2023 Market Reports

Guildford Guildhall - 15th/16th/17th December

Friday - A great Friday footfall but mixed spending

This was our final weekend of the year and we were hoping for a good end to our events season. Guildford normally provides this great end to the season for us and we customarily end the event year with a 3 day event at this location. Although 3 days of trading here is tiring, it can also b e good fun.

The streets were busy right from the start of the day and there were certainly many people out doing their Christmas shopping. It was clear that as usual some people had taken this Friday off near to Christmas to come shopping. It was supposed to be a warm sunny day, though to be honest we hardly saw the sun all day , a grey murkiness prevailing and not enticing people to buy. There were plenty of entertainers on the streets from a bag pipe player to an amazing player of Christmas music on the recorder as well as the less enjoyable sellers of wrist bands. Our team fitted in well and with joint arrow spinning from our husband and wife team managed to attract a lot of attention. By working hard throughout the day the team managed to create a very good Friday footfall of 1059.

Spending until lunch time was poor, though with a lot of more experienced sellers in the building we knew that things could change. Thankfully the afternoon was far better than the morning, though spending was certainly not as good as in earlier years. The trend for better spending in the afternoon is something we have noted at almost all of our events in the last few months. It was a solid start to the weekend with some reasonable spending, but to be honest nothing particularly spectacular (That was to come on the Saturday). We had to remind ourselves that this was a Friday and not a Saturday, an additional day. Many stallholders hit £300 with at least a further 5 reaching £500 …. Not bad for a normal Saturday but not what we expected on our final Friday before Christmas. Our chocolate stall bucked the trend with sales of £700+, people were certainly looking to enjoy their chocolate this Christmas. Our gaming stall also did well, with £700+ sales and now a regular stall, seems to appeal well to the younger trendier generations who visit this event.

Saturday - An incredible day in Guildford

Footfall - 1780

Spending - Incredible

Full report - Coming soon

Sunday - A good end to our Final weekend of the year

Although the forecast said it was going to be a warmer day, there was a fresh breeze which certainly made it feel chilly. The event was open 11 – 5pm to comply with Sunday trading regulations, but even so there was a demand for somewhere warm to shop from just after 10am. Many shoppers came in to browse our stalls before we finally opened at 11am, but we didn’t include these in our final numbers. Almost every shop in Guildford opens from 11am – 5pm, we were certainly not an exception, and it seemed that the people of Guildford were out in force today, especially when you consider that this was a Sunday. The shoppers piled into the Guildhall right from the opening until just before we closed, all previous Sunday records were smashed with a huge final figure of 1509.

The customers seemed to be a tough bunch today though and certainly had to be sold to rather than simply served. Justa s on Friday and Saturday, sales in the 2^nd half of the day were far better than in the morning for most stallholders. Our chocolate seller almost sold out of chocolate by the end of the day, with sales even better than they had experienced on Friday. Both our candle sellers achieved sales of over £500, though lamps for some reason were simply not selling. Our artist upstairs had his 3^rd day with sales of over £500 and was certainly tired. Another jeweller reported having had another very good day with sales over the weekend in excess of £2000. By the end of the day there were several stalls, that had traded for the 3 days, that had sales of over £2000, making this a good end to the season for many of them. It was also interesting to note that several upstairs stalls out-performed downstairs stalls, there being less customers going upstairs but the selling environment is so much better.

We feel that mention must be made of the fact that this was Charles final day managing the Guildhall. Several stallholders have known him since they started trading and we were delighted to be able to buy Charles a small gift to help him remember his time at the Guildhall with Mynt Image. Charles is a tremendous personality and will certainly be missed by all at Mynt Image who have forged a strong relationship with him over the 10+ years we have traded here at Guildford Guildhall

At the end of the day we were delighted by the speed and professionalism with which all stallholders left the building, many assisting other stallholders. After a tremendously busy weekend, the whole Guildhall was silent and empty well before 6.30. Both tyraders and Mynt Image staff were tired after such a busy weekend.

Witney Methodist Church - 16th December

A good event to end the year

Due to the Corn Exchange double booking us (for the second year running) we are once again at the delightful Witney Methodist Church. The main room here is warm, welcoming and wonderfully festive once set up. The main downfall in setting up however is the sheer quantity of chairs we needed to shift in order to bring the tables down and this is where the incredible Mynt family steps in an abundance of stallholders assisted us getting everything ready. If it wasn't for the hard work setting everything up we'd really enjoy working in this venue

Lymington Masonic Hall - 16th December

A good event to end the year

We have held events at this venue now for 10 years. Lymington is primarily a Summer event, though can still attract good numbers of customers in the lead up to Christmas and today was no exceptions. A dull, grey drizzly day, not much to celebrate just a few days before Christmas. The outside High street market was at its maximum with stalls reaching right down the High Street to the Masonic Hall. There were plenty of shoppers around mostly looking for those last small gifts and items of luxury food for Christmas. Our team braved the unpleasant conditions and certainly brought a lot of jollity to the bottom end of the town with their persistent calling out and quirky comments. Ay the end of the day they had attracted a huge 1170 customers into the hall, an excellent number ofr December, the sort of number we normally expect in the Summer.

Spending was slow in the morning, as is normal at present at our events, but with such good numbers coming in throughout the day, there were bound to be some good sales. Our cheese and chocolate stalls were the best today, both with sales over £600 with people looking for those delicacies to offer guests at Christmas. Sales of chutney were also good throughout the day, food being on people’s minds. Jewellery was not in demand today which is odd when ear rings normally sell so well at this time of year …. A perfect stocking filler. Another stall managed sales of over £500 along with 3 others over £300. It was as usual smaller items which were selling well and being bought as ‘a little extra’. Most stallholders managed sales between £100 and £150, with most stallholders reporting having had a good day.

Lymington never fails to perform, though Summer is when it really comes into its own. This was however a good event and a nice way to end our 10^th season at Lymington Masonic Hall.

Salisbury Guildhall - 8th/9th/10th December

Friday - Much more the Fridays we expect in December

The weather was warmer today with some grey clouds still around …. It was a pleasure to work in much more favourable conditions. There were plenty potential customers around, though they were spread out across the large empty market square. There were plenty of groups of people out shopping and the more mature customers from the previous week seemed to have been joined by families and adults taking the day off work to go Christmas shopping. The hall looked great today with a beautiful sparking Christmas tree and with the Christmas music, this really created a good environment for sales. Our staff had to work hard all day to create a good footfall and asttract customers into the Guildhall, but by the end of the day at 4pm we had managed a footfall of 936 customers. This is a very good Friday figure when there is no market outside and certainly rivals many of our Saturday events throughout the year. It was interesting to note that there were many tourists around with a large Welsh contingent especially. Manyw ere looking for the Salisbury Christmas market, something which has not unfortunately run for several years but which strangely people still expect to find.

By lunchtime just from the amount of bags coming out of the building we knew that sales had been better than the previous Friday which had been a little disappointing. Sales on a Friday before Christmas often rival our Summer Saturday events and today was no exception. It was pleasurable to hear that many stallholders had done really well with several achieving sales of £400+ including an artist, a lady selling leather bags and a couple selling trays, boxes, snow globes and wind chimes. A gentleman selling wooden trivets as well as other wooden items was really pleased when he had done so much better than the previous Friday. An author also reported very good sales for a Friday. Most stalls certainly sold around £200 with numerous stalls reporting this figure and we are only aware of 1 stallholder who very unexpectedly failed to reach their stall fees. This was a very much better event than the previous Friday and demonstrates just how good Fridays can be in the Christmas season as well as mid Summer.

Saturday - Salisbury can be brilliant at Christmas

With rain expected at the start of the day, we were expecting to get wet ….but thankfully it never materialised. There was a strong wind throughout the day and although this may have affected the footfall a little, it certainly also kept the skies clear. Right from the start of the day we knew we were on for a busy day. We had reached our Friday footfall in less than the first 2 ½ hours with little effort.. The customers kept coming into the building and at times we stopped promoting the event just to ensure that customers were not being too crammed into the event. learning from the previous 2 Saturdays we closed the event at 4pm having to physically keep customers outside. The final footfall was an amazing 2565

With many of our stallholders staying over from Saturday, set up was really easy. Most stallholders already had their stands in place and we had just a few additional stallholders to incorporate into the event. A stress free start to the day for both staff and stallholders make the day so much more pleasurable and ensures that stallholders are in the right place to sell well.

Sometimes a huge footfall can sometimes negatively affect sales because the customers don’t have enough time to engage with stallholders. This certainly didn’t seem to be the case though today. From the amount of carrier bags coming out we knew that there had been some good sales today and were really pleased with the results. At least one stallholder exceeded £1000 in sales with another achieving £700. A further 4 stallholders managed to obtain sales of £600+ and a further 3 hit the £500 mark. All exceptional figures even at this time of year. We are not aware oif any stallholder who did not achieve at least £100, and these were in the minority. A lady selling quilted boards and bug boxes had her best ever sales at any event and an author also reported having her best ever day at any event, selling 30 books. It is always good when the majority of stallholders do so well rather than just a few, and this was certainly the case today. There were certainly plenty of smiles on the face of stallholders today, though many were also certainly tired.

Sunday - A goodbye to Salisbury for the year with an excellent event

Our final event at Salisbury for this Christmas season started out as a very wet day, grey clouds and pouring rain interspersed by periods of drizzle. Not the sort of ending for such a successful year at Salisbury that we had hoped for., With a market outside as well suffering the wet and windy conditions and holding onto their gazebos at times, things did not bode well. However customers started arriving at 10am, many looking for shelter after a brief tour around the outside event. When the sky turned blue at just after 12.oo, the whole atmosphere changed and the market square became flooded with potential customers all looking for Christmas presents and wanting to spend. By the end of the day we managed an excellent footfall for a Sunday of 2002, much better than we had expected after such a wet start to the day.

With the hall looking Christmassy and fully of bright colourful stalls we knew that we were in for some good sales Customers were spending some good lengths of time in the event and engaging with the stallholders very well. Many of our stallholders had been there all 3 days and for them, just as the previous weekend, this event was the highlight of their 3 days. One stallholder almost hit £1000 and was clearly extremely pleased. , 2 other stallholders achieved figures of £600+ and an astonishing further 7 stallholders hit the £500 mark. There were still plenty who achieved £2-300 and who were very pleased wit the day. A stallholder selling resin work had her best ever day at any event and was truly delighted. It was really good to see so many stallholders happy and smiling, though many were extremely tired after 3 days of selling to the wonderful people and visitors to Salisbury.

Lyndhurst Community Centre - 9th December

Some good results even with a weather affected start

Lyndhurst is primarily a Summer tourist event which is why we supply far more events in the Spring and Summer at this location than we do in the Christmas season. Tourists normally provide us with the bulk of sales at this location, though it is good to see many locals from the community also accepting us so well. When the doors opened at 10am today there was a fine drizzle in the air after a night of heavy persistent rain. The roads were flooded in places, but thankfully all stallholders made it successfully to the event. The High street, although packed with cars, weas almost devoid of human life. There was a grey murky atmosphere and iot was as if the sun hadn’t risen yet. The Mynt team worked hard, but were glad when the sky cleared in the early afternoon. Footfall was slow in the damp morning and we certainly can’t blame people from not getting out until late. With the onset of a winter’s sun and slight warmth, the whole atmosphere changed and in the afternoon the footfall increased hugely. By the end of the day we were very happy to have achieved 781 adult customers into the event. Our arrow spinning Father Christmas certainly caused a stir today and a good many photos/videos of him were taken by delighted Lyndhurst residents.

The customers today were certainly mostly locals s from the Lyndhurst community, though it was interesting to note that there were still some holiday makers around even in early December. There were visitors from many different nationalities still holidaying or having a long weekend in the New Forest. Stallholders reported the interesting phenomenon of a very worthwhile first half hour followed by a distinct lull in sales until the early afternoon when sales dramatically improved. Afternoon sales at Lyndhurst are always better than the morning and it was interesting to see some customers return to the event several times during the day, often coming out with more bags each visit. At least 3 stallholders reported sales of £600+ today including a chocolate seller, a stall selling fabric items and a jeweller. A lot of stallholders reported salkes of £200 including our jewellers and glass artists. Several stallholders reported having their best events of the year including a stall selling stitched items and a silver jeweller. Glass continued to sell strongly today, something which has been interesting to note during the past few weeks when glass sales have really picked up.

Thankfully for many, the afternoon really saved this event and brought a good deal of success to many customers. We are looking forward to continuing to trade at this excellent location in the spring of 2024

Henley-on-Thames Town Hall - 9th December

A slow start but a great end to the year in one of our favourite venues

The rain this morning was torrential, a number of routes into Henley were flooded and the expectations of the day lowered slightly as result. Set up was a soggy one, we got everyone inside as quickly as possible though and the hall transformed into an incredibly welcoming display before long. We had a superb mix of stalls and certainly something for everyone. Lets hope the weather clears and the footfall gets flowing.

We started slow, the continuing rain kept the customers hiding for a little while longer than we'd hoped, hardly passing 60 customers in the first hour before it started to brighten up. Thankfully with the better weather the town started to pick up and so did the footfall. We gained some good momentum, working the highstreets hard to draw a crowd and the numbers reflected that nicely. Overall we saw 937 individual adults enter the hall, much higher than we'd have predicted based on the first hour or so. Not only were the numbers good they seemed to be really keen on shopping so the hall kept busy and the atmosphere was fantastic from start to finish.

Spending was very good for most, a few stallholders getting close to the £1000 mark with at least 10 more clearing £300. We had one or two who struggled slightly but there was no particular reason for this as spending was just as popular throughout each type of craft today. One thing of real note was the number of custoemrs that bought from multiple stalls today which gives a good indiciation to quite how well they were spending. A great end to the season here.

Thame Town Hall - 9th December

A thoroughly filthy morning, battling the unlit country lanes of south Oxfordshire, water running freely down hill and pooling into the valleys, the occasional dazzle of
oncoming full beam; it was the sort of day that promised to test the sternest of hearts, how convenient then that a stout one is behind the wheel. For the meteorological
boffins promised an unremittingly damn morning and yet 25 other staunch ney-sayers begged to differ too. By 10am a packed hall was bursting at the seams with a wide range of wares and so to the streets the message went.

Here the challenge truly lay, for a message needs an audience and the good people of Thame were meek abed or plotting second breakfast rather than braving those same elements conquered by we merry few but a few hours earlier. The finest of trickles was achieved in the first couple of hours, a mere 90 visitors, thin recompense for the early star and the fine display within, but with the break first into dry heavens and then into a thinning of the cloud came our public, daring to creep out of their warrens and timidly at first but with ever more daring into our hall. And so by the end of the day we had been somewhat busy with periods where the hall was a veritable bustle, a creditable 466 on the clicker which is considered an underestimate given the many sorties away from the front of the building in search of the native of Oxfordshire.

At close of play, we were gratified to have discovered that spending had been buoyant for some although as always we wish that more had achieved their goals. Our headline
figure today was a turnover of £500 for one exhibitor, one other over £400, two over £300 and a full half dozen in the £200+ category. Seven more made it past the £100 mark with a couple close to that and 4 of our exhibitors struggling to make their exhibiting fee today. In all a day that threw a lot of elements against us which through a lot of determined work and the quality that our crafters bring to market was turned into a decent outcome.

Abingdon Guildhall - 2nd December

An interesting start to the day, but all stallholders pulled together to make this a real success

Having driven through 70 miles of misty roads and freezing temperatures to get to Abingdon, the Mynt Image team were involved in a minor accident just a mile from the event . With just 1 team member getting to the event by taxi and the other staying to get the car repaired, we were very short of staff at the beginning of the day. With Abingdon Council now being in charge of bookings we had to put out our own tables and create the event from scratch, not easy with just 1 member of staff. However right from the start at just after 8am, stallholder who arrived early totally mucked in and assisted our 1 staff member to set out the halls with chair’s and tables. It was great to see how well a makeshift team worked together and before the event opened had not only set up the hall, but set up their own stalls creating some excellent displays. With a 2^nd member of the team arriving at 8.30 and the final member at just before 9.30 having miraculously secured 2 new tyres after discovering a tyre dealer right next to where the accident took place, we were ready to open the event and start attracting customers at 10am

This was the day of the Abingdon Christmas Extravaganza, not something we had aimed to coincide with due to booking the event 18 months in advance, but something which had simply happened. There were certainly plenty of potential customers on the streets from the start of the day despite the horribly cold conditions. With the Extravaganza taking place we had our advertising area restricted and we had agreed to not encroach on their own activities and to work together as much as possible. Customers were certainly delighted with the possibility of warming up after attending and experiencing the outside events in minus temperatures. We managed to attract many customers into the event who were seriously cold after experiencing the outside activities and looking for a warm refuge. At the end of the dayw e had created our record Abingdon footfall of 1326 customers, a truly huge figure on such a cold day. The 3 Mynt team members were delighted with the footfall having suffered the conditions and knew that sales had to be good, just as they always are at Abingdon

The sales were relatively poor before lunchtime, but really picked up massively in the afternoon with no stallholders selling less than £100. 3 stallholders actually had record events at any events they had attended with an author achieving £460 and a jeweller sales of £400+. However these were surpassed by a stallholder in the smaller room achieving sales of more than £1100. Another 2 stallholders sold in excess of £600 including a stall selling South African products and a photographer/ Another 2 jewellers sold in excess of £300 and many sales of around £200 were reported. A card seller/artist who had a very poor morning ended up with sales in excess of £700 and a woodworker hit the £500 mark. There is no doubt that more than £6000 was spent at this event today, possibly considerably more , and with aftersales on the internet for many stallholders, this turned into an extremely profitable event. Stallholders were certainly delighted with the event and the Mynt Image team was delighted to have created such a fantastic event after such an interesting start to the day.

Devizes Town Hall - 2nd December

A good day in some horrendous conditions

The drive into Devizes for the Mynt team is cross country and on this occasion we wish it wasn't. The thick fog made for a treacherous journey, even on the main roads it was tough to see. As we unloaded and began to set up we could hardly see the opposite side of the square in front of the hall itself, we were in for a cold cold day. The hall had a warm inviting atmosphere here today, a good mix of quility stalls and some christmas lights and music gave way for a festive feel for the customers coming. It was much tougher outside however with the Mynt team layered up in the negative temparatures struggling to see from one side of the road to the other.

Footfall flowed well considering the bitterness outside and from 11 onwards we had a superb flurry of customers. Even with the fog failing to clear we managed to keep the numbers coming insdie but we didnt half have to work for it. Thousands of steps paced around the town and shouting oursleves hoarse we powered through and even as the fog once again thickened in the lattr part of the day we managed 819 through the door. We're very happy with this number for Devizes, especially given the weather and brief 10/15 minute lull when we had to handle some disorderly youths.

Spending was pretty good for the most part, half a dozen or so clearing £300 with 2 acheiveing sales around £500. Most seemed to be in 3 figures although we didnt quite manage to catch up with everyone (36 stalls and the freezing cold and imending frost meant pack up was incredibly swift) There wasnt a particualr craft that stole the show today but it was definitely apparant that small gifts were being bought today. A lot of stallholders commented on much better sales than anticipated given the conditions so overall we couldnt be happier (or colder)

Romsey Town Hall - 2nd December

A new string to the Mynt bow firing bullseyes straight away

A bitterly cold morning, a flight of stairs, 25 exhibitors, a busy start to the day for us whilst the people of Romsey stayed hidden beneath their duvets. As is invariably the case now, by 10am we had a hall crammed full of the widest array of craft and many of our exhibitors had taken a distinctly Xmas theme giving us not only excellent gift material but amble choice on the decorative end of the spectrum.

Another reason to be cheerful, we have a new string to our bow in the guise of Helen who was not only extremely able during the setup part of the day, within about 30 minutes she was finding her own groove in bringing the people of Romsey some Xmas cheer and advertising our presence - all through the medium of some quite splendid vocal chords. Throughout the day a high energy offering outside put smiles on the faces as they went in. At some points there was but a sparse audience, the cold weather keeping many people indoors and so the flow through the door waxed and waned, but by the end of the day the clicker stood at 578 which we consider to be a distinct underestimate given that a 30 minute period existed where no count was taking place due to a misunderstanding over who had posession of the tool (in fact neither had it).

The end of day debrief gave us a lot of pleasure as many of our exhibitors commented upon the great atmosphere in the far, how much they had enjoyed the day and by and large most had done decent trading. Four of our exhibitors breached the £300 barrier with a further 5 above £200 and 9 others well over £100. There was also one stallholder who we do not have figures for who had almost sold out of many lines, cleary therefore a buoyant day for them! Another unreported turnover gave very positive feedback saying that they had done very well against their target and had enjoyed the day immensely, which left us two covering the table fee and a high end artist who gained a lot of exposure and is looking forward to the next event. We in turn had immense pleasure hosting our exhibitors who never cease to make us glad to be part of such a talented and hard working community.

Salisbury Guildhall - 1st/2nd/3rd December

Friday - A Freezing cold day and mixed results

We have always offered Friday events at Salisbury at Christmas because we have found that the spending on a Friday can often be as good as on any other day. The people out on a Friday are the trues shoppers normally and although the footfall may be lower, there will be good spending. With sudden freezing weather, unfortunately many of our customers did seem to be attending to get warm rather than to hunt for Christmas Presents. The Mynt Image team braved the freezing weather all day and with the temperature not breaking above 0 degrees all day were happy to keep on the move to attract as many customers as was possible. A final footfall of 815 was very good for a Friday, equalling some of our Saturday events.

Spending today, despite this being the first day of December was a little subdued and not as much as many stallholders had anticipated. Before 12.00 most stallholders reported poorer sales that usual and some made very limited sales. We were however glad to hear at the end of the day, many stallholders had done considerably better. One lady selling stained glass ornaments and decorations managed sales in excess of £700 and was delighted with the event. A stall selling chocolates achieved sales of over £500 and was certainly pleased with their dasy. Art seemed to be also in demand with one artist achieving sales of almost £400. Several jewellers reported sales of £200+, which was lower than they had expected but was still reasonable for a Friday. Thankfully with a better afternoon most stallholders made at least £100, something we always try to achieve.

