All makers at the event will be demonstrating their craft. Below are a list of the awesome designer makers that will be attending, in alphabetical order.

Amy Surman Jewellery

A local designer, maker and teacher of all things jewellery. Amy runs a bead shop in Cowley that has been open since 2006 selling jewellery making tools, equipment and materials. At the fair Amy will be selling handmade jewellery, a selection of items made using sterling silver, precious metal clay, semi-precious stones, pearls, beads and lampwork glass beads.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amy-Surman-The-Oxford-Bead-Shop/109781704821

@oxfordbeadshop

EqualiTea

Fine Loose Organic and Fairtrade teas and Fairly Traded Teaware.

@EqualiTea

from marissa v.

Modern womenswear & childrenswear, designed & made (or screenprinted). Marissa sells her clothing at Broadway Market, Upmarket (Spitalfields) and at markets in Berkeley, Calafornia.

Exclusive discount available at the village fete: free child t-shirts if you buy a child pair of trousers

https://www.facebook.com/frommarissav

@frommarissav

Hoolala

Handmade charms, brooches, cards, cushions, charm bracelets and upcycled jewellery and homewares.

Exclusive discount available at the village fete: 25% on all prices

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hoolala/7787540030

@ihearthoolala

Hummingbird and Bear

A local based company, inspired by nature and bright colours, who use naturally sourced oils, parrot and pheasant feathers and also found objects which are then recycled. They make fascinators, jewellery, home sprays and also e-cigarette filters which are completely natural.

Exclusive discount available at the village fete: Parrot feather earrings ‘Amazon Arks’ for £4

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hummingbird-and-Bear/499186286782471

@HummingBandBear

Mme B’s Boutique

Beth designs and makes handmade accessories, jewellery and millinery from a mixture of new and recycled materials. Beth is inspired by vintage costume design and classic origami shapes, she loves bright colours, bold shapes and unusual embellishments. She creates pieces that are unusual and exciting but also wearable and affordable. Custom orders are very welcome.

Exclusive discount available at the village fete: stud earrings reduced from £6.50 to £5

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mme-Bs-Boutique/249886878364872?ref=hl

@Mme_B_Boutique

Mud Rabbit

Mud rabbit makes and sells textile products, prints and accessories. Janine design images and screenprints them onto fabrics, as well as making handbound notebooks and kits.

O3 Gallery & Phillip J Jones Illustration & Design

O3 Gallery is a high quality, contemporary art space that offers the public affordable, original artwork, cards and gifts. The gallery is open to the public six days a week throughout the year and has no admission fee. Proudly describing itself as the friendliest gallery in Oxford, O3 Gallery endeavours to be a welcoming centre for artistic activity within the Oxford Castle site, and achives this through the delivery of varied, high quality exhibitions and events related to all aspects of the arts, created for the benefit of the local community and visitors to the area.

@O3Gallery

Phillip J Jones Illustration & Design – A recent graduate and local who specialised in illustration and graphic communication at Bath Spa University. Products include A3 and A5 prints as well as original drawings and to celebrate the arrival of spring and all things good Phillip J Jones Illustration and Design will be unveiling his rather humble new jewellery line.

https://www.facebook.com/phillipjonesillustration?ref=ts&fref=ts

@Phillipjjones

Pendants and Beads

Handmade pendants and beads, semi precious bracelets and earrings.

Exclusive discount available at the village fete: bracelet with a pair of earrings for £15 (Bracelet £10, Earrings £7.50)

Quirky Birds & Westbrook Knits

Upcycled and remade accessories, everything we use has had a previous life and we re-invent it into a new and exciting item for yourself or your home.

Westbrook Knits is a knitting company, producing contemporary knitted and crocheted accessories, kits and knitted jewellery.

Exclusive discount available at the village fete: a selection of handbags will be half price or less!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Quirky-Birds/386596474735557?ref=ts&fref=ts

Rainbow Lane

After lots of talk, and years of making things for friends, we took the plunge in 2012 and set up Rainbow Lane. We focus on running stalls at events but we also take on lots of commissions.
Everything we sell is designed and hand-made by us in any spare time we find after looking after our daughters (we have five between us!). We make colourful crochet creations for adults, children and the home. Our most popular products include heart bunting, keyrings, hairclips, baby blankets and hats. Our items retail at a range of prices, starting from £3.

https://www.facebook.com/RainbowLaneHandmade

Roelofs & Rubens

Roelofs & Rubens designs and makes blue and white tableware, tiles and decorations available in a big variety of unique shapes and patterns.

