Sophie Amelia | A Summer of Makers Markets

Sophie Amelia is a textile designer for home interior products and accessories, going into her third and final year as a student on the Textile Design course at Leeds Arts University. Sophie is a process-led designer-maker and her practice centres around screen printing. This summer she decided to launch her textile products into the real world and took part in her first ever makers markets.

She attended the Young Trader competition markets in York, and then in Leeds which was the regional semi-final, where Sophie won and then went through to the regional finals in Doncaster. She also attended the Mindful Market at Leeds Kirkgate Market and the Indie Makers Market at Leeds Corn Exchange (all of which she highly recommends). Sophie’s next and final market for this summer will be a pop up at Urban Outfitters in the Leeds Trinity Shopping centre on the 10^th and 11^th of Septmber.

Below, we chat with her about why selling in real life is important, and her advice to fellow makers who wish to become market vendors.

How did you decide what markets to attend and how did you discover them?

I was aware of a lot of independent markets from having attended them myself in the past as a customer! I follow a lot of market accounts on Instagram and I kept an eye out for applications opening and tried my luck at getting a spot! I also made sure I had plenty of good product photographs to support my applications which I think helped.

Why did you choose to start selling in real life?

I decided that now was the best time to start selling my products because with only one year left at university I felt that it was a good time to work out teething issues on the business side of things, begin to establish a customer base, and build connections with markets and potential stockists. This was so that when I leave University I feel more prepared and have made myself some grounds to start working from in the hopes that at that point I will be ready to go full time self-employed. My plan has always been to work for myself, doing both freelance print workshops and selling my own textile pieces.

How did you prepare for the events?

Preparation for the markets came in the form of printing lots and lots of fabric to hand over to my tailor so that I had plenty of stock and starting to explore potential ways of displaying my stock. A trip to B&Q later, and a couple of days with some power tools and wood stain, and I had built myself a set of display stands for my products. I also took to making tabletop signage – price lists, QR codes to scan to get to my socials, and signs promoting my made to order product services. My final task, which I felt was of very high importance, was to sew my pup Mac a bandana from my fabric so that he could be sporting some of my prints at the markets he attended with me!

What would be your top pieces of advice for fellow creatives who wish to start attending markets?

I definitely noticed that the products that were elevated on my table made higher sales and it added more interest to my display, so I would definitely recommend buying or making some stands to best display your products if it is something you are in the position to invest in. You can even set up a pretend market stall at home and take photographs so that when you arrive at the market you have something to refer back to! Arriving at a market can feel a bit stressful so having a clear plan definitely helps. I would also highly recommend getting a card reader, there are lots of companies that make affordable card readers (I use Zettle) and this will massively increase your customer base, I found that on average ½ of my sales were made via card payment, particularly for the higher price tag items.

What have you learnt from taking part?

From taking part in markets across Yorkshire I have found that sales vary greatly from location to location, I think that in order to meet lots of different people and to offer my products to a wider range of customers it will be best to travel to different cities wherever possible! Sales are also very dependent on weather and time of year and time of month, so don’t be too harsh on yourself if you have a market day with low sales! Ultimately even if you don’t make a sale you are still marketing yourself and building up a brand relationship with new customers so there is always worth to be found in attending markets.

Sophie’s products will soon be stocked in store and online at the Art House in Wakefield, and then she’ll be back to University where she’ll be focusing on producing a few new design collections, doing plenty of sampling and making the most of the access to the print room.

@sophieameliadesign
www.sophieamelia.co.uk

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