Uniquity Designs by Melissa Vassiliou: My First Handmade Craft Market Stall

My First Handmade Craft Market Stall

Hi everyone!

After so much happening over Christmas and the New Year I finally have found the time to share with you my first experience running a market stall. I am so excited to share this experience with you all!

Location

I chose my local Glenmore Park Christmas Market held by AMA Markets to launch my first jewellery and greeting card collection. The market was on Sunday 23rd December 2018. It was a twilight market which means it is held in the afternoon/evening from 4 pm. this was so convenient because you have lots of time to set up and there are beautiful fireworks at the end of the night. The downside of this is that you are packing up in the dark and this may not be the best for the type of product you are selling depending on your target demographic.

Products

My market stall products were handmade jewellery and cards from my online business Uniquity Designs - www.uniquitydesigns.com. There are many different types of necklaces, bracelets, earrings and greeting cards on display. the most popular product on the day was the bracelets and earrings.

Motivation

This is something that I have wanted to do for a few years but have never had the guts to do.

I was soooo nervous that it would go well but my mum, dad, bestfriend and husband were there to support me, they helped me set up, serve customers and pack down all of the goods, tables etc.

The neighbouring stallholders were so nice and friendly, they even let me borrow an extra business card holder.

Decorations

This was by far the most fun part of the day, setting up the tables and decorating the space, I brought so many items but surprisingly I used them all.

The flower decorations hanging from the top of the gazebo and the table ruffles were from eBay, they are beautiful and I love the colour purple. I also used organza chair sashes under the jewellery as table runners which gave a beautiful effect.

The jewellery stands are from KMart and eBay.

I got the little white decorative suitcases from a FaceBook Marketplace seller. I think they are so cute and add a great vintage vibe to the stall.

Brand Advertising

The banner and business cards were from Vistaprint.

The lightboxes were from KMart.

Some tips for beginners:

Get change and a cash box - One thing that I forgot to organize was change for the customers as I was expecting more card transactions. I ended up having to send my bestfriend to the local shops across the street to get some which was not very convenient.
Research the other sellers at the markets, their products, marketing etc.
Research the demographic and check this against the type of product you are selling, will this appeal to the demographic? How likely are they to buy your products over a competitors?
Speak to someone who has held this type of market stall before to get tips/advice from.
Decide your table setup in advance, research other market stall holder setups and what works best for your product, be selective on which items you put out on display, sometimes less is more.