Exclusive discount available at the village fete: Morris Man decorations: Blue and White reduced from £11.50 to £8.50
Coloured reduced from £12.50 to £9.50

http://www.facebook.com/RoelofsRubens

Sophie Larter

Sophie designs and makes leather bags, belts, wallets, purses and keyrings.  She also makes jewellery from leather and various metals, stones and pearls.

Exclusive discount available at the village fete: Selected bracelets discounted from £8 to £5.

The dates have been confirmed as 20th-21st April 2013 for the Oxford Village Fete.  There will be two locations for the event: At Gloucester Green the Handmade Makers will be joined by traditional fete games and folk performances. Whilst at the Oxford Castle Quarter Handmade Makers will be invited to run family friendly workshops.

Stalls in Gloucester Green will be 10x4ft covered stalls, as seen on the left. The Oxford Village Fete is a weekend event, so all stalls are sold as weekend spaces. We are not able to give you the space for just one day, you must attend the whole weekend. Stalls cost £130 for the weekend, this includes your pitch and hire of a stall. No power or water is available. Reduced cost local parking will be available.

Gloucester Green is approximately 40m by 35m, it’s an open square surrounded by shops and cafes, and it’s located next to the central bus station. There are onsite public toilets open until 7pm,daily.

Please note that this is a family friendly event and there is a requirement that all stalls can demonstrate their craft. Whether that is physically producing a product on the day, sketching ideas for new products or providing tasters and sample. Please let us know if you’re unsure how to demonstration your craft.

If you would like to run a workshop we do some available slots at the Oxford Castle for family friendly workshops, please contact Michelle for more details.

Collaborative Stalls

We encourage markers of similar products to get together and share a trading stall. If you are interested in having a joint stall with a fellow maker have a look at our blog post ‘Guide to Collaborative Craft Stalls’.

Please note that all stalls will be allocated on a first come first served basis. We will be in contact once your stall application is received to confirm the finer details about the stalls.

Want to apply?

We’ve had a lot of interest in this event, so if you want to join us and be one of the Handmade Makers at the Oxford Village Fete as part of Oxford’s Folk Weekend, download the application form now and email it back to Michelle by Thursday 28th March!

Be Kind Skincare

Be Kind Skincare is a dedicated, Oxford-based producer with a passion for developing the ultimate skin creams by fusing the latest scientific advances in skincare with traditional knowledge and experiences from around the globe. Their skincare products will help to nourish and rejuvenate your skin, combating the harmful factors we encounter in our everyday lives.

We produce a unique range of natural, plant-based products and aim to source our very special ingredients from small-scale, sustainable suppliers wherever possible, to make gentle, yet effective skin creams, serums, lotions and balms.

Beetle Cherry

Beetle Cherry is the illustration and design work of Claire Munday. Claire makes and sell prints of her artwork, original papercuts, greetings cards and stationery, and craft DIY kits. Her imagination is full of adventures, explorations and animals.

Caroline Borgman Interiors

Established this year, after a life long passion for interiors and making & recreating things. Handmade homewares & interiors design. I make everything from soft furnishings, hand painted signs, bespoke cushions and lampshades aswell as revamping furniture.

Charlotte Vallance Illustration & Design

Charlotte illustrates and screen prints illustrations of buildings, towns, sweets, street views etc. She’s inspired by all around her. At the market she’ll have a collection of original illustrations & Prints as well as cards, pocket mirrors, art prints, tote bags, artist books, badges & postcards.

Fitch’s Leatherwork

Fitch’s leatherwork is a venture created by Susannah Fellows, veteran of 36 years in the theatre, including 21 west end shows. She makes purses, cross body and shoulder bags, carry-alls, notebooks, cushions as well as dog leads and collars.

Heidi Nicole Gillett

Greetings cards and stationary. Hand crafted designs include elements of subtle humour and delicate text and drawings. Designed, printed and made by Heidi, the collection focuses on the detail, quality of materials and finishes, to ensure the final product is unique and made with care.

