Happy Barbootsale

 This is me looking very delighted with myself at the Barbootsale in Dr.John's on Saturday. Notice the delightful pint on Plain in my hand, it's like Guinness but a whole lot nicer. It was a really fun day, as most of the other sellers are friends of mine. It was a treat to have a few drinks, lots of chat, do a bit of shopping while still technically working.
Mostly I was just selling clothes, cds, dvds scarves and books, but I also decided at the last minute to include some of my crafts.

 This are my newest collection, last week I made up a bunch of shrink plastic adjustable rings. They were really popular so I'll definitely be making more, I just need to order more ring blanks.

Some lovely crafty thing from Jess of Bettyoctopus, I got one of her adorable necklaces last year.

Very pretty things from Oh Sew Pretty...I have four of Ericka's cushions in my house and I want more!

Earrings by Orla Redican of Farapinalia, I have lots of these earrings, I think I might even be addicted to buying them.

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Book Tales

Photo By Brendan Crowe

It's been really nice over the past while talking to customers about what they're reading, you meet lots of different types of people from all walks of life at a second hand book stall. At my craft stall I rarely had male customers, whereas with Bazaar Tales they are in the majority. Some people like to nod and say hi and browse for about 10/20 mins. Others like to get into a big in depth conversation about what they like to read, films made from books, comparisons, disappointing endings, and page turners that keep you up all night.

Even though I've been an avid reader since my mother a library card for me at the age of 4, I still feel like I've a million books to catch up on, there just aren't enough hours in the week. I read 'Hearts in Atlantis' recently and one of the characters gets an adult library card for his 12th birthday, it brought back lots of memories for me as the character realised what a fantastic present this was. I remember what a big deal it was to get my books from the adult section and to be allowed to pick what I wanted.

I've had some lovely moment at the stall when people find books that they've been looking for for ages. Or when kids come along with their parents and beg them for a few euro to buy a book, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. There was a teenage girl a few weeks back who spent about €25 on a bunch on Stephen King books, she went away looking like it was her birthday and Christmas all rolled into one.

Also because it's a book stall I can get away with reading at the market for the first time in 5 years! This makes me very happy. Two weeks ago I was a little hungover and I picked up Boudica and by the end of the day I was thoroughly stuck into it

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Crossed Words

Some of you may know already that I'm running a second book stall at the moment instead of my craft stall at the Milk Market. Well as a promotional tool I'm now giving out these nifty crosswords that were compilled by the very intelligent John. They will be given away free at the stall from this weekend onwards, and in a selection of old man pubs throughout the city. Or you can click on the image here to download and print it.

I love crosswords, I used to do The Irish Times Simplex one every day for years when I worked in a newsagents in Dublin. There is nothing more satisfying than sitting down for an extended cup of tea/pint and letting the world roll by while trying to drag random words out of the recesses of your brain.

If any of you finish it please let me know! The answers will be included in the next issue, this is going to be a fortnightly venture.

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Bazaar Tales at the Milk Market

I will be back at the Milk Market tomorrow but I'm gonna to take a little break from selling crafts for the first two months of this year. I learned from my experiences last year that in the first few months people don't spend a penny on crafts, my sales for this period in 2011 were disastrous. So in an effort to evolve with the situation, rather than beating my head against a brick wall and expecting a different result, I will be selling second hand books instead. Some of you might have seen in the latter half of last year I gave this a try, I was encouraged by the results and I'm excited to push it more over the coming months.

The name for this business venture is Bazaar Tales, and you can find the facebook page here. New arrivals will be posted each week on the page, along with book nerdy links to fun stuff on the internet and sporadic Word of The Day entries too. The stall is organised by genre,and usually there is about 600 books for your browsing pleasure. The lovely thing about selling books is that there is less 'selling' involved, you don't really have to chat to people too much, you just leave them to nose through and if they want to buy something they so so, there isn't really a sales pitch, which is very different from what I'm used to.

