I had the opportunity to meet the lovely Amy from Giggleberry Creations at Mathilda's Market which happened on Sunday the 5th of December. It was her first market . I was curious about her experience at the Market and she very graciously has shared it with us .
Check out the adorable buntings from her shop.
How long have you been selling online ? What made you decide to sell at a market ?
Amy : I opened my Giggleberry Creations etsy shop in April 2008 and have been blessed with it's success. I decided I would give a market a go now that my brand was becoming more well known. Dong a market would always give me great feedback, a chance to talk to customers & other sellers face to face and of course I would also start to work out if my business is better online, at a market or both.
How did you choose your first market ? How far ahead did you decide that you would do Mathilda's Market ?
Amy : I have always loved shopping at markets myself so know lots of the ones around Sydney, my local area. The main points I looked for in a market were:
* one that was aimed at the demographic my products are mainly aimed at (children)
* a well known market (know by both sellers & shoppers)
* a well promoted market
* a busy/full market - I attended markets I had on a short list to see which one had the best turn out of shoppers... this is always a hit or miss as it could be busy one time and not the next though.
* One that had been recommended or highly spoken about from other sellers.
* I also thought one close to Christmas would be a good one for gift shoppers being there. Mathilda's Market ticked all the boxes. You need to apply for many markets so I suggest once you decide on one apply straight away... you may not find out if you are in or not until a few months/weeks before the market though.
What kind of preparations did you do for the market ?
Amy : I asked other market sellers how much stock I should take and the best advice I was given was "as much as you can make". I then made a deal with myself to make a certain amount of banners extra every week to put into my stock pile. In the end I took about 270 - 300 banners to the market and was happy with that amount.
* I have been selling online long enough to know what are my 'best sellers' so made plenty of them. I then had lots of variety also, girly, unisex, fun, classic, baby, teenage, themed, neutral - you name it I probably had it!
* Mathilda's market prides itself on gorgeous presentation of stalls so I had this in mind for sorting out my set up. I also needed to be able to show off my bunting hanging so had to think of a way to do that too somehow. LOTS of thinking and inspiration hunting happened while I worked it all out - a great blog post I found was this one that has great tips:
danceinmygarden.blogspot.com/2009/12/visual-merchandising-for-your-market.html
I asked many lovely people advice and they were always helpful (Always ask, ask, ask!! People are 9 times out of 10 more than willing to help) After a few practice set ups at home then a day with my sister at a market she did I felt i had the right set up for customers to browse and shop while also being visually appealing and easy to maintain for me.
* Every market is different in the application process, the rules, the supplied items etc most of this you can find out from them via websites or phone calls prior to applying. Mathilda's Market for the Lane Cove Sydney one, supplied 1 trestle table the rest of the set up is up to the seller. I was given plenty of info and guidance along the way for what I needed to do and information I needed to know etc.
* Again this would vary from market to market. My experience at Mathilda's Market was a final market day information email a few days before the actual market date with the floor plan for the day so I knew where i would need to set up. When I arrived the trestle tables were set up and ready for us - there are always plenty of people around to help answer any queries too.
What were your expectations from the Market ? How was it different from your actual experience ?
Amy : As I had never done a market before I wasn't to sure what to expect as far as sales go. I knew i would have a great chance to talk to shoppers and sellers which is always invaluable. I did think there might have been a few more shoppers than there was on the day as it was close to christmas but this is so hard to guess - it was a sticky humid day with rain predicted so that could have kept shoppers away as well as just a generally busy time of year - who knows??
I was really pleased with the whole process... if anything I wouldn't sign up to a market at the same time as moving house LOL - it made the sewing of stock tricky and I had more than a few really late nights the last few days before the market.
Any other tips or suggestions for people out there who are looking to take that first leap to do a market ?
If you are really interested and want to see if it's for you and your biz i say jump in! There is only one way to find out if it works :)
Thank you , Amy , for sharing your experience with us. We wish you the very best in your endeavors and hope to see you in many more markets !
Post by Doodlekreations