Saturday - A wonderful footfall and some impressive sales

You could certainly tell that Christmas was on its way today …the Market Square was filled with Christmas shoppers. Salisbury was busy despite the cold dreary conditions, the car parks full and the shoppers willing to spend. Right from the start of the day, just as in Mid November, customers started to flow into the event and we knew that despite the conditions, stallholders were in for a good day. There was hardly a lull all day with our staff having to avoid causing queues at times by stopping the promotion of the event, just to let the entrance clear. With static Christmas lights, the hall looked full of Christmas and with Christmas music playing, the right environment was certainly created to assist customers to spend. There was little effort needed to attract customers into the event yet by the close of business and the doors being shut, a total of 2166 had been attracted into the event

With such an impressive footfall we were promised some very good spending and this weas certainly the case. One lady selling fused glass (Different from Friday) had sales in excess of £1000 whilst another couple selling horseshoe sculptures achieved sales of £700+. Another artist achieved sales of £600 which really pleased her. Most stallholders achieved sales of between £200 and £300 which was certainly indicative of the large footfall. Most stallholders were extremely pleased with the results and those who had attended the Friday as well remarked on the considerable difference between the days being far greater than usual.

At the end of the event our staff were tired, but happy with the results. Salisbury is such a good event at most seasons of the year with a distinct Christmas and Summer season which can both be excellent.

Sunday - What an amazing day!!!

After the cold freezing mist of Saturday and the freezing temperatures of Friday, we were glad that the temperature had at last risen above zero. 2 days or working in frozen Salisbury was enough for us. Set up was easy today, with many stallholders staying for a 3^rd day and already having their products in the Guildhall. This lead to an easier relaxed start that we sometimes get. After such a good day on the Saturday with some impressive spending, there was an air of expectancy today and as one stallholder has put it, an electric feeling. To the event, Stallholders were positive and hoping for another good day. With a Sunday Christmas market outside assisting our Mynt team to get customers into the event and many customers still looking for some warmth we knew that we were in for another good footfall. At the end of the day we achieved an impressive 1701 footfall. We believe that it might also have been the magic of our elf helper which assisted us ….he was magic!!

Spending on the Saturday had been very good especially nin the afternoon and we were hoping that the Sunday lived up to expectations …. It did. One stallholder had her record ever day selling over £1000, a figure she had never dreamed of achieving. A glass seller almost reached £100 bring her taking for the weekend to well over £2000. A candle seller had his best ever day at any event with figures of oiver £800 of candles …an impressive total. A jeweller and scarf seller also reached similar figures after a disappointing start to the weekend on the Friday. At least 3 other stallholders achieved £450 and 4 others £350 making this an absolutely exceptional event. We are not aware of any stallholder who sold less than £150 ….the customers really were in the mood to spend!

We also need comment on the atmosphere of helpfulness and support amongst stallholders … it was brilliant to see so many different stallholders assisting band supporting ach other throughout the day. There was such a welcoming atmosphere and great spirit between stallholders throughout the event.

Cranleigh Village Hall - 25th November

Chirstmas is coming

Late November and it is starting to feel like winter is upon us, the 6am scraping of windscreens and the early morning drive through dank empty streets, you get to places on time and warm if you have had the heating on throughout. So out of a warm car and into a cold hall, but the heating is soon turned on inside and come 8am the hall is ready for the hustle and bustle of our exhibitors. At Cranleigh we have a big hall and a nice annex, plenty of exhibitors and lots of life. By 9am we have some music going and by 10am our lot have their stalls set out in excellent fashion, we have plenty to crow abot. We always observe to our exhibitors before we open up that Cranleigh is one of the lower footfall events but their is a high spend per capita and so as we ventured out into what had turned into a crisp, clear morning, there were few people on the streets. The people of Surrey are not early risers, or if they are they are still finishing off their Pilates routine and eating their granola. The first hour or so yielded us just over 60 visitors and the second hour too was quite slow. We are aware that another event was running further up the road and many of the early moring traffic was in that direction, but patience is a virtue which is eventually rewarded and by making sure that everyone was aware of our event and of the virtues within, we then entered a period of steady activity. Things also drop off in the final half hour but my the end of the day we had achieved a footfall of 464. The proof of the Craft Fair Pudding is in the eating and so we then ventured in to see how many of those customer consumed what our exhibitors were offering them and by and large we were pleased with what he heard. Four of our exhibitors made it beyond £400 with another three in the 300-400 category and two more beyond £200, of the remainders 8 were in triple figures with just three falling short of that total but happily nobody reported having less than their exhibiting fee in returns. We do not have figures for every single exhibitor at this event as one left early by prior arrangement and another escaped our post-event debrief having packed up so rapidly. For the footfall that we get at Cranleigh, this fair once again demonstrates what we have come to learn of the spending trends in this town.

Henley Town Hall - 25th November

Christmas has come to Henley

This is always one of our favourite Henley events of the year and we were looking forward to what is always a hugely popular event. With bright blue skies and plenty of Winter sun, there were plenty of customers on the streets. With the first freezing temperatures of the year, the shoppers were ready and willing to dive into our warm event to continue their Christmas shopping. With the Henley Christmas tree helping to draw customers up the hill, there was a continual steady flow of customers throughout the day resulting in a final footfall of 1069 adult customers. Many customers spent a good long time in the event, buying from and taking to many different stallholders, and who can blame them on such a cold day.

The set up of the hall at the beginning of the day was interesting today and was unfortunately not as smooth as usual due to factors out of our control. The usual long stay car park had been closed by contractors choosing to cut the hedges on one of the busiest shopping days of the year …thankfully we were guided to another nearby one by Henley council staff,. The lift then decided to fail on us and a lifting of products up 2 flights of stairs seemed imminent until we discovered that a leaf had blocked the sensor …. Once discovered and removed it functioned beautifully all day despit 1 more leaf incursion!

Customers bought well today and there were some good sales figures. Every stallholder seems to have almost doubled their stall fees with most doing considerably better. Most sales were between £175 and £300 and stallholders were happy. One stallholder selling knitted jackets and other knitted items for charity, smashed her recent record selling more than £750 for her charity …a truly amazing figure. A photographer sold in excess of £500 and 2 quality jewellery stalls achieved figures in excess of £400. Another jeweller more than doubled her target …. It was good to see jewellery sales recover so well after the last few weeks when they have been lower than anticipated. Ceramics sold exceptionally well too and a lady selling her own designed flasks had her best ever day at a Mynt Image event.

Stallholders were really happy with the event, several already having responded with thanks and others already booking further events. We are looking forward to our final event at Henley on December 9^th which promises to be amazing

Guildford Guildhall- 24th/25th/26th November

Friday – A cold but good day for most

Set up on Friday morning is always a pleasant affair, partially due to stallholders arriving earlier to avoid the traffic but also, we set up knowing the 75% of the stalls will remain that way until Sunday evening. Both Halls looked good this morning, a warm inviting display perfect for the slightly more serious shoppers that we tend to see on the weekdays.

Footfall flowed nicely, the first 2 hours were far busier than we anticipated, the weekend events here always see the mornings very quiet but not on this Friday. With Christmas music in full swing and plenty of people on the highstreet laden with shopping bags we certainly felt festive and looked forwarded to reaping the rewards. Although we saw a few spots of rain it stayed pretty dry otherwise with quite a cold edge, ideal for drawing a crowd and eventually a total of 730 came through the door.

Spending was pretty good overall, plenty of stalls taking between £300 and £500 which of course is no mean feat. We do however have to note that the sales compared to the same weekend last year were down for those who had been at both. Everyone was happy but expectation based on previous experience may have been a little too high on this occasion for some. Overall an enjoyable day for all.

Saturday – Plummeting temperatures and a lot of browsers

Set on on day 2 is of course even easier, with only a handful changing over between events we were able to get the stalls unloaded with ease. It lovely having a slightly more relaxed morning ahead of a long day working the highstreet and even more so when the temperature had dropped quite so much. This was one of the few events this year that required defrosting the car and it didn’t seem to get much warmer throughout the day!

Before opening at 10, we had a number of custoemrs keen to come in and spend but that wasnot indicative of the morning ahead. In contrast to Friday morning, the flow of customers was slow for the first couple of hours, something we have come used to seeing here in Guildford but never fully get used to. Having had a buoyant start to the previous day it felt a little concerning to begin with but as the afternoon progressed things picked up nicely. The flow of customers between 2pm and 4pm was exactly what we had hoped for and the spending reflected that. Overall we achieved a good number through the door, 1307 in total.

Spending was pretty poor for the start of the day but thankfully the afternoon turned around nicely. The top sales were 700+ and a few more around £500. So overall some good spending but again not quite as good as the same weekend last year. There was certainly a lot more browsers, with some stalls not reporting a huge uplift in sales between days despite larger footfall. A key indication of quality of quantity. 2/3 of the weekend down and we’re happy with the sales so far (even if we could be happier)

Sunday - Upstairs spending seemed better than down today

The final day of a three day evening in Guildford and it is nice and easy to set up given the amount of exhibitors already in situ. The late start gives us all a little extra bed time and we hope that by opening at 11am the day has started to warm up a little. Sadly late November in Blighty can be a chilly affair and today felt like the first day of winter, a quite thin crowd on the streets all wrapped up against the cold. And so as trading began a thin trickle entered the market, but our work outside was further complicated by traffic on the High Street which we have never faced before, one van parked directly opposite us remained all day despite it having been reported to the authorities. The presence of two street hawkers harrasing the public and a rather harrowing visualisation of the horrors of the meat industry by some activists 10 metres up the street from us completed our four apocalyptic horsemen of cold, traffic, hawking and harrowing, all of which made the moring trading terribly hard for our exhibitors with the visitors that were achieved. Despite the efforts of the Mynt Team to elevate the mood on the street, it was not until 2pm until the hawkers, the activists and the people driving on the street finally disappeared (with the notable exception of the van, which finally unblocked the view from Tunsgate at around 4pm). What a difference though as finally people were looking us in the eye and cracking a smile and a thinly attended event started to become busy. We did our best numbers from 2-4pm and by the end of the day we had 782 visitors through the door which was closer to the attendance that we hope for at Guildford than we had feared that we would get.

Milford-on-Sea Community Centre - 18th November

A Good farewell to Milford on Sea

A brief goodbye to Milford on Sea and an explanation: Mynt Image have enjoyed working at Milford on Sea for the last 3 years, but this event was our final event at this venue. Due to the low footfall statistics we have been unable to attract the required number of stallholders to this location. What stallholders have failed to note unfortunately is the spending per person figures, which at Milford on Sea can be the highest that we have. It is common to see customers buy from almost every stall at Milford on Sea. However after 12events at this very good location, we have found the events to not be wanted by new stallholders or those who attend Lymington and Lyndhurst and therefore to be unviable for us. This is a real shame because we have many regular stallholders who love the Milford on Sea events and have done so well here

Event report: The day was forecast to be wet and windy all day. Thankfully we were spared most of the heavy rain, but hit constantly throughout the day by drizzle and light showers. The threatening grey clouds throughout the day made it feel as if the sun never rose at this event and certainly kept both locals and visitors away from this delightful New Forest village. There were still visitors, tourists and locals around and looking for places to go and shop for Christmas and the hall was busy for much of the day. Many customers spent over an hour in the event and the lure of a café [proved a popular addition. Although it wasn’t cold, the weather made it feel miserable and damp, but the Mynt Team worked through this and managed a very creditable footfall of 410

There were many regulars with us today at Milford, most very sad that this was the final event here. We also had several stallholders at the end of the day, new to the event, asking themselves why they had not tried Milford on Sea before and also wondering why we were leaving Milford on Sea when they had so enjoyed the day. Our cheese seller as is normal had a very good day, just beating a ceramic seller who achieved sakes if £370+. Several other stallholders had sales in excess of £200 including a candle seller, a lady selling candles in vantage cups and a jeweller. Most sales were around £100 with only 1 stallholder failing to cover their costs for the day.

Salisbury Guildhall Hall - 18th November

Christmas starts early in Salisbury

Despite the horrible grey conditions, people were flocking to Salisbury for Christmas shopping today. With just 5 weekends to go before Christmas, Salisbury was buzzing, to be honest earlier than we had expected. The rain held off all day despite threatening for most of the day, encouraging more people onto the streets looking for Christmas gifts. Salisbury Christmas festivities had already started with a festive Christmas event in the square in front of the Guildhall helping to encourage customers to attend our event.. With a footfall of over 300 in the first hour, we knew that we were in for a busy event. Salisbury footfall often flags in the afternoon, but the wave upon wave of customers kept hitting the Guildhall with queues to enter at many times during the day. The event closed at 4pm but still customers wanted to attend and in the end Mynt Staff had to block the entrance to discourage any more customers from attending.. An amazing final footfall of 2176 was achieved, far higher than is normal for our Mid November event at Salisbury. Our staff were tired to say the least, not with working to get people in, but due to crowd control.

The hall looked amazing today with many of our regular stallholders joined at the event by several less experienced and expectant stallholders who were certainly not disappointed with the amount of customers.. At least 1 stallholders took sales of over £700 with at least 3 other stallholders exceeding £600. Another stallholders was very pleased to take sales of over £500 with 3 more delighted stallholders achieving sales of £400+ and 3 more with sales of £300+. These are very good figures for the early Christmas season and certainly bode well for our 6 Christmas events still to occur at this tremendous location. With most other stallholders achieving between £200 and £300, there were 4 stall holders who only achieved between £50 and £100, which with such a huge footfall is very disappointing. Just why these 4 stalls did not succeed as well as others is hard to understand but is a feature of many events. One thing we will add here is that Christmas is not a time for new stallholders to start selling at events …. they will do far better if they get experience throughout the year and understand how to sell once Christmas events start.

Witney Corn Exchange - 18th November

A very good day for most in Oxfordshire

The drive into Witney wasn't particularly pleasant, wind and rain in the early hours meant we hadnt set expectations too high for the day. As we set up however, the weather slowly cleared and the hall blossomed into a magical display of stalls, with Christmas music fillin the room and good spirits all around we had a lovely day ahead of us.

The footfall was steady throughout the day, the hourly average didnt change much and we managed the best of the year here with 1020 through the door. One thing that was particulary good to see was how busy the hall felt throughout the day and this means 2 things, the atmosphere was warm and bubbly and most importantly that they were spending.

We had some superb results, 2 stallholders around £800, another 2 clearing £600 and a further 5 taking £350/400 plus. One or two stallholders struggled a little but everyone else in between cleared 3 figures with ease. Overall spending was pretty good, and on top of this a lote of custoers asked when we return before Christmas showing huge intent for even more spending next time! Witney performs yet again.

Marlborough Town Hall - 18th November

Christmas is on the horizon in Marlborough

Back to wet and windy starts to the day and add to that the mid-November darkness, it's the hardy bunch who brave the early mornings that our community demands. The pavements may be well moistened but there were no damp spirits as our exhibitors arrived and set up, by 10am the hall as always was looking fine and we had a nice array of products to crow about to the town.

The morning saw the town very lightly populated and trade was slow up to midday with just over 120 visitors to the fair, but whilst the canopy of grey overhead never did shift, barely a drop had passed and so the town started to come to life. My 2pm almost 400 visitors had come through the door, well over double the traffic of the first two hours and by the end of the day 610 was recorded as our footfall. Considering the slow start to the day we were very pleased.

Inside the general consensus was that a successful day had been had. One or two exhibitors struggled with sales but most made it to three figures and our headliners were two over £500, another two in the £400s and four more in the £200+ category. Add to that a half dozen over £100 and it is clear to see that Marlborough continues to be very supportive of Mynt fairs.

Cranleigh Village Hall - 11th November

Some good sales in surrey

A misty morning giving way to a crisp clear day, not too cold, a blessing after the wet weather which had dominated the last month and a half. We had a lot of exhibitors and all turned up with plenty of time so that by 10am the hall was looking very nice indeed with a good spread of craft on display. A normally quite first hour at Cranleigh was quite brisk, owing in part to an outdoor antique/flea market which had set up on the opposite end of the village. Where there are people the Mynt team will follow and so we set about marching the length of the main road to bring people our way and up until 2pm this was working fine with around 350 visitors by that stage. Sadly things became quieter after that with another hundred or so being attracted over the remaining couple of hours of trading, in total we counted 445 through the door by close of play. Inside it was a mixed story, with several exhibitors doing excellently and some struggling to make many sales. Cranleigh like many of our veneus still responds well to experienced sellers who know how to combine an excellent offering with great body language and a good raport, a couple of our newest exhibitors mentioned how much they had learned today from these examples and by and large even those who did not do so well had enjoyed the atmosphere in the hall. Our top sellers today achieved £700, £650 and £500 with one in the mid-300s, three in the 200s and a half dozen more in the 100-200 category. Nobody failed to make any sales but we had 4 who did not quite make their stall fees back today which is always a shame.

Cranleigh Village Hall - 11th November

Some good sales in surrey

Hungerford Corn Exchange - 11th November

Our best Hungerford footfall of the year produces good results for most

At last a dry sunny day was forecast, no need for raincoats and spare clothes, and didn’t it make a difference. The town of Hungerford was even ‘busy’ at times, something we can’t often say, with good numbers of visitors and tourists out enjoying the late Autmn sunshine. There were plenty of antique hunters too enjoying the antique centres of Hungerford and walking right past The Town Hall to get to them. It was somewhat frustrating that despite all of our efforts, some of them just wouldn’t go into the event. However by the end of the day we had achieved our best footfall of the year at this venue …..625. .. very satisfying.

The hall looked lovely today. This is a venue where it is usually possible for most people to have a little additional room to show off their products to their best. There were many experienced stallholders with us and the quality of the stalls looked excellent with a great deal of height and some bursting with colour. The amount of comments we received about the quality of stalls from customers was great to hear. We had a wonderful period of silence at 11.00am due to this being Armistice day which most stallholders greatly appreciated

With such a good footfall we were expecting some very good sales and we weren’t disappointed. One lady selling knitted items for charity had her record ever sales at a Mynt Image event, achieving sales of £500+. A photographer achieved sales, almost all in the afternoon, of £500 too, making this a very good event. A lady selling African art sold in excess of £400 and was also very pleased. Unfortunately art did not sell well today, which surprised many due to the quality on display. One does need to remember however that the best time for art sales is in the spring when people are spending money o their houses. Jewellery went down much better today with at least 3 jewellers exceeding £200. At least 8 stallholders has sales around the £200 mark, it is always good to see spending spread out so well. At the end of the event between £4000 and £500 had been spent by customers at the event …a very good figure when we are not at peak Christmas season yet

One feature of spending at this event was the large number of stallholders who reported very good last minute sales, some taking over £50 after the event had closed. It certainly demonstrated the value of not packing up until right at the end

Chichester Assembly Rooms - 11th November

Good sales for most despite an eventful day for a staff member

A gorgeous sunny day, when have we last been able to say that, a little chilly at times for those working outside, but there were certainly plenty of people in Chichester. On the way to the event, one of our Mynt Team members hit a huge pothole in Chichester resulting in 2 burst tyres. Unable to move his car he was unable to get to the event to assist for more than a few hours leaving the Mynt Image Team short. Thankfully several stallholders assisted Keith and supported him admirably throughout the day, enabling the event to continue successfully. Thank you for those who supported Keith through what could have been a difficult event … it’s lovely to see people pulling together. We have already had several stallholders praising Keith for his solo running of the event and his dedication. A final footfall of 1248 was a credit to Keith and his tireless effort.

Sales were good for many with at least one stallholder reaching £600 and a further 2 hitting the £450 mark, A further 3 stallholders achieved between 300 and £350 with the majority o others reaching between £100 and £150. Customers were certainly starting to look for Christmas gifts despite this being Armistice day which as a Mynt team we took time to respect with a period of 2 minutes silence. Man y different types of stall did well today, but if we had to pick out an individual stall, an author selling 54 books is very good at a Mynt Image event.

We look forward to using the Assembly Rooms again in 2024. This really is an excellent venue and whereas some venues take a few years to establish themselves, Chichester has already exploded into our catalogue of events, already becoming a firm favourite for some.

Lymington Masonic Hall - 11th November

Summer or mid November in the forest

The morning was cool and crisp, some even had to scrape a frost off of the car before heading into Lymington. Set up was lovely and smooth, the warmth of the hall and stallholders gave a welcoming atmosphere to customers coming in. As always we had a good mix of stalls and today the stallholders seemed particularly friendly and in good spirits.

Despite the last few days of wet weather we were excited to see the day unfold as the promise of sunshine on this cold day was upon us. During the morning at almost felt quite warm stood in the sunshine while whipping up a footfall. The flow of customers was pretty steady from the off and built over lunchtime. We held a solemn silence to commerate armistice befer we then saw a very busy period between 12 and 2 before it slowed slightly later afternoon. Overall a massive 1349 adult customers came through the door, the highest footfall we have had here this year and we were slightly surprised its was quite so high. Usually this time of the year, the numbers tend to drop slightly as the custoemrs shift from tourists to locals but at times the highstreet actually felt busier than in the summer. The good weather perhaps encouraging people to go for one last day out before they spend every last weekend christmas shopping?

Spending was a little mixed overall. It was good for the most part but despite the numbers a couple of stalls struggled clearing 3 figures. Perhaps with the colder weather and busier day the expectation was high and in reality it just felt a littel early for Christmas still. A couple of stalls were teasing the £500 mark and many cleared £200 with ease. There was no particulat pattern in spending. All of our jewellers seemed happy but half had reported good days whereas the other half just okay. Some sold Christmas in abundance but also the beautiful wreaths we had on display didnt seem to sell quite so well, perhaps an indiciation of where peoples minds are regarding present buying at the moment. Overall though, a good day and a lot of customers asking for the December date so theres still sales aplenty to be made.