I'm really happy with this short change as it will give me more of a chance to build up new stock, without the pressure of not making money. If you are looking to buy any of my craft work then just pop over to Nice Day Designs or Nice Day Supplies, with all this spare time that I will have I'll be listing much more of my items that I had before. Within a few weeks I hope to have my full range of brooches, necklaces and earrings listed as well as expanding my supplies shop too.

Ps: Anyone who is into Sci-Fi and Fantasy we have an amazing selection at the moment, we got a massive delivery just before xmas.

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A Stall Face Lift

Over the past few weeks my stall display has gone through a lot of changes. Mostly this came from a decision not to sell haberdashery supplies a the market anymore. When I looked at it I was allocating 1/5 of my space to selling buttons, and they just weren't making me any money. On top of this I ended up in endless conversations with people about buttons, but then they wouldn't buy anything. When I realised that they were becoming a drain on space, my time and energy I decided to to cut them out. Now I only sell my supplies in my Nice Day Supplies shop, which I'm currently trying to get back in order.

Now with all the extra space I was able to put out new stock, a friend got a large magnet board for me in Ikea, which means I can sell magnets separately now and it also helps to show off my ABC sets(which are now selling much better thanks to the improved display).

I also expanded my range of shrink plastic jewellery, I've now started making brooches and necklaces(more on them later in the week) Not only did I broaden my designs I also improved the packaging and display for the earrings. I couldn't believe the difference in sales, just by putting the earrings on a little card.

I wanted to play with the levels on my stall, to create depth and interest, and not just rely on using notice boards. I read this great guide to improving your display and I fell in love with the idea of sing a suitcase. I got the box in Guineys for €20 and then I used some scrap fabric I had to line the inside of it to brighten it up. I covered a small canvas I had with some gingham wrapping paper to tie in with the blue of my table cloth and logo. I inserted a covered shoe box to bring up the level inside the box, then I placed my new cup pincushions on top.

The ring display was a genius idea of my fathers, he is friends with some jewelers in Dublin and he asked them for a ring tray , knowing I needed a neater way to display my rings. Yet again this little tweak brought me a lot more sales than normal. I think people can see them a lot better this way, rather than jumbled up in a pot.

Overall I'm delighted with my new look, I could definitely feel that the public were engaging with the pieces a lot better and easier, and a lot more people were stopping to browse. When I think about that the display I had before, and how in a few small ways it really wasn't working, it just goes to show it's worth reassessing your packaging/display/work, just to see what can be improved.

Ps: Speaking of face lifts, I did a bit of work on the landing page for my facebook page. A while ago I started using Pagemodo which allows you to have info/images that people land on when they first see your facebook page, instead of seeing the clutter of the wall. What I had posted was fine, but I was unhappy with the layout of their template, and it didn't feel in any way crafty or innovative. So I put aside an hour last night and I made a single image in photoshop with integrated text. I'm much happier with how this looks, and it reflects the look of my website too. I used the fun Polaroid app that I mentioned last week for the images.

Pop-Up Event

I'll be selling my wares this Sunday at the new event Pop-Up Super Boutique. I was chatting to the organiser, Siobhan,  the other day and it sounds like a fun event. She has organised vintage styling, a chill out zone, and yummy cupcakes, and even some bubbly-sounds like my kinda event!

I'm really looking forward to seeing the other sellers there, and will probably do some of my Christmas shopping while I'm there, and maybe a present for myself too. Here is who I know of so far:

Be Fabulous

Marian Murphy Cooney

East73rd

Elegance Bags

Life Style Coach

The Body Tree

Imasa

Alexia McInerney

and lots more(a total of 40 traders I hear!)

I have 10 free passes into the event, if anyone is interested come to my stall on Saturday and I'll give one to you, first come first serve though.

Angry Rant

I have returned at last from my long time away from the blog. The horse show did not pan out as planned, there was a massive footfall and the selection of hand crafts that were for sale at the stall were second to none but people were just not putting their hands in their pockets.