Mme B’s Boutique

I am a jeweller and textile artist based in Banbury. I create beautiful jewellery, accessories and millinery from fabric, paper and mixed media. Each piece is handmade and entirely unique. I’m inspired by classic origami shapes and vintage costume  jewellery, and I love to experiment with colour and texture. I collect my materials from many different sources such as haberdasheries, vintage markets and charity shops. My aim is to make pieces that are unusual and individual, yet also wearable.

Plus many, many more craft superheroes, including:

A Drop of the Ocean – Handthrown porcelain homeware, tasteful sea themed decoration

Arts@Unit 13 – Ceramic sculpture, jewellery, and pottery created by the artist

Beadylicious – contemporary bead jewellery

Betty Brice – handfinished leather bags, head bands and accessories

BinkArt – BinkArt: Ceramic & mixed-media sculpture and jewellery created by the artist

Casimira’s Quirky Art -  Felt brooches, bracelets, cushion covers, bags, toys and canvas paintings

Claire Gaudion – Handwoven willow baskets, handwoven scarves & printed textiles

Daisy’s Creations – Polymer clay jewellery and knitted goods

Flair Creations – Handmade, wearable art jewellery made in ceramics, polymer clay, intricate bead-weaving, sterling silver and mixed metal

Glass at 64 – A variety of handmade fused glassware including coasters, bowls and necklaces

Grace’s Favours – Designs & make felt & fleece gifts and personalised toys such as animal cushions, animal & flower brooches, cuddly campervans, personalised and decorated Christmas stockings, Christmas tree ornaments, Christmas wreaths, advent calendars.

Indies Rainbow – Organic appliqued childrens clothes

Jessica Wise – Hand painted, drawn and moulded plaques, Christmas decorations and gifts, most of which can be personalised

J G Artwork –   JG Artwork prides itself with bringing to you a unique selection of personalised and bespoke artwork for any occasion

Katie Kid – A range of textile accessories & gifts using applique and facehand machine embroidert that can be personalised to order.

Little Green Caravan – Little green caravan is myself and my mum, we make a range of fabric item, mostly original designs

Love From Katie – I am a florist specialising in weddings and events but I also make Christmas wreaths and table decorations.

Lovely & Lovely – We sell a mix of handmade, bought in fairtrade & just plain funky gifts, clothes & accessories but will only bring handmade range to this market. Hand printed baby vests, t-shirts, baby dresses, handknitted gloves and scarves

Maisey Whittle – As a designer maker I like to print my Father’s rurally acquired profanities onto beautiful silks and apply them to jolly spiffing gent’s accessories. When armed with a pen, I draw anything from randy sheep in bathtubs to dear ole Winehouse. The naughtier the better

Rachel Williamson – Beautiful handprinted textiles and homewares

Recycloanalyst – Recycled vintage & other watches with bracelets, pendants & brooches. Recycled items, racquet mirrors and notebooks

Ruth Emm – Jewellery made from buttons, origami paper and odds and ends.  Christmas decorations

Sam Osborne & Knockout – Colourful designs – prints, patterns, cards, gifts and homewares. Including surface pattern design and typography.

SJo Handcrafted Accessories – S jo is a socially responsible brand working to high-end design briefs, created collaboratively in workshops with rural craftswomen and Seher Mirza

Tales of Black Eyed Jack – Freelance Illustrator specialising in biro portraits. From anthropomorphism to famous faces. Expect lots of biro and bewildering sights

Wear Me Out – The pieces created by WMO are made to be loved and treasured but more than anything to be enjoyed and ultimately worn

Wychwood Studios – Reclaimed and recycled wooden items and coffee tables and mixed media paintings

Hope to see you there!

Sunday 2nd December at Old Fire Station, Oxford.

If you fancy a sneaky peak at the stall holders have a look at our latest blog post here.

The second of our two markets will be at the Old Fire Station, Oxford on Sunday 2nd December from 10am to 5pm.

Join us to mark the start of the festive season! With over thirty stall holders selling unique, handmade gifts and goodies, this event is sure to be the best place to get your Christmas gifts.

We will also be offering a gift wrapping service to all customers. Buy a gift, choose your wrapping paper, write a gift tag, and we’ll wrap it for you.

The music playlist will be created by the amazing Jo from Fe-line Women. Check out what they do here: http://fe-line.co.uk

Stall Holder Information

We are now full, all stalls have been allocated. If you wish to be included on the cancellation/waiting list please email michelle.miles@fusionliveevents.com

Pitches are £45 each and are located inside, within one of the three rooms at the Old Fire Station.