Newbury Methodist Church - 4th November

Newbury bursts in to life

This is the event that we had been waiting for, demonstrating just how good this venue is going to be. Newbury has taken a while ‘bedding down’, but at last sprung into life! It has taken us a while to learn how to operate this venue to its best, but we believe that we have now discovered how to bring it to its full potential.

The forecast was wet and showery all day and we drove through continuous rain to get to the venue. To be honest we didn’t expect a great day in these conditions and neither did the stallholders. I’m just glad we were all wrong.

The rain stopped just before 10am and within half an hour the sun had come out. There were plenty of people starting their Christmas shopping in Newbury who were clearly looking for that different present. Our event drew them in well despite the building hoardings and unfinished landscaping of the Methodist grounds making it impossible to see the front door.

There was a continuous flow of customers into the building interspersed by heavy waves of shoppers. By the end of the day we had attracted 697 adult customers into the Methodist Church. This is the sort of figure we expect from now on at Newbury.

Spending was reasonable in the morning but it was the last 2 hours where it really took off. Customers seemed to be coming out with so many bags that we just knew that spending for many had to be good. One artist sold £560 of her African art as well as having interest in future orders. A stall selling mostly jewellery & scarfs exceeded £400. Most stallholders achieved between £100 & £200. Most were astounded regarding spending compared with other events in the area.

This was a really successful end to our first year of events at Newbury and we look forward to returning in the spring to what is blossoming into a good event. We just had to give the people of Newbury time to get used to it.

Thame Town Hall - 4th November

A strange day in the heart of Oxfordshire but some good sales

The drive into Thame was nothing short of horrendous, the backlash of the storms in the week did not make for a pleasant driving experience at all. Heavy rain and strong gusty wind wasn’t how we had hoped for the day to start but thankfully as the morning progressed the weather improved. Set up was a soggy affair although at least by this point the wind had died down somewhat. AS 10 o’clock approached, the hall looked superb with an eclectic mix of wares and a warm cosy atmosphere to greet the customers.

The first hour was slow, we don’t often expect too much before 11 here and with the constant rain we were far from surprised. Late morning however, saw a U-turn in weather fronts and the rain stopped and the skies even cleared a little to tease us with some sunshine. The footfall increased accordingly and we had a number of little flurries. It was noted on several occasions by regular stallholders that it felt busier than numbers suggested which can only mean one thing, customers were actually engaging and spending some good time in the hall. Having not long been paid and so close to Christmas now, this is the perfect combo for sales! Even though the weather had put a good number of people off coming out for the day we still managed a respectable 533 customers through the door, nothing extraordinary but with the early wind and rain it could have easily been a washout.

Spending was pretty good for the most part, 8 stalls had cleared £300 with another handful over £200. A couple of stalls struggled covering costs but this wasn’t with a lack of good conversation showing you really had to take the money from the customers hands at times today. A couple of stallholders noted that customers had picked up products, discussed variations and the different colour/sizes/frames/fragrances etc in detail essentially verbally purchasing the product before then moving on to the next stall without making the sale. It’s a frustrating process, especially when sometimes sales are made with much less active selling but it shows that at the moment things can be quite tough still. Overall however, a very positive day with most making good sales and a lot of customers have been keening taking notes of is back and when so December here promises to be even better.

Godalming Borough Hall - 4th November

Some good sales despite some awful weather

The Mynt team and stallholders drove through difficult conditions with pounding rain to reach the Borough Hall. Flooding was widespread so we were grateful that the stallholders and staff safely reached the venue.

Set up was smooth as the venue is on one level with no steps making it perfect for those with disabilities. The sun made an appearance at 10am when the Mynt Staff ventured out onto High Street. However the clouds soon returned threatened rain.

The High Street was reasonably busy despite the conditions and we managed to entice a steady flow into the event. By midday we had attracted just under 200 customers. But then the heavens opened and it rained on/off for the rest of day. The streets were flooded but people still were keen to have a look around. Upon leaving we had many wonderful comments about the quality of gifts on offer. One customer went home and returned with other family members , they were so impressed.

The final footfall was 548 adult customers a very good for Godalming especially in these conditions. Spending in the morning was poor and we were quite concerned as to what the final results would be like. We need not have worried, in the last 2 hours saw many bags exiting the Hall. Spending in all was good for many and demonstrated that Christmas Shopping had started.

A lady selling animal art sold £520 which was far better than she had done previously at this venue. A lady selling scarfs , clothing & jewellery managed to achieve sales in excess of £400. At least 2 other stallholders achieved £300 with others achieving £200. As is usual we are aware that a few stallholders didn’t do so well but there seemed to be little explanation for why this happened.

This was the final Godalming event of the year because we only operate this event in the run up to Christmas when we know it performs well.

Lyndhurst Community Centre - 28th October

The tourist season is over but Lyndhurst still performs well despite horrible conditions.

Lyndhurst was not the best place to be at the end of October. We had been through a wet week, and there was little let up forecast today for our 2 workers. However despite heavy rain showers and a gentle pulses of rain almost throughout the day, they managed to attract 680 customers into the event. At this time of year we rely on local customers and the people of Lyndhurst are certainly very keen on the good quality craft and Gift markets which we produce and bring to Lyndhurst. Today, despite the awful conditions, though there were also sunny intervals, the local population were out starting to look for Christmas presents. It was a little struggle at times to get them to part with their money, but if you were good at selling, the results were certainly there to be obtained. As is often the case, the first hour at Lyndhurst can be slow, but one it has started, the trickle often turns into a steady flow, just like the showers did today. Our 2 members of staff didn’t stop working throughout the day, though had to dive for cover at times inside the canopy at the front of the building to avoid getting totally soaked …. They certainly can’t be accused of not putting in a great effort

Several stallholders did very well today, though had to work hard to achieve sales of £400+, whilst a further 2 stalls also achieved sales in excess of £300. Average sales today were between £80 and £150 though as usual there were a few stallholders who struggled. Unfortunately the days of sitting behind your stall are gone, and it takes energy and a proactive approach to be able to create sales in this current climate. We also find that those who have sewn the seeds for the rest of the year are those who sell best at Christmas having got their names out there to the attention of the public throughout the year. However with Christmas just 8 weeks away it is clear that the people of Lyndhurst are already checking out what they can buy for Christmas for their friends and family. We had a lot of customers asking us too, when we were next back before Christmas, they are clearly looking to buy quality items from our December event.

Devizes Corn Exchange - 28th October

Threatening weather doesn’t dampen sales

With several days of rain and the threat of yet more today, we were a little bit doubtful regarding how many people would be out in Devizes today. With showers forecast throughout the day and heavy rain forecast at 3pm we were well prepared for working in wet conditions. Thankfully few showers materialised and there were plenty of people out shopping in Devizes, there was even a tree already covered in Christmas lights! The public were certainly out looking for Christmas gifts and many delightedly showed us some of the gifts they had found in the market. The front lobby proved a real draw for families with a homer made chocolate stall and a stall selling brightly coloured beaded presents being a great attraction to help draw people into the event. Numbers of customers continued to increase throughout the day with prospects of a good total. However at 3pm, just as expected, the heavy rain started and this really hit hard the number of members of the public still out on the streets. We finished the event with a good footfall of 620. Stallholders experienced the weather conditions when they packed up after 4pm with some new rivers being formed outside the entrance to the building. A very wet finish to a good day

Sales were reported to be very good for the 1^st hour of the morning with many stallholders delighted and looking forward to an excellent day. Despite customer numbers actually rising between 11 and 2, spending seemed to slow down a lot. Thankfully the 2hours after 2pm, although having fewer customers, those that were coming in seemed to spend more once more and were purchasing more presents. Jewellery had not sold well last week at 2 different locations so we are glad to report that this seems to have been a 1 week occurrence and jewellers did much better today, with sales of over £1000 between them at this event, although 1 jeweller still seemed to have a tougher than usual day. Chocolate sold well as would have been expected at this time of year. One selling more than £400 and another more than £200. Photography went down well as did art work, whilst our stall selling scents also had a good day. It was good to see our 2 candle sellers start to do well, again a situation typical of these darker evenings, with sales of almost £600 between them . Nost stallholders seemed to sell between £100 and £149 with as far as we can tell, only 2 stallholders failing to meet their stall fees and 2 stallholders reporting their best ever sales with Mynt Image

Devizes can be such a good venue and the atmosphere in this large spacious hall is always excellent. This is one of those venues where we can normally give stallholders that little bit of additional room. We can see why many stallholders so much enjoy working at Devizes.

Guildford Guildhall- 28th October

A tough day but some glimmers of christmas spending

A cold crisp start to the day with an improving forecast gave us good hope for this event, we have been waiting for Christmas spending to hit and it felt that today would be that day. Set uip was smooth, a good selection of stalls meant we had every kind of customer catered for. The first hour or two were slow as usual and so was the spending. As we entered the afternoon we gained some momentum, the numbers piclked up and we started to get a good buzz in and around the guildhall. Unfortunately the weather scuppered the momementum somewhate and several short showers sent people towards the coffee shops and not inside the market making it much harder work for us outside, slightly sodden by this point. We felt the numbers didnt really reflect how busy the day felt with 939 through the door but a feeling of a much quiter day. Perhaps the browsers werent even actually browsing today.

Overall spending was okay, we had a couple of stalls clearing £700 and a few around the £400 mark but some struggled a little more. It seemed most had taken enough for the day with only 2 stalls not hitting 3 figures. There were a few moments were customers were chirstmas shopping with out a doubt and others were christmas couldnt have felt further away. That said we were repeatedly asked when we're back so the nest events here should perform as we expect. Those that have exhibited all year will surely reap the rewards of these returning customers too.

Hungerford Corn Exchange - 21st October

A good footfall, but what a strange day?

October is often an odd month, too early for most Christmas buying and too late for those who have really planned out their buying. Stallholders often have great expectations for October, just 2 months until Christmas, but it can be an odd month, and today was a classic example. It was forecast to be wet for most of the day, our Mynt staff had plenty of wet weather gear and even a change of clothing ….. we hardly felt a spot all day. The morning started off warm with some sun, but the day deteriorated into a windy cold grey day. There were few people on the streets, yet for most of the day our area of Hungerford was by far the busiest area of the town as we drove customers up the High Street from the canal area. Where the customers came from we don’t know because the streets were never busy, yet at the end of the day we had our best Hu8ngerford footfall of 615.

As we went around talking to stallholders at the end of the day, some strange patterns began to emerge, the strangest that between our 5 jewellers they had hardly taken over £100 when normally at Hungerford jewellery is a best seller with some jewellery taking £300 - £500. Just why jewellers did so poorly today there is little explanation, especially when last weekend (14^th) jewellery sellers had done so well. Today one artist did very well achieving sales of £350+ and another £250+, but it was knitted sales that were surprisingly good with one knitwear seller achieving sales of £300+ and the other two sales nearing £150. Customers were engaging really well, far better than recently. But today simply not buying. The afternoon was much better than the morning for most stallholders, the final hour as usual being the best. Most stallholders achieved sales of £100+ though there were others who failed to cover their stall fees. What was good to see was that several larger wooden and resin items were being bought for Christmas gifts. We would have expected far better sales with such a good footfall and were disappointed with the results, especially when Hungerford often performs so well

Lymington Masonic Hall - 21st October

A great footfall on a wet Saturday.

The day started off bright after a drive through a huge downpour for many of our stallholders and our Mynt staff. With little else to do on a grey Saturday in the New Forest, there were plenty of shoppers on the streets and they started coming into the event as soon as it opened. In the first 2 hours we had achieved a footfall of 400 coming through the doors and this would have continued if the weather hadn’t broken. A light drizzle turned into persistent rain which continued for most of the day. However despite the weather a final footfall of 930 was achieved, very satisfactory for this time of year. Unfortunately some customers seemed to be coming in simply to shelter from the rain and were not that Inclined to spend.

We had some strange spending today, but were actually pleased at the end of the day to find that the strange spending had not just been limited to Lymington but was almost a copy of Hungerford. No one wanted jewellery, very strange At Lymington when jewellers normally do so well. It was not the fact that there were 5 jewellers, but the fact that no one seemed to be interested in buying jewellery, something we have rarely experienced before. No jewellery did particularly well, though other forms of stall did have some reasonable sales. One stall achieved sales of £450+ and another £350+ followed by several more over the £200 mark. Candle sellers were among the best sales today, something which often starts to occur as the Pre-Christmas season makes way for the Christmas season, the darker evenings needing to be broken by the warm glow of candles.

Henley Town Hall - 21st October

A good day with a touch of Bollywood sparkle

With torrential rain in many parts of Oxfordshire and Berkshire early this morning we were a litte concerned that today could be a washout. Thankfully, by the time we started to set up and unload the clouds had cleared and we had an easy morning. The hall looked good today, we had a superb selection of stalls and the atmosphere felt very welcoming. Perfect for the good people of Henley to come in and spend.

The footfall started slow, there was nothing going on in the town so there was a distinct lack of bustle in the square opposite the hall, quite a contrast to the last time here. The first hour was tough with little over 50 people entering the event but as we grew closer to lunch time the numbers started to flow much nicer. We had a few showers early afternoon followed by a constant drizzle for the last hour or so but weirdly the momentum kept picking up and we totalled 706 customers through the door, much higher than we had anticipated early on. The only time on the afternoon when the footfall slowed in the afternoon really was when a horse and crriage appeared with a film crew taking some shots for a Bollywood movie, who knows, some of the Mynt team may even be seen in the background on the silver screen.

Spending was good today. It was nice to see the wealth spread too, all seemed pretty happy with the days takens and we had at least 10 stallholders clearing £300. It seeemed the majority of the remaining stalls sat between £150-200 with only a couple struggling to cover costs. Jewellery sold slightly less than usual today with art being the most popular product today. Overall a very good day, even if we did get wet.

Romsey Town Hall - 14th October

The 2nd highest footfall ever recorded at our Romsey events

The first chilly morning of the Autumn, a beautiful blue sky and there was certainly a lot of optimism in the air. The set up at Romsey is always smooth and with the Mynt Image team helping to carry products into the 2^nd floor hall, everything went very well. With the lift at Romsey being a final option, we managed to get all of the stallholders into their places well before we normally did when using the lift. …. But it was there if we had needed it. Romsey didn’t seem that crowded, but the lovely mid Autumn weather certainly brought out a lot of locals and visitors into the cafes around the Market Square that the Town Hall overlooks. The customers started to come into the venue in a steady stream, and this continued for of of the day, there not event being a let up in the last hour, when some stallholders actually sold the most. At the end of the day we were very pleased to have achieved a footfall of 836 adults, our 2^ndhighest ever at this event.

The hall looked brilliant today with a wide range of different stalls being on offer to customers. Customers themselves remarked to us at various times, that they were amazed at the range of different products on offer. Customers spent a long time in the event, one couple entering at 10am and not leaving until after 11.15am, a total of 1 ¼ hours in the event. Spending was well spread out throughout the different stalls at the event with a good number of stalls exceeding £250 and several over £300. One stallholder selling candles in vintage cups had her best ever day at any Mynt Image event, achieving £300 of the first time. A photographer also did well, hitting £350 whilst another landscape photographer also sold £200+. Silver jewellery had a much better afternoon than morning with one silver jeweller taking £250. We had 2 very different chocolate sellers in the hall today who between them sold more than £500 of chocolate. We are only aware of 1 stallholder who may not have covered her costs, and we wish that this could have been avoided as this would have made this a truly excellent day

Many customers were also asking us when the Christmas event at Romsey was going to be held. This certainly bodes well for our final event at this very popular event on December 2^nd. Customers are certainly thinking strongly about Christmas now with just 10 weeks to go.

Salisbury Guildhall - 14th October

A very good footfall leads to some good sales in the run up to the Christmas Season

The weather started off gorgeous today at Salisbury, very different from Friday when the weather had been appalling. Bright Sun but a chilly wind and even our leader admits that he should have worn shorts. It is clear that Autumn is with us at last and 2 rather unexpected and heavy showers also caught us off guard. The team were joined by a rather good looking RNLI charity fund raiser who added some merriment to the event. By working hard the Mynt Image team managed to attract a very high footfall of 1418, one our highest at any event so far this year. It was however a pity that many of the customers were simply browsers and ‘viewers and really did not spend a lot of time in the event. It is clear that [people are getting ready to buy for Christmas and thinking hard about what to buy., but are not ready to buy yet.

Pockets are very deep and it takes some good selling skills to help many customers spend. However. There were enough good buyers around for stallholders to make some good sales One stallholder made sales in excess of £600 and another sales in excess of £460 with another 2 hitting £350+. These are good figures for this time of year. Mid month in October when the Christmas season has not truly started. This is the season to get your name out there into the community to get customers to think of you when they do start to buy for Christmas. These are vital months for many stallholders, and if the time and effort is not put into these months by stallholders, then reapings at Christmas will not be as good as hoped for. Most stallholders took between £100 and £200 with only a couple not making enough to cover their stall costs, something that happens at every event. In speaking to stallholders at the end of the event, all remarked on how busy they had been all day and how much they had enjoyed the event. All stallholders seemed to understand that this was a typical Craft and fair and as they pout it ‘the nature of Craft fairs’.

With customers starting to think about Christmas now and the weather colling down at last, we are looking forward to our November events at Salisbury which are always excellent. Here comes Christmas.

Witney Corn Exchange - 14th October

A tale of two halves but a warm welcome to the colder weather

Set up ran smoothly as it always does in this venue, a firm Mynt favourite with staff and stall holders alike. We had a full complement of stalls with a last minute no show giving us some extra room and the hall looked superb. Lots of height in displays made for an immersive experience and there was certainly something for everyone. With this in mind and a much cooler start to the day we had high hopes for this event.

As we opened it felt incredibly autumnal, the air was cold and crisp and for the first time this year Christmas seemed like it was on its way. The first half an hour we had several festive minded shoppers which was great but then the sun worked its way above the buildings and so the thoughts of Christmas disappeared. Footfall ebbed and flowed over the duration of the day. It never stayed too consistent with the busier spells interspersed with a couple of quiet patches. Overall, a total of 760 customers through the door we were happy with.

Spending seemed to give one of two results, either very good or below expectation. We had 4 stalls struggle to cover costs with half a dozen around £100 in sales. Jewellery and candles seemed popular 2 stalls comfortably clearing £500 and another 2 north of £400. A further half a dozen sat £200-£400 and for the most part people were prtty happy. Spending patterns varied for most thought, one stall taking 80% in the first hour with hours not making a sale until midday. These random patterns continue to baffle us but when spending was pretty good overall, we can’t complain too much. Those that were less successful seemed to report that people just weren’t willing to spend where some of the more successful stalls said that for some reason, they just had what the customers wanted on the day. The exact pattern is almost impossible to analyse but with so many customers asking when we’re returning, we have a feeling November/December spending will be really profitable.

Lyndhurst Community Centre - 7th October

The Highest footfall of the year here leads to a packed event

It was a beautiful warm day in Lyndhurst with wall to wall sunshine for most of the day…..most unusual in October and certainly much better conditions than in August. It was clear right from the start of the day that the extraordinary weather had brought visitors and tourists out for the weekend out into the country to enjoy the splendour of the New Forest. The central car park and main street started filling up almost as soon as we opened at 10am and there was a steady stream of customers into the event throughout the day. In the afternoon after 2pm there was a huge influx of additional visitors many of whom has enjoyed a lunch out and were in a spending mood. This huge wave of potential customers descended on the Lyndhurst Community Centre resulting in a totally packed event for the final hour and a half of the event. With a final footfall of 1036, this was the largest footfall at Lyndhurst Community Centre this year. Our staff also had many photographs taken of them spinning arrows adding to the ambience of the Lyndhurst High Street, something we are becoming well know for at this location.

With such a large footfall we would have expected sales to have been good, and they generally were. At lunchtime however many stallholders were rather despondent with the amount of sales that were being made, the tourists who had been into the event had not been buying well. However with the huge afternoon tidal wave, spending increased dramatically, with some very good figures being achieved. It was also clear that the public were buying for Christmas with some good sized purchases being made rather than simply lots of small pieces. As one stallholder said, if sales had been like they were in the last hour throughout the day, they would have had a record day. Wood work was in strong demand today and as lunch would have it we had several excellent woodworkers in the event today. Between the woodworkers they achieved almost £130 in sales, with 1 woodworker achieving over £400 and another £360, whilst yet another woodworker had his best ever sales at one of our events. Jewellery also went down well for most jewellers with one jeweller achieving sales of £500+ and another tow sales of around £200 …. Always pleasing to see. As is often the case horse shoe sculptures also went down very well with sales of £400+ and their new range of Christmas deer really took off well. Home furnishings and dinosaur themed products also went down well. It was sad to still see 4 stall holders only just break even, though the warm weather may have had something to do with warm winter fleeces not selling

Overall this was a busy and productive event, demonstrating the Lyndhurst in the Autumn can be excellent when the tourists are out in force.

Guildford Guildhall - 7th October

Increasing footfall but decreasing spending today

The morning flowed well, stallholders arrived in good time to allow the team to help with unloading and setting up. We had a good mix of stalls although the split between upstairs and downstairs was admittedly slightly off. We endeavour to spread each craft as much as possible but on this occasion, it seemed all of the art was upstairs and the candles and jewellery downstairs. Although somewhat unorthodox it actually made for an impressive display to customers walking in.

Once set up and the day underway, we saw a handful more customers in the first couple of hours than we’ve been used to. Until 12 it has been quite slow here in recent months, but a fairly steady flow of good quality customers meant that we were off to a promising start. As the afternoon progressed, the quality was swapped for quantity and the high-street began to grow busy but with familied and students. The cobbles were filled with people out for the day rather than out to spend. Based on the lack of shopping bags in hand and the unresponsiveness of the people passing by it was always going to be tough to draw a crowd and perhaps even tougher to draw the sales. We managed the second highest number through the door or the high with 960 so we’re quite happy in terms of footfall we only wish they had been a little keener to spend.

For a good few, it wasn’t too bad, half a dozen stallholders clearing £400 and several around the £200 mark. However, the rest of stalls struggled a little more and overall there was a strong feeling of reluctance to buy from customers today. We think perhaps the good weather has held people back from Christmas shopping as all the right conversations are happening its just the transaction at the end that’s missing. Lots of positive feedback though so with a cooler event promised for the end of the month, we’re looking forward to it.