I understand that the country (and the world) is in a state of financial shock, but it was disappointing to say the least to see people spending their money on made in China trash rather than support Irish hand crafts. Thankfully there are still some people out there who understand the difference, or else I would be out of business. But I still find it shocking when people expect handmade items to be the same price as Pennys, and especially when they get rude and irate when I try to explain the difference.
There is so much talk in the media warning the consumer against getting ripped off that I think people are set into defensive mode when they go shopping. I met so many people who have a false idea that Irish handcrafts are a rip off. Please trust me when I say that all of the crafters that I know are working to the bottom line and are trying to make their items as affordable as possible, a lot of the time under pricing their items so that they can stay competitive.
I know this is a bit of a rant but I' getting really jaded with people querying my prices, trying to haggle me down, and being darn right rude when I'm not will to sell my items for half nothing. When did this shift if attitude become acceptable? Can they see themselves through my eyes at all?I had everything from scoffing, eye rolling, gasps of shock, 'you're kidding', 'I'm not paying that!', and even had one of my items thrown at me! This all from grown women, who if they saw their own children behave this way they would be appalled. My average prices are from €3-€10, I know I'm not being crazy when I think that's pretty reasonable.  I try to be polite and explain that items are handmade and that they take time to make, but I suspect I'm going to lose the plot one of these days and go a little psycho at some unsuspecting haggler!

(Ps: it's totally ok to politely ask if there is a chance of getting a deal if you buy a few items)

Market Stall Display

It's been ages since I showed you any pictures of my stall. A market stall is one of those things that evolves over time, especially if you are like me and you have no money for fancy displays. I'm happy with how the stall is looking these days, but I'm sure I will continue to tweek it over time. I want to work on my upper display, hence the fact that I was making bunting this week, and also my friend is making me some lights at the moment.
It's difficult when selling lots of little things to communicate at a glance what I'm selling. But I think things like the jars and shelves for the buttons, and also the mannequin help to solidify the display. Over the years I've learned that people like to touch things when they are buyng them, so that;s why I have pots of items that people can riffle through. Also I took all my brooches out of their packets and attached them to the mannequin so people can see and feel them.

Riverfest Weekend

Thanks to Limerick News Wire for the image.

I have a pretty busy weekend coming up at the market this week. It is the Riverfest in Limerick this coming Bank Holiday and there will be thousands of people flooding into the city. Also all those people that abandon our city centre for the rest of the year in favour of the suburban shopping centres will pour back in too. There are loads of great activities including The Great Limerick Fun, The French Market, The International BBQ competition, and also an important rugby match in Thomond.

Thanks to Munster Images for the photo.

At the market we will have a fashion show during the Friday Flea Market hosted by the renowned Celia Holman Lee, with an array of clothes from independent boutique in Limerick. We will have the regular market on Saturday, but for the first time the are hosting a full nighttime gig in the venue, with The Coronas playing. They are not really my taste in music, but I'm very excited to see what other bands they book as it's a gorgeous venue.On the Sunday and Monday there will be the Artisan Craft Fair, with over 50 artisans from around the country selling their crafts. I'm looking forward to these two days as I've done very well there before, also I love having a gander at what everyone else is making...and maybe buy one or two things if I do well.

I'll also have some good friends from home visiting that weekend whom I haven't seen since Christmas. I think between work and play I'll have to transform into the Energizer Bunny that weekend.

Draw and Make Your Own Badges

I originally bought my badge maker so I didn't have to import my badges/mirrors from the US. I never realised how much it would change and help my business. It's much easier now to come up with an idea, do a bit of magic on photoshop, print it and make the badge within minutes. It's a really satisfying and fluid way of working.

