The Dreamers Market Autumn 2014

We're back for our 6th and first market of 2014. 

The Dreamers Market Autumn market will be on Saturday, April 5th from 9.30am to 2.30pm at the beautiful Riverside Theatres in Parramatta.

Save the date!

Parramatta Artisans' Market

We are excited to announce that the Dreamers Market in collaboration with Parramatta Council is curating the Parramatta Artisans' Markets this December.

It will be the same high quality Australian handmade market that you've come to know and love!

Applications are now open for the following twilight markets:

• Friday, Dec 6th
• Friday, Dec 13th
• Friday, Dec 20th

The markets at a glance:

• Will be held at the Church Street Mall in Parramatta from 4pm to 8pm.
• All products for sale must be handmade in Australia. No imported items allowed.
• The stallholder fee for this event is $70.15 (GST inclusive).
• All stallholders will have access to a hi-top white fete stall
• Stallholder sign for the event.
• A large marketing plan has been put in place to attract plenty of visitors to the market.

To apply, you can download the application form here.

All applications must be returned to: dreamersmarket.parra.artisan@gmail.com

Applications Close: Friday, 22nd November 2013

Tips to Make your Market Experience Successful

If you are doing markets and shows, this article gives you helpful hints and tips to make your experience succesful. We've included in this post, only those topics that are commonly asked.

Below is just an excerpt from the article, "Doing Craft Shows: Simple Tips to make your experience successful". You can read the whole article here.

Written by Patrice Lewis for craftreport.com 

Sales Psychology
Okay, you’re at the show. Now what? How do you bring customers into your booth?

It goes without saying that your booth is attractive and not sloppy. You are wearing appropriate clothing that is neat and professional. You have a nice, friendly smile.

Selling takes a certain psychology, as any good salesperson will tell you. When customers are browsing, the last thing they want is to feel pressured. Don’t act like the stereotypical used car salesman, talking constantly and trying to force a sale.

Offer a browser a friendly, but neutral, greeting (“Good morning!”). You’ve acknowledged the customer’s presence without making any additional demands. Don’t start peppering them with unwanted or unasked-for information. If you do that, I can almost guarantee that the customer will back-peddle out of your booth with a mumbled excuse about meeting Cousin Bob somewhere else.

Naturally, you’ll be available to answer specific questions about your product, but answer in such a way that does not imply that you now expect them to buy something (“That knick-knack is made out of solid walnut…so, can I wrap it up for you?”). A little humor sprinkled in makes the customer feel more comfortable. But don’t talk too much; customers generally want to be left alone to make up their minds.

It’s a fine balance. Being friendly with your customers improves your chances of making a sale, but trying to make them your best friend by nagging them will damage sales.

And, of course, most people will walk into a booth, and then walk out again. Most won’t buy anything – at least, not yet. It’s up to you to make their brief browsing experience so pleasant and unpressured that they’ll feel free to come back later and buy.

Booth Layout

Booth layout is difficult to discuss, because every product is different. Some items need to be behind glass with bright lights shining on them (such as jewelry). Some items need to be dangled from above. Some items need to be displayed on tables.

But, in every case, the key ingredient is visibility. It may seem obvious, but if the customer doesn’t see the product, and see it quickly, then it doesn’t exist.
Consider the power of a vertical display. Items that are displayed where the eye can sweep over them at a glance – and see the entire selection – are far more likely to result in higher sales.

Keep your shelves full. It’s a strange element of show psychology, but customers who see half-empty shelves are not impressed by how well your product has been selling. Instead, they will glance at your nearly vacant display, and walk on. It doesn’t matter how many pieces you still have on display. Half-empty shelves equal “no selection” in the eyes of a potential customer.

So, if you sell one piece, replace it with another piece. If you run out of replacement stock, then either reduce the number of shelving or display units you have available, or have something on hand to act as “fillers” for empty displays (silk flowers, driftwood, roadkill; anything is better than nothing).
 
Miscellaneous Tips

•     Bring a friend. Always try to work a booth with another person. Not only is this helpful during bathroom breaks, but it’s important to help deter shoplifting.
•     Do a dress rehearsal. If you are going to an event with your own booth, make sure you have assembled it at least once, in advance, at home, preferably blindfolded and standing on one leg in a rainstorm in the dead of night, to reproduce all the difficulties you’ll no doubt encounter at one time or another. It’s called a dress rehearsal, and theater or dance companies do them for good reason.
•     Keep a sense of humor. Cultivate a sense of humor. Display a sense of humor. Humor relaxes people, it makes you seem less “predatory,” and it creates an instant bond.
•     Sometimes you’ll get a person in your booth who looks and looks and looks, and then leaves without buying anything. This person is valuable to you. To a passing browser, there is safety in numbers. People are more likely to enter a booth when someone else is there ahead of them. So don’t lose patience with the person who spends a lot of time looking and then leaves without buying; they’ve provided you with a service by attracting other customers to your booth.
•     Know in advance what the show producers will provide. Some shows supply booth, tables, skirting, and signage (these are usually the more expensive shows). Others provide nothing but a square of grass. Be clear in advance what you’ll need to bring so you won’t be caught with your pants (metaphorically) down.
•     Never, ever leave a vacant chair available in your booth. A vacant chair means you’re a captive audience to anyone who wants to sit down and relate Great Aunt Martha’s gall bladder surgery.