Godalming Borough Hall - 7th October

Disappointing considering how well September had gone.

With our September event at this location drawing in record figures, we had high hoped for this our 2^nd Godalming event of the year. But we were unfortunately disappointed. The unseasonally good weather with temperatures warmer than in August and totally sunny conditions had a huge influence on this event with many of the local population being drawn away from the town for the day. Roads were very busy with cars and motor homes talking residents out to enjoy a few unscheduled nights away in the British Countryside. With our event at Lyndhurst being packed and the chaos on the coast, you can tell where many were heading. Unfortunately, this left the streets of Godalming empty. Despite using the usual tactics of arrow spinning and shouting in various locations along the High Street, we only managed to attract 264 adult customers into the building, a huge fall from our September figure of 660, The event was advertised in exactly the same way as the September event had been, but the resulting footfall so incredibly different.

Although the event was quiet, we were mildly surprised by the actual sales that had actually been made. In fact in comparing sales from 7^th October to September sales, there was little difference. It was however depressing for many stallholders to work through such a slow event. One candle seller sold in excess of £400 as did one silver jeweller. At least 2 other stallholders, sold in excess of £200 with an artist almost hitting £200 as well. Many more sold between £60 and £100. However there were also several who sold very little and this is always disappointing to see when some have done so well. We are always disappointed when stallholders fail to cover their costs because this is clearly both not good for the stall holder or our image, but at times such as this, there is unfortunately little that we can do. The unseasonally warm weather may have been great to enjoy, but it certainly did little to suggest that Christmas was less than 12 weeks away

This was a tough day both for Stallholders and for Mynt Image.

Abingdon Guildhall - 30th September

A busy market square leads to some good sales.

It was a dry breezy day in Abingdon with limited sunshine. There were plenty of people in Abingdon drawn in by the 'Local Excellence Market' which had set up in the market square. We werent able to collect customers as usual by walking around the town but were instead limited to advertising the event from a distance. However with Sue spinning her arrow and Pauls voice (much louder than the town cryer) projecting over the Market Square, people had no option but to notice us. By the end of the day 879 adult customers had entered the event.

Setting up was interesting today. The bollard had reappeared after an absence of many months making unloading more awkward. We had to adjust the physical layout several times to cater for stallholders wishes. With such a good footfall sales were bound to be good and the majority of stallholders achieved sales of between £150 and £250. One stall selling gaming accesories sold in excess of £600. A card seller and a photographer achieved £350+.

We look forward to our December Christmas Abingdon event now, which we were constantly being asked about and is bound to be a great success

Devizes Corn Exchange - 30th September

A good day in Devizes

Devizes is an excellent location for one of our events and we have normally been very pleased with sales here. Today was no exception. The weather was bright though bands of cloud kept the temperature down throughout the day. There were plenty of people in the town, especially for some unkown reason, in the mroning. Right from the start of the day we experienced a good flow of customers, some already buying for Christmas. Our team worked really hard to draw customers into the event, making it known throughout the town that the event was on in the Ceres hall. By 12 midday we had attracted almost 300 customers into the eventy., If this had continued throughout the day, we would have achieved a record footfall. However during the afternoon, the footfall slowed despite our excellent efforts leading to a final total of 651 customers, very good for Devizes

Devizes is always an easy event to set up and today was no exceptions. With level access into the hall and unloading really very close to the front door, this is an easy event especially for thiose with mobility issues. The hall is extremely spacious and we are well aware that we could get more stalls than we do into it, preferring to give people more space once 36 stalls have been achieved. The atmosphere in this event is always good, stallholders normally seem to get on so well together and there is a good ppositive atmosphere

The customers were certainly starting to buy for Christmas today with some very good sales amongst stallholders.. Most stallholders achieved between £100 and £200 sales with only 2 stallholders not managing to recoup their stall fees. 2 other stallholders achieved over £400 and one artist, new to this event, achieved sales of over £500. We have already received thanks from several stallholders, one telling us just how much they are looking forward to future events with Mynt Image

Thanks especially today to Keith who lead the event and had a 3 hour drive home afterwards. Our gratitude to him for helping us out.

Godalming Borough Hall - 30th September

A little less conversation and little more spending please?

The morning was crisp and clear and the we looked forward to a sunny day ahead. Set up ran smoothly, one or two stallholders arriving a little later than usually with a few road closures in the surrounding areas. That said the hall looked good with a good mix of stalls to greet customers as they came in.

Footfall took half an hour or so to really gain momentum but once they started to flow we saw a steady trickle until a big flurry just before lunch. The afternoon saw a steadier stream of customers with the odd flurry here and there boost numbers quite nicely. Minus a quieter spell over lunch we saw a good number of customers over the day and we didnt count the ballet mums (many of whom we beleive entered the market but it was difficult to tell exactly how many as they used the same entrance as the market). Overall we saw 665, a great number for this venue but still a conservative figure as of course around 50-60 are not included in this total.

Despite the good numbers, sales were a little tougher than we'd expect to see here. It seemed that there was a lot of really good positive conversations that didnt quite lead to finalising the sale. Customers were saying all the right things and stallholders had done everything theyd usally do to clinch the sale but instead of tapping their cards they just said thanks and walked away.

Thankfully we had around 10 stallholders taking about £200 which certainly isnt bad but we often see more here. There was no real logic to who did well and who didn't, almost luck of the draw but that said we did here a lot of that wonderful question 'when are you back?' Christmas will be good here, it was just too early today for any stand out sales.

Hungerford Corn Exchange - 23rd September

A typical September afternoon in Berkshire

The morning was nice and cool, very autumnal on the drive into Hungerford this morning. It felt crisp and clear with the promise of sunshine throughout the day. Set up ran nice and smoothly, we had a particularly good spread of stalls with a lot of height building up into an incredibly immersive event.

As doors opened, we saw the usual slow start and gradually picked up momentum as the morning progressed. We had a fairly steady flow and it seemed that customers were spending a decent amount of time within the hall which only adds to the atmosphere. It felt quite bubbly throughout and it seemed that stallholders enjoyed themselves aside from sales which is always really good to see. The flow of customers tailed off slightly in the afternoon but we managed a total of 518 through the door.

Sales were a little mixed, with half a dozen stalls taking less than £100 it seemed that the higher priced items were not in demand today. Jewellers struggled, 3 out of 4 being among those not hitting triple digits however there was a number of good conversations so we have fingers crossed for some aftermarket sales here. At the top end we had 2 stalls around the £400 and another 3 stalls between 250 and 300. The majority were in the 100-200 bracket but lots of business cards were dealt and the customers asked when we were back in abundance. It seemed that we’re just a little too far from Christmas for the real big spending but October promises good things.

Chichester Assembly Rooms - 23rd September

What a great location this is!!!!

We always look forward to our Chichester events because they have all been really good this year. This event was no different and must be one of our most successful events so far this year at any location.

The weather was perfect, a sunny day with scudding clouds. The city of Chichester was crowded with shoppers right from the start and there was a steady stream of customers into the event . The stream of customers increased during the day resulting in a very good footfall of 1234 customers. Many customers asked us when the next event was before Christmas with others praising the quality and excellent range of products on offer. At times, the event was absolutely ‘heaving’, some customers spending a lengthy amount of time in the event

We had had 13 cancellation for this event but had managed to resell them all, except for the 2 we received on the morning itself. We offered 4 additional spacers outside under the arches and these performed just as well as the inside spaces despite having a far higher footfall, which we didn’t count. We already have requests for outside spaces should we use this area again.

The customers at our Chichester events have impressed us all year, they are so friendly , loe to talk and clearly really appreciate the crafts we had on offer. Spending is also always good at Chichester, and today was no different. We had 1 jeweller achieving sales of £800+ and 4 other stallholders achieving sales of over £600 with another 2 between £400 and £500. As far as we are aware only 1 stallholder achieved sales of less than £100 and they were still very pleased with the day. Jewellery, candles, dog bags, dinosaur products. cheese and watches all sold especially well. The people of Chichester really love quality products as well as individual bespoke items and that was demonstrated incredibly well today with some large items being sold.

Christmas advent calendars sold extremely well, August and September being once again the best months to sell these items. Customers were certainly not only looking for Christmas presents today, but keeping their eyes open for what they could buy when we returned. Some stallholders had already received on line orders for additional products before the event closed.

Marlborough Town Hall - 23rd September

Early Autumn makes for brisk trading

As summer turns to autumn the early risers of the craft fair community are now wiping the dew off their mirrors at 6.30am but after the deluge during the week the weather man promised us a dry day and so we will take a little bit of early morning moisture with a dry eye. Conditions inside the hall have changed slightly with the installation of a cupboard robbing us of some floorspace though and setting things up to accomodate our band of exhibitors was affected by this with one of our vendors feeling that they were so pinched for space that they would rather not set up today. A very disappointing start for all concerned and our apologies go out to they who were affected along with our promise that we will do what we can with the venue to restore the space that was available when we originally booked the fairs or amend the capacity accordingly. The rest of the morning setup went without incident and by 10am the hall had a really good mix of product, backed by our nascent ambient sound system.

The first hour at Marlborough is slow, there is no exception to prove this rule, but it is known. A trickle of 55 people but the first murmors from inside that more than just browsing is taking place and we outside spy the odd bag or two. By midday the skies are clear and the Mynt hoodie has been discarded, moreover we have over 150 visitors to speak of and the town is bustling. There is always a lull in the afternoon but it is not pronounced and by the end of the day we have had a footfall of 642 which is busy for Marlborough.

Talking to exhibitors after the fair, pretty much everyone has enjoyed their day and most have enjoyed some success in turning heads and converting browsing into buying. We are delighed to report three exhibitors over the £400 mark, one over £300, four in the £200 category and five more into triple-figures. There were also a couple of stallholders who have a number of very promising leads for commission work. In all this was a very successful fair in late September coupled with our fair here in early September it demonstrates that the town remains very supportive of our community.

Witney Corn Exchange - 16th September

At last some decent conditions to work in!!

With the searing heat of the previous weekend and the pouring rain on a Saturday for most of August (and July?) we were glad to be working in more usual conditions this Saturday. With holidays for families over, there were plenty of potential customers on the streets right from the start of the day. There were plenty of mature couples around all day, many of them enjoying a late Cotswold holiday in September. There were also many people around looking for Christmas presents, something supported by the fact that our specialist card seller ended up with only 6 Christmas cards left at the end of the day. As we walked around the town advertising the event, we received large numbers of questions from the public asking where the event was being held and many of these questions resulted in customers later walking through our doors. AS usual Witney was busiest between 11.30 and 2.00 with numbers slowly dying down, but it was good to see the hall packed at times with very busy stallholders. BY the end of the day, the Mynt team managed to create a footfall of 863, very respectable for Witney in September.

Unfortunately not all customers were in a great buying mood, and as seems to be the case at many events at present, some stallholders struggled. Others however did very well with a least 2 stallholders achieving £500+ including ana rtists and a silver jeweller achieving over £300. For most stallholders the afternoon was far better than the morning, though the reverse was also true for 2 stallholders, which ios unusual. At least 2 stallholders had their best Witney event for several months and were relieved to sell between £150 and £200. A stallholder selling children’s clothes also did very well, her products receiving a lot of praise from the customers. Average sales today were certainly between £80 and £120. As usual, the more proactive stallholders, working on their feet all day, did the best … you really have to actively sell to achieve the best results in these economic conditions.

We are certainly at the start of Christmas buying, many customers buying presents for family and friends today. Small items sold especially well and customers seem to be looking for that ‘special ‘ item for presents. With the redevelopment and redecoration of this building, we will be using additional room upstairs in 2024 so that we can accommodate more stallholders in what is always a very popular event

Salisbury Guildhall - 16th September

A day for browsing

With the slightly cooler temperatures we looked forward to working in some more pleaseant conditions for change, not too hot and dry for the first time in a couple of months! It was slightly muggy though so running around to help set was a little sweaty for the time who couldnt help but marvel at how immersive this event was with an exceptionally good mix of stalls, all high in quality. With our new speaker system set up too the atmosphere was bubbly and inviting lending well to the prospective sales throughout the day.

We had a slowish start but momemtnum soon built and a steady flow of customers throughout the morning and into the afternoon quickly totalled into a good footfall. We managed an overally figure of 1079 adults through the doors plus a good number of dogs which is always greatly received. A few spots of rain over the afternoon helped on occasion when the city centre started to dwindle slightly but otherwsie it felt like a good day.

The only noticable complaint as such from the outside looking in was although there seemed to be a good number of shopping bags leaving the venue they seemed to be more of the smaller items. We had a quite a mix of sales overall, the jewellers did relatively well, a couple of whom clearing £250 and a further 6 stallholders around £300 or more with a variety of art, bags and accessories. With the exception of a small hadful of stallholders who only just covered costs, weveryone else sat in the £100-180 bracket. Sales were pretty good for the most part but where it seemed like such hard work today and only the smallers items we felt it could have been a little better. That said however, we do have the promise of several hundred more in sales for commisions plus any after market sales that we see. Its also worth noting the sheer quantity of people asking when are you back and whos exhibiting! Keen interest on the run up to christmas without shadow of a doubt.

Newbury Methodist Church - 9th September

Helter Skelter In Summer Swelter, The Bottom Fell Out Of The Retail Sector The weather peoples were all saying that Saturday would be the hottest day of the year, so we came armed with suntan lotion! At 7.45am as we rocked up to the venue, the air was already pleasantly warm as we prepared the hall. One of our smaller venues, but with nooks, crannies and permanent fixtures to work around, it is an exercise in the art of tessellation, thank you therefore to the various Maths teachers of our youth for arming us with the expertise to slot together the noble craft folk who filtered through over the next hour and a half. We had a little juggling to do as a rare admin error lead to an unexpected arrival and grateful for people's good cheer and trust to give us a few moments to work a solution, which happily we managed and so come 10am the hall and the front garden were glistening with temping product. Slow was the first hour, with few people on the streets but the pace picked up just a little in the second hour and by midday we had made a footfall of 120., a marked downtick on the previous event and it was becoming clear that we were dealing with prime BBQ weather and that there was international sports on the TV. A little adversity never caused the Mynt Team to wilt though and like the mad dogs/Englishmen that we are we went our into the midday sun and redoubled our efforts. It may seem like slim pickings that by the end of the day we had reached only 283 visitors but our hope was that those who did visit were of a purpose rather than a casual browser. Our end of day conversations fell into two categories, those who struggled and those who broke even. Nobody made a great deal of sales today but we were gratified to learn that a half dozen of our exhibitors made it into triple figures and that whilst those who did not were naturally disappointed with the day's trading that spirits had remained high in the hall through the company of fellow exhibitors and a solid music offering. Therefore we look forward to our final Newbury market in November with optimism and hope that we will not see another hottest day of a year so late in the calendar.

Lymington Masonic Hall - 9th September

A market in the sweltering heat of the South Coast

It was predicted to be the hottest day of the year and that proved to be the case. The Mynt team had hats, drinks and sunscreen at the ready for the day ahead.

Lymington High Street was bustling with potential customers and we counted 24 into the market before 10am. The first hour was the busiest with a footfall of 210 and many bags exiting the premises. The footfall doubled in the next hour and it seemed that we were in for an amazing day. One customer remarked that he was looking for jewellery for both of his wives!

Unfortunately the increasing heat put an end to a continuing high footfall and the numbers fell off over the lunchtime and afternoon. But by working hard there was the occasional flurry of visitors and we ended the day on 932 footfall.

Spending was inconsistent. There were a number of stallholders who did very well. Cheese was popular selling just under £500. A jeweller made £400+, a dried flower artist £370, a Woodworker £200 plus some after event orders, a dog bag seller and 3 other stallholders made £200+, including other jewellers. It was a good day for most with a mature clientele in the town enjoying late holidays following the return to school. Unfortunately we are aware that some stallholders struggled to meet their costs which would be the case at most events.

We look forward to the rest of the year in cooler conditions.

Thame Town Hall - 9th September

What a scorcher!!!!!

With temperatures of 34 degrees outside due to a late Summer heatwave, we didn’t really know what to expect. Our first task on arrival at the hall in the morning was to get the fans on and to open all of the widows that opened. We also tried to create a through draught, asking the caretaker to open the rear doors. Once we discovered that the fridge was working we also provided jugs of cold squash for our stallholders all day …and they deserved every bit of cold liquid that we could offer. This is a warm hall, delightful in the winter, but in this very unexpected finish to the cool summer, not something we really wanted. Set up was a little fraught, though whether this had anything to do with the climatic conditions we can’t be sure. Once settled though the event started very well, there were certainly a lot of people around in Thame in the morning. It was also good to see that most of the closed shops in this once bustline town now had new owners, Thame seemed to be coming back to life. Unfortunately in the afternoon the footfall died and Thame became a modern day ghost town. We can’t blame the public for not being in town shopping, it was not where we would have wanted to be on such a hot sunny day. BBQs, parks, and the river were drawing crowds away from the town, people looking for shade and a good cool drink. Our stallholders must be commended for not giving up and not moaning during the day. In fact we were glad to see that many wonderful friendships were started, with several stallholders asking to be placed next to each other in the future. Our final footfall …. 346, in these conditions not bad at all.

It was good to see that despite a lower than normal footfall, some stallholders had done very well. One artist achieved around £400 and 2 jewellers achieved sales in excess of £200. A lot of stallholders seemed to have achieved between £120 and £180 which on a day like this was most encouraging. We are aware of one stallholder who failed to achieve their stall fees, but this is the same at most events unfortunately. Customers came out delighted with the quality and range of gifts on offer …a lady selling terrariums managing to sell ,ore than £200. It is always pleasing to see so many bags in customers hands and there were certainly plenty around today, It was interesting to note that customers today were mostly local people rather than the tourists we often get in Thame, which is used as a setting often on Midsomer Murders. Thame yet again, and this time almost forced by the amazing weather, continued to demonstrate that you do not need to have huge footfalls to create good sales

We look forward to our events later in the year at this venue, but do hope that they won’t be in such hot conditions. Thame continues to be one of our favourite locations and has such enormous potential.

Marlborough Town Hall - 2nd September

21st Century Mynt

Early morning, early September, light drizzle; we cared not, for we had affairs of a higher order to concern ourselves with. At Mynt Towers we have been working hard on some improvements to the ambience of our events and the first trial investment is in full swing. A couple of weeks ago we hit some technical snags, but this morning after a couple more technical issues, we had a pair of speakers linked together and a nice even sound across the hall was the result. Just in time to greet our incoming exhibitors, who as always put on a fine display. By 10am therefore we are looking good and sounding good, so now on to the quest for the punters.

That quest is traditionally a tough one in the morning at Marlborough, the drizzle having stopped made little difference as the cloud cover was still full and the town lightly populated, within the first couple of hours a light footfall of 120 had been achieved with little spending. We have seen this before but still we yearn for a fuller hall and the clink of coin. Happily the Marlborough trend remains consistent as the weather improved and cloud gave way to sun, so the footfall became brisker - still sporadic but at many times a busy hall and most importantly the sight of people leaving clutching produce. By the end of the day we had a footfall in excess of 560 and the word inside was very positive on all fronts.

Our headline figure was an exhibitor who passed £500, we had two others over £400, another at £300 and three in the £200+ category. Five more of our exhibitors were over £100. Significantly only one was below their table fee and they reported a good degree of interest and we hope that commissions and teaching work may result from today's exposure for this exhibitor. We were also delighted to recieve praise from two stallholders quite independently about the quality of the communication prior to the events and the efforts of the on-day event staff to ensure that our good craft folk are setup up well and that they have everything that they need. The cherry on today's cake, stallholders and punters alike were enjoying the music so the Mynt team are delighted that today's fair has been such a positive event.

Milford-on-Sea Community Centre - 2nd September

A lovely Autumn day in Milford

Milford on Sea was bathed in sunshine today bring lout the tourists and visitors. With most families now having left the New Forest, the more mature couples with more money to spend had returned to the New Forest, enjoying the quieter environment. The streets were rather quiet At first, though this is not unusual for Milford on Sea. As the sun came out and the drizzle left, so did the tourists and locals emerge from their homes. A good number of cars were diverted by our sign spinning into the large car park adjacent to The Community Centre. Very glad to have the opportunity to visit a quality event. At times the event was very busy and the café almost full, some customers telling us that they only visited the event due to our active marketing but were very glad that they had. At the end of the day we had achieved a good footfall of 428, a very good figure for Milford on Sea

The locals and visitors to this venue always buy well. The atmosphere in this building is delightful and really conducive for sales. We had many of our regular stallholders with us, many disappointed that the event will not be running in 2024 when it is so lucrative and such a favourite amongst many. The footfall may never be high here, but spending is one of our highest per customer. You only need 300+ customers into this event to result in some great sales, which is what happened as usual today. If only new stallholders wouldn’t believe that you need a large footfall, we would be able to continue with this very good venue. Top seller today was a stall selling South African beaded products who achieved £250+. Many other stallholders achieved between £130 and £180 including a jeweller, a stall selling insect boxes and a stall selling decorated homeware. We are not aware of any stall which did not break even at least. The people of Milford on Sea just love quality products and this is just what they got today.

Many stallholders reported spending for Christmas was well underway. Customers were buying multiple Christmas present at some stalls and Christmas cards at others. Christmas buying is often very good in September, and this year is clearly going to be no different. There was a lovely atmosphere in the hall today and some wonderful smiles on the faces of stallholders.

Guildford Guildhall - 2nd September

A tough day but good for some

The drive into Guildford saw a few spots of rain, something we were not expecting but should have been an indication of the kind of day ahead. Essentially nothing too negative but not quite what we were expecting. The set up was relatively smooth, a little different than usual with the highstreet hosting a young enterprise market but once 10 o’clock struck we looked good. It was nice to see some new faces in Guildford and of course the old faithful who frequent the historic building every time.

