Handmade Canberra's UpmarketHandmade - Canberra's quarterly Upmarket brings together talented artists, designers, stylists, craftspeople and gourmets all at one destination. It is a unique event to connect the makers of beautiful things to people who appreciate the quality, handcrafted and Australian designed.
Established in 2008, Handmade Market has quickly established itself as Canberra's Premier market for handcrafted wares. Handmade came about due to the enormous popularity of all that is “handmade” Canberra provides so many opportunities to lean new and varied skills but the chance to show these to the general public is very limited.
Having had the chance to travel extensively through Australia and experience all that markets can offer it was decided that Canberra was the prime location for a high quality market of Australian designed goods. The concept of the market was designed around the experience I had had from being a stallholder and designer myself and also from talking to others in a similar position.
The biggest initial challenge to stating handmade was convincing people that it would work. In Canberra we become very used to doing things how they have always been done. For such a transient town we really do not bring many new concepts into play.
Once Handmade had established itself after the first two markets the next challenge was how to keep up with the market. We had created a monster so very popular that this then became our next problem. We quickly grew out of venues and were inundated with applications. We have now found a permanent home at the Kamberra Wine Company on Northbourne Ave across from Epic. Initially we were at Albert Hall then moved to the Woolshed when renovations began. We grew out of the woolshed and also experienced the wrath of other groups wanting to use the same location and facilities. It seems that when you become successful you also become very public and everyone has an opinion on how you should do things.
One thing we have learnt from this is that privately owned business will do things quicker and more efficiently than a Govt group. This is unfortunate for Canberra as we are predominantly Govt run.
Another of our constantly changing problems is finding time to take advantage of all the opportunities that come our way. It is a real challenge to allow people to help you when you are growing your business. At some point if things are going right you will need help. Finding those people can be a challenge.
Handmade Market opened a retail space in Allara Street, City Walk in April 2010. Shop Handmade came about from all the questions we constantly received from designers about wholesaling, merchandising and retailing. Not all details have been finalized but you can find out more at shophandmadecanberra.blogspot.com.
Handmade is constantly reviewing and changing how it does things. What is suitable one day may not be the next. We spend a lot of time listening to our designers and their customers. We always listen to what is being said. We then decide what can be useful and put it into play. Our alignment with the Marketing Coach is another initiative that is new to markets anywhere. If we can offer the designer better business skills they can improve the quality of service they also provide. This reflects well on all of us.
More information about Handmade Market can be found at www.handmademarket.com.au
Posted April 2010