All pitches are 3×3 metres and cost £45 each. Download an application form here.

You will need to provide:

• A table and table top covering – tablecloth or similar
• Chair(s)
• Refreshments

Please note there is no access to electricity or water.

Collaborative Stalls

We encourage markers of similar products to get together and share a trading stall. If you are interested in having a joint stall with a fellow maker have a look at our blog post ‘Guide to Collaborative Craft Stalls’.

Please note that all pitches will be allocated on a first come first served basis. We will be in contact once your stall application is received to confirm the finer details about the stalls.

Access and Set Up

You will be able to access your pitch from 8am on Sunday 2 December and you must be set, ready to go by 10am. We ask that all stall holders arrive no later than 9am to set up.

The Handmade Makers Market publishing trading times are 10am to 5pm.

There is no parking at the Old Fire Station, however there are up to five loading bays within the Oxford Bus Station, where there is load in access to the venue. We suggest that you have a helper to wait with your stock whilst you then move your car to one of the close by car parks for the day. We would recommend parking at OCVC which is located behind just off Oxpens Road and charged at only £5 per day. Space is limited and you cannot pre-book. For more details click here.

Terms & Conditions

The Handmade Makers Market is on Sunday 2 December 2012, 10am to 5pm. The closing date for all stall bookings is 30^th September 2012.

Details of public liability insurance, trading licenses, risk assessments and food hygiene certificates (if relevant) will be required to go with your application. Set up times for stalls between 8am and 10am. Breakdown is from 5pm. Pitches are indoors, on hard standing and are subject to availability at time of booking.

Please note that until we receive all paperwork and you receive a confirmation from Handmade Makers Market your pitch is not guaranteed. Pitches will not be reserved without full payment.

1. Join Pinterest (if you haven’t already)
2. Comment below with your Pinterest username
3. We’ll send you an invite to become a contributor to the board

It’s as simple as 1,2,3.

Happy Pinning!

Michelle

We absolutely love getting to know our craft superheroes, our visitors and supporters. Finding out fun and interesting things about the amazingly talented people who make our markets go with a bang always puts a smile on our faces!

As Julie Andrews said (or sung) in the King and I: “Haven’t you noticed, suddenly I’m bright and breezy. Because of all the beautiful and new things I’m learning about you day .. by … day.” Who doesn’t want to feel bright and breezy, we sure do, so we thought it might be fun to do a little blog questionnaire challenge to find out more about you. Yes you.

Whether you are one of our current, or future, craft superheroes, or want to be (get in touch if you do), if you’ve visited one of our markets, are planning to visit one of our upcoming ones, or simply enjoy our craft based waffling online then we have a very simple challenge for you. Just answer the questions below and share your answers with us, your friends, your followers, the whole world if you want to!

HOW TO TAKE PART

There are 2 ways to do this:
1. Share your answers via your own blog. Copy all the text below including the introduction and the questions, go to your blog, create a new post, paste the text, add your answers, hit publish and share an insight into what makes you tick. Don’t forget to head back here and add a link to your blog post in the comments section so we know where to find your answers and can share them as well.

2. If you don’t have a blog or don’t want to post these questions to yours then you can give us your answers in the comments field below. Simply copy and paste the list, add you answers and hit submit.

THE CHALLENGE

Today I’m participating in Handmade Makers Market’s ‘Getting To Know You Challenge’. They love handmade and believe in shopping local and direct from the makers, crafters and designers themselves and so do I. Find out more about the Handmade Makers Challenge and answer the questions for yourself here.

• First up, give us a quick introduction, who are you, what do you do?
• Give us one unusual or surprising fact about yourself, something we wouldn’t expect!
• What are the 5 words that best describe you?
• What do you make? Perhaps you are you a crafter or designer? Is it a hobby or a business? Perhaps you make something less tangible, like happiness or connections between people?
• Describe your normal day (if you have such a thing!)
• Where are you happiest?
• What the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
• What talent are you most proud of and why?
• What would you like to be better at and why?
• What would you like to have more of and why?
• If you could be given any gift what would it be?
• If you could give any gift to anyone, what would you give and to whom?
• What’s the next big thing you’re looking forward to in your life?
• What’s the item your house that makes you smile the most, maybe it’s a piece of artwork or furniture or maybe a secret culinary ingredient, cd or dvd?

So what is Keeping It Local?