Love the Life

Selling at craft fairs should be – and often is – fun. You’ll meet new people, see new places, and hopefully make some money.
But, craft shows can be frustrating, as well. Despite the best preparation, you never know how much – or if – you’ll make enough money to make it worthwhile. It’s important to understand that a show could be a bomb. That’s why, hopefully, the information in this article will help steer you in the right direction.

How to Distress Wood

Here is a quick and easy tutorial on how to distress a boring wooden object. 

For this project, we used a wooden crate we found at the $2 store. This was meant to hold plastic fruits but we thought it would be good as props for the market. And for the price of $2.50, we'd be crazy not to take it home. 

To turn this crate from boring to interesting, we decided to make a distressed wooden crate. You only need 2 different colours of acrylic paints, light and dark, which you can also get from the $2 shop, a paintbrush and sandpaper. You can also spray finish it but this is optional.

Step 1 - If your object is not new, clean and remove dust.

 

Step 2 - Paint with your choice of light coloured paint. In this project, we painted white. Then let it dry.

 

Step 3 - Paint over with your choice of dark coloured paint. We use dark brown for this crate. Then let it dry.

Step 4 -Sand the wooden crate to as much as you want depending on the effect you want. Spray finish if you wish but this is not necessary. In our case, we lightly sprayed with a glossy finish.

Step 5 - Voila! A cute market props!

Jo's Pick of the Week

1st row:
Wooly By Nature
Busy Bee Baby Gifts
2nd row:
Froth and Bubble
Red Corduroy
3rd row:
NaksWax
Christina Egger

Pick of the Week

From left to right clockwise:
Monkeyfolio
Vintage Coast Interirors
Silvermonk
Elm Design
Jewelry by Sabine
Divine Hedgehog
Smudge Design
Travelling Alice

2013 Australian Craft Awards Shortlisted

We are proud to announced that the Dreamers Market is shortlisted in the 2013 Australian Craft Awards under the Craft Market category. This award celebrates the leading craft market that provides an opportunity for craft practitioners to sell directly to the public.

If you wish to see us go through the finals, please vote for the Dreamers Market. Thank you so much, we value your support. 

Applications to the Dreamers Market Spring 2013 - Now Open!

The final edition of the Dreamers Market for 2013 is on Saturday, Oct 19th.

Applications are now open and will close on Aug 22nd. 

If you want to be a part of the Spring 2013 Market, head over to our website to apply.

Are you a Green Thumb?

•  Jo from Weepots  makes ceramic pots out of porcelain.  The pots are left unglazed. She plants succulents in them. 
  As you may all know, succulent plants are very easy to look after. The secret is don't water too often. In the winter when they are mostly asleep and stop growing, you just leave them dry and water them maybe once every  2 weeks. Jo prefers to spray them with water so as not to drown them. 
• Next time you visit the Dreamers Markets, go and see Jo. She can give you some advice about succulents and how she manage to grow them even if she is not the so called "Green Thumb".

The next Dreamers Market is on October 19, 2013 at the Riverside Theatres, Parramatta, 

Dreamers Spotlight: WeePots

Tell us something about yourself?

My name is Jo. I make pots, chimes, small bowls and lots of other small things out of porcelain clay. All my work are handbuilt from slabs of clay. 

What are your sources of inspiration?

I am inpired by my home and garden. I make pots that I would use to decorate my home. My love for succulents inspired me to make the  white porcelain pots. 

Where and when did you learn your craft? Who taught you?

I am self taught. I live in the Middle east since 20 years and over there only our husbands can work while we stay at home.  One day, I decided to buy a kiln and learned pottery from books.  Over the years, with lots of trial and error,  I became comfortable with clay and hand building. 

Aside from your craft. what else do you enjoy doing?

I love to cook and experiment with baking. I also started to learn how to knit a scarf. One day I will knit a blanket with big yarn. 

What piece of advice can you give to other artist?

Be creative and enjoy what you love to do. Don't copy other peoples work, at least modify it a bit. 

What are your plans for the future?

I would love to have a shop of my own where I can give workshops in pottery using porcelain and handbuilding techniques. It would be nice to share what I know.

Jo will be at the Dreamers market on July 20. her stall will be full of lovely succulents in their pots and lots of other porcelain stuff that she has created.