Jewellery Craft Market Vlog & Packing List With Mareike

byMaraca is all about bold yet sophisticated jewellery made by me, Mareike, in my home studio in Liverpool, UK. Established early 2020, I decided to take things properly into my hands when the first lockdown hit. After a 10-week course with Make it With Kim, I got to work with my very own byMaraca pieces, with the idea of selling them firmly in my head already.

How did I go about it? Well, I had a slight advantage, namely that before starting byMaraca, I had a small printing business with which I gained a bit of experience selling my etchings and lino prints online and from 2017 at local markets, arts trails and the like. Knowing how markets work, what to pack and how to get into them was a huge task already out of the way when in-person markets finally started happening again in the autumn of 2020.

Kernowcraft have kindly ask me to give some insights into this part of my jewellery business in their Day In The Life Of A Jeweller vlog, and I thought alongside the tips I give in the videos which follow me around market prep, setting up and post-market thoughts, a packing list for a jeweller’s very first (or second, or 100^th) market would be a great resource.

Every jewellery display is different, every market is different, and you and your stall will evolve with time and should. What seems like a good idea at home might not work ‘out there’, what makes sense to you might confuse customers. Mix all jewellery? Divide by collections? By type of jewellery? By material? Try it out and see what resonates. See what questions you get asked and take it from there. And – may I add – never ever apologise for your prices.

Watch Mareike's Day In The Life Video, Prepping and Running A Market Stall!

Before applying for a market

Make yourself familiar with the market you think of joining and if possible, visit first
Make sure you’d be able to arrange transport to the market
Research the parking situation or taxi fares to not get surprise costs on the day
Is the market attracting your ideal audience?
If yes, apply! Usually, this happens via email or through online forms
Be patient and kind with the organisers: They’re either volunteers or a small business themselves (potentially with day jobs like many of us makers)
Don’t be disappointed if you receive a rejection: Maybe there’s another jeweller who sells similar items, and not getting that gig means you won’t have to share sales with that other stall holder
If you get accepted, hooray!

In advance of the market

Organise insurance (if not provided by event organisers)
Make sure jewellery is shiny
Make sure jewellery is priced if you display prices
Make sure stock list is up to date if you have one
Make sure you have small change
Make sure card reader is charged and can connect to your phone
Make sure you have enough business cards
Charge battery pack (for card reader/phone)
Check out other jewellery businesses and how they present their work at markets – but never copy! Get inspired but make it your own
Share, share, share and share again on social media!

Jewellery and packaging

Jewellery, in boxes or on cards, ready to be put on display
Spare boxes / cards / stickers
(paper) bags to give to customers, ideally with your logo (sticker, stamp, handwritten business name)
Anything you want to include in the bags such as online shop vouchers

Table

Table if not provided by venue
(bar) chair if not provided by venue
Tablecloth
Your logo in some form (people want to know who they buy from!)
Consider also presenting your story, values etc in some form
Something saying you take card payment
Business cards

Display

Your display of choice (think building upwards to catch the eye and keep customers at your stall)
Price blocks if you choose to use them
Optional: plants, fairy lights or other decoration to give it a lifestyle look

Behind the scenes

Food (I don’t know how to do a market without packed lunch and snacks! Often there are food stalls but at a busy market you might not get a chance to nip out!)
Drink (you’ll talk a lot!)
Polishing pads / cloth (there’s always something to polish when there’s a quiet 10min)
Pen and paper (or other way to track your sales, make notes, take emails for commissions etc)
Blue tac
Tape
Scissors
Small pliers or other tools you use regularly in case you need to fix something
Battery pack to charge phone and card reader
Small bin bag
Two tooth picks if you sell fine necklaces (the ONLY way to detangle them)
Sample of jewellery in progress to show how you make it, people are curious!

One big question is: How many products should I bring?

This varies from maker to maker, and how many different products/designs you offer. I try to bring two to five of each item, but most importantly, don’t burn yourself out on the way there when making them. If you can fill your display to a satisfying extent, you’re good. That extent depends on the aesthetics you go for.

A byMaraca stall is full to the brim with about 100 different products. Others have 10 carefully selected pieces and look just as stunning. There’s no right or wrong: See what you can manage and what you want to and can achieve. See markets also as networking opportunities: People might want to think about buying a piece of jewellery, make sure your contact details are obvious (poster) and portable (business cards).

With all this in mind and with this packing list at the ready, there’s only one last thing for me to say: Have a wonderful market, enjoy your time, and know you have many customers (and cheerleaders) out there that will be SO happy you’ve decided to sell at their favourite market!

If you’d like to let me know how you get on, please feel free to message me or tag me in any posts on Instagram @bymarca, or visit my website and contact me there www.bymaracajewellery.com, or email me at [email protected]

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