Before opening, with no encouragement whatsoever, we saw a handful of customers trying to sneak in and even spending. A perfect start to the day! Annoyingly this was not an indication of how the day would progress as the Highstreet was quieter at 1030 than it was at 930. It seems that a theres a mini rush early in Guildford to avoid the bigger rush later in the day. Recent years in Guildford have seen the rush start a little later than previously, usually the first hour was quiet but now it’s the first 2. This, of course, has always been made up for an exceptionally good afternoon where they flow through steadily, often a glass of prosecco down and keen to spend. Today it took longer for momentum to build with no real atmosphere until mid afternoon. We had to work tremendously hard to keep the numbers coming through the door and somehow managed to achieve 725. The public were somewhat disengaged today so it was hard both inside and out.

Spending reflected this too, most stallholders took more in the afternoons than they did in the mornings however the more successful stalls actually noted the morning was more profitable. We had 3 stalls clearing £500 with one stallholder one sale short of the same milestone. We had a handful between 150 and 250 which we’re pretty happy with and a few stalls struggled to cover costs. It felt like a really tough day though, those that sold well did note how hard they had to work to achieve their sales and a good portion of what sold was repeat business too. One stallholder commented on how many good conversations so although they didn’t necessarily sell particularly well theres promise of aftermarket sales.

A tough day but still some good sales.

Lyndhurst Community Centre - 26th/27th August

Saturday - Great spending in the afternoon

Bank holiday weekend is one of our key dates at Lyndhurst and we could have sold the spaces several times over for this event. Tourists always flock to this charming village at this time of year, both exploring the antique shops and enjoying the many cafes and coffee shops. The road through the town was as usual a cascade of motor homes and caravans throughout the day, though with some wetter looking passengers than normal. There is a definite lack of things to do in the New Forest on a potentially wet day in August and there were many families looking for ways to entertain themselves. Our Craft and Gift market provided an excellent focus for many with some customers coming into the event several times throughout the day. Despite a period of heavy rain (a light shower apparently) and a terrific thunderstorm we still managed to create a good footfall of 870 adult customers as well as over 40 dogs

Spending was slow in the morning, many stallholders having a great initial burst of customers followed by a real lull when customers wouldn’t relate to them. However we need not have worried because after 12.30/1pm, just as in many of our events at present, spending rapidly increased. There were some great sales in the afternoon with both our regular cheese seller and a stall selling horse shoe sculptures both selling in excess of £500. We had 3 other stallholders selling around £300 and many others exceeding £200. The hall at times was packed with customers within the last two hours and we had some wonderful comments from the customers regarding the quality of the products on offer. When we closed at 4pm we still had a good number of customers wanting to come into the event, many unhappy that they had not come along earlier.

We look forward to our 3 remaining events for the year at this excellent venue, and know with certainly that even though this is primarily a Summer location, sales will continue to be good

Sunday - A good sunday in the forest

Set up for the second day is always easy and especially so at this venue. with around half of stallholders booking for both days we had a rather relaxed morning helping people unload and get ready for the day ahead. The hall was just as welcomgin as the Saturday but had another good mix for the tourists to explore. It was always good to see some of those booked into both days bringing in extra stock for day 2.

As we often see here, the sundays start slightly slower. The town doesnt show much life until around 1030 but once the momentum grew we saw a good steady stream of people coming through the door. The highstreet was full of cars almsot all day long and a good number turned into the car park from seeing our sign weilding staff working hard to draw them in. The coffee shops were slighly quieter than usual it seemed, sometimes the good weather sends people into the forest itself rather than spending too much time in town but we saw a good footfall nonetheless. We totalled 939 plus countless dogs and pushcairs throught the day.

A few people commented on it feeling quiter than the day previous despite being a higher thouroughfare which usually means that the customers are less engaged. There was certainly less browsing overall but still some really positive conversations and a good handful of customers spent very well. Many that purchased seemed to buy from multiple stalls which is always good to see. We had a 2 stalls clearing £400 and a further few north of £300 which is good going for a sunday in any location. Most of the stallholders booked in for both days cleared £250 with ease, some raking in much more too. We had a couple of stalls struggling but all enjoyed the day and have some promise of aftermarket sales which will of course boost the numbers slightly.

It certainly seems that booking back to back days here is a superb way to spend the week for both financial benefit but also enjoyment.

Lymington Masonic Hall - 25th/26th August

Friday - A busy Friday event at Lymington

Mynt Image have always run A Bank Holiday Friday event at Lymington, to attract the large number of tourists who spend the end of their Summer holidays in The New Forest. We then run a Saturday event making this a 2 day event at the same location. The footfall will always be lower on a Friday but spending can often be better than on a Saturday.

The weather today was perfect for our Mynt Image events as it was not sunny enough for tourists to go to the beach. There was also no rain forecast miraculously to keep people off the street. Lymington was very quiet at the start of the day but by 11am, tourists had decided to leave their hotels and comfortable tents to enjoy the delights of Lymington. For some reason there were not as many families in town as we would normally expect where they had vanished to we just don’t know. The afternoons at Lymington are often slow but not today whn the afternoon was far busier than the morning. Spending was also far better in the morning. By the end of the day we’d managed a footfall of 648 which was around 100 more than this time last year.

The hall was a riot of colour and design today with some really professional looking stalls. Set up was very easy as is often the case and parking was very easy with everyone managing to have a free space. Everyone was ready and eager to sell come 10am when the- Mynt team ventured down to the streets. Remembering that this was a Friday and not a Saturday with a market outside, There was some good spending but it was well spread out across all the stalls. At least 4 stalls sold around £250 and most stalls between £100 & £170. We were only aware of 2 stalls that didn’t meet their costs. It was good to see 2 stallholders new to Mynt Image make some really good sales. These new stallholders were also amazed about the amount of effort that the Mynt team put in to get people into the event.

Stallholders enjoyed the rapport and atmosphere of the event. Many stallholders asked when next year's dates were being released so they could book them.

Sunday - Wet weather spoils a very good day

The town of Lymington is always full of tourists on a Bank Holiday weekend, which is why we always opt for this date if available The streets were crowded right from the start of the day. The sunny start to the day also brought the visitors out, many hoping that the weather wouldn’t change, which unfortunately it did. Several short showers in the morning were inconsequential, but at 2pm the heavens opened and customers vanished which was really disappointing. However we still managed to attract 1042 customers into the event, so we knew that there would be some good spending

Setting up at the beginning of the day is always easy at Lymington so long as stallholders respect each other and the limited free parking spaces. With several stallholders staying over from the Friday this made things even easier than usual and there was more of a relaxed start of the day for many. The hall did look great and full of quality with a very good variety of stalls.

Unusually, the customers did seem to spend better on the Saturday than they did on the Friday which is most unusual. One stallholder selling gaming accessories and fabric items sold in excess of £450 and was very pleased with her day. Two other stallholders achieved between £300 and £400 with another 3 stallholders, including an artists almost achieving the £300 mark. It was quite clear that those who were standing and selling actively, sold far more than those who were simply waiting for sales to occur … unfortunately those days are over. There were 3 stallholders who unfortunately sold less than £50 which is surprising when there was such a good footfall and others had done so well. Average sales were certainly around £100 - £150 with over £4000 being spent in the event throughout the day

With just 1 more Summer event at Lymington on 9^th September, this has been a good Summer tourist season at Lymington. As was the case in 2022, many tourists are buying for Christmas already which is why sales for many this August have been their best for the year.

Henley Town Hall - 19th August

A busy day with some mixed spending.

Set up was smooth if not a little sweaty as the morning felt quite muggy, especially running up and down the stairs. Thankfully as we’d more or less finished helping stallholders unload the mugginess passed with a short shower that cleared the air nicely. As 10 o’clock approached the hall looked good and the sun was shining, we were ready for a promising day ahead.

The town was slow to pick up originally, the first half hour saw few customers out but before long the high-street busied and a good atmosphere started to build. Rewind festival bringing a lot of people into town with the need for something to do in the afternoon before the music started so we attracted a good number of these party people (some in wonderfully colourful and vibrant outfits) into the event. It was a good crowd to have in although it seemed that the slightly wealthier locals were avoiding the centre of Henley today. There was a certain buzz outside and the sunshine complimented this nicely, by the close of play we saw a total of 876 adults through the door. A good number and a good flow too.

Spending was somewhat mixed. We had a handful of stallholders clear £400 but they noted that it was the smaller item selling best. Any items that complimented the festival goers’ outfits were a winner of course. We had a handful of strugglers today, but this time of the year and lack of locals would have made this a bit tougher. When the weather is iffy this time of the year people switch to preparing for Christmas quite often but with the glorious sunshine this was not on people’s minds like it was last week. We had many stallholders sitting in the £150-200 so overall not bad at all. One particularly important thing of note however is the sheer volume of quality conversation. We were asked when we were back many times and stallholders seemed to be often asked for details for future purchases. So, if this is taken into consideration then its an even better day.

Devizes Corn Exchange - 19th August

A tougher day but still some good results

A pleasant summer's day, not too hot, not too cold, the Goldilocks zone has finally arrived at our shores. There's plenty of space out front at Devizes Corn Exchange too, a short lug/roll into the venue and a spacious hall to set up, so come 10am we had a fine array of quality goods on display.

The task facing the Mynt team as always is to convey to the outside public the glories that lie within and the people of Devizes have never needed too much convincing in the past, a happy hunting ground therefore; but today something had startled our quarry; a funfair directly opposite us had taken up the car park where our would-be customers disembark their carriages, it is less car and more carbuncle outside. Undeterred, we start to do our rounds on a thinly populated high street and a slow first hour gleans us just over 50 people. The town starts to become just a little busier thereafter but by this time we are dealing with a lot of noise pollution too which compounds the lack of visibility created by the funfair (the venue is completely obscured from the town centre) as we can no longer be heard either. Therefore we continue to concentrate on forays into town in order to spread the word face-to-face. By the end of the day a footfall of 559 was achieved which is not as bouyant as some of our fairs but is around our target level.

Inside the hall the general consensus is that it has been a very tough day of trading and the hall has been quite quiet during the day. A big hall like Devizes can feel sparsely populated with footfalls much higher than today, so this comes as no surprise to the Mynt team. We were gratified to hear that a number of our stallholders had made good sales, but there were also a good proportion of stallholders who made very few sales today which is a disappointment. Highlights were 5 x £200+ sales and 6 x £100+ and many of our hobbyists who are bringing their goods to market to fund materials to continue their passtimes were content with sales between £50-100. Sadly we also had a number of stallholders who are usually doing three-figures who failed to break even on the day which is dissapointing considering the early starts and the late finishes that is the life of the craft fair community.

Salisbury Guildhall - 12th August

A reminder of the good old days

We enjoyed some gorgeous sunshine on the way into Salisbury and the promise of a good day was upon us. The set up here is still a little more labour intensive than the pack up with the unloading to the rear of the building but we have this down to a fine art and George and Karl ran around working up a sweat to assist as much as possible. Everything ran smoothly and the hall looked really impressive, the only drawback for the morning was the few spots of rain that teased us before opening.

Annoyingly the rain persisted beyond opening and we actually had a couple of short showers to contend with. Of course come rain wind or shine the team work tirelessly to draw a crowd and this was no exception. The town was packed with tourists and we offer the perfect escape from the weather so the early footfall was very good and this continued with a steady stream over the afternoon. We engaged with a number of nationalities too, many French, Spanish and German to name but a few, were out in their masses and they flowed through the doors nicely. The afternoon quietened down slightly but not before we reached a superb 1297 customers through the door. Although the first hour of the day the atmosphere fell a little flat it certainly picked up and the buzz we would see in Salisbury pre covid seemed to have returned.

Spending was good today, very good in fact and more importantly there were a number of seriously good conversations regarding commissions and repeat purchases/after market sales so beyond the sales taken during the event itself we expect to see even more post market. We had 3 stalls in the realm of £450-500 and a further 4 clearing £300. Most cleared £150 rather comfortably with only one struggling to cover the costs for the day. We’re very happy overall and we’re excited for more to come in this stunning venue, especially with the tourism uplifting to where it once was. Christmas here is going to be astonishing.

Romsey Town Hall - 12th August

An unexpectedly wet day in Romsey but still some very good sales

The people of Romsey and visitors to this quaint historic town, love a good Craft and Gift Market and today was no exceptions. With good weather forecast in the morning and some rain around midday we were looking forward to a good almost dry day, But it was not to be, and the rain started almost as soon as the event started with lengthy showers right through the morning as well as periods of heavy rain. The roads seemed deserted at times, but as soon as the shower stopped, the potential customers came out of the coffee shops and shops and appeared on the wet streets. There were actually plenty of people in Romsey today, though few could enjoy the outside seating areas around the Market Square, sheltering inside instead. In the afternoon, the rain finally stopped and we had a couple of hours of dry weather, resulting in the footfall into the event not stopping right up until the end. As usual the Mynt Team worked outside despite the weather, and despite getting very wet feet, managed to attract a footfall of 568, a strong footfall for Romsey.We had a good mix of newcomers, some doing their first ever events, and more experienced stallholders, and the way they supported each other was excellent. The atmosphere in the event was very positive throughout and the new stallholders felt very welcomed and supported, something which is now common at our events. Romsey take a little bit of setting up due to an unreliable and slow lift, but almost everyone was ready to go from 10am. The hall did look really lovely and there was a huge range of products on sales ranging from horseshoe sculptures to amazing cakes, from art to art work made from flowers.

It was clear right from the start of the day that the customers were buying and it was good to hear several customers exclaim ‘oh Good, it’s a Mynt market.’ It makes us proud when we hear customers who now realise that Mynt events are quality events and make a beeline for them. Bags were coming out of the event well, with some customers buying many different products, and as is usual at Romsey, spending a good deal of time within the event, there are few non-buying browsers at Romsey. Some stallholders did far better in the afternoon than the morning, which is common at our events, although the opposite was also true for a few stalls. Having only sold 2-3 candles in the morning, one stallholder went on to have a really good day due to an excellent afternoon. One author sold her greatest amount of books for the year, perhaps the gloomy weather encourages reading. One artist did sales of almost £500 including the sale of an original, whilst a stall selling cheese also exceeded the £500 mark. At least 4 other stalls achieved sales of £200+ whilst the majority achieved between £100 and £200 with only 1 stall failing to meet their table fee, despite being experienced sellers. Our new stallholders thoroughly enjoyed the event and most asked when our 2024 events were being released, wanting to book more as soon as they could and being aware that our 2023 events at Romsey are already sold out for the year

Romsey rarely disappoints, and despite a wet morning demonstrated just how reliable and lucrative this delightful venue can be.

Milford-on-Sea Community Centre - 5th August

A rather wild day in Milford on Sea but still some great results

With a wild, windy and very wet day forecast we didn’t quite know what to expect from our classic British holiday destination in this anything but typical British Summer. There would certainly not be many beachgoers around today with wild gusting winds and steady rain. The Mynt team had to tie down their boards and flags just to keep them upright. The set up at Milford on Sea is thankfully very easy and despite the awful conditions our stallholders were all well set up, but with few excitations about what the day would bring before 10am. At 10am the Mynt team proceeded to go outside into the storm, demonstrating once again that we will work in all weathers, The first hour only brought a footfall of 21, incredibly low, but the stallholders were in good spirits because they were buying. As ione stallholder reminded others, all they needed were 7 good customers throughout the day. At 11.15 the weather cleared slightly and those awful winds subsided for a while. Immediately there was a stream of holiday makers cars driving through the village and with our Mynt team holding and where possible spinning arrows, they managed to divert many of the cars into the Craft and Gift Market. There were so many cancelled events on this Saturday that the holiday makers had few places left to go and readily welcomed the opportunity for a family outing into the Craft and Gift market. New seemed to spread quickly that our event was still on and customers continued to flow into the event throughout the day, the hall and the café being very busy at times. At the end of the day we had attracted a very respectable 356 adult customers into the event, an average number for Milford on Sea despite the weather conditions.

Although we didn’t have a huge number of stalls today and were only using the main hall, the hall looked full today. The quality of the stalls and the many different products on offer was truly amazing and remarked upon by many customers. We had several customers when leaving and driving off, stop to tell us how much they had enjoyed the event, something which is becoming more and more regular as the quality of our event continues to improve. There was so much on offer today and some real gems of stalls with something for everybody and certainly some great holiday souvenirs. Many of our stalls including a couple selling painted horseshoe gifts achieved over £200 with one lady selling craft gifts achieving £300. One couple had their 2^ndbest event of the year almost hitting the £200 mark. One artist, selling nothing in the morning sold 4 originals in the afternoon and was delighted with her day. Milford on Sea has one of our best spending per customers rates and this was once again demonstrated today despite the at time atrocious conditions as storms swept across Southern Britain. One stallholder recounted watching a customer buy from almost every stall at the event and we had ourselves watched her leave with a trolley load of bags. We were certainly glad that we hadn’t cancelled this event when it proved to be such a success for those who attended.

Guildford Guildhall - 5th August

Tough day in the heart of Surrey

The wet weather of the past few weeks continued to follow us into the weekend with the forecast for rain throughout the day, with respite on Sunday it was clear that we were going to be affected by the weather. Happily the early morning drizzle abated around 8am and so our exhibitors were able to unload and set up without getting wet. By 9am the lower hall was already fully occupied and the last of our crafters was in upstairs shortly afterwards. We had plenty of jewellery and art to boast about and a mixture of other products to tantalise the good folk of Guildford.

With the clock striking 10am, the Mynt Team took to the streets and were greeted by a grim vista of grey skys, rain and a thin scattering of homo sapiens carrying brollies and so it remained throughout the morning, a traditionally slow first hour at Guildford extended up to an past midday with our first hundred customers being achieved around 12.15pm. Thereon the rain abated and then stopped and suddenly there were folk coming out of the woodwork. For around 2 hours a steady trickle of people were drawn to the fair such that we had achieved 400 visitors by around 3pm. The rain then returned and the last two hours of trading was done to the same backdrop as the morning.

Trading inside was equally tough with just a handful of exhibitors making triple figures and many struggling to achieve sales. The final footfall of 496 is possibly the lowest we have ever experienced at this venue and those who came in clearly were not in the mood. Three exhibitors achieved over £200 today, another three over £100 with 3 failing to make any sales.

Chichester Assembly Rooms - 29th July

Chichester lives up to expectations

Our newest venue Chichester has proved to be an excellent addition to our catalogue of events and today proved to be no different. Driving to Chichester through drizzle, the sky soon cleared and revealed the beautiful blue sky we hadn’t seen for what seemed like weeks. There were threatening clouds for most of the day on the horizon, but not over Chichester where the sun seemed to rule supreme. A strong wind kept the temperatures down, making it a pleasant day to work in. There were plenty of people on the streets right from the start of the day, and these numbers increased during the day with the arrival of many holidaymakers enjoying the sounds and sights of Chichester. Chichester really is a draw for tourists and will be added to our list of tourist venues for the Summer in coming years. Customers needed little assistance in visiting our event, with a steady stream of customers throughout the day making their way into what became a packed event at times with a small queue down the stairs not putting many customers off. The Mynt team as usual worked hard drawing customers into the event and had some wonderful conversations with members of the public who all seemed to be in a good mood. By the end of the day a fantastic 1336 customers had been attracted into the event, and many more wanted to enter after we had closed at 4pm

There were some excellent stalls in the event today and stallholders were certainly not travelling light. With most stallholders arriving before 8.30am there was time to create some truly excellent displays which our customers remarked upon. One customer went out of his way to seek out a member of staff to tell him that it was the best craft fair he had seen for more than 40 years. With such good quality stalls on display and such a good number of customers, it was not surprising that at the end of the day some very good figures had been reached. Stallholders still reported having to sell hard because customer pockets seemd to be very deep, but despite this one jeweller claimed that she had had her best day ever. Chichester really is a good place for jewellery sales and with 4 jewellers achieving more than £1200 of jewellery sales between them, this trend certainly continued today. Our cheese seller did particularly well, with customers raving about the quality of her cheese and at least 4 stalls reported sales of over £400. Many other stalls reported sales of between £150 and £200 and were very happy with their achievement. We are only aware of 2 stallholders who achieved less than £100, a figure which is becoming the baseline at many of our events this year.

It was as usual good to see stallholders assisting each other so well and enjoying each other’s company so much. It certainly was not hard to see why many stallholders enjoy coming to our events not only for the lucrative sales that they make but also for the pleasure of meeting other Mynt Image Stallholders. With a real mixture of new and established stallholders today, it was good to see new stallholders being welcomed in and helped by our those who are more experienced. One stallholders told us readily about how much they had learnt about the art of selling and displaying products during the day. At the end of the day, most stallholders were assisting each other in loading vehicles and making the end of the day as smooth as it could possibly be. It’s a delight to run events like this when stallholders work so well together.

Hungerford Corn Exchange - 29th July

Hard work in Hungerford despite relatively good number

With the promise of poor weather for the morning we were a little sceptical as to how the day would run but the set up was smooth and the hall looked incredibly inviting. A number of our regular stallholders made comment on the superb display and range of products which was only backed up by the customers alike. THe stallholders booked into this event were a mix of regulars, experienced but new to this venue and a handful that were new to the game entirely.

As the day got underway, the team worked dynamically to draw a crowd and achieved good results. Albeit good in the sense that customers flowed through the door but less so in the sense that their engagement was left at the door. There seemed to be handful of early sales but for a good portion of the day customers didnt really seem to openly converse with stallholders or even look at he gorgeous displays. We had a lull around lunch with a nice flurry towards the end of the day totalling a very good for Hngerford 545. It is worth noting that the previous event here (in the pouring rain) only saw around 60% of this footfall but seemed busy as the engagement was a lot higher. Its interesting to highlight how good quality the customers can be here but perhaps not on this particular occasion.

