Getting back out there - Thoughts on Selling Pottery at Markets.

Ridge & Furrow has been back in action for a couple of months now and I has felt so good. Not just to be making, but to be selling in person too. It really wasn't so long ago that I had fallen out of love with markets. You never knew if it was going to be a good day or what the British weather was going to impose on you. So naturally as I turned my thoughts from making to selling at markets again I was worried it was all going to feel like a hassle again.

But so far, it hasn't. As a life long introvert and awkward person I have been surprised to find myself looking forward to setting up my stall and seeing what and whom the day would bring. Maybe it is because I have only had sunny selling days so far or yet to have a day where I make £0 (again), or maybe it is because I know what it is to have lost the one thing I felt called to do that I appreciate every minute. Sales slowed down in the afternoon? Have a little wander and chat to my fellow stall holders. Everyone else packing up early? Appreciate the chance to slow down and practice gratitude for everything and everyone who helped me get back to what I love.

Finding the right places to sell is very much a case of trial and error but I think I am starting to find my spots. I am working up to applying for bigger events next year which is scary, with the often £100s of pounds worth of stall fees and travel costs. This year I am focusing on finding the local events, finding my regulars and getting word out that Ridge & Furrow Ceramics is back.

Another aspect of the markets I have enjoyed is all the chats I have been having. I typically avoid small talk wherever possible but when it comes to pottery, I'm all in. Perhaps it is because it is easier to talk about what I know, but I do think these past couple of months have helped me to squeeze out of my cocoon and get more confident about talking to complete strangers about salt pigs and glaze mixing, flowers and the wobbly beginner pots they made when they had a go.

It is not just the folks on the other side of the table, your market neighbours can really make a difference. In the past I have had market stall neighbours ranging from lovely to pretending that I didn't exist. It doesn't take too much to make your adjacent stall holder know your're in the same boat and that you can be trusted to keep an eye while they pop to the loo. (I once went a FULL DAY needing a wee because I felt uncomfortable leaving my stall with the people around me on a busy high street, miserable.) Even today I was able to help my stall neighbour out with an internet hotspot to make a sale as it seemed I was the only one with good mobile signal. Getting to know your neighbours is how you get the good tips for other markets to try, see what they're doing well that you're not and vice versa. That's where I got the idea for my ceramics price markers came from.

All in all, I am enjoying this new wave of market momentum and am looking forward to seeing more lovely faces for chats about pots, dogs, hot beverages and the weather. I think starting a market day with good intentions, preparedness that it might not be the best day ever and knowing where the best place to nip for a wee is goes a long way goes a long way to making it bearable and even enjoyable. Even on my worst markets I have learned something or been encouraged by the kindness of others.

What is your favourite thing about a craft market? Where do you think I could sell my work next?