Joining Country Markets
How it works
No one has their own stand at Country Markets. Goods from different producers are displayed together. Everybody helps sell everybody else's goods.
At the beginning of the market you provide a list of what you are bringing for sale. This is checked-in to make sure it is accurate and at the same time the items are checked for correct labelling, compliance with regulations etc.
At the end of the market the goods are checked-out, which gives a record of what has been sold. The producer gets a cheque at the end of each month for the sold goods, less a small percentage which covers rent etc.
What does it cost?
Membership of Country Markets costs just 5p (and that's for life!) In practice it costs about £10 to cover the cost of an invoice book and an apron. There are no stall-fees and if we have an "outside market", e.g. at a local fete, the market pays the site fee. This frees you to bring as much or as little as you like. You have no on-going market costs to cover.
Membership is open to anyone over 16yrs old.
There is a handbook which gives details on labelling, materials etc. So long as this is followed you know you are safe and legal, plus you are insured by Country Markets.
No one makes a living from Country Markets. people do it for the enjoyment of displaying & selling their work in a friendly, supportive environment.
What sort of craft work can be sold?
​Anything which is truly home-produced from Knitting to bird boxes.
There are only two real restrictions. The first is safety e.g. of materials and the second is that a high percentage of the nature of the finished product should be due to the work put in by the producer.
The latter can be difficult to pin down, even though we all know what it means. As an example, making greeting cards is a popular craft activity. If a computer is used it may easily involve hours of creative artwork by the producer. Equally it may involve little more that cut-and-paste and push the print button. It is not easy for the market manager to distinguish between the two possibilities.
In practice the market manager and the other craft producers make a collective judgement where the degree of producer-input is in question.
If you are an artisan craft producer and you would like to sell your work online, to be collected from one of our markets, you might like to use the new Country Markets Hub