Handmade Canberra wrap-up
For a long time, doing an interstate market was on my business wish list. But for a long time, I thought it was something I wasn’t ready for or my business was too small to be worthwhile doing. This year I decided to bite the bullet and experience one for myself. After years of doing Melbourne markets, I felt ready to try something different. Perhaps it’s this new decade of life where I’m all about trying new things, even if they don’t work out quite how I planned.
Applying for any market, especially the bigger market events are usually done well in advance, which means plenty of time to prepare for the trip ahead. I decided that it would make sense to tack on a family holiday as it was going to be school holidays and we had never been to Canberra as a family (and later Sydney for a quick trip after). After accommodation, leave from work and other things were all booked, the week prior to the market I managed to catch a bad cold. If there’s ever a time that’s not ideal to get sick, this is one of them. After months of preparing and making, the last thing you want is to fall ill – but it happened! After trying to rest as much as possible before the 7 hour drive to Canberra, I felt reasonably okay on the day we left (thankfully I wasn’t driving!).
The drive was long with two kids in the car, but after a couple of stops on the way, we made it to Canberra an hour or so before the end of bump in. It was one of the easiest bump-ins, from the moment we pulled up out the front to bump-out on the Sunday. I also hired a table and chair, which meant a couple less things to bring and being an Australian-made market, I only had a portion of my usual stock, which meant I had less boxes with me. The organisers were lovely and really helpful, checking in on how you were going throughout the market.
I was in the smaller room, which I initially wasn’t too sure about (there is a smaller room and two large pavillions – one for food and the other the main space with the stalls). I was sandwiched between two corner stalls who had tall backdrops, so I felt a little hidden behind them and was worried people wouldn’t notice me. It’s always tricky with markets, as you can never pick your spot, so I do wonder if I had been in a different location whether it would have made any difference to my sales.
So how did it go?
I still wasn’t feeling 100% at the market, but that aside it was a really positive experience. The event is only on 4 times a year, so there is a good crowd that come through, so apart from the last hour or so of each day, there was a good, steady and sometimes busy flow of crowds. The smaller room didn’t seem or sound as crowded as the larger pavillion (going on what others were saying), but as a shopper this is probably a more pleasant way to shop. I met some really wonderful customers who came to buy my products and had a chat to a few of them. My cats pattern on the zip purses and sunglasses pouches sold out at the market, so it was interesting to see what designs people liked. One customer who stood out, picked up one of my risograph prints, the one with the quote and bought it because it really resonated with her as she was going through cancer treatment. That was really touching and made me realise art can make a difference and bring joy to people’s lives.
The Saturday crowd was busier and there to shop, on Sunday it felt a bit slower with more people browsing and often looking like they would buy something then walk away. One of the first things you need to reach with any market is the stall fee. Once you’ve done that, you can breath a little sigh of relief. The next is selling much more than the stall fee to cover your materials, time etc. And for an interstate market, there’s also accommodation, petrol and food – expenses you wouldn’t normally have or have a lot of with a local market. I went into the market with no expectations, but I was happy with the overall sales considering I didn’t have my full range of products. But with all the expenses of getting to the market and staying in Canberra, I probably just covered my costs, which is not a bad outcome. And we got a little holiday after the market to enjoy as a family.
Like other markets, sometimes you need to go there a few times for people to get to know your brand and build your customer base. I also think I need a greater range of Australian-made products to have more to offer to customers, which is tricky as some items just can’t be manufactured in Australia. The Handmade Canberra market is a well-run and well-supported market and it’s given me the confidence to try another interstate market. Thanks for having me Canberra, we really enjoyed our time there!