Last year my friend Mary-Rose suggested that I bring the badge maker to the market so kids can draw a picture and make their own badges.They have a great time drawing pictures, writing their name, or writing who their favourite band is. It was hugely successful last year, but then there was the large hiccup when my machine broke and had to go on holidays to Germany to recover/repair. All is back to normal now and I've built up a steady stream of regular kids who come down on Friday/Sunday. These kids below were at my stall on Sunday, I had a great time chatting with them and their Aunt, and they made loads of really cool badges.

The photo above is of one that I did of Sam Beckett, I'm starting a series of one off illustration badges that people will be able to buy in my Etsy shop. I'll try out a few and see how they sell. It's hard to gauge the price though, as they are specialist pieces, but at the same time they are only a badge.....hmmm...decisions decisions.

Draw and make You Own Badges

At the Milk Market 

Friday:11-5pm

Sunday:11-4pm

(times may be changing soon as we will be doing twilight markets on Fridays)

Jack Frost is Nipping at my Bits

Winter has definitely hit me with a bang, it doesn't seem that long ago that I was wearing a jacket over a dress with some runners, but this weekend I was attempting to wear all of my wardrobe at one in a vain effort to stave off the chill.

It's an early, and therefore very cold start to the morning at the Milk Market, and this week I relinquished any effort to look good in favour of warmth. I wore from head to toe;

Marino felted wool hat

Huge knitted scarf

Triple layered rainbow jacket

Woolly Jumper

Warm vest

Gloves & mittens

Jeans

Legging

Slipper Socks

Knitted Uggs

...and I was still cold!!! Mari, the owner of a coffee shop at the market was selling hot water bottles, pay €5 and get €4 back when you return the bottle, what a fantastic idea!! It was really great for keeping the aching chill out of my fingers. I've heard that Pennies are selling thermal vests and long johns, I'll definitely be taking a trip there this week to stock up on some winter warmers.

Peig Sayers at the Market

This is a rarity, a photo of myself on the blog, that's me on the left. This was taken last week at the market when all of us fell in love with the new scarves from Hanora.K.Designs and we had to try them on. I bought the orange one, Branden eventually gave in and got the grey one( he tried to restrain himself until he saw someone else trying it on, and then he had to buy it before they did). They are so cozy, they feel like you are wearing a blanket-a very comforting feeling when doing a 7am market.

Noreen sells her work at the market Fri-Sun every week and will also be at the craft fair tomorrow 11-7pm. The scarves are about 50-60 quid, but believe me they are well worth it, I've had loads of compliments on mine.

The Milk Market on Facebook

A few days ago I set up a facebook fanpage for the Milk Market, as we definitely need the extra advertising. These days social networking is a free and easy tool that every business should avail of, it's a quick and lets your customers know about news/special offers/opening times etc.

I'm doing the Market one to help bring in extra customers on Fridays and Sundays, and also profile the Saturday market too. I plan to have a photo album for each trader with all their contact info so people can see the amazing things that are for sale there. I also want to let people know if any of the traders are giving special offers, or introducing a new line of products. It's a bit of extra work for me, on my already busy schedual but a little bit of work every day makes it manageable.

I've been delighted with how popular it's been in only a few days of having the page, in just over two days I've already gotten 700 fans, this is mostly through to people doing the 'suggest to friends' thing, which really helps getting new fans. Since there are so many traders I hope that it will continue to grow in popularity. Have any of you seen numbers like this before? It's taken me nearly 9 months to get the same number of fans on my own business page.

Live Jazz

One of the best attractions at the Milk Market every Saturday is the amazing music provided at Mari's Cheese Shop, there you can see at great mix of stunning musicians from Trad, Folk, and Jazz. There is a really great atmosphere, really chilled out, you can sit, have a coffee, take a break from your shopping and listen to cool music. Mari has decided to extend this to Sunday mornings between 11-1pm for the next six weeks as a trial run. If we get support for it I hope it will continue, so if you are in the area please pop down. Each week she will have different Jazz musicians playing live, and the best part is that it's free! If I wasn't working there I would go anyway, it's such a nice way to spend a lazy Sunday morning. Last week she had an amazing guitarist and pianist playing and the buzz was infectious.

