Market Essentials

Here are a few basic tips for our market, these are essentials for newbies to our market as we want everything to run as smoothly as possible for us, for you and for the market as a whole.

Is this your first Encraftment Market? Or even first market, ever? Then this page is for you! Although this whole website for our stallholders is filled with helpful information, below we have summed up some basic tips for the market. If you have any questions, send us an email and we'll be more than happy to help you out!

Have a good float to make change. Allow for the first two customers of the day giving you a $100 note for a $5 purchase. It happens! Think about the cost of your products and how you'll generally be making change, allow for this when organising your float. There will be no facilities for change (unless you go down to Westpac Barrington).
Be friendly! Everyone loves a friendly stallholder. Engage with your customers. Make a comment or tell a brief story about something they might be looking at. If they have an interesting shirt or necklace on, comment on it. Compliments are a great way to break the ice!
Take the opportunity to talk to your stall neighbours. Encraftment is a great place to network with other like minded people. We are stoked to be the starting base for many great friendships.
Bring a friend or family member with you, bribing may be required. You'll be thankful that you have someone to mind your stall when you need a bathroom break, have a quick shop, share the excitement of your first sale and keep your sanity in check.
Every market is not solely for sales, it's also about you advertising and marketing your business, getting your name and products in front of people's eyes. You never know who will pick up a business card and contact you later. Many store (primarily gift stores) owners go to markets and seek out new and original wares for their store and may contact you about becoming a stockist.
Standard indoor sites are 2x2m and are corner sites so you get two frontages. Most people on corner sites set up in an L shape, or an inverted L so people enter the site like a little shop. If you are using tables in an L shape you can use one that is 1.8-2m long and the other about 1-1.2m (depending on the width of the larger table) to create your L. There are also larger 3x3 sites, some are wall sites and some are corner 'pod' sites. Wall sites, both 2x2 and 3x3, are best to set up along the width of the site and stand behind their products (product dependent). Please stay within your allocated space. Your site does not come with division walls or backs.

Breakdown of the market weekend

Stallholders can set up from 8:00am on Saturday (and 8:30am on Sunday).

Please don't come earlier than this assigned time, as you will not be given access to the stadium earlier than the stated times. These are the venue rules and out of our control.

You can park close to the stadium (in the car parks just along from the playground) and the side doors can be left open to access stadium for easy drop off of goods. There are 8 side exit doors you can use to enter the stadium to setup (some have steps up and some have ramps). We hope to also have the roller door open at the rear of the stadium for those with trolleys (ramp access) but this will be dependent on what is stored in that area. Please don't park down behind the preschool, this needs to be kept clear.

If possible, we recommend that you bring a friend in to help you unload your vehicle and set up. If you can get your hands on a hand trolley, bring it! These are available from hardware stores like Bunnings.

Sunday only stallholders can drop off items between 4-4.30pm on Saturday afternoon, setup won't be possible until the next morning due to pack-down of Saturday stallholders.

You will be issued with a stall holder lanyard on Saturday morning.

Again, venue accessible on Saturday at 8:00am and 8:30am Sunday.

If you are bringing your car please park on the street.

Be ready by 9.50am on both Saturday and Sunday.

10am Market opens

10am-4pm General Chaos

You need to bring your own table/display racks/chair and ensure that your set-up fits within your allocated stall space. Make sure you check out the Packing Checklist for more tips. Please ensure your table feet (or stall display) have rubber stoppers/squares of cardboard under them or you set up on a mat to ensure the stadium floor is protected. Will be checking that everyone has done this.

Don't complicate your stall set up too much, make sure you do practice runs. Not only can you get an idea of how your stall will look to shoppers and see which products stand out from others, but you can take photos of your practice run which will help cut set up time in half!

Food stalls can set up on the grass area out the front of the preschool at the Pioneer Leisure Centre from 8am. Gazebo sites need to provide your own gazebo and ensure it is securely erected for wind-resistant. Please bring appropriate weights (large water filled jerrycans with ropes are great) to make your gazebo safe and secure.

All food sites in this area are non-powered sites.

