I spent last weekend at the first ever Ocean Artists and Makers Market at Ocean Studios, Royal William Yard in Plymouth. The market ran from 10-4pm on Saturday and Sunday and was an interesting mix of fine artists, illustrators, jewellery designers, textile designers, ceramicists, woodworkers (is that the right word?!), bad taxidermists and more…
The event space at Ocean Studios is bright, with high ceilings and solid stone walls - the perfect space for a market. The only downside was that it was a super hot weekend and we did wish there were more windows we could have opened ;D At one point we were all handing around the same battery operated fan (thanks to Jodie B jewellery who was clever enough to bring it and kind enough to share it!).
My stand was between the Julia Crimmen’s beautiful ceramic works (I bought one of her teeny ceramic bee pin badges for my denim jacket), and K Design’s absolutely stunningly colourful fabric creations (after staring at them for two days, I definitely had to buy two of her hand printed, hand crafted pouches).
Other than spending my potential earnings on my neighbouring stalls and cups of tea, it was a fantastic event to meet fellow ‘makers’ and lovely customers. I really enjoy markets and pop ups because I get to meet so many different people and discover new artists and artisans. Networking is also a valuable benefit from events like this - the creative community is (mostly!) very supportive and we like to encourage each other.
You can have a little peek of my stand below (I forgot to take a photo of the full display, whoops!), and I’ll share some of the other makers I discovered at the market, too!
This was my last scheduled market for the summer, so keep your eye on the events page for autumn and winter.
Sadie x
