Craft Fair - Marshall's Yard, Gainsborough 25th of July

Marshall's Yard is a redevelopment of an old industrial area in Gainsborough. It looks clean, well cared for and has a pretty good range of shops, a gym, outdoor fountain and council offices of some kind. There's plenty of parking as well, always important in my opinion. My wife had booked to attend a craft/art fair on the same Sunday as a Mini Rally. The idea being, or so I assumed, that the car enthusiasts would be drawn in and we (the other stallholders and retailers) might make an honest penny from the expected crowds. Didn't quite work that way.

The stands were very good. Professional, clean and erected before we arrived. The staff assigned to the stallholders seemed to be professional, polite and flexible. Couldn't ask for more in that regard. The location of stalls did seem to be a bit far away from where the Mini enthusiasts were going to be. They were going to located next to the most popular shops.

A picture of a couple of the stands - apparently used for the regular Farmers Market event

So set up went ahead pretty well. There's an overflow car park located behind Marshall's Yard which we were able to use at no cost. Did mean a bit of a walk uphill to retrieve vehicles but it wasn't too onerous.

The obvious issue was the location of the stalls. In the middle of the car parking area almost at the other end of the car park from the Minis, the car enthusiasts and the majority of the people. 

Panoramic Image - the stalls can be seen to right of the image

The above image was taken from the pavement that runs around the outside of the car parking area. Can you spot the stalls? No? Not surprising. The stalls were lost amongst all the cars. A sign of some sort, or perhaps a few signs, might have helped to attract people to the craft/art stalls but I didn't see any.

Footfall through our little "alley" wasn't too great. When I bought an ice-cream from the ice-cream van, I found the woman sat there reading a magazine because she had so little to do.

The "Alley" of craft/art stalls - Note the huge crowds of people

Even the people running the roast pork stand seemed to be doing little business. A pity as their pork smelt really nice!

This was a classic situation for crafters/art workers. They are placed in a location over which they have no control. The people were mainly located at the other end of the car park where the Minis were to be found and such popular stores as Wilkinsons and Halfords were located. 


Takings were very poor. But then if people aren't going past your stand in suitable numbers then selling your wares becomes a much harder proposition.


Thoughts

• We could have done with some signs around Marshall's Yard telling prospective clients what we were and where we were. We were effectively hidden from many of the visiting public.
• We should have been located with the Minis, or the Minis should have been located with us. Either option would have meant a greater number of visitors to the craft/art stalls. That might sound a bit selfish but we aren't attending these events for our health. The whole idea is to sell. Poor sales means that anyone with half a brain won't come back.
• Public toilet reasonably nearby and reportedly in a good state. Low toilet paper level was corrected without anyone (as far as I know) complaining. Much appreciated by us.
• Oh, previously not mentioned, selling to the stallholders. This seems to be happening more and more at these events. Someone, usually a franchise holder of some kind, pops round to each stall to promote their specific offering. This time it was a business that tries to get people to sign up for cheaper utilities (gas, electric and phone). It was even suggested as an additional business to that of crafter/art worker. Would like to see this kind of thing banned.

The biggest problem of the day was the number of people walking passed the stalls. There just weren't enough of them. There were plenty of people about but not in our location.

What really put the day into context for me was the arrival of a couple who seemed to be interested in taking a stall themselves. They told me that they'd previously run a number of businesses including a stall at Gainsborough Market. They asked if this was a viable location etc. I gave them my honest assessment. No. As the TV show says "Location, Location, Location". The best place I've been to for sales of an arts and craft nature was the Cornhill, in Lincoln. Nowhere else in the region has managed to result in good sales over the last year or two. Why? Because the footfall is tremendous, there are banks nearby and people visit the  Cornhill because they are looking to shop. Not just to stroll around a pass the time of day.

I cannot see us returning to Marshall's Yard at any point in the future.

Craft Fair - St Marks Lincoln 24th July 2010

My first post for this blog. Why am I doing it? Well the answer is pretty straight forward. I feel, having shown my wares at a number of craft fairs and having helped my wife with her wares as well, that crafters/artists are getting a bit of a bum deal. I also think that craft fairs, markets or even the craft tent at your local show are pretty much a waste of time. Unless, that is, you're just looking to have a day out and are not bothered about making money from your craft/art work.

PLEASE NOTE: Whenever someone's face or a car number plate appears I blur them out. It's not a fault with the camera.

This post is about a craft fair that was held on Saturday, the 24th of July. It was located near St Marks Square, a shopping area that is located away from the High Street in Lincoln. The craft fair was meant to be part of the Italian Market, which was taking place at the same time but at a central location which was about 500 metres away (on foot). 

Italian Market Stall, The Cornhill, Lincoln

As you can see from the image above, I popped along to see the Italian Market. I thought it was excellent. Well placed to take advantage of passing footfall, colourful and stocked with some very attractive goods (Cheese, salami, olive oil, pastries and a huge range of what looked like nougat). It was located at The Cornhill. We weren't. That's an important point.

Lincoln High Street, looking Southward towards the Italian Market

This image was taken looking towards The Cornhill section of the High Street. The crowds are pretty obvious. The area around the Italian Market was very busy. A pity we weren't located with them. There was a suitable space....

The Cornhill, Lincoln - Empty but for one van

which was unoccupied save for a single van (see image above). This empty space was only a few metres from the Italian Market and all those people.

Instead we were about 500 metres away.....

This is what people saw when approaching our Craft Fair from the East

obscured by two cars and an Ice-Cream Van (which was moved later but the cars remained) and we were placed facing away from the main flow of people.

This is what people saw approaching from the West

The oh so attractive backsides of our stalls - not exactly inviting

Now I don't know about you but presenting the public with the backsides of a number of stalls, with no signs, seems highly unlikely to draw in the crowds. And strangely enough I cannot say that we were inundated with multitudes of people.

So to put it into bullet points

• 
  
  We were meant to be part of a Italian Market which was held the best part of half a kilometre way. We'd even been asked to produce Italian themed goods for this event. Why? There was no link between the two events.
• 
  
  Our stands were facing away from the main flow of people and the most popular (in my opinion) shop in the area. Guaranteeing that people would not see our offerings.
• 
  
  The placement of two cars (a local car dealership promotion) and an Ice-Cream Van meant that people approaching from the East could not see the stalls very easily. 
• 
  
  People approaching from the West just saw the backside of our stands.
• 
  
  No signs were out promoting our event. Nothing to say that we were meant to be an Italian themed craft/arts market. People at the Italian Market in the centre of Lincoln would have had no idea that we existed.
• 
  
  To cap it off - During set-up it was obvious that some staff at one of the stores were not happy with the placement of our stalls. Soon some security personnel turned up and I heard and saw them trying to see if the stands could be moved. Unfortunately, by this time,  the stallholders had mostly put their wares out and moving everything was apparently deemed impossible.  In some ways you cannot blame the local retailers for not being happy to have a slew of stalls outside their shops. It obscures their shop fronts and distracts potential customers from their shops.

This event just reinforced my belief that a craft/art fair run in conjunction with another event is a poisoned chalice. Especially if you're placed well away from the main event, as was the case here. If someone asked me if they should take a stall at another St Marks Lincoln Craft/Arts Fair I'd have to say no. Unless the stalls were faced towards the main flow of people and a guarantee that unwanted distractions (like a car promotion) wouldn't be there.