If possible, it would be profitable for your food site to sell cold drinks. Please display your CCC food permit and have a rubbish bin within your site for the public to use. Early arrival of coffee vendors would be preferred to supply a caffeine fix to stall holders and early shoppers.

Pack up at 4pm on Saturday and on Sunday!

Not before! Please wait until the market is finished before you start to pack up your stall. Be sure to remove all your rubbish and belongings at the end of the day.

Emergency contact numbers for day before or during the market:

Bronwyn: 021 257 8811

Helen: 022 632 5807

Lee:

Packing Checklist

Although we don't know every item YOU need to pack, we can help with the basics.

Although every stall is different and requires to bring different things, here's a few basic things you want to remember to pack. As sometimes it's the smallest of things that we all forget. If you would like to help others and add to the list, add a comment at the bottom of the page.

1. Don't forget the table!
You’re going to want to grab it first, so make sure it’s easy to access when you pack. If like using a chair or stool bring that too as chairs are not supplied.

2. Enough product
Easy to say. Hard to gage. We recommend that you have enough to have your area filled with products and a few extras hidden away for restock. When you run out, make sure you let people know if you're happy to make something for them.

3. Informative Signage!
Not everybody is going to assume that you can take eftpos, so make it clear. Do you do custom orders, let your customers know! Can you customise products? A lot of our customers are shy and are too scared to ask questions, so answer them before it's too late!

4. Cash.
Especially if your items are under $10, most people will use the ATM machine for their cash and we don't control those, so they maybe depense $50 notes only! Make sure you have enough change. Small bills tend to go quickly.

5. Branding.
Display your name with a cool sign that makes sense with the scale of your stall – it doesn’t need to be huge, but make it easy to find. Also, don’t forget business cards and/or postcards – have some on display for people to grab, offer them to people you talk to but that are just looking, and include one with every purchase. It’s a great way to prompt a visit to your online store next time they’re thinking about getting a gift.

6. WATER AND REUSABLE CUP
You won’t get many breaks, and you’ll be doing a lot of talking, so it’s important to keep water handy and stay hydrated. Bring your keep cup for hot beverages (or real cup), we're all about market waste reduction. You'll even get 50c off your beverage with our coffee vendors with a keep cup/real cup.

7. Nutritious snacks.
Fruit and nut bars work great – good energy boost, very little mess. There will be a food court, however, we can't make promises that you'd be able to leave your stall to grab a bite to eat once the crowds flood in!

8. A little box or bag for little essentials
Lip balm (again, lots of talking), tape, pens, vivids, extra price tags – speaking of which...

9. Price tags!
You definitely need them, most people are shy to ask and tend to assume things are expensive when there’s no price displayed. Make sure they’re pretty! Kraft tags work great and give you enough room to talk up your product as well.

10. Display support.
Whether you use baskets, wine boxes (ask your local store if they have any they don’t need), trays or a custom setup, it’s important to add visual interest and show off your product at the best angle. We strongly encourage that our stallholders don't just lay out all their products on a table.

11. Table risers.
They make a world of difference. Get the ones that are stackable so they don’t take up a ton of space when you pack. They'll add a lot of height to your display, looking down all the time can cause a lot of strain to a shopper's neck.

12. Shopping bags.
If you’re using them, make sure they display your store’s name (stickers work great for this, available from Vista Print). Remember to include a business card/flyer in each one (also available from Vista Print).

13. Extra battery.
If you offer Etfpos/Credit Card options, all those transactions you’re going to be processing will drain up your device quickly. Make sure to bring a charger /an extra battery that can get you through the day. (You can get portable battery packs to charge your phone from electronic stores.)

14. Layers.
Every venue is different. You may be hot or standing by a drafty spot. Dress in a way that you can be comfortable no matter what.

15. Friends!
Tell your friends to come and have fun at the event. Some may even be able to spare a minute or two to help man your booth.

16. A big smile – it goes a long way!
Look good, feel good, and have fun!

And that’s it! Try to pack efficiently to make your setup and breakdown go quickly. And speaking of breakdown, one more tip – don’t leave early, even if you sell out (woo!). It gives a bad impression and shows little care for your fellow stallholders and the event itself.