Another month, another market. Possibly the last one before things start getting properly Christmassy ( I know – I don’t like mentioning the other ‘C’ word when I’m sitting in my garden in my shorts either).
Gosport Makers’ Market was an interesting one as it seemed to be simultaneously one of the first markets to happen at this site since Covid, but also one of the last ones to happen before the building gets a fairly major refurb. Makes it pretty hard to tell (yet again) whether what we experienced was representative of what a typical event would be like here in the future. Certainly we didn’t see the 800-1000 people through the doors that had supposedly been seen previously, but even at a fraction of these numbers we still did surprisingly well with a range of sales from £2 to £30, and not just to friends and family.
I was fortunate as always to have Simon with me to enable me to have a wander and meet some of the other stallholders. In many ways this is as valuable as the sales as every connection we can make is another like, another share, another recommendation, and more useful info on the local area, other markets, and advertising tips. There is also a lot to be gleaned just b y looking at how other people set up their stalls, present their wares, and what range of products and prices they are displaying. I now have a shopping list of extra stand and hangers should we do more markets in the future although I am reluctant to invest too much until the sales get a little more reliable.
In the meantime the focus is switching firmly towards Christmas here at PBP. This year’s Christmas cards have already arrived (seriously it gets earlier every year!) Plus the light train prints have now arrived – 20% of the total money taken from these will be donated to NHS charities as a small acknowledgment of the hard work put in my NHS staff (and all keyworkers!) during the Covid pandemic. I know that the rainbow lights were intended by those who created the Steam Illuminations as an NHS tribute and as a (sort of) NHS worker myself it seems fitting that the NHS should benefit in some little way from this image.
Stay safe
Emma x
