Kelso farmers market takes place in the town square on the 4th Saturday of each month from 0930-1330.
Last month was the first time I had set up a stall at a market in quite a while, my aim for the day was to talk to as many people as possible and ask them to try on some of our new products. When you predominantly sell online and work from a contained space its really important to be able to get face to face feedback on colours, sizing and styles. The weather was glorious and I was really pleased the market was busy with a steady stream of people from the start. There was a good mix of visitors from the local area and tourists from much further afield, all coming to see the variety of local artisan products.
My first sale of the day came quickly with our new twist style headband being snapped up by a very happy fisherman. He told me he has a huge collection of hats as he’s always outdoors so the headband was a perfect addition. This one was made in a mix of yellow, black, red and royal blue, so you’ll now be able to spot him easily in the river.
Throughout the morning I spoke to lots of people, some who had bought from us before and some who had never heard of us but were interested to find out more. I was really pleased to meet Ruth from Galashiels, in 2014 she fell in love with the cute Snow Fairy design from our Christmas competition. We later released the snow fairy for a limited time and Ruth snapped one up which she wore every time she went hill walking with her dog Ollie. She even sent us a really cool picture of herself and Ollie at the top of a mountain in her beloved hat. Having chatted online and shared her story on our Facebook page, it was really lovely to meet her in person.
For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a maker is when you meet people who are really happy to have found you. It’s fantastic to know that they love what you’ve made, whatever it is, and that this item will have, or has already had, a positive impact on them. We use #hatsforallreasons and that is so true, yes everyone has a head and anyone can wear a hat but everyone has their own reason for buying a hat and it’s always interesting for me to find out what that is.
So, I’m really looking forward to setting up our stall at the market again this weekend. I’ve been working on some new colourways and styles in the wonky range and it would be great to get some feedback if you are in the area!
Thanks, Alison 🙂
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