Monthly Artisan Craft Fair: August

Tomorrow I'll be selling at the monthly Artisan Crafts Fair being held 11-7pm at the Milk Market in Limerick city. I did the first one last month and had an amazing time selling there, as there was a fantastic atmosphere with oodles of beautiful crafts to see. The venue will be be totally full which is fantastic, and there will be live music, face painting , and live salsa dancing. There is a huge selection of traders to choose from like knitwear, felting, patchwork, glass work, ceramics, painting, illustration, photography, silver smith, wood work, and lots more.

Last month I took some photos that I totally forgot to post of some of the traders there.

Noreen Foley from HanoraK Designs makes beautiful knitwear scarves hats and cardigans. I own a few of her pieces and I always get compliments when I wear them. Noreen is a good friend of mine as we sell beside eat other at the market every week. You can also see Brandon here on the left, he makes beautiful copper and silver jewellery made from old Irish coins.
Bonzie and Ger from the amazing etsy shop Bonzie, and fellow Etsy Ireland Team members. They make amazing steampunk accessories and beautiful baleros perfect for wearing to a wedding.
This is the lovely Kate Ramsey from Feltfieltrofilc, fellow Etsy Ireland Team member, she makes beautiful felted scarves, cardigans and brooches. On the day she was doing felting demonstrations too.
Fergus Grant makes stunning silver jewellery, and on the day he even brought his very impressive work bench and was making pieces during the show.
Just a small selection of lots of the lovely pieces that were on show from Limerick Ceramics
Local photographer Neville Gawley was selling his stunning framed prints of Limerick scenes and eye catching landscapes.
Sadie Cramer from Smartstudios has some really endearing illustrations, they were so lovely. I already have my eye on a couple of them as Christmas presents.
This is Mary O Dea who makes great screen printed t-shirts, local limerick scenes abstracted into trendy designs. She also offers a great service that she will print t-shirts of your kids drawings, which would be really fun for parties and functions.
Salsa!!

Great News for Nice day Designs

I got some amazing news on Friday, it was confirmed that I have a permanent spot at the Saturday Milk Market! This is really amazing as it's almost impossible to get a stall on this day, as the waiting list is years long and nobody ever leaves once they get in. There was a brief time earlier this year when I thought I had it already but that was due to a miscommunication, and I was gutted to find out that I didn't have it. But this news comes from the top man at the market, I'm definitely in, under the condition that I continue to trade on the Friday and Sunday every week. I can totally understand this stipulation as they are trying to get more traders on these quieter days, and they don't want me jumping ship before things have really gotten started yet.

So far I've done 3 Saturdays and they've been really excellent, there is an amazing amount of people passing through on Saturday morning, with some dedicated shoppers even arriving at 7am to get their veg and fresh fish before the mad crowds. At the moment I'm in a corner out of the way(if you click the link I'm slot 55), but beggars can't be choosers and I'm just glad to be in there. It will take a while for people to realise I'm there and to build up a regular customer base. I'm going to have to start making my Christmas stock very soon or I will never be able to keep up.

Three days a week, and a fourth day on the last Thursday of every month for the craft fair is a lot to commit to. Especially since I'm making all the pieces I'm selling, at the moment it's a very difficult balance that I haven't quite figured out yet. Hence the fact that my supplies shop is still on vacation, something had to give and sadly I had to decide to just take a couple of weeks off from Etsy so I can get my timetable properly sorted.

Milk Market Round Up

I have returned after my four days running at the Milk Market. I have lots of pictures to show you of the Thursday Artisan Fair, but I haven't had a chance to edit them yet, I'll have more on that later in the week. I was trading on Friday, which to be honest was a very quiet long day with lots of traders packing up early due to their being no customers whatsoever. I think this was mostly due to the it being the August bank holiday weekend,the most popular day of the year when people take off on a Friday and head towards the coast for sunshine and ice-cream. But even though it was an entirely uneventful day I got some amazing news, the asked me to fill in a vacant space at the Saturday Milk Market.