Spending was very mixed, we had some stallholders struggling to cover costs and a couple of regular hungerford traders that consistently take 200-300 had only managed around half. On the more positive side, we saw a 6 traders taking over £200 with at least 2 of those clearing £300. We had quite a few sitting in the £100-200 brackets so although not exceptionally good it certainly wasnt a bad day. There wasnt any particular stand out product but art seemed to be up there along with children themed products. The more vintage style items sold particularly well too

Lymington Masonic Hall - 22nd July

Tremendous footfall despite horrendous weath

The weather forecast chopped and changed quite a bit over the course of the week. We were hopeful that we'd have a little wind to combat but nothing more than that but we were wrong. The day started well though, it was actually quite sunny at stages while we set up and the hall filled nicely. A warm collection of stallholders and some incredibly good quality products on display here today. Perfect for holiday makers to enjoy as the summer break starts.

Footfall started well, the high street slowly started to fill and we pushed them up the hill with ease. The wind picked up and annoyingly before long the rain had started. This didn't seem to stop the numbers though, if anything it actually helped as people were keen for somewhere to escape the weather. Last year on the same day we saw 775 through the door and we managed to ahcieve this same number by 1 oclock. Where the rain was pretty relentless however it meant that afternoon was a lot quieter. Those who had ventured out were either in the coffee shops or had given up for the day and so we struggled to keep the momentum up. The team were soaked through but worked hard and totalled 1128 adults through the doors plus countless dogs and children.

Spending was weirdly mixed, the busy morning faired better for some while the quieter afternoon allowed for some better conversations leading to larger sales for others. There wasn't much of a pattern or any particular crafts the sold well, 2 of our jewellers struggling to cover costs but others doing particularly well. We saw at least half a dozen stalls taking around £250 but the most important thing to note is the promise and interest in aftermarket sales. It felt like there was some really good networking here today so we're keen to see how many extra sales come from this event. Overall considering the poor weather we're happy with the day, especially the numbers through the door even though we're still a little soggy now.

Abingdon Guildhall - 22nd July

A Washout, but still some sales.

The weather today was far worse than predicted, and is only the 2nd time in 4 years that we have experienced persistent rain throughout the entire day. The rain started at 1030am and just didn’t stop, causing there to be very few shoppers in Abingdon. The cafes around the central square packed up their chairs and tables in the continual; deluge and there were few people coming into town. Most sheltering at home out of the rain. A few brave souls ventured out and spent the days in the coffee bars and cafes around the town and it is these we targeted as much as possible to attract to our events. The Myht Image team worked outside, despite the conditions locating as many people as possible to attract into the Craft and Gift Market. One or two customers openly admitted that they had only visited the event as they felt pity ofr the 2 soaked staff members working hard to get people into the event. BY 4pm the dedicated teams had managed to attract into the event 349 customers.

We had a huge range of stalls today, with many of our regular experienced stall holders joined by a few who were newer to us. The quality of the stalls was excellent with some very imaginative and colourful displays. Thankfully most stallholders had realistic expectations for the rain soaked events, seeing the forecast, but still being determined to sell as much as they could. Despite the awful conditions and lower than expected footfall. At least 2 stallholders still achieved £200, whilst an author sold over £180 of his books, quite unusual at this time of year but possibly inspired by the late Autumn like conditions outside. Many stallholders sold between £100 and £200 with jewellery going down well again. We are only aware of 2 stallholder who didn’t meet their table fees, something we expected to see more of in these conditions.

The Mynt team were thanked by the stallholders for working outside all day in the awful conditions and doing their best, despite the weather to bring as many customers as they could into the event. The Mynt Team, despite being dressed in full waterproof ger still managed to get soaked and were to be honest, glad to get home after a very tiring day of battling the elements.

Salisbury Guildhall - 15th July

An excellent event in what were forecast to be horrible conditions

The forecast for this event in Mod July (British Summer) was forecast to be strong winds, thunder and rain throughout the day. There was a yellow wind warning in place and the outside market, that runs every Saturday, had been cancelled. We were a little worried. 2 stallholders had already cancelled due to the forecast, but the remaining turned up without huge expectations. Due to the absence of the outside charter market we were allowed to unload right outside the Guildhall, which in the torrential rain which fell at 8.30am was most welcome. Between 8am and 10am when we opened there were very heavy rain showers but we started to get customers just after 9.30am, half an hour before the event started. The moment we started at 10am, it not only stopped raining but a steady stream of customers started to enter the event. Many customers had come to visit the outside event and were disappointed to not find it running, so paid our stallholders a visit instead. We experienced regular showers until Midday, but each time it started raining e experienced a sudden influx of customers willing to spend. From Midday onwards there was no rain, just some heavy gusts of wind, but there were plenty of customers in Salisbury including many coachloads of tourists from the USA and from The Netherlands, all looking for gifts. The final footfall was 1235, far above our expectations and the best for the year at Salisbury

The event did look great today, there were some really bright and well presented stalls, making customers make some great positive comments towards us as they left. From the amount of bags coming out we also knew that stallholders were doing well. However for a change stallholders seemd to have done better in the morning in the rain than they did in the sunnier dryer afternoon, most unusual this year. 2 stallholders had their best ever days at any events, one selling resin products hitting £400 for the 1^st time. 2 other stallholders, a cheese seller and a jeweller sold in excess of £500. At least 3 other stallholders sold in excess of £300 including an artist, a stall selling dinosaur based products and a glass maker. We know of only 2 stalls who sold less than £100, many selling around the £200 level

This was a very good event at Salisbury especially with weather warnings out. The rough winds did not seem to deter visitors from taking in the sights of Salisbury, demonstrating again how good Salisbury can be in the Summer with so many tourists around.

Thame Town Hall - 15th July

Weather warnings slow the footfal despite the sun

There were a number of yellow weather warnings in the week due to gail force winds and torrential rain, the forecast improved as we drew closer to the weekend and on the drive up to the venue itself we saw glorious sunshine. It felt as though the bad weather had passed over the prvious 24hours but the warnings were enough to scaremonger the locals and tourists against travelling out for the day. The local national trust sites were all closed so we knew it'd be a little tougher than usual. Set up itself ran smoothly, we had an array of regualrs and experienced stallholders but also more newbies than usual. A good mix in all and some lesson to be learned by the new stallholders.

As we got underway the town was quiet, the sunshine was a pleasant surprise and it was very warm all of a sudden. The wind was steady however and it kept clouding over, it was a rollercoaster of seasons throughout the day and we had a few showers which didtn help. Sometimes the rain can be handy to drive people in but when the streets were particularly quiet in the first place it was tough to capitalise. We had a strong team drawing a crowd so despite the weather being much better than forecast there was no more we could do than attract the 370 we had through the door.

Spending was tale of 2 halves, it seemed that the regulars did well and those that are newer found it a lot tougher. A couple of our most experienced stallholders found that customers were not coming in and freely spending but rather needed more than just light encouragement to part with cash. Those not used to selling found this tougher but we feel there would have been a lot learned throughout the day and there was certainly some promise of aftermarket sales so we look forward to seeing how that pans out. Notable sales include one stallholder comfortable clearing £400 and a further 5 in the £200-£300 bracket. We only had a handful that struggled to cover costs but most stall holders seemed happy, especially as the the expectations were relatviely low for today.

Lyndhurst Community Centre - 8th/9th July

Saturday - A rain affected day at Lyndhurst but still some good sales

It was grey dreary start to the day at Lyndhurst with few customers on the street. After half an hour we had attracted less than 30 customers into the event which was worrying for the Mynt staff. Yet thankfully is always easy at this delightful venue and despite being fully booked there was still plenty of free parking in the adjacent parking compound.

The market team leader had only returned from holiday the evening before and was delighted that with the assistance of the community centre staff everything was ready to go. By working hard throughout the day in sometimes adverse weather conditions, the team were able to attract 535 customers, many of whom spent very well. Although several stallholders struggled some good sale were made. A variety of different stalls sold in excess of £300 including a jeweller, a stall selling home furnishings and a stall selling jams, chutneys and photographs. Cheese was once again the top seller with sales in excess of £400.

Sunday - Improved weather conditions bring the tourists out in force

This was the 2^nd day of our weekend event at Lyndhurst Community Centre and for many stallholders was the better of the 2 days although there were exceptions. As a large number of the stallholder had already attended the market on Saturday and left their stall up locked away in the hall overnight, set up was remarkably easy. Some stallholders choosing not to arrive until 30 minutes before start time. It’s worth noting here that almost all events at this venue in 2023 are 2 , 3 & 4 day events making this a great choice for those who are looking an easy start and end to the day.

There were tourists in the cafes and shops in Lyndhurst from the outset and this was not the usual Lyndhurst slow start. By 11am we had already achieved a footfall of 135. The weather conditions improved throughout the day and the streets were bustling at all times. By the end of the day and by working hard, a footfall of 873 was achieved, demonstrating why we run Sunday events at this venue.

Selling well today were jewellery of various types, cheese as usual in high demand, home furnishings. One stallholder selling in excess of £400 of glasswear today, double the Saturday takings. We were very pleased another stallholder after several years of absence selling glass achieving £250+. However a few stallholders did less well today, despite very favourable comments from customers who were reticent to purchase quality items that they obviously loved.

Lyndhurst on a Sunday in the summer can be an excellent venue when there are so many tourists looking for somewhere to go.

Marlborough Town Hall - 8th July

Good results despite the stoem

Marlborough is one of our smaller venues and it has internal features which make things quite tight inside, but folks know this, they appreciate the reasons why and they don't mind getting a little cosy given the excuse. We are always grateful that folk share the space so amicably, it makes out work easy and setup today was nice and striaghtforward. Everyone arrived on time, the hall looked well up to scratch and as is the norm, we had a lot to crow about to the public come 10am.

The public didn't really turn up at 10am though, just 20 through the door in the first half hour, we were grateful to have just reached 50 by 11am. This is also fairly typical of Marlborough, the well heeled of Wiltshire don't stir too early in these parts. Thereafter we found that between occasional showers of varying intensity we were able to build momentum, slowly but surely such that at times the hall was quite busy and a nice atmosphere was generated. The word was that spending was starting to improve in the afternoon and by the end of the day there were more smiles than frowns the Mynt team having attracted 530 visitors to the fair.

We had three folks really struggle today but the majority were into profit with is 2 x £400+, 2 x £300+, 3 x £200+, 6 x £100+ and of the remaining three were at £90. In all a very solid showing in Marlborough which is supporting us well despite inclement weather.

Lewes Town Hall - 8th July

We’ve never worked in a thunderstorm before!

Thankfully it was a cooler day in 2023 than we’d experienced in 2022, however with thunderstorms on the way we knew the day would be a little unpredictable. Set up is smooth at Lewes due to level access and the good size unloading area. Lewes town hall is large and airy and provides stallholders with a good deal of space. It was good to have a mix of stallholders with many stallholders brand new to Mynt. It was lovely to meet up with some of our more regular stallholders who are giving Lewes a go.

The first hour was quiet in town but the Mynt team took turns to advertise the event by walking up and down the High Street (including a huge hill) and this generated a steady footfall. Lewes on the whole seemed quieter than normal today but there were still plenty of quality buyers entering the market. Midday saw the ominous arrival of fork lightning above a staff member’s head as the heavy rain started to fall. We were delighted to note that despite the rain, customers continued to enter the event.

The final footfall was a satisfactory 531 which is only slightly lower than July last year despite this being a rain affected event. This is one of those venues that proves you don’t need a huge footfall to generate respectable sales. The importance is quality buyers and quality products which there certainly were at this event. One stallholder selling mainly fabric items and scarfs sold in excess of £400. Jewellery was a good seller with one jeweller selling over £300. Many stallholders achieved between £80 & £150 with one woodworker achieving all of his sales in the last 2 hours. Unfortunately, as is always the case, one or two stallholders struggled to meet their stall costs.

Guildford Guildhall - 1st July

A tough start but good end in Guildford

We had a smooth start to the day as is often the case here, a fairly taggered arrived llowed the team to assist unloading as much as possible and the halls slowly transformed into gorgeous displays for customers to immerse themselves. The slightly cooler weather was well recieved too as the recent heat has made for some tougher days. It was cloudy for most of the monring with the odd sunny spell but it was never hot enough to deter the good people of Guildford from venturing into town, well not in the afternoon anyway.

The morning had its usual slow trickle but didnt really show much sign of picking up until early afternoon. It felt like it came from nowhere but the highstreet was all of a sudden the place to be from around 1 o'clock and it allowe us to gain some momentum. Footfall picked up dramatically and flowed well as the day progressed, the atmosphere soon matched and sales followed for the most part. It felt like hard work on the highstreet drawing a crowd, which is often a refelction of how much hardwork it is generating sales, but thankfully once inside they seemed a little firendlier. We saw a one of our higher footfalls of the year at 943.

Spending was pretty good for the most part. We saw 4 stallholders clear £400 and a further couple over £300. We had only 2 stallholders struggling saleswise but for the most part it seems customers spent well for the time of the year. There was no real pattern to spending just those that are proactively selling and building a regular customer base achieving the best results.

Romsey Town Hall - 1st July

A very typical Romsey market

The week's weather has been mercifully mild after a few weeks of heat and humidity and we were thankful for that respite on an early Saturday morning. Romsey has a couple of flights of stairs to navigate or a tempramental lift and we had one hiccup in the morning which required the lift to be reset which was a poor start to the day in our book. Our exhibitors arrived at a steady pace and with a couple of adjustments being made on the fly, we were able to suitably accomodate everyone and by 10am we were as always looking good.

The first hour at Romsey can be a slow affair with few people walking the streets, but whilst our staff and stallholders breakfast during the small hours there are plenty of folk sat outside its varoius bistros and coffee houses enjoying their morning repast, and when they do finally stir they pour into our venue - first at a trickle and sometimes with enough wooing into a steady stream. Our exhibitors reported a couple of quiet periods during the day and by 3pm the town felt almost empty, but the final 30 minutes is often brisk and we found this to be our busiest period of the day, showing once again what we have found over and over again - those who keep active until the clock strikes 4 are often very well rewarded. A solid foodfail of 622 was achieved by the end of the day, with one member of the team moving around town to advertise our presence and another manning the door.

There was a good spread of spending across products today with steady takings for woodword, candles, jewellery, cheese, art and a fairly even distribution for our triumvirate of authors. Not everyone managed to cover their full expenses sadly, but most of our feedback was very positive and headline figures achieved were one exhibitor in the £400+ category, one other in the £300+ bracket, three more at £200+ and ten overs achieving sales over £100. We had half a dozen stallholders who we do not have full figures for but from conversations held throughout the day we know that a couple of our exhibitors who are local to the area made a number of good contacts for commission work too. In all it was not a spectacular day for this venue either in terms of footfall or overall spend, but in a challenging climate it is clear that we still enjoy a good degree of support in Romsey.

Milford-on-Sea Community Centre - 24th June

Tough day but some good sales for most

A warm grey start to the day with a sea mist at times. The sun eventually breaking though in the afternoon. There were plenty of people in town in the morning and many making it to our event. A live music event on the village green caused our numbers to colapse around 12.30, picking up again after 2.00pm. All of the stallholders remarked on how lovely the customers were. With staff constantly spinning arrows, to the delight of many of those in town, we managed to create a very good Milford footfall of 414.

Setting up is always easy at Milford with a lovely level approach into the building. We had a delightful mix of stallholders with our regulars being joined by some less experienced and enthusiastic newcomers.

Milford yet again demonstrated that you dont need a large footfall to create good sales. 2 stallholders achieved around £250 with many others achieving between £100 and £200. Only 1 stallholder didnt achieve their tablr fees. We have already heard from stallholders wanting to book more events.

Hungerford Corn Exchange - 24th June

A tough day in the heat but some positive outcomes

The set up here was wonderfully smooth, its such a gorgeous space here and very simple for unloading. It helps that the car park is only a stones throw away too and some stallholders actually just unload from there rather than the back door showing how easy it actually is. We had a splendid mix of stalls, so much so that we recieved a number of lovely comments from customers as the exited the event. It sounds silly but out on the highstreet the Mynt team who work tremendoulsy ahrd to draw a crowd are often ignored by assers by even if they go into the event so to have some many lovely comments was very welcome.

The first hour was slow as it often is in Hungerford, the sun and high humidity meant it was tough conditions to work in and where the highstreet stayed quiet for most of the day it was very difficult. There is a small tesco just down the road from the hall and usually we'd see cars fighting to get in but. today there were a number of available spaces all day long which gives an indication of how much quieter than usual the town was. We managed a low footfall for Hungerford but we are actaully pleased with the percentage of people in the the town that came through, it seemed almost everyone went through whether it was their first or second pass. We achieved a total of 363.

Spending was nothing too incredible, unfortunately a handful struggled covering costs for the day which is always a shame. However we did have a number of good success stories too, 4 stallholders cleared £300 with one just shy of £400. Quite a few sat in the £150-250 bracket which is always good. It is also worth n oting how impoartant last minute sales can be, one stall holder who had not taken a penny prior to 3:45 managed to make a massive £140 sale to one customer in the dying moments of the day. What an aweosme way to finish the market but it really shows staying positive until the very end can be the difference between a disastrous day and a pretty good one!

Lyndhurst Community Centre - 18th June (Sun - Fathers Day)

A classic Sunday event at Lyndhurst

Today was Fathers day, though it has t be said that this didn’t seem to be a celebrated event by many customers, unlike Mother’s day earlier in the year. .Lyndhurst really is a delightful tourist town and though rather quiet today, there were still plenty of tourists and visitors in town, many choosing to rise late. The forecast for today had varied throughout the week, though we did expect to be working in the rain for much of the day ….. but thankfully we only experienced one heavy shower in the afternoon. One thing we did have to contend with in the Community Centre was another event, but the Mynt Team have already received praise for the way they handled getting 50+ cars into the parking compound and the very structured and organised exit at the end of the day. Mynt Image staff certainly seem to have a great sense of organisation which helps them to overcome most things thrown at them. Stallholders are always amazed by how hard our teams work to create good events and today was certainly no different. We have to mention the excellent café provided for us at this venue which acts as a wonderful additional draw for customers and is greatly used and praised for quality affordable food by our stallholders. At the end of the day a footfall of 896 adults had been achieved

The event itself went very smoothly and there were few times when there were not enough customers in the hall to create a good ‘buzz’. Stallholders were really supportive of each other and there was some excellent encouragement being given. We had several newer stallholders with us today and these were well supported by our more experienced stallholders. This venue is really excellent for this trying to sell their crafts for the first time. Spending was not the best today, though one stallholder sold almost £400. A stall selling dinosaur based gifts was a great hot with the families and many children came out delighted with their dinosaur gifts. Another stall selling dice and fabric products also sold well and an artist was delighted to see several larger prints and achieve over £300. To be honest though it was not an easy day and although average sales were certainly between £100 and £200 several stalls really struggled, one making a substantial loss, something we don’t like to see. Customers really had to be encouraged to part with their money today and were certainly choosy about what they wanted. What did seem to be missing today was presents for Father’s being bought, there were few of this type sold which was very surprising.

We are looking forward to Summer in Lyndhurst as tourist numbers continue to increase and visitors start to buy more presents and souveniers.

Henley-on-Thames Town Hall - 17th June

Summer spending does not disappoint

Summertime and the living is easy, but not so easy that we are not all getting up at 6pm on a Saturday morning after struggling to sleep through the haze of another humid night; and yet we are undetered for we are Mynt and we are the exibitors and event folk of Mynt made of stern stuff. Happy we were too of that stern stuff, the ever popular event being booked as full as we have ever been at Henley so it took a little patience and perceverance from all concerned to mold the space to our needs. Whilst we always aim to be as prepared as we can be, we are grateful for the good humour, co-operation and trust that is placed in us to iron wrinkles out and come 10am we were happy to have everyone well accomodated. The hall being furnished with a fine array of goods, the Mynt staff headed to the streets to drum up trade with much to boast about.

Henley is slow in the morning, the first hour in particular and by 11am we had a small flow of 65 visitors, thereafter things picked up a fair amount in town with the streets being quite busy for a number of hours and by 2pm we had arrived at almost 500 visitors. Things can slow down once again in the afternoon but as we find at many of our events, the last hour is well worth the wait both in terms of volume of traffic and also spend. Many customers browse during the morning before lunching at one of Henley's many bistros before returning to sate their appetite for fine crafts and gifts. A footfall of 688 was achieved by the end of the day which is well in line with previous years at Henley around this time.

We were gratified to discover that the overwhelming majority of our exhibitors had a solid day of trading, one or two did struggle and conversely a good half dozen had done exceptionally well. A number of different categories from art to candles, jewellery, pottery, fashion items and soaps all did well, a very good spread which reaffims that Henley is a very supportive venue of our exhibitors. Five our of traders passed the £400 mark in sales today with another clearing £300, seven more over £200 and eigth over £100, of the remaining half dozen traders all that we spoke to had at least covered their table costs for the day. As mentioned earlier, Henley is an event where folk can return to the fair very late in the trading day and a number of stallholders on both the thin and thick end of trading came back to us after we have spoken to them to reported that they had last minute sales, proving once again how rewarding it can be to resist the urge to pack up early.

Witney Corn Exchange - 17th June

Witney in the Summer

Witney is an event where there are few peaks and troughs, and an event which can always be relied upon, It was the last day of the hot weather today and there were clouds in the sky and even a few short showers throughout the day. There were plenty of potential customers in Witney om the streets including good numbers of more mature people who always seem to buy better. With one stallholder unfortunately breaking down on the way to the events this enabled us to give stallholders a little more room, which in such humid conditions was very welcomed. Our Mynt Image team were outside for all of the events and walking around Witney publicising the event with some good results. At the close of the event a footfall of 860 had been achieved, much improved on a similar event in 2022.

Set up at the start of the events always flows well at Witney with people spreading out their arrival times. The use of trolleys to move products from the car park to the building also proves to be an advantage. Spending started off very well, the first half hour bringing good sales for many. There was then a lull for a while before spending kicked off again after lunch. We don’t really understand why there are quiet spending periods, though this does seem to be something which is occurring more this year. At the end of the event, one of our jewellers had hit £500+ and another £350+, it really was a jewellery day, possibly because of the slightly more mature demographic today. Just 2 weeks ago, jewellery wasn’t selling, at present it is the best seller at many events. There were some good candle sales too today and some South African beaded products sold well. One young artist at here 2^nd ever event do well to hit over £120 and was very encouraged by the day. It was however a tough day for many and several stalls struggled to reap much profit. In the lobby area, a photographer and an artist had a tremendous start to the day, but sales in this area seemed to dry up in the afternoon, which was most unusual.

