This August TheCluttery had a stall at Art in the Park in Leamington Spa. AITP is an annual weekend-long free festival of arts, with dance and music performances, art workshops, food trucks and an arts market. As this was the largest event I planned for 2024 I wanted it to be worthwhile so I hired a gazebo and filled it with three tables of my designs. With each event I sell at I learn a little more about what did and didn’t work, so read on for my 5 takeaways from this year’s AITP…

1.Balance Your Vision v. What You Can Afford

I have always struggled to add height to my displays and so I often covet other jewellers’ perfectly curated peg boards on Instagram. Whenever I’ve tried the same, the boards either end up too heavy or too flimsy. For AITP I was worried about filling the space and almost bought a floor standing sign and some back-boards to hang necklaces on…all of which would have looked awesome BUT I’m not sure I would have used them again. Instead, I compromised and bought display equipment I knew I would use again in my regular markets: 2 tiered units (£80), a banner sign (£40), and 2 earring card displays (£15). It’s worth remembering that customers won’t know what you intended to display, they only see what you actually display, so it’s likely you’ll be the only person disappointed with the final result.

2.People love a sale section

I have a problem: I am a prolific maker. I have so many designs and colour options in my catalogue that at a normal day-market I can’t possibly fit it all in. This means I have to make choices about what to display. Quite often I don’t display the cheaper items or indeed, a sale tray, instead focusing on more complex and expensive items. The problem with this of course is that PEOPLE LOVE A SALE! This year Mr Cluttery encouraged me to pop a little tray of reduced items on my stalls to see what would happen. And wouldn’t you know it, browsing teenagers, mums buying gifts and anyone hunting for bargains is drawn to a sale tray. At AITP I noticed that people buying gifts for others will often make a snap decision at the till and throw a £5 pair of studs onto the pile as a little treat to themselves. One customer told her tween children they could each choose something from the sale tray, which stopped them moaning for a few minutes and added £10 to her existing purchases (nice). So if you’re a maker and you can’t fit all your stock out, make sure you don’t remove the cheapest thing!

3.Every vendor needs a market-kit

Many years of selling at arts markets has taught me that in addition to stock, display equipment, paper bags, business cards, cash and a card machine, anybody selling at a market is going to need a stash of extra things that just come in handy and make the day a little easier.

A basic kit for both indoor and outdoor markets includes:

*snacks and drinks (food at venues can be expensive and queues long)

*tools, findings and a ruler/tape measure (I alter chains to fit if needed)

*tape (an absolute must)

*scissors, a pen and paper (for impromptu price labels, note taking etc)

*something warm to wear and comfy shoes (standing around for hours can get cold, even in the summer)

*painkillers (developing a headache with hours to go isn’t fun)

For AITP I added a mini electric fan, a Swiss Army knife, string, market clips (hand-clamps that hold down flapping tablecloths), a power bank and a roll of toilet paper (Porta-Loos are even more awful when they run out of paper!).

I used absolutely each item from my market-kit during AITP, from scribbling labels and securing displays, to cleaning up spills and mending a broken chain. You’ll be thankful you put the effort in, particularly if you’re on your own and need to find a quick solution when something goes wrong.

4.I need to switch my mobile phone provider

We are traditionally an O2 family, that was, until this weekend… AITP is an outdoor event so there is no wifi and no ATM there. This means sellers and the public alike have to use their own data, which wouldn’t be a problem if O2’s coverage outside of the major cities wasn't utter pants! By midday on Saturday my phone stopped connecting to my card machine. Luckily, Mr Cluttery was there and he walked into Leamington for a pay-as-you-go SIM from EE (they have very good coverage apparently) which cost around £15. But for the hour that he was away and because apparently nobody carries cash any more I actually lost business. One customer did manage to pay for her necklace using PayPal and for small amounts most customers were able to scrape up the cash from their friends or relatives, but at least three people had to walk away because they had no way of paying me. The new EE SIM card saved the weekend for me, but a lot of my fellow makers were really badly affected by this issue, so much so that the organisers pleaded on Instagram for the public to bring cash with them on Sunday! This issue is a difficult one to mitigate, but perhaps if you’re a trader it’s worth doing some research on network coverage and maybe changing your provider.

5.A helper is a great help

I booked Mr Cluttery’s assistance well in advance for this event as past experiences have shown me that being on your own for a full day is not only tiring and awkward, but potentially dangerous. He was my transport and helped me set up, he covered toilet breaks, he fetched food and even a new SIM card, he kept me company during quiet periods and was just generally helpful. I could have done it without him, but it would have been way more stressful and a lot less enjoyable. So what do you do if you don’t have a helper? Well, all large events of this nature have a Duty Manager or security team to call if needed. For the most part though you’ll be reliant on your neighbours - the other vendors who are also alone and who will usually look after things for a few minutes while you buy a snack or help pick up a display that’s blown down, for example. I always get to know the vendors around me at events because it helps us solo makers to create a community, feel secure, share ideas and generally make an event enjoyable. So the takeaway here is to be friendly and helpful with your neighbours, and they’ll do the same for you.

What would I do differently next year?

This year was my first time at AITP so I didn't know what to expect from this venue or customer base. Despite a few set-backs, like the patchy wifi and the general downturn in customer spending thanks to the cost of living crisis, TheCluttery did well and I would definitely return for another year. There are a few things I would do differently though. I would probably buy my own gazebo as the one I hired from the festival was shabby and fairly dirty from lots of use, plus the blue panel along one side sucked light out of the tent! Of course, this would only be worthwhile if I intended to use it for a number of events. I would also make some more signs and posters of my work to hang around the space and draw people in - jewellery is small and sometimes hard to notice across a field. Finally, I would probably lay a rug down in the centre of my tent to make it more comfortable for us and the customers.

Here’s my section on the AITP website - check it out here.