Made on the Left KickstART Markets workshop

Join Made on the Left for a workshop and networking session as a part of the KickstART Festival! With the KickstART Markets fast approaching, the Made on the Left team will be discussing everything you need to know about selling at markets, with heaps of handy tips about developing your creative business, including;

- Pricing your products/services
- Stall aesthetics
- Tips and advice for selling at markets
- Approaching shops for wholesale

- Coming up with your business name

- Branding and packaging for handmade products;
- and much more.

You'll also have the opportunity to ask questions and network with other independent artists and small business owners.

Past stallholders at the KickstART Markets have found this workshop incredibly beneficial and useful to their business and art practice. We strongly encourage everyone who is in the early stages of building their creative business or practice to come along. Entry is free.

When: Thursday, March 13 from 6.00pm - 8.30pm

Where: Venue in central Northbridge TBA
Register through the Propel website: http://www.propel.org.au/events/1356

Presented by Propel Youth Arts WA in celebration of National Youth Week, the KickstART Festival is a massive series of events designed to spark your creativity. The KickstART Festival will be serving up an assortment of arts workshops, performances, discussion forums, live music, special events and activities from 5 - 26th April, 2014. 

Market tips

There are some great tips for preparing for markets on the internet and here a few we thought might be useful:

Top Five: Market Tips from so little time

Top 10 Tips: Market Stalls from Finders Keepers

Tips for Market Stall Holders from Handmade Canberra 

Selling at markets: some tips and advice from The Square: Bendigo's Handmade Market

Six useful tips from Craft Blog 

A Market Organiser’s insider tips on a successful market stall! from The Market Roll 

Top 10 tips - Visual merchandising for your market stall from Dance in my Garden 

Lessons learned from my first market from Emmaline 

The Contemporary Handmade Alliance's Market Week series:
Goals and Expectations
Visual Merchandising

Market Checklist

Top Tips with seller Sweet William 
Top Tips with seller Rabbit & the Duck

And some tips from our very own Made on the Left team:
What to bring to your craft fair 
Market Guide - Stock Levels 
Craft fair etiquette for stall holders 
So You've never had a Stall Before - Monday Hint 

What are your top market tips?

Interested in Selling Children's Items?

We had an email and thought some out there might be interested...

Visit the website here

"Originally the markets were intended only for handmade products but during the planning stages I have seen the need for a market selling a bigger variety of products for children including products that are not handmade.

November 6 2010

Melville Civic Centre - Main Hall

Street Address: 10 Almondbury Rd, Booragoon WA

Entry off Davy St (behind Garden City) - See Directions

Follow 'THE VAULT' & 'Library' Road Signs

9:00am - 1:00pm

Free Entry

Other Dates for 2010

December 4"

So You've never had a Stall Before - Tues, Wed, Thursday

Oh Dear.

Been having problems with my modem over the last few days, so havn't been nearly as organised as I would have liked. So here's the three tips from Tuesday to today, all in one hit!

Tuesday's Hint:
Stand Up and Smile.
This is standard knowledge amoungst the market regulars, but unless someone had told me, I would still have no idea. Standing up for as long as you can, instead of sitting in a chair behind your stall, as well as looking happy to be there and NOT letting on you've sold two things all day is one of the MOST effective way to increase sales. We're not 100% sure of why, but we KNOW it works. So show those pearly whites and wear comfy shoes folks.

Wednesday's Hint:
How Much?
Imagine you've got a shy, unassuming customer at your stall, who LOVES handmade but simply can't bring yourself to ask a seller how much that beautiful notebook is. Sure, if she REALLY wants it, she'll ask, but if she's maybe tossing that up with something also pretty cool, and she can't compare prices easily, she'll just go with the one that the other seller priced clearly. So make sure prices are large and easy visible, or each item is tagged individually so that if they pick it up, they know how much that item is. You'll also not have the challenge of having to know the prices of each one of your one-off, seperately priced handmade bags. Which has to be a good thing, right?

Thursday's Hint:
Love Yourself.
Have you ever gone into a phone shop and been thinking about what phone you're going to get, and the assistant comes up and recommends you a phone, and assures you that its the best one, and that she uses it all the time, its her favourite phone to date? Only to see her later on her lunchbreak chatting to her boyfriend on a completely different phone? Sure its great to talk about your items to buyers in a positive way, but if it's not the truth, people can smell insincerity from a mile off. And I for one would not want to buy handmade from someone who I don't believe or who doesn't believe in what they've made. I want to buy from someone who wears their work everywhere if they're a jewellery-maker, or who has her couches smothered in her custom-made cushions whenever I go over their house. So love what you do, and wear/use/show it, not just as advertising, but because you want to!

p.s. this hint was inspired by Sarah G (oddgirlout/MOTLteam member), who is always sporting her black polyclay earrings whenever I see her, and forgets she even has them on :)

Stay tuned for tomorrow's hint, the second last one for this series. Let us know if you have a request for something we should write about net, or even if you have an article you wrote and want to share.