Keeping It Local is set to become an annual event taking place in the open spaces across Oxford Castle Quarter as well as talks, workshops, and gigs programmed inside, and on top of, the various restaurants and bars across the quarter. A celebration of the richness of local producers, purveyors and performers Keeping It Local is due to take place in mid-September each year. Inspired by the wealth of local talent and quality produce that has passed though events such as the Summer Night Concerts, the Food & Wine Festival, and the Flower & Gardening Festival in the Oxford Castle Quarter over the past few years they have made the decision to roll all of these events into one, celebrate community spirit, the riches that are on our door-step, and give the region a weekend to really shout about and be proud of.

With activity taking place right across Oxford Castle Quarter areas of Keeping It Local will include:
• Keeping it Local – Food and Drink
• Keeping it Local – Arts and Crafts (this is the bit we are involved in)
• Keeping it Local – Gardening and Lifestyle
• Keeping it Local – Arts Activities
• Keeping it Local – Education
• Keeping it Local – Music (Burgers, Buns & Bands)

We’re now fully booked with 24 craft superheroes confirmed to be trading amongst the 100 traders from across the region. Here’s a little bit about our Keeping It Local makers:

Alice Sheilds Ceramics & Rebecca Boatfield

Alice handmakes ceramics & illustrations… “I love to play with clay and enjoy the odd bit of drawing now and then so I decided to combine the two to create a range of unique ceramics for the house, garden or cardigan adornment. Whether my house signs help you to loca

Rebecca is a contemporary jewellery and multi media designer currently based in the beautiful county of Oxfordshire. Rebecca is keen to explore different materials and enjoys discovering the potential of different techniques and how they can work together, no matter how strange it may seem. Experimentation is the key!

Little Lamp Room are inspired by Scandinavian design, their shades are individually handmade using contemporary and vintage fabrics, and a variety of shade will be on sale at Keeping It Local. They will also be doing a live demo, handstiching lampshades.

http://littlelamproom.com/

Sharing a stall with Little Lamp Room at Keeping It Local will be Susan Lawson is a lampwork glass bead artist, she handmakes silver core charm beads, lampwork glass beaded jewellery and lampwork bead sets and focal beads for jewellery makers.

http://www.lawsonlampwork.co.uk/

With both a practical and decorative use these delightful map cushions are ideal as gifts, keepsakes and souvenirs.  Available, complete with a feather inner, or just the cover in a smart presentation box.  Their range is continually growing with fresh new designs being added regularly.

Quirky Birds, selling everything upcycled, reworked, re-invented. Bags were once curtains or clothes, jackets are re-invented with ties, vintage buttons, and lace trims, purses were jumpers. Upcycling, unlike recycling is the art of taking something that is disposable and transforming it into something of greater use and value.

http://www.quirkybirds.net

Recycloanalyst

We have lots of our regular, returning craft superheroes Keeping It Local, including Recycloanalyst. Ann recycles vintage watches and jewellery to create bracelets and necklaces to be admired.

https://www.facebook.com/recycloanalyst.jenkins

Sam Osborne & Knockout

Colourful and hand lettered, prints, homewares, unusual gifts and stunning cards exclusively from designer Sam Osborne. Bright colours, vintage textures and modern style – my work is mostly a mashup of pattern and typography with a healthy dash of wit. Often typographic, always gorgeous.

http://www.sam-osborne.co.uk/

Kim from Knockout prints and illustrations has created these fab lino prints of one of the most famous sights in Oxford specially for our Keeping It Local Fair on 15th and 16th September. They look amazing!

http://www.thisisknockout.co.uk/

The Littlecote Soap Co.

The Littlecote Soap Co. specialise in beautifully packaged natural handmade soaps, bath products, skin-care and toiletries.  Made by hand in the English countryside using nature’s herbs, flowers, aromatherapy oils and exclusively designed sophisticated perfumes, the traditional recipes for men and women have a contemporary, fun, sophisticated twist.  The paraben-free and SLS-free natural products are soft, mild and moisturising with a low pH, and are used by many with sensitive dry skin, eczema and psoriasis.

http://www.littlecotesoap.co.uk/

Vinyl Dysmorphia

Vinyl Dysmorphia creatre art works using unloved vinyl LPs and singles. Simon says “The idea is to create a quintessential piece of history that will take the owner on a pilgrimage of remembrance”. At Keeping It Local, Simon will be selling his unique masks, freestanding busts and wall reliefs.