We don’t hold many Witney events in the Summer as they have never proved as good as the spring and Autumn. We do however have high hopes for our next event in this delightful market town in September, the start of the Autumn and Pre Christmas season.

Lymington Masonic Hall - 17th June

A good footfall but disappointing spending

Lymington felt very quiet today, the market not stretching down the hill as much as usual and a lack of tourists spending money in the town. It was another lovely warm day and there were visitors around, though many were sitting around the quay enjoying the weather and others were rushing to get to the beach. Sunny hot weather does unfortunately seem to affect events negatively with customers having other things on their mind. Our Mynt team explored every way of getting customers into the event, visiting most areas of the town to make sure that visitors knew that there was an event on that was worth visiting. Their efforts results in a very creditable footfall of 837 which is very much the same as in 2022

It was a very easy set up today, as is often the case at Lymington so long as instructions are carefully followed. We had many of our regular stallholders as well as several new to us, who were made to feel welcome. We had a really good mixture of products in the hall, mostly of very good quality and this is always remarked upon by the customers. Although there were plenty of customers, this does not always translate into there being a good number of sales. As we are often told, it’s our job to get the customers into the event, it’s the stallholders job to sell their products. Most stallholders to took between £80 and £120, which covered their costs and their fuel. However several did a lot better with 1 stallholder making £350+ and 2 others over £200. We are aware of several stallholders who really struggled today to recoup their costs, something we don’t like to see, but something that on certain days is hard to avoid.

As the Summer progresses now, we expect to see better sales, if 2023 follows the pattern set by 2022. There are now plenty of tourists around both in hotels and camping in the rapidly filling camp sites.

Chichester Assembly Rooms - 10th June

A hot day, and some good purchasing

We were looking forward to our 2^nd event at Chichester after what proved to be such an excellent event in late April. We weren’t let down by the wonderfully cool venue, although the hot conditions certainly adversely affected the event. There were plenty of people on the streets of Chichester despite the very warm conditions, although it was clear that many were hurrying to get home as fast as possible to relax in their gardens or visit the nearby beaches. After lunchtime, the whole demographic of customers changed from a more mature group in the early half of the day to a younger audience in the afternoon …though some of the younger group certainly still had money to spend. This really is a delightful hall to work in and the high ceilings kept the venue quite cool throughout the day. By working hard outside in the sun all day, the Mynt Image team managed to create a footfall of 937 which was good considering the conditions.

There was a wide variety of stalls on offer today and there was a great deal of quality products on offer from them. Many customers were really looking for special gifts and at least one original painting was sold of over £450. The customers of Chichester love their art, just as was demonstrated at our April event when other large pictures were sold. Jewellery also went down very well today with each of our jewellers achieving sales of £200+ and one exceeding £400. Candles also seemed to go down very well with both candles sellers achieving over £200, which in the early Summer is a good sales figure for this product. Some stallholders did better this event than they did in April was great to hear. It was also lovely to be with 2 stallholders who had met each other for the first time in many years, sharing their memories and both having decent days with sales. This venue has such a delightful atmosphere and really does offer such promise.

Salisbury Guildhall - 10th June

We melted in the sun but still managed some good sales

The set up was a little sweaty this morning, the promise of a hot sunny day was guarenteed. We had an excellent array of stalls for this event and the atmosphere greeting customers was certainly welcoming. The day started very positively with the city centre looking like it could get busy as the morning progressed. The good spirited public started to flow well seemed to have good intentions on spending with lots of transactions happening in the first half an hour or so. As the heat rose, customers seeemd to be slowly getting hot and bothered and started to lose interest making it a lot tougher to not only draw a crowd but to also sell.

The team worked tirellessly in the beating sun and had probably sweated half their body weights by mid afternoon. The flow of customers was pretty good and the overall numbers, although lower than we'd targeted, were actaully very good considering how lacklustre the market square and surrounding areas were. The only places that saw any uplift in footfall were those with outside seating it seemed. We saw 873 through the door which is not bad at all but certainly higher than predicted when the town quietened down in the heat.

Spending was fairly average for then most part. We had 2 stalls clearing £400 and a number sat between £200 and £250. A handful struggled a little more today but there were some good conversations that we think will lead to some aftermarket sales. So although the sales were not particularly incredible, if customers return or order online from today as they intended then we'll be pretty happy overall.

Guildford Guildhall - 3rd June

A tough day for most but a handful of exceptional sales

It felt cool and brisk starting the day but the promise of sunshine was getting us excited as Guildford this time of the year can be such a great event. The set up ran smoothly, with nearly 10 years of experience at this stunning venue we have it down to a fine art and the combination of stall holders old and new created an ideal shopping experience. As we reached opening time the temperature started rising and customers were slowly starting to venture out into the town. Annonyingly they ventured out particularly slowly but the flow was steady.

Being the end of the school holidays and the weather absolutely gorgeous we knew it would be tough to draw a crowd but working hard the numbers came through at a fairly consistent rate. It seemed to be lots of small rushes but the hourly average was constant. The highstreet had a bit of a flat atmosphere and the lack of busking or entertainment definitely didnt help, perhaps the afternoon full of sport including cup finals and derby day meant many of the locals were filling the pubs or back garden barbecues. Overall 855 customers came through the door, which considering how tough the day was we're pretty happy.

Spending was essentially very mixed. We'll start witht he more negative and finish with the positive though. Unfortunately one stallholder didnt make a sale, perhaps showing how difficult it can to work in Guildford as proactive selling is.so important here. 2 stallholders only just covered costs and then a further couple had only managed around £120. At the other end of the spectrum, we had 2 stalls clearing £700 and another 3 over £400. Although repeat custom is an integral part of success at Guildford one of the stalls clearing £400 was actually here for the first time showing that quality products will indeed sell when you approach the day with the right attitude. It was a pleasure to see how well a number of stallholders did considering it was a difficult day working the highstreet for Mynt. We also had a good number of custoemrs keenly asking for more dates and when certain stalls were returning so we look forward to seeing further sales of the back of this event. In all, a good day for most despite it being particularly tough. We have a feeling that the following events and even Christmas here will be exceptional, seeing figures return to previous years with ease. Watch this space.

Thame Town Hall - 3rd June

A very quiet day but some decent spending

Thame was possibly the quietest we have ever seen it, the streets and pavements seeming to be deserted at times. The glorious summer weather had clearly drawn people out into the countryside and out of this delightful town. There was also competition from the FA cup final and The Derby, both on the same day and both keeping sports lovers at home to enjoy the spectacle. We would love to sayb that setting up for the event was easy, but the arrival of street cleaners to clear unwanted graffiti off from outside the Town Hall just as setting up was in full swing was not helpful. Thankfully stallholders adjusted to the slightly interesting way into the hall and we managed to open the event on time, possibly a little more stressed than usual. By constantly walking around the town as well as having a member of the team always outside the Town Hall, we did manage to create a satisfactory footfall of 432.

The stalls looked great today and customers remarked on the skill of the crafters and the quality of the products on offer. Sales were lower than we would have hoped for in the morning, but thankfully as is normal at Thame, afternoon sales were far better. One photographer managed sales of £400+ which was very pleasing, whilst 5 other stallholders achieved sales of £200+ and many others sales of between £100 and £150. As is often the case. One stallholder doubled their sales in the final 5 minutes of the day with a good last minute sale. The people of Thame buy so well and this really is a venue where a large footfall is not needed to create good sales. Stallholders today also remarked on the friendliness of the customers, some of whom certainly spent a long time at the event.

We look forward to continuing to work here in 2023, and as footfalls inevitably increase, seeing sales increase too.

Guildford Guildhall - 28th May (Sun)

A very good day for many at Guildford on the Bank Holiday weekend

Guildford on a Bank Holiday can be very good, which is why we often add additional dates on Bank Holidays at this location. The streets were busy from the start of the day, though never crowded, many people choosing not to come shopping when the weather was so beautiful. There were plenty of tourists around, enjoying the sights and sounds of Guildford as well as many Students. With Crafts being trendy at present there were plenty of the younger generation visiting the event as well as some of our more mature clients who return each and every event that we run at this location. We were joined on the streets by a ‘Disney Princess’ promoting one of our stalls and this really helped to draw a crowd at times as show worked together with our 2 experienced staff outside. By continually working the streets, we were delighted to chieve a final footfall of 846, especially good when this was a Sunday.

We had a really good mix of stalls today with a very wide range of products. There was also a wide range of experiences with some new stallholders joining our more experienced crowd. Guildford really is a place for long term rewards and many of our stallholders have been established here for 6+ years and have plenty of returning customers. Today, sales were definitely swayed by the age range of the customers with a stall selling artisan gin selling £700+ and a stall selling scents achieving £400+. One of our jewellers achieved sales of £500+ and another £200+. One of our artists also achieved sales of almost £400 including the sale of a large print which he was very pleased with.

Devizes Corn Exchange - 27th May

An absolute corker in Devizes

The sun has got his hat on, hip-hip-hip hooray! As late spring gave way to early summer over the late May bank holiday weekend, this sceptred isle finally became this sun-kissed isle. Devizes is possibly our largest venue so we had a bumper selection of exhibitors today and enough room for everyone to comfortably bring themselves in and set up, by 10am everyone had arrived and with a hall brimming with quality there was plenty for us to crow about outside. And crow we did across the town as the venue is one which is not central to the main flow of footfall. With one staff member at the door and the other getting the word around town (assisted by a youthful canine) we had broken 100 visitors within the first hour and 250 by midday, a very creditable morning. There seemed to be a lot of people in town and around this time a number of buskers started to appear, a good sign in some respects but a restriction on the vocal work that can be done. Talking with locals we discovered that the late bank holiday in Devizes always features a festival on the green and that the wider busking community is drawn in by that as is the surrounding population. Happily many of those revellers pop into town and we were able to encourage them our way throughout the afternoon resulting in a total footfall of 819 by the end of the day. Footfall and spending do not have an entirely linear relationship though, so we never know how our exhibitors are getting on until the end of the day. We are happy to report that the vast majority were very happy with the day, enjoying the busy atmosphere inside, the chat with other exhibitors and many making good sales too. Two of our vendors did not make their table fees sadly, roughly ten in the £100+ category, three making over £200 and two sellers over £300. Overall turnover for the event was £3500 from the stallholders that were polled with seven exhibitors not being included in that figure. We were pleased to see a number of first or second time exhibitors making some sales and pick up some experience. We too have learned a little more about one of our newest venues and look forward to our next event here which where we hope to welcome some familiar faces.

Abingdon Guildhall - 27th May

A classic Abingdon Bank Holiday weekend event

The weather was gorgeous, with bright blue sky and little chance of any rain at all. The cafes around the Market place were filled with customers enjoying the sun and the warmth … Abingdon really is a café culture event. There was plenty of interest in our Craft market right from the start of the day, just as there always is at Abingdon. Such a gorgeous warm day always makes people happy and the people who came into the events were delightful today. By constantly making our presence known around the town and making ourselves obvious in the Guildhall, we managed to attract a very respectful 686 customers into the event.

We had a really good mix of regular stallholders and stallholders who were new to us. The displays really did look good and many customers were delighted with the quality of the products on offer. There was a delightfully positive atmosphere in the venue throughout the day and this helped to create some good sales

This was the 3^rd bank holiday this May and customers seemed to be suffering from Bank Holiday withdrawal! Money was tighter than usual at the end of the month and after 3 long weekends on May. However customers were spending and many stallholders did very well. One jeweller achieved sales of £400+ whilst an artists managed to reach £500+. Several other stallholders including a stall selling articulated dragons, a stall selling scarves and jewellery and a candle seller all managed to achieve around the £300. It was good to see both our wood sellers achieving sales of around £200 as well. The customers were very choosy today, though most stallholders sold between £100 and £200 with, as far as we are aware, only 1 failing to cover their stall fees. Abingdon is such a delightful event and we are always made to feel very welcomed by both the local residents and the visitors to the town.

Cranleigh Village Hall - 27th May

A tough day for some in the heat of sunny Surrey

We had a lovely set up this morning in this gorgeous village set deep in the heart of Surrey. Everything ran smoothly and the collection of stalls complemented each other well. We have adapted the layout here to include the bright spacious annex area which allows us to maximise the hall without using the stage (the stage is great but having one small step is of course difficult for some customers with mobility issues or pushchairs. The new layout though works a treat and it even allows stallholders more space to spread out and make the most of the space available creating a more interesting experience for those coming in.

As the day got underway, customers initially flowed in relatively well. The highstreet itself wasnt overly busy but as usual it can take some time for people to wake up.The sunshine was glorious and being a bank holiday weekend we were expecting one of two things, people hoarding to the town to buy bbq items and drink coffee in the sun or every man and his dog to leave the area for the beaches and getaway locations. Unfortunately the latter was more prevalent, its worth noting that we have never seen the road through Cranleigh that busy. The stream of cars passing through was non stop and it was clear that the half term and bank holiday price hike was no issue for the locals to get away for the weekend. Annoyingly these are the people that tend to spend best so we had to work particularly hard in drawing a crowd. Footfall was pretty good considering how quiet the town was for actual foot traffic, thew few people that had made it to town were mostly sat in the sun at the various cafes. We managed 369 throught the door with the last hour being the slowest (all of the local resteraunts and cafes had even removed the outside seating by 3 oclock so that shows how quiet the afternoon became)

Spending was not too bad despite it being tough on the highstreet. We had 3 stallholders around the £400 mark and several more £200-250 which we felt was exceptionally good for the turnout. A further handful cleared £100 nicely but we did have a few that either struggled to cover costs or just about broke even. One important thing to note was repeat customers making an appearance today and some good positive conversations for further repeat custom. So even if sales weren't quite as good as hoped there's some good oppurtunity off the back of today. Overall it was certainly a pleasant day if a little tougher than usual.

Lymington Masonic Hall - 20th May

Great footfal for a quiet day in Lymington

With the halls key fob misplaced we had a bit of a hectic start to the day, fortunately the superb duo of Peter and Keith managed everything incredibly well when they were let into the building while George roamed the south coast to retrieve another key which in turn wasnt needed. The chaos was shortlived and it wasnt long after 830 when George arrived and everything was running smoothly with only a handful of stallholders still to arrive. The rest of the morning was otherwise very pleasant and many stallholders even found some time to sneak out for a coffee before the day began. Lymington really is one of those venues where you can enjoy yourself no matter the outcome.

The flow of customers started early, a good initial rush outside was sent into the hall to browse. Weirdly it seemed that during the first hour was the only time the highstreet ever felt particularly busy or atmospheric. Keith and George of course worked tirelessly to draw a crowd and seemed to achieve it with ease. The afternoon was much quieter outside but the numbers kept coming in totalling 1031 through the door. The atmosphere within the hall far exceeded any atmosphere in the town and we're really quite proud of that.

Spending was fairly mixed throughout, we had a handful of sellers clearing £300 and the majority were circa £150. ONly a handful really struggled today but it seemed everyone enjoyed themeselved and the atmosphere reflected that. We think cheese was the most popular stall of the day but customers were keen on dog products, art and jewellery also. Lots of personal buying rather than gifts today but theres some good potential for returning customers. We're happy with today and really look forward to the next one.

Witney Corn Exchange - 20th May

A classic Witney event

It was a gorgeous blue sky day in Witney today and there were certainly plenty of potential customers in the town. There were also many conflicting events with plant sales, food events and a fun fair, all having a pull on the customers. We had a waiting list of stallholders for this event, there was such a demand for these Spring Witney places, so it was disappointing to find that 2 of our booked stallholders failed to attend when we could have easily resold their spaces for them if we had been made aware. The set up at Witney is always relatively easy, there being a low ramp into the event making It both good for those with mobility issues as well as those stallholder who like to use a trolley to bring their products into the hall. There were certainly a lot of very professional looking stalls today and it was good to see those with more experiences assisting those with less. By the end of the day our event team had attracted 966 customers into the event, our best so far for the year at this venue

There was a good flow of customers through the event all day with hardly a moment when there were not customers entering the hall. The morning, although higher with footfall was lower in sales. It is a real feature of our events in 2023 that the best sales occur after 1pm and this was definitely the case once again today at Witney. Many stallholders had a disappointing morning but made up for it in the afternoon. One silver jeweller achieved sales of £500+. One of her best sales ever and another jeweller managed sales of £300. An artist and a photographer achieved sales of £400, and were pleased. It was good to have several newcomers with us today as well as some with more experience and there was certainly a good mix of products. One new stallholders was pleased because her sales far exceeded what she had expected. We also had a stallholder who had travelled from Yorkshire to be with us and were not only pleased with their sales of £200+ but were delighted with the large number of people we attracted into the venue having not been used to our methods of attracting customers in their home area. Customers however were not spending as well as we would have liked and several stallholders really struggled to sell many of their products despite their excellent quality.

This was a ‘classic’ or average Witney event, with plenty of really good quality customers. Smaller items seemed to sell a lot better tha larger ones today, though several stallholders reported selling some larger items. One stallholder noted that customers were at last starting to buy several items from her stall rather that just single one as had been the situation a few months ago. We look forward to our June event at this very good location.

Lyndhurst Community Centre - 14th May (Sun)

A very successful event for many … but where were the customers

The streets of Lyndhurst were quiet all day which is very surprising for this time of year. There was plenty of traffic passing through, but we were very surprised to see car parking spaces available in the town car park all day. There were plenty of events going on in the New Forest today so we can only presume that tourists were visiting them instead of Lyndhurst. Thankfully there were by 12.00 a few more people on the streets, though the Sunday crowds were simply not present today. It was also interesting to note that there was an influx of tourists from the USA today and these were, as you may imagine, really delighted find n English Craft Fair happening. The Mynt Image team worked really hard to attract the attention of passing customers, both working the streets and the car park area. At the end of the day a footfall of 685 had been achieved.

Most stallholders reported a steady stream of customers throughout the day. There are usually peaks and troughs of visitors, but today it was steady and stallholders still commented on the good number of customers, Customers seemed to be spending far longer than uual in the event and some revisited several times. We had a lot of experienced stallgolders with us today as well as a small number of newer stallholders. The stalls on offer looked very impressive and there were some very delighted customers. The amount of bags coming out of the event was obvious and was indicative of some good sales. One stallholder selling decoupage trays sold in excess of £500 and was absolutely delighted. Our cheese seller yet again achieved around he £400 mark wand was very happy. One jeweller continued the Milford on Sea trend from the day before and sold over £300 of jewellery …. This really was a good jewellery weekend, A candle seller sold in excess of £200 and was absolutely delighted. Some stallholders didn’t sell quite as much as they had expected, but average sales were certainly between £150 and £250 which was fine for a lower footfall than usual

We look forward to opur June event here when there should be plenty of holiday makers present,

Milford-on-Sea Community Centre - 13th May

Jewellery was the favoured product today!

Milford on Sea is never the busiest events and today, when the sun came out for almost the first time this Summer, there seemed to be very few tourists or local people around. The car park is often full of beach goers, but today they were simply not present so the rush we often get in the final hour didn’t happen. The small town was quiet compared with fewer people around than is usual and we had to work hard to get the interest of those who were visiting. Despite working hard all day and endlessly spinning arrows, we only managed to attract a footfall of 341 adults into the event.

The stalls looked wonderful today and there was, as is usual, plenty of room for stallholders to really display they products very well. Several stallholders expanded their stalls well and enjoyed the wonders of having that little bit of extra room. With level access to the hall at the front, this hall really is good for those with mobility issues

Spending per person is always good at Milford on Sea, which is what makes this event so good. If we had larger footfalls, the spending would be enormous. Jewellery was in great demand today, as it often is at Milford. One of our Silver jewellers had one of their best ever events selling £200+ whilst another jeweller, with his first ever event with ourselves also achieved £200. Many stallholders soldm between £100 and £150, which is surprisingly good considering the lower than expected footfall. As we always say about some of our locations, you don’t need a big footfall to create good sales. We are aware that several stalls did struggle to achieve their stall fees, but this is unfortunately always the same at any event. We would love every stallholder to succeed and make a lot of money, ut unfortunately this is simply not going to happen in this economic climate

Newbury Methodist Church - 13th May

A much better afternoon here in Berkshire

The weather this morning was overcast and a little grey but we were promised that warm spring conditions would appear sometime later in the morning and so no-one was concerned. Setting up was nice and efficient in the hall and we welcomed our first outdoor offerings to Mynt fairs in the shape of three gazebos which were set out on the lawn. Come 10am we were well pleased with the hall and the frontage and ready to do some business.

The first hour was very slow, with few people on the streets and fewer still wanting to browse and it was well into the second hour that the clicker registered the first 100 visitors. Thereafter though, things started to get a little brisker and by just after 1pm we had achieved 200 visitors. The end of town that the hall was in started to become more sparsely populated at this point and so the Mynt team changed tactics to spread the word wider afield and we were well rewarded in the remaining half of trading with a final footfall of 562 acheived which represented a much busier afternoon.

Our stallholders on the whole had a steady if unspectacular day mostly reporting that sales improved with the footfall in afternoon though one or two bucked that trend by doing most of their business in the morning. Others reported a lot of interest in their products even if people were not always buying which we hope will lead to sales in the coming days/weeks and will start to establish the reputation of our exhibitors and of the market in the local psyche. The vast majority took over £100 with just 3 failing to achieve that figure, only one failed to reach their table fee. With four exhibitors in the £200-£300 category and a top sales figure of £280 we have seen a marked improvement over the inaugeral Newbury fair in March both in terms of footfall and revenue and we look forward to that upward trend continuing when we return in September.