To those of you who have never been at the Saturday Market let me tell you it's a whole different beast. It is packed full with traders selling the best fresh produce in the country, and they have a religious following as every week the footfall is in the thousands. You can buy fresh fish, organic meat, olives, locally made cheese, organic veg, homemade jams and cakes, and delicious ready to eat food. There is a small amount of craft to, and luckily I was one of those stall this week. It was such a treat to trade there, and I could barely sleep the night before with the excitement, I very uncharacteristically bounded out of the bed at six in the morning. It was wonderful to have a stream of people browsing and chatting,and also lots of customers. Days like that fly by, so when 3pm rolled around I was tired but really happy with how the day had gone. The space will be vacant again next week so I've been asked to fill in again, so if you are about the city do pop down. I'll enjoy it while it lasts and try to make the most of it to promote that I'm there on Friday and Sunday. It's incredibly difficult to get a spot at this market, so I'm thrilled to be given the opportunity to sell there even for a couple of days.

My week was rounded off on Sunday, with a quieter day, but lovely nonetheless. As the weeks go by I'm starting to feel like the Milk Market is a home away from home, but how bad is that when there is such yummy food to be had, and great people to chat to all day.

Monthly Artisan Craft Fair

I'll be selling tomorrow at a great craft fair in the Milk Market, the Monthly Artisan Craft Fair. The organisation for this has been shopped outside of the regular organizers and it looks like Christine has done an amazing job. All the market stalls are full, and there is loads of talent coming form all around Ireland. Some of the readers of Etsy Ireland might recognise people like Bonzie, Stradbally Jewellery, and Feltfieltrofilc, as they are fellow team members. Check out her website for a full list of traders, or join her facebook fanpage here.

Christine has organised an amazing array of entertainment for the entire day, from a harpist, live blues, and then trad, between 2.00-3.30pm there will be entertainment for the kids too with face painting and puppetry.

If the punters turn up it is set to be an amazing day, a fair that I will happily take part in on a monthly basis. It's a stunning venue, with great facilities so it makes sense that it should be a resounding success.

Trading times: 12-7pm

Venue: Milk Market, Limerick City

Date: Thursday July 29th

Pictures Courtesy of Bock the Robber

Market Stalls:Tips for Interacting With Your Customers

I wrote this article for the Etsy Ireland blog last week, so I thought I would repost it here for any of you that missed it:

This is second part is about interacting with your customers, if you missed the first part about display and presentation, just click here.

Doing your first stall can be daunting, and it's difficult to know what to expect, one thing I hadn't factored in was how to interact with my customers, I figured it was no problem since I had worked in the service industry for so long. But I discovered it's different when you're selling your own work, on my first day I didn't know what to say to people because there wasn't that buffer of the being at a checkout/bar/till. Suddenly it seemed far more personal and I got really tongue tied, it took me a little while but I learned tricks to get around this:

-Be friendly: Nobody wants to go to a stall where someone looks grumpy and unwelcoming, I know it sounds very basic but a smile makes all the difference.

-Give People a bit of space: Don't pounce on them as soon as they stop at your stall, telling them the price of everything. Usually if someone picks something up or inspects a price tag I tell them it's handmade, or a special offer price. It's a way of opening a dialogue with someone who looks interested rather than heckling every passerby. It can be a difficult balance and some shoppers are very shy, so try not to get offended.

-Offer Information: There is nothing worse than talking to a trader and you feel like you are pulling teeth trying to get information out of them. Be pleasant and not too pushy, but tell people it's handmade, what the material is, or that your materials are sourced locally. These are things that people want to know, that's why they are at a craft market instead of Pennies.