http://www.vd-art.com/

Wychwood Studios

Jane Hathaway of Wychwood Studios, will be selling a wide range of items at her stall at Keeping It Local, Oxford. She uses reclaimed materials to handmake candle boxes, small items and mixed media paintings.

http://www.wychwoodstudios.com/

Yellow Shed Pottery

Debbie Page of Yellow Shed Pottery will also be joining us at Keeping It Local in a couple of weeks. Debbie hand builds sculptural, decorative ceramic pieces using white earthenware clay, with a small palette of colours together with smoke firing.

http://www.debbiepage.co.uk/

Interested in having a stall at Keeping it Local?

Arts & Crafts stalls are located inside a marquee, stalls are £80 for the weekend, but as always we would welcome collaborative stalls.

Applications are invited from those whose businesses are based in Oxfordshire or a surrounding county (Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire).

So, if you’re interested email Michelle for more details – michelle.miles@fusionliveevents.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

A few of you have been in touch with the same questions, so I thought I’d post the questions and answers here as they’re useful for all stall holders:

• Are tables provided? Yes, we will provide you with a table 1.8×0.8m (standard trestle table), but you will need to bring your own table-cloth for it and chairs if you want to sit down
• Can I just come along on one of the days? No, pitches are for the two-day period. We are happy for you to collaborate with another maker, but both must attend the two days.
• Can I book a double pitch? Yes, please make this clear on your form when you send it back that you would like two pitches next to each other.
• Can I leave my stock in the marquee overnight? No, the marquee is not secure and there will be no security overnight, so we ask that all traders take their stock home on the Sat night with them and bring it back on the Sunday.
• Is there any flooring or heating in the marquee? No, there is no plan for either currently

We defied the British weather to celebrate the Jubilee at Oxford Castle on Sunday June 3rd. Despite the drizzle we had a great day and the castle complex was full of activity with The Big Lunch and OxFringe previews going on as well.

But, of course, the best thing about the whole event were our craft superheroes! So we thought it was only fair to share a bit about each of them – you can visit them all by clicking on their wonderful pictures!

Beadydelicious

Letitia Gibbons runs Beadydelicious from her small studio in Oxfordshire and creates gorgeous necklaces, bracelets, earrings and accessories using amazing high quality ingredients. We especially love her knitted cuff and this fabric and wood bead necklace.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Green Garden

Gorgeous natural skincare products from Annie Lacey who makes amazing organic handmade creams, location, balms & spa products. She also bought along some of her hand painted glass & porcelain filled with aromatherapy products.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Foot Fetish Socks

Charmaine Diepgrond is starting a ‘Soxual revolution’ and we are right on board with her! Her handmade socks, gloves, belts and blankets are the perfect antidote to boring mass produced versions and she even bought her vintage loom with her – a gorgeous sight.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Suze Pics

Suze is an amazing photographer whose range of nature and scenic photography blew us away. Her work is available framed, mounted, on canvas and as gorgeous greetings cards.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Rebecca Hendin Art

Amazingly talented artist and illustrator Rebecca braved a 5am start and a trip from London join us at the Oxford Castle and we are so glad she did, her layered, colourful, endlessly interesting work is beautiful. We love this illustration about London City Farms!

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Sweetest Thing Cakery

Lissy & Kate Beckett (ably assisted by Mum Julie) bought an amazing display of cakes, brownies and other goodies. We went home with loads of deliciousness and they were offering samples around the Castle and in Oxford City centre – how could anyone resist!

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Quirky Birds

Recycloanalyst

Angelique Batik

Sam Osborne

Check out the festival website for more info – liveatriley.co.uk

There are two types of stalls at Live at Riley, within the craft marquee or in your own gazebo.

Cost

If you provide your own gazebo – £30

If you would like to be within the HMM marquee the pitch costs is £40, and we will provide:

• A marquee to hold makers
• One festival ticket in the name of the stall holder

You will need to provide:

• 6ft table (if you aren’t to provide a table let us know and we’ll see what we can do)
• A floor length table cloth
• A chair
• Refreshments

Please note there is no access to electricity within the marquee.

So, if you’re interested email Michelle for more details – michelle.miles@fusionliveevents.com or download the application form here.

