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A big welcome to old friends and new. Follow my crafting adventures as I take you on a journey through the daily life of a creative crafter. Experience the successes and disappointments that are all part of my working day, but most of all, enjoy the ride.

Friday 26 March 2010

Possibly The Worst Market Experience Ever

OK so you've probably gathered from the title of this article that I'm not a happy bunny. Let me share with you my experience of the worst market I have had the misfortune to attend as a seller. I use the term 'seller' loosely as nothing was sold by me.

I was led to believe by the organiser that this particular Easter market would have a good footfall if their Christmas event was anything to go by. The price for a table appeared to be reasonable but I needed Public Liability Insurance which I did not have but would require for future events this year, and so I found a very reasonable rate of £30 per year with AIR. As this event from hell began at 3.30 and didn't end until mid evening, I had to prepare some nourishing and warming food for myself and my child to consume at the event. I also had to rush to pick up my child from school, feed and water her before dashing to the event only to find that it consisted of 11 tables, all crammed together with no spaces in between, under a drab looking piece of tarpaulin on a stretch of waste land close to a derilect cinema and a handful of shops. As both tables on either side of me were already set up, these sellers had selflessly taken it upon themselves to spread their wares over part of my table and were in no hurry to move them away on my arrival. Now I'm a great believer in listening to my gut reactions and instinct told me to get the hell out of Dodge and do it fast, but my practical side told me that having forked out a shed load of hard earned money I should at least give it a chance. Things might not be as bad as they looked, I told myself optimistically. Having set up my table with my handmade jewellery I cast an eye around the other tables, counting 4 other jewellery stalls - 5 out of 11 tables all selling the same products. As I commented politely about this to the organiser she glibbly explained that each table contained a very different type of jewellery. Surely this woman could have found herself a more varied selection of sellers. Home grown produce, other handmade crafts? Even bought in handbags from China would not have gone amiss here!

Have I mentioned the fairy cakes? So, who was I next to but the fairy cake table and those few people who passed through the grubby tarpaulin area seemed eager to fill their children with little cakes at £1.40 a pop, so much so that they and their offspring formed a dense queue in front of my table for 45 minutes, most of them leaning on my goods and dropping cake crumbs on my items. After a long, tedious hour I was ready to wrap the magician's poodle shaped balloons around his over-jolly ears, and as he approached me with an insane expression of gleeful fake jolliness on his otherwise miserable face, a pack of playing cards stretched out towards me, I decided that for his own good it was best for me to venture home before I did anything that may make headline news in the local paper, the rush hour traffic looming large on the busy road nearby. Needless to say, as soon as I return home I emailed the organiser to express my doubts as to the safety aspect of cramming tables together, my inability to even get behind my table unless I was prepared to pole vault over or limbo under the stall with a broken vertebra and politely demanded a refund.

Lessons are to be learnt here from my mistake. Always ask the organiser of an event how many makers of a similar product will also be attending, check how big or small the event will be, and if in doubt don't hand over your money. I'm sticking to the tried and tested events that were a success in 2009 from now on. What else could possibly go wrong!

I have a stall at the Big Green Festival at St. Clements Church, Edge Lane, Chorlton tomorrow and this has a footfall of over 4,000 people, and they've put me next to the beer tent! This has to be the prime spot so it's not all bad. If you are in the area come along for a family outing and enjoy the bands, craft workshops, food stalls and real ale.

17 comments:

  1. oh dear, I just hate it when people are happy to take your money for a table but have no interest in actually 'running' a craft fair! Good luck for your future events!

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  2. Oh my god, sounds like an absolute nightmare!!!!! Hope your festival tomorrow is a lot better for you.

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  3. The whole cake crumb fiasco would have sent me to the looney bin! Kudos for maintaining your composure!

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  4. Terrible place! great read though, made me laugh..best of luck tomorrow, let us know how you get on!

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  5. oh dear what a nightmare - hope you have a better experience at your next fair :o)

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  6. Don't you just hate it when that happens? Its not just the wasted time, but the energy and effort that goes into such a venture. I hope you get your money back.

    Jak z

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  7. What an absolute nightmare that sounded. I'm not surprised you asked for a refund!
    Tracy x

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  8. Sounds like next time you need to take along the chickens... for defense.

    Sorry you had such a horrid time, I'll cross my fingers for Happy-Beer-Tent-Location!

    *now off to find out what 'fairy cake' is*

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  9. It appears that no refund is headed my way any time soon. Quelle surprise!!

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  10. Well done for sticking it out for so long!!

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  11. I know, Gnomead. A whole long drawn out tedious and very expensive hour!!

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  12. Oooh, I like your new background Amanda!
    Tracy

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  13. Hey Tracy, I can't believe I was capable of putting a background on the blog. Fancy pants isn't it!

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  14. Oh that fair sounds awful. I hope your next one is really enjoyable, profitable and fun!

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  15. OK, that sounds absolutely terrible! I did one with my mom around Christmastime which was a "first year" event in a town I knew wasn't my demographic (but it's fun to do with mom). The lady who was acting as MC spent the entire afternoon telling everyone it was her birthday (wearing a tiara) and asking people to sing happy birthday to her. Mom and I had fun making jokes about this obnoxious woman. I said if she asked me to sing happy birthday, my response would be "Only if you tell us all how old you are!"

    Some fairs are absolutely terrible. The cupcakes would have driven me insane...along with the encroaching neighbors. Hope the "beer-tent-adjacent" locale proved to be much more profitable! (and beer doesn't leave crumbs on your table!)

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  16. I have a result. Message came through from colleague of the organiser at 11pm telling me that they intend refunding half of the fee (remaining half being a charity donation). The power of the blog!

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  17. You poor thing! I remember attending a 'craft' fair - turned out to be an antiques fair with a handful of 'craft' sellers (of varying quality) crammed together right at the back of the hall. I was selling my jewellery back then and was placed next to and opposite the only two other jewellery sellers!

    These people just don't think - or care.

    Glad you got some money back - good luck for the next one!
    Emma ♥

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