So You've never had a Stall Before - Monday Hint

Hello Again,

Just a quick one before I hop off to bed!

Mondays's Hint:
Height, height, height.
Cast your mind back to the last car boot sale or swap meet you went to. As you were walking around, did you stop at some vendors more than others? Bets on you did. And bets also on the probability that they either had their stuff elevated on boxes or a table, rather than spread out over the ground.

Presentation is everything. We as humans like a little bit of interest in our visual world, and we also like to be close enough to things to be able to see clearly. You can capture the attention of "walker-bys", and turn them into "lookers" and maybe even change them to "buyers" (ka-ching!), simply by adding height to your display. As we've all got our trestle tables at Made on the Left already, you've already gotten to hip height with most of your customers, which is a great start. Below are a few starting ideas for adding even more height and visual interest to your display, which we've purposefully kept relatively inexpensive and easy for you, because not everyone can afford to outlay a massive amount on specialised stands and displays. And lets face it, something already pre-made and mass produced isn't always the best way to present your one-of-a-kind, amasing handmade items!

These ideas are just from looking at the last MOTL in November 2009!

1. Arranging covered boxes in cool ways and putting your stuff on them:

This can also be a space saver if you've brought your stock to the market in those same boxes!


2. Picking up some picture frames and making a stand or two, either vintage ones or some that caught your eye in a shop:

If you make clean/classic items, go for a clean/classic frame. If your items are wild and kooky, look for a frame that will complement (not compete with) your items. Dont forget spraypaint is your friend, and to take the glass out, as market stuff gets dropped ALL THE TIME. I will never forget when I held up one of my stands with a jar of tiny buttons... and I knocked it over and they tipped out all over the pub carpet! Eww!


3. Using things that wern't originally meant for display purposes in a cool and quirky way:

Heaps of things here, a covered box, a corkboard, a dish-drying rack, a chair, and a little suitcase!

Well thats Monday's hint. Let us know in the comments of any tips you have for sellers, or ideas for adding height, or maybe even you have a "oops" story like my jar of buttons! Do share, everyone loves a laugh!

xx Lauren & The Team

So You've never had a Stall Before?

Hi Folks,

Well it's that time again, when we bring out the trusty old favourite; the How To Set Up Your Stall post.
With pretty much the most new stallholders we've had since our first market way back in June 08, we figure you freshers might need a little bit of a hand, and seeing as we live to launch Perth's newest creatives, we thought we could be the ones to do it.

Its quite a feat to have a "finished" stall setup, everyone I know or see both here in Perth and elsewhere around the globe are continiually tweaking, adding and refining their stall setups and displays... we can always see room for improvement. So if you're a veteran, read ahead, you might find something to help you out!

Now we're going to stick with the basic trestle-table setup for these daily posts, as thats what we have at Made on the Left. Some of the more elaborate, larger markets can end up with stalls that look like mini retail stores, and require a lot of effort and imagination, not to mention set-up and pack-up time!

If you're just starting out, this week I'll be posting one top tip a day right through until Saturday, so make sure you come back here or add us to your blog reader to get the rest of the hints!

Sunday's Hint:
Clean, white, ironed tablecloth.
Some people love the look of black, but it's a lot harder to keep clean and most peoples products dont "pop" enough out from a dark background, and with our notorious Made on the Left lighting (yes, I can hear some of you sniggering), its best to keep your displays light coloured. Also notice I stated that your table cloth needs to be CLEAN and IRONED. Its actually best if you can get a tablecloth that doesnt need ironing, as it saves a LOT of work and effort (its really hard to keep it crease-free from your house, into your market gear, and then out onto the trestle-table). There is nothing more off-putting than a hairy, stained, wrinkly tablecloth touching jewellery that you might be putting in your ears or around your neck.
Except maybe if its smelley too boot.

Added bonus points if the tablecloth is floor length on three sides so you have a hidey spot for all your gear during the market under your table.

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for our Monday Hint, and please comment us with any questions at the end of this post, or you can email lauren[at]madeontheleft[dot]com if you're shy :).

Alternatively, you can let us know one of YOUR top hints that might be useful to newbie (or veteran!) sellers. Check out previous posts on stock levels and what-to-brings HERE.

xo Lauren & The Team

November Made On The Left Market Stallholder Call Out!

We are very excited to announce the second Made On The Left Market and need you and your handmade goods!

Our intention is to give every type of designer an opportunity, no matter the scale of their business. Maybe you are a veteran or maybe you’ve just started out and this is your first event. No matter the experience level, we will try to accommodate you and your space preference in the best possible way.

The last event was a great success and we hope that you will join us this time.

Made on the Left Designer Market
10am – 4pm
Saturday November 15 2008
Hyde Park Hotel
331 Bulwer St North Perth

Stallholder Applications are now available in pdf or word format via the Made on the Left Craft Fair page of the website. Submissions close 6pm September 30 2008.

Then submit them to admin@madeontheleft.com or alternatively contact us for our mailing address.
Have a question that hasn't been answered on the application? Visit the FAQ page for further information.