We know that sometimes the cost of a stall can be daunting – working out how much you need to sell to break even can sometimes bring you out in a cold sweat. There is, of course, the argument that you get your name out there, meet new people – both crafters and customers – and hopefully you’re building future sales, but we all like to come away from a fair with at least a little extra cash in our pockets right?

So we like to encourage our craft superheroes to think about collaborations. Sharing the stall is a great way to maximise your budget, meet new people and even to find new customers. We think working together is brilliant but it might be a new thing for some of you so we’ve put together this little guide to see if it’s right for you and how to go about it if it is.

- – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – -

Finding your perfect partner. Who should you collaborate with? 

Finding the right people to collaborate with is the most important thing. There are many ways of looking at this but the key is to find someone who makes things that compliment yours. That could be in style, type of product or target audience but the stronger the connection the better. Think of your collaborative stand as a mini shop and try to find makers that feel connected.

You can work with other crafters who are joining you on the day or help out those that can’t make it buy selling their items for them as part of their contribution to the stall cost.

- – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – -

Sharing the space. How do you make it work?

This is the exciting part! Once you’ve found your perfect stall buddy (or buddies) then you need to work out how you are going to divide up the space. Will you split it down the middle and one of you have the left and one have the right? Or will you intermingle your items putting products together to curate your stall like you would a shop? There is no right answer here so do what feels right. The most important thing to remember is to try not to make it too confusing for your customers, so if you items are very different styles then they might not work well mingled in with each other. Don’t forget to make your branding clear and find a way to encourage customers to pick up cards and leaflets from all sellers. You could even agree to put a card from each in the bag with every purchase.

Kim Osborne, who runs Knockout, and her sister Sam often share a stall and they go for the mingling it up option. “Our work is so similar that splitting it up doesn’t really make sense, we try to make sure we explain to customers that it’s both of us doing the work and encourage them to take both business cards away with them – people seem to like the story and even enjoy trying to guess whose work is whose!”

Don’t forget that running a joint stall may mean you have less room than you are used to, so be prepared to rationalise what you display. Think about the target audience for the market (the organisers should be able to tell you this) what kind of people are they expecting to be there? Which of your products will most appeal to them? Tailor your stock to the people, so if you are going to a country fair maybe leave the crazy punk print at home!

Dealing with the money can be complicated. If you are selling on behalf of others keep a list of what you’ve sold and who the maker was, then you can work out who is owed what out of the day’s takings. If you are manning the stall with others are you going to have separate cash tins? What happens if a customers chooses to buy products from each seller. In all circumstances the best way to keep track is to write everything down.

- – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – -

It’s not just about the money. Why is sharing great?

Aside from the cost savings there can actually be huge advantages to sharing a stall. Getting to know other crafters with work similar to yours is a brilliant thing and building your network is so important to small handmade businesses. Who knows where it might lead! You can also find that it introduces your products to customers who might not have seen them otherwise. If someone is out looking for a card for her Mum’s birthday and loves your stall buddy’s range then she might spot your handbags and think they would make a great present – you could even suggest that to her! The opportunities for cross selling are huge.

Cazz Cheaney of Beadercollie shares her craft stall with her cousin and she says she wouldn’t have it any other way “It works so well, we split all the costs and we both get to have a break during the day. Although we both do quite similar things – jewellery and handbags as well woodburing and resin work we have a side each and thats seems to help our customers make sense of it all”

Plus having a buddy there gives you a chance to wander off, grab a cuppa and have a good look round the other stalls – just make sure that you both know enough about each others products and you have a system in place for purchases.

- – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – -

Finding the perfect event. Where and when should you share?

The good news is that most craft fairs are perfect for collaborative stalls, as long as you’ve planned it well before hand it doesn’t matter if you’ve got a table top, a gazebo or a 3×3 shell scheme to fill. Handmade Makers Markets are going to the Oxford Castle in a few weeks and their we have amazing little market style stalls which work wonderfully with a selection of sellers sharing.

If you are interested in taking a stall at our Oxford Castle event then please get in touch. If you’d like to share a stall then we can help you to find a stall partner so just drop us a line and we’ll get the wheels in motion - we like to think of it as a crafty dating service.

- – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – -

What do you think about sharing a craft stall? Have you ever done it? What would you top tip be? If your new to the whole collaborative stall thing what worries you most about it? We’d love to hear from you, just leave us a comment below!

- – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – - – - – - – -