If you’re thinking about submitting an application for our next Made on the Left market, here are a few tips...
Firstly, consider if Made on the Left is the right market for you. Have you visited before and taken note of the type of people shopping there? Have you looked at what the other stallholders are selling – do your products fit in well with them, are they of comparable quality and standard? Some categories are very competitive, especially jewellery. If you make jewellery, can you offer a product that is unique and original? Will it stand out from the other jewellery stalls and offer the customers variety? Does your price range fit in with the other stallholders?
If you think Made on the Left is the market for you, then get going on that application!
So what do you need for your application to give you the best chance of being accepted?
1. Good Photos
This is very important. All applications must include photos, even if you have done previous Made on the Left markets. Please don't ask us to look at your website instead of supplying photos.
Make sure your photos:
- are in focus
- are not too dark
- are not too small
- are not too big (max. size 2MB)
- show your product range
- include a photo of your stall display set up if you have one.
If we can’t see your products due to the quality of the photos, this makes it harder for us to tell if they are suitable to be a part of our markets and will decrease your chances of being accepted.
Another reason to have good photos is that they are more likely to be used for marketing purposes which will give you extra exposure!
Here are some simple tips to start with:
- use natural light
- place your products on a plain background
- Presentation counts - styling
- Take lots of photos - you are more likely to get a good one!
There are a lot of useful tutorials on the internet for taking great photos of your products that don’t involve getting new and expensive equipment:
It’s also a good idea to touch up your images using a photo editing program. There are plenty of free online photo editing sites so you don’t even need to install anything on your computer! The main things you will need to adjust will most likely be the brightness and image size.
Online photo editing programs:
Photo editing tips:
2. High quality products
We like to make sure we are presenting the best of Western Australian handmade and to make it a great shopping experience for our customers. No matter how good your product photos are, if the product itself doesn’t cut it, we can’t accept your application.
3. Fill in all areas of application
- Make sure you list all the products you will be selling. If you have a range of products, please list them all.
- Include your suburb. Often local newspapers will request people from the suburbs they cover to feature in their newspapers.
- Describe your involvement in the product’s making. Made on the Left markets are strictly for Western Australian craftspeople and designers. In order to make sure we only have WA made products at our markets, we need you to briefly describe your part in the making process so we can be sure you are eligible.
4. Be professional
Try to present yourself and your products in the best possible manner.
Don’t leave your application until the last minute and rush it.
Make sure all correspondence is polite and comprehensible and not asking questions already answered in our FAQ. As you can imagine, we get a lot of emails around this time and we are able to be more efficient if we don’t have to answer the same questions over and over.
Make sure all correspondence is polite and comprehensible and not asking questions already answered in our FAQ. As you can imagine, we get a lot of emails around this time and we are able to be more efficient if we don’t have to answer the same questions over and over.
Please remember that the Made on the Left team members are all volunteers – we do this because we love supporting WA makers and we want the best possible market, just like you.
5. Don’t take it personally
If your application is not accepted, don’t give up. We are always impressed by the high quality of work out there but unfortunately we only have a limited number of spaces available. Use it as a learning experience and work on your photos or reassess your products and apply again next time!
Good luck and we look forward to seeing your application!
xxx MOTL Team
