To Market

The rise of the 'indie' craft market has been gaining pace here in my hometown. The once a year 'nanna craft' type quilters market is seeing competition from an increasing array of local craft markets, pitched at the younger demographic. As my thesis deals with the issue of marketing craft as a consumer product the increase in Markets has been on my radar. They provide a fantastic opportunity for local makers to take their product out to consumers and conversely allow those who want to buy handmade to do so.

Initially I had concerns that the markets were being directly pitched as 'indie', little more than a branding exercise. Get the right, idiosyncratic image and your market was guaranteed a crowd. However, the more I attend craft markets the more I see the diverse product range and creative investment that people are investing in their craft.

Today I went to the Box Factory Christmas market and bought a card from the Red Thread collective, a cross stitch kit from Radical craft plus badges and a cute love heart headband.