Gibside Craft Market
You may have heard that here at Gibside we run a very successful monthly Farmers Market which has gone from strength to strength since it was introduced in February 2008. This regular market has been enthusiastically received and supported by our members and non members alike and it is with this in mind that we are now introducing a monthly craft market which will take place on the first Saturday of each month from 10am until 3pm.
Gibside is a major National Trust Property and attracts over 115,000 visitors per year who come to enjoy the historical garden which is currently under restoration. One of the proven success measures of the Farmers Market is its positioning which is pre-pay point so shoppers enjoy free parking and free access to the market. The venue is close to some of the main features of the garden so often people take in a visit as well as browsing the stalls.
The market will consist of 12-14 matching gazebos as presentation is important on a site such as Gibside and each gazebo will house 2 traders and the whole market will have a reuse, recycle theme. One gazebo will be allocated to garden swap where local gardeners and enthusiasts can bring surplus plants or ornaments for swapping. We are also going to provide ‘have a go’ traditional crafts such as corn dollies and flower pressing each month.
Our aim is to build on the core branding and communication themes of the National Trust such as ‘local and seasonal food’ for the Farmers Market and ‘reduce, reuse recycle’ for our new Green Market. This has already brought a lot of benefit to the Farmers Market with a great deal of media interest and with editorials in National Trust publications which also compliment the promotion of the markets through Gibside’s own marketing plan.
We are inviting local crafts people to book a table at a cost of £10 plus £10 deposit which is refundable on the day and the markets are being tested in the first instance each month from May to November inclusively. I am attaching a booking sheet for your convenience and would note that all bookings will be made on a first come first served basis. We have already had much interest in this forthcoming event and so I would suggest early booking to avoid disappointment. See you there!