-Converse: once you open up a dialogue and you feel that it's going well, continue the conversation, people at markets love to chat, go with it, you never know where it will lead. They might end up telling their neighbour 'about the lovely girl down the market', as you all know Ireland works through word of mouth. Although be careful of those who want to chat for a half an hour but don't buy anything, those people might get in the way of other prospective customers, I know it sounds a bit cruel but you'll need to politely dismiss them.

-Business Cards: If someone seems interested but they don't end up buying it probably means they don't have the money on them at the time, but you have the opportunity for a future sale. Keep business cards on the table and also some close to hand. Hand them your card, tell them about your website, and also if you'll be trading at that market again. 99% of the time I get an encouraging 'oh really, that's great' in response. Recently I've starting giving out DL sized flyers with all my info on them, shop, facebook, and blog with info and images from my business. This seems to be more effective than business cards as it supplies more information. If you do custom orders this would be a good way of letting customers know.

Sometimes it can be a very long day if you are at a stall, especially if it's quiet and there aren't many customers to talk to. The temptation is to bring a book and read it, but I would highly recommend not doing this. It's like adding another barrier between you and the customer, lots of people won't interrupt you, and you will miss opportunities to talk to browsers. This one-on-one interaction is what massive companies would pay millions for, so use this opportunity to add a face and a personality to your business. One tactic I use to pass the time is to bring some sewing with me, it makes it obvious that the products that I'm selling are made by me, I get work done during quiet times, and it's a way for opening up a dialogue with customers. It has the opposite effect of a book, it makes people curious and I end up talking to lots of people about crafting. It also makes my stall more memorable, I've had customers see what I'm making and come back a half hour later to buy the finished product, it all adds to the individual experience of the market. To help with the logistics of working while out of my studio I prepare my brooches at home all precut in little bags, and I just sew them together at my stall.

Another handy tip is to wear your product if possible, it shows a pride in your work and it also illustrates how well your pieces look when they are worn. Sometimes it can be a little thing like this that make that last final decision in a sale. This is also something you can do in your everyday life too, I often wear my felt brooches, and if someone comments I tell them I made it and either give them a business card, or tell them that I sell at a local market. Moo keyring business card holders come in very handy at those times! I know it may seem pushy but you are marketing yourself and your business, and it does lead to sales.

Recently I've found my facebook fanpage to be a fantastic resource for the market. It's a great way to advertise locally for free, during the week I post pictures of the things I've made to build up an interest for my weekend market. Then the day before I post a reminder about the market, with opening times and a link to the website. Without fail every week I get a new customer at my stall saying that they were reading about my work on facebook and they came down because they read my update. I can't recommend it highly enough, it's not that time consuming and it's free!

For the past few years things have not always been rosey at the market, sometimes it can be tough. Here are a few things I learned the hard way

Sales: There have been days that I've sold nothing, it's really heartbreaking and I took it personally, but sometimes it's more to do with advertising, weather and the alignment of the stars (lol). Go home, have little cry, pick your self back up again and try again the next week. It won't happen that often, but try not to take it too hard if it does.

People: I know it sounds awful but some people are just rude, some people expect to buy everything at a market for 2 euro and get annoyed that you are overpricing. Either politely explain that it's handmade, if they persist ignore them. Some folks are just plain dotty!

Weather: If you are trading outdoors check the weather forecast the night before, there is nothing worse than being freezing with no jacket, or wearing uggs and a jumper in 30 degree heat.

Spending: When you are trading at craft shows you are likely to fall in love with all the other traders work, and you'll want to spend all your money at their stalls. It's goo to support other traders, and that's where I do most on my birthday/xmas shopping. But try to restrain yourself, you are trying to make money. If you really want to buy something, set a target at the start of the day, if I sell X amount I can spend X. It might even be a good incentive to yourself to have a better sales pitch!

I hope this market series has helped answer a few questions, and that it encourages some of you to go out and give it a try. It's been the driving force behind my business, and on bad days I might moan and grumble, but I really do love it.

