flea market opened for its fourth official installation.

The monthly market featured clothing, jewelry, music cassettes and food vendors. The flea market also featured freeze-fried candy from Brewtique, Sanrio character merchandise from Hellokityyvalleyplug and hand-dyed clothing from Plastic Buckettt. Many booths were small businesses or student-owned businesses.

Luis Lopez, event director of the Bruin Flea and UCLA alumnus, said he designed the market when he was an undergraduate student with his peers in mind.

“We’re all about bringing UCLA students here (and) promoting student organizations,” he said.

Lesley Plata, the owner of Hellokittyyalleyplug, said she enjoyed the intimate setting of the market, adding that she appreciates the quality of its organization. Plata added that the market is more considerate of vendors by providing ample time and straightforward directions when setting up.

“The person in charge of the event coming in, checked in on us and brought us some cookies, so that was really sweet,” she said. “(I) definitely didn’t experience that in other events.”

Other vendors said the market being run by a small organization makes it easier to talk to management when issues arrive. When problems arise, the Bruin Flea team, including Lopez, either quickly answers in person or through their Instagram. Compared to other flea markets, the Bruin Flea’s administration is more hands-on, according to Kayla Murillo, a third-year sociology student.

“Getting problems solved and the communication is definitely better when it’s a smaller organization compared to larger markets,” said Kelly Salavador, owner of Second Time Around, which sells sourced and custom clothing and accessories.

Trina Smith, a general partner of coffee and freeze-dried candy business Brewtique LA, said her business chose to participate in the market because of the potential for good advertising, which she looks for when deciding which markets to participate in.

Smith referred to the Bruin Flea’s official Instagram page, which regularly posts updates with dates, participating vendors and collaborations.

Irene Zhang, a third-year statistics student, said she came to the market with friends after seeing a post on Instagram. The market is accessible to UCLA students due to its proximity to campus and because the goods are affordably priced, she added.

“I like how close by it is to UCLA,” Zhang said. “It feels very, very nice because I paid $1.25 for a hoodie.”

The Bruin Flea was sponsored by Teleport, a video-based shopping app that offered a $10 discount to all shoppers who signed up for the app, said Lexy Sliverstein, a Teleport ambassador at the Bruin Flea. The discount was usable at any vendor that was signed up with Teleport.

This collaboration was part of the market’s effort to continue reaching out to more of the Westwood community, said Jessika Viveros, a member of the Bruin Flea team and a graduate student in public policy. For future Bruin Flea markets, the team is looking at ways to encourage and include sustainability practices, upcycling and other student vendors that would help small businesses encourage sustainable practices.

“We are working our way to getting a lot more vendors, and being intentional with choosing them,” Viveros said.

Lopez said he hopes to make the Bruin Flea’s marketing materials compostable and support sustainability both in the sales and physical presence of the Bruin Flea.

“We want to make sure that even when we wrap up it’s clean for the city as well,” he said.

Plata said although she appreciates how the market supports small businesses, she would appreciate the market including more types of vendors, including an increased focus on food.

Lopez said he hopes the market can evolve by including more of the community, including spotlighting local and student-run organizations.

“I think that’s also the important part of this flea market, not just providing the small businesses a platform, but also providing them (local and student-run non-profits) platforms,” he said.