Tips for Setting Up a Market Stall

I posted the following article yesterday on the Etsy Ireland blog, I thought some of you who didn't see it might be interested:

Hi this is Ruth from Nice Day Designs. There has been lots of talk recently within the team at meetings and on forums about markets and I realized that after 3 years at trading at a weekly market I may have a few bits of info to impart. There are two sides to doing a market, the nuts and bolts of display, tables, and getting your stall. And also what to do/say to your customers to make the best of your stand. Both aspects have their difficulties, and trust me I've learned the hard way by making every mistake in the book. Later in the week I'll be posting the second half, so stay tuned!

Firstly lets look at the basics, how to get a stall. Lots of people have been asking how can they get a market stall, and is there one basic source of info, and to be honest I'm not sure. In Ireland it mostly seems to be work of mouth, the best advice I can give is go to your nearest market and start talking to the traders. The likelihood is that they sell at a few different locations, and they will be able to tell you which are the best ones, and they'll be honest about footfall. Always try to check out a market before you do it, organisers will promise you the earth, but quite often they deliver very little. Find out things like do you need to supple cover, tables, what is parking like, do they require insurance? The company that I use is IOMST, they do a yearly rate that's very reasonable, most markets insist on it these days so it's just one of those things that you have to fork out for at the start. Also ask the market organiser do they advertise locally, they is no point paying them 50 euro for the day if there are no customers.

Next you need a great display, this can take a long time to figure out, it's taken me years to really figure it out properly. Maybe try to do some research online and at market, take photos of the displays that you like and try to learn from them. Here are some easy pitfalls.

-Don't put all your products flat on a table, people will be walking past and judge what you're selling in about 2 seconds, if it's not visible they will walk on.

-Don't have an empty stand, if there isn't lots to choose from people won't buy. If you don't have lots of work share your stand with a friend. It cuts on cost and it fills up the table better.

-Price your work, people will be afraid to ask if there is no price on it, especially with crafts people always assume that they can't afford it.

To help with creating a better display use risers, I made mine out of notice boards, Tesco are selling them at a really reasonable price at the moment. Buy two of them and put a hinge in the middle so they can be free standing. Also use things like boxes underneath your table cloth to raise the level of the table. Other things like pretty baskets and hat boxes are fantastic for displaying your work in. Shop around in the Euro discount shops, even in the garden or kitchen ware sections, think outside the box for what you can use. Also places like Aldi and Lidl sell mini easels and chalk boards, which can really add to the charm of a display. I got little brightly coloured picnic pots in a pound shop last year and I still get people commenting on how well they look on the stall. If it's possible try to contrast or conordinate the colours of your table cloth to your logo, it will really give your display that extra punch that it needs.

It's a good time of year to go shopping for market equipment, things like fold down tables, chairs and gazebos are all easily available in Argos, B&Q etc, look in the camping and garden sections. In the past I've used fold down tables that are used for wall paper pasting, they are very affordable and the heavy duty one is still working 3 years later. What ever you do if you need to provide your own stall do not buy the one in Argos that is a pole assembly, it is a nightmare to put together and it's useless in Irish weather, it may look like a bargain but trust me it will break your heart (and your back!). At the start try to find a market that is indoors or provides cover for you. For your first market it will be quite daunting to deal with this aspect as well as your display and selling to customers.

Signage is also very important, you want people to remember your brand and know what to call you when talking about how amazing you are later to friends and family! I made my own banner with my sewing machine, but in the past I've used a long laminated sign, that cost about 40 euro from my local printer. Just like with your etsy shop it's good to keep your look consistent, so my banner matches my tags, and my smaller price signs.I got this great stamp on etsy from Jlmould, and it's really helped with my packaging, while keeping my costs low. Also it's essential that you have business cards on hand, they sell little perspex holders for them in Easons. I'll talk more about business cards in the next post about interacting with your customers.

I hope this helps, and if any other readers have market tips I'd love to hear about them, just leave a comment below.