Abingdon Guildhall - 7th May (Sun)

Great to be part of the Coronation Celebrations

It was a warm day and when the sun came out later, a very pleasant day that drew the crowds into the Abbey grounds at Abingdon. We had been asked to utilise different rooms than usual due to the Abingdon Bun Throwing festivities in the afternoon and we had made some pre-event visits to ensure that things would go as smoothly as was possible on the day. There was some scepticism from stallholders at first regrading the narrow corridor and steps to the alternative rooms, but these soon disappeared. With 3 rooms in use and a one way system through the building we ensured that safety was paramount and that customers went into as many of the rooms as we could entice them into. After a relatively slow start, numbers started to pick up outside the event as members of the public moved between the town square and the Abbey Grounds. At times we had so many customers coming into the event that there were not only queues, but we took the decision to slow down the numbers by not promoting the event so avidly for a while, Even when we ceased our promotions, there were customers climbing the steps to enjoy the delights of our Craft and Gift market. At times the plaza outside the cinema entrance we were using was almost to bursting point with customers making their way between the events of the day. We have already had thanks from one stallholder for the way in which we managed the crowds rather than simply pushing them a;; into the event. At 4pm we had our record Abingdon footfall of 1280 customers, equal with some of our larger venues such as Chichester, Salisbury or Guildford. It would be difficult to know how we could have got more customers safely into the event.

The stalls looked impressive today and there was certainly a wide variety ranging from Salt lamps to silver jewellery and Dragons to a wooden whale. The customers were delighted with the event and there were certainly stalls for all of the family. The professionalism of our crafters continues to amaze us and the sheer quality of the stalls was obvious today from the start. Spending was a little slower than we would have liked in the morning, but as has been the case in all of our recent events, picked up massively after 1pm with several impressive sales. Our stallholder selling 3D printed dragons sold in excess of £700 whilst a photographer managed to sell £500. A stallholder selling candles and scents almost hit £400 and was delighted with her takings. The interesting thing to note here is that these 3 highest stallholders were all in different rooms, demonstrating that spending was well spread throughout the building. Most stallholders sold between £100 and £150 with only 2 failing to reach their stall fees. Jewellery was not in great demand today unfortunately , though one jeweller almost hit the £200 mark. One author also did well, again almost hitting £300 which pleased him. There was a great atmosphere in the event today and with such a positive atmosphere there were bound to be some good sales. It is always a pity when some stallholders don’t do as well as others have, but for those who sold proactively there were certainly rewards to be reaped today. We look forward to our Abingdon events for the rest of the year when we have access to our usual downstairs rooms.

Guildhall Guildhall - 7th May (Sun)

Tough day for most but a better afternoon helped a lot

Being the hip and trendy place that Guildford is, the high street on Sunday tends to be a little slower waking up than on Saturdays so to align with the shops we run this event 11-5. On this occasion however we probably could have just traded between 1 and 4 based on the flow of traffic and spending. Set up was smooth and the halls looked good, we had some newer stallholders to this venue which fit in perfectly and it made for a slightly more exciting shopping experience.

The first hour or slow was like pulling teeth on the highstreet, the lack of atmosphere on the highstreet making it tough to draw a crowd. Thankfully the weather held out nicely and we basked in sun for most of the day, a much better result than had we not moved this event back due to the coronation where we would have got soaked through. The mid afternoon picked up and sales matched. Nothing to write home about but a certain improvement for sure. We saw a total of 693 through the door.

We had a handful sit around the £300 mark which wasn’t bad for the tough day. Lots of keen interest and conversations filled with intent promise some good repeat business whether it’s at future events or online. A couple of stall holders struggled covering costs unfortunately but as mentioned the day was tough.

Salisbury Guildhall - 30th April (Sun)

Plenty of customers but poor spending

On a bank holiday weekend at Salisbury we would expect the streets to be packed with tourists, but where were they today? It was a cool grey day with some light rain at times, perfect weather to be visiting the sights of Salisbury, but the square was deserted at times. Salisbury is often slow to wake up, even on a Saturday morning, but there were no crowds at any time today which was really disappointing. However, those who were around were keen to come into our event and we really made the most of the few potential customers who were in town. By the end of the day we had clocked up a very respectable 832 customers into the event.

The stalls looked glorious toady and were a swathe of colour and excellence. The variety on sale was excellent too and with such a profusion of different stalls we were looking forward to a great event. There was so much demand from stallholders for this event that we could have sold it out several times. There was a good mix of newer stallholders and those who have been with us many times, some for many years and we have already had a note of thanks from one new stallholder telling us about what they learnt from their experienced neighbouring stallholder. Set up on Sunday was so smooth with cars being able to come right up to the steps and unload.

Unfortunately spending was very poor today considering the good footfall. Some customers seemed to simply walk around the event without any sort of engagement, which was not good to see. Despite some really active selling by most stallholders, takings were disappointing with only 4 stallholders exceeding £200. This is really unusual for a Sunday at Salisbury where spending has been netter than on a Saturday in the past. There were plenty of stallholders between £100 and £150 and we are only aware of 1 who did not cover their table fee. It is always such a pity and disappointment though when stallholders don’t reach expectations due to poor spending. We were however glad to see that no blame was put on the Mynt Image team, who were in fact praised for their efforts and the constant stream of customers.

Chichester Assembly Room - 29th April

Our first ever event at Chichester far exceeds expectations

We have wanted a good venue at Chichester for many years, so when we managed to acquire use of the Assembly rooms for 2023, were absolutely delighted. We had expectations that this would be a good venue, but nothing could have prepared us for the success many achieved today.

It was a sunny day, the best day so far this year and the streets of Chichester were crowded right from the start of the day. There were some tourists from abroad, though these will increase during the Summer, loads of visitors and many locals out shopping. There was a distinct keenness from customers to come into the event and right from the start there was a steady stream wending their way into the building, with almost 200 within the first hour. And so it continued all day with a huge total of 1463 being achieved by the end of the day, almost double the number we had anticipated. The comments coming from the customers were also great to hear with many asking when we were next here and others saying it was the best quality Craft fair they had ever been to. We were delighted by how readily the town accepted us, it was almost as if they had been waiting for another quality event within the town

The stalls looked great today and this was remarked upon so many times by customers. We had many different types of products on sale and almost all of them seemed to do well, including one artist selling original large sea scape pictures who sold 3 originals during the day as well as receiving a commission. We are aware of many other stallholders who achieved £500+ including a chocolate stall selling amazing home made chocolates, a couple selling decorated trays who almost ran out od stock, a couple selling dog walking bags who was hectic all day, a jeweller selling her wonderful brightly coloured jewellery and a stall selling candles and jewellery. The people of Chichester were buying freely and many other stalls achieved in excess of £200.

This was a really good first event at Chichester and surpassed all expectations. We received nothing but praise from stallholders and were truly delighted by our first event at Chichester. When the streets are full of tourists in the Summer months, we can only predict that both the footfall and sales will be event better.

Cranleigh Village Hall - 29th April

A mixed day but lots of good intent for future

Set up was smooth and the slightly alternate layout worked nicely, for the most part anyaway. We had a good mix of stall holders and a very welcoming bunch at that. With the sun trying to show itself and a vintage/antique market in the village we had a good atmosphere to work with. Fottfall started slow and gained momentum with a steady flow until late afternoon. It seemed being bank holiday weekedn a lot of cars were escaping for a few days so the numbers could have potentially been slightly hit even though we saw one of the higher footfalls over the last couple of years. We worked relentlessly to draw a crowd and managed 585 in total which is a good score for Cranleigh.

The customer base was mixed however, either they flew round and hardly looked at anything or they shopped for a good period of time, a handful of which must have spent around an hour browsing before spending their money. Some stall holders did particulalry well with 2 of our artists taking around £300. Another stall cleared £500 and a further 2/3 took £200+. We did however see a couple of stalls struggling to cover costs for the day however it was reported that a lot of conversations seemed to have some geniine intent. As aftermarket sales are increasing across the board we feel that next months market will see some good repeat business and even some online sales.

Hungerford Town Hall - 29th April

A tough day for some but spending wasnt bad overall

The early morning setup at the hall went very smoothly with the tables in position for out exhibitors just as people started to arrive. We had a large number to bring into the hall and were busy right up until the opening of the event, with the hall looking very full but not over-crowded as trading commenced. A thank you to all concerned for parking considerately at the back of the hall whilst unloading, for doing so swiftly and for moving promptly to the main car park to leave space for others to come in to unload.

The day had started a little cold, but by 10am the clouds had lifted and we were left with a pleasant spring morning, nonetheless the town was not very busy at all. It is often that the first hour is slow in Hungerford and following form we had only seem 60 visitors. Whilst things picked up a little as the sun came out, we found that througout the day the town remained fairly quiet with a lot of traffic passing through the town but few stopping. The Mynt staff concentrated on working up and down the High Street and by the end of the day we had a footfall of 469 which was in line with expectations for this event.

Many customers spend a lot of time at the event and per capita the people of Hungerford are some of the best patrons in the Mynt pantheon. A number of stallholders made very good sales today with the headline figures being two exhibitors making £400, two in the £300 bracket and three more selling over £200. Surprisingly for Hungerford, there were far fewer people in the £100+ bracket than is usual, with a number of traders reporting figures below this mark and several reporting just one or two sales and one with no sales. In all, our exhibitors reported a great deal of interest, but lower discretionary spending which is something we have never faced before in Hungerford. Most of our stallholders remained quite upbeat as we took on our post-event with many complimaneting us on our efforts to bring people in, which is generous of spirit particularly of those who found trading tough today.

Lyndhurst Community Centre - 23rd April (Sun)

Sundays in Lyndhurst can be the best!!!!

How on earth we avoided rain I don’t know, but we did and this was certainly beneficial for this event. As we predicted it was a very slow start to the day, visitors and tourists now emerging into the town until 11am. The streets were never crowded, despite 4 coach loads of people being dropped off, most of whom came into our event. There was a steady stream of people into the event all day, and even after we had closed our doors at 4pm. The café stayed open until 4pm as well, something we are really grateful for because we work together as an attraction so well. BY the end of the day, the Mynt Image team had managed to attract a very good footfall of 968, our 2^nd highest ever at this venue.

Setting up at this venue is always easy due to the large parking compound at the rear providing both FREE parking and easy access for stallholders into the building. We had a really good mix of experienced and relatively new stallholders today and the support they gave each other was tremendous. There is always such a lovely bubbly positive atmosphere to our events and this really does encourage spending. Many stalls reached new heights to day and the professionalism on show is more and more evident with every event which occurs. We had 2 stalls achieving sales of over £500 today as well as at least 3 more selling £300+. Many other stalls achieved around the £200 with one stallholder having their best day ever. We are only aware of 1 stallholder who failed to recoup their costs.

Sundays at Lyndhurst are something we will be continuing through 2023 and into 2024, they work so well. Customers always seem to purchase better on a Sunday than a Saturday which is something most stallholders certainly took advantage of today. We look forward to the rest of the year at this excellent Summer tourist location.

Salisbury Guildhall - 22nd April

Plenty of people but disappointing sales for many

This was our first event of the season in this stunning venue, the hall where it all started over 10 year ago. We anticipated a good day ahead and for the most part it did not disappoint. Set up flowed nicely, its a bit tougher to unload here still but everything seems to run pretty smoothly, the use of trollies is incredibly handy and makes for light work. The hall had a good feel today, lots of quality and variation between the friendly faces, perfect for the customers flowing in.

As the day got underway the city centre was fairly quiet with less atmosphere than usual but the people in the square held no resistance in flowing in. The footfall was consistent and steady throughout the day before tailing off towards the end. We were incredibly happy with the percentage of people who flowed through the doors compared to those that walked past which we felt could only contribute to the atmosphere inside. We managed a good number overall, working hard of course, and welcomed 1066 customers into the guildhall. The hall itself felt really busy throughout the majority of the day too meaning that customer must have been engaging well.

Spending was slow at the start of the day but finished strong with most. We had a couple around the £500 mark and half a dozen or more cleared £300. Only one we're aware of struggled to cover costs with the remainder in the £100-150 bracket. There was a lot of keen interest though, one of the stallholders who'd seen slightly lower takings had several online orders come through later in the day. A couple of stallholders focus is marketing their product for repeat business and building a customer base and they seemed very happy with the response. So very positive overall with only a couple wanting more.

Devizes Corn Exchange - 22nd April

Plenty of people but disappointing sales for many

Devizes is normally one of those events where yu don’t need a huge footfall to get good sales. Unfortunately the people of Devizes were difficult to persuade to spend their money today

The day was a grey one with the prospect of rain in the afternoon …which never materialised thankfully. It was also remarkably cold for late April especially when the area had been basking in sunshine just 2 days before. There were certainly plenty of people shopping in Devizes and they were certainly looking to come into our event, many returning from previous events we have run in this delightful, hall. In no way could it be said to be a steady flow of customers, with theb hall alternating between being empty and being packed. By the end of the event we had managed a footfall of 623

There was a really good mix of stallholders today with some very well presented stalls. Because 4 stallholders cancelled overnight, we were able to give everyone a little additional room, and stallholders certainly made use of it well. The stalls looked bright, colouful and professional with some very attractive displays. It was good to have some new stallholders with us today and these were made to feel very welcomed, not only by our stall, but also by our regular experienced stallholders. Many commented how well stallholders got on with each other and that it had been a delight to be at the event. Several who had nor been with us before talked about booking more with Mynt Image and could not believe the effort that we put into getting customers into the events.

Sales were unfortunately not as good as we would have expected with such a good footfall at Devizes. One artist had a remarkably good afternoon selling over £300 whilst another jeweller sold in excess o £200. Most sales however were between £100 and £200, with some frustrations being vented with the lack of spending by customers. We are aware of 2 stallholders who failed to recoup their stall fees, but didn’t blame Mynt Image for it at all, Grey weather often stops spending and coupled with this being the last weekend before pay day, sales were simply just not what they should have been

Witney Corn Exchange - 15th April

Good numbers but toughing closing

Witney has undergone a refurbishment and we are still getting used to the new layout, so the staff were quite busy during the early morning with the layout. Happily we were able to set up steadily with exhibitors arriving in a well staggered manner, making the management of the outside area fairly slick. Inside there was further slickness on show as our goodly folk did what they do best in putting on an excellent set of displays. By 10am we already had one or two of the more intrepid members of the public finding their way in and they found a feast for the eye.

Witney is not a town of early birds and there was no encouragement in the weather for them to mend their errant ways. There was a chill in the air which did not truly give way until early afternoon and thought the cloud cover was not ominous, we barely glimpsed the sun throughout the day. My 10.30am a mere trickle of 40 souls had passed our portal but this had increaed to 100 by 11am which is a fair start at this fair. By midday we had 250 visitors but then we had a lunchtime lull and by 2pm we were around the 450 mark. When things slow down, the Mynt team get adventurous and so we split the team in order that one could go exploring to find where the main crowds were that they could then be encouraged to bless our fair with their presence, and so was the pattern for the afternoon set with several sortees being made which seemed to be doing the trick. By the end of the day a footfall of 835 had been achieved.

Spending in the hall was mixed with stallholders reporting a lot of browsing and much interest but that closing sales was tough. One exhibitor did not sell enough to cover their costs but whilst a few others reported disappointing sales they had at least broken even. Most of our stallholders had in fact made it to the £100-£200 mark though with one around £260, two more in the £300s, one over £400 and our top seller today over £500.

Thame Town Hall - 15th April

Quieter than usual but not bad overall

Our first event of the year back in this gorgeous market town started smoothly, the hall slowed filled with a great mix of stallholders old and new creating a warm welcoming atmosphere. Annoyingly the town was quiet, perhaps due to it being the end of the school holidays so it took longer than hoped to generate any momentum. The first few hours were slow but we had some good flurries in the afternoon and totalled 419 by the close of play. Not a huge a footfall but the quality here tends to be far more important than the quantity. Admittedly we'd have liked a little more but considering how desolate the town seemed on this day it was a good footfall.

Spending was okay, we had a few more than usual just about covering costs but then we also had at least 4 taking £300. There didn't seem to be any kind of pattern for spending but as usual the most proactive acheived the greater results. There was a lot of good conversations over the course of the day too so we anticipate lots of after market sales and some repeat business for the next events here.

Lymington Masonic Hall - 15th April

A huge footfall for April …. The tourists are in The New Forest

It was a breezy cool day in Lymington with scudding gey/white clouds for most of the day. This was the last Saturday of the Easter Holidays and the streets were busy with tourists visiting Lymington on a day out, right from the start of the day. As usual, set up was simple at this event, with our 3rd member of staff looking after the car park at the beginning of the day to ensure that all parking was managed sensibly. This additional member of staff at the start of the day is really beneficial to our smooth running of this event. All of the stalls were set up before 10am when the event started and welcomed several members of the public who arrived early. We knew that we were in for a good footfall right from the start of the day and between 11 and 12 welcomed over 300 visitors into he event in 1 hour. As is often the case at Lymington, the streets emptied after 2.30pm, but despite this we managed to achieve a very good April footfall of 1170, a huge footfall for an April event.

The stalls looked really good today and many customers remarked on the attractiveness of the stalls. Several customers told us that this was the best ever craft fair that they had attended and tanked us immensely for running the event. We had a really good mix of established experienced stallholders as well as several who were new to us at this venue. The mix of stalls was delightful and there was a really good atmosphere in the hall at all times between stallholders. As seems be the case this year, for many stallholders the last hour was the best for spending, despite this having the lowest footfall for the year., One stall selling dog walking bags and another selling jewellery achieved sales of over £400 whilst 2 other stalls including 1 selling homewares and 1 selling bags achieved sales of £300+. Most stall achieved sales of between £100 and £200 with many stalls being delighted by these sales. We are aware of 2 stallholders who struggled to cover their costs which was unexpected with such a large footfall.

Lymington is such a good venue in the Spring and Summer when the tourists are in The New Forest, so long as you have a product suitable for the tourist market, just as this event demonstrated.

Lyndhurst Community Centre - 7th/8th and 10th April

Good Friday - A good start to our Easter Bank Holiday weekend

Just as we had anticipated, Lyndhurst was full of tourists down for the weekend in the New Forest. The roads were full of caravans and camper vans all rushing down to the coast to enjoy the spring sunshine. The streets rapidly became busy, this for many tourists the first day of their spring break. They were initially more intent on simply buying provisions for their weekend away, but gradually became more receptive to coming into Craft and Gift market. Especially after a drink in one of Lyndhurst’s many coffee shops and cafes. By the end of the day we had attracted 807 customers into the event on a Friday event … a very good footfall with few lulls all day.

Setting up at Lyndhurst is always easy, with trolley being used to bring products up the rear ramp into the delightful hall. We had a really good mix of very established stallholders, those who had been with us a few times and those who were new to us. It was especially good to have a range of different stalls which were really relevant for the Easter weekend including home made chocolates, cheeses and sweets as well as honeys and teas. The hall did look impressive and as usual were we told many times just how good the range of products on offer was. Spending was very slow in the morning, possibly because tourists had only just arrived on holiday. Spending did however pick up a little in the afternoon, though there were few exceptional figures, spending seeming ton have been spread out well between stallholders. At least 2 stallholders selling books and cheese sold over £300, whilst an artist and a stall selling dog bags almost achieved £300. Most stallholders achieved between £100 and £200, which most were very happy with considering this was a Friday and not a Saturday.

We look forward to the rest of the Easter weekend at Lyndhurst

Saturday - A busy day with mixed (but mostly positive) results

The morning unloading and setup at Lyndhurst is comparatively easy going for a Mynt venue as there is on-site parking which is directly adjacent to the hall, furthermore, today being the second of a three-day event, more than half of our exhibitors had left their displays intact overnight. The Mynt team was welcoming a new pair of hands today in Josh and he immediately got stuck in helping those folk who were coming into the event anew to move their things from their cars to the hall. And so the hall was a sea of calm come opening time.

The day itself also started out calmly, a far cry from the rain, winds and chill that have predominated the last month. The town was not busy to begin with but a constant flow of traffic through the town resulted in many people stopping for a few hours in the centre and the major car park soon became full. The first two hours saw footfall well over 250 in what is usually the quietest time at the venue. Come early afternoon the sun was out in full and the town was becoming busier and busier with most folk in the area choosing to be happily diverted to our venue and many vehicles who were passing through were also persuaded by some active visuals to pop into the car park for a unplanned stop. In all, the Mynt Team worked hard throughout the day and achieved a fine figure of 940 visitors.

A strong footfall does not equate precisely to a heavy spend and stallholders reported a lot of browsing but a hard job to close sales. Nevertheless, there were a lot of encouraging figures come the end of the day. Our headline numbers were £400, £370, £350 and £300. Several other stallholders were in the £200-£300 bracket with a half dozen making between £100-£200. Notable amongst the latter bracket a couple of stallholders who have been with us for a year or two now and have built their experience and developed their products according to demand. We have a mixture of exhibitors from people working on a full-time basis and reaching market through a variety of means to those crafting as a hobby and treating the events as a day-out with a view to covering their costs and helping pay for their hobby and whilst we celebrate everyone's successes it is very gratifying to see people in the hobbyist category flourishing at our events. We also have to commiserate with those who have slow days and whilst we are pleased to report that no-one failed to make any sales, we had an exhibitor who failed to cover their stall fee and two more just managing to cover their costs for the day. In all a mixed day but a considerable amount of reason for optimism as the days get longer, brighter and warmer.

Easter Monday - An awful start turned into a good event for many

The day started wet, it had rained all night with some gusty winds after 3 days of glorious spring sunshine. The main street of Lyndhurst was truly deserted with our staff at times being the only people braving the drizzle and winds. The roads were filled with caravans and camper vans all trying to escape back home after a rough night and with little prospect of sun in the coming days. In the first hour our team only managed to entice 41 customers into the event …a tragic figure. Thankfully after 11am there were a few more signs of living humans in Lyndhurst and as the sun came out the streets gradually filled. Between 12 and 4pm we were managing 130 adult customers per hour, a distinct improvement. The final footfall of 703 adults was far better than we had expected at 11am and we could show our faces in the hall

Spending was reasonable during the day, though customers were not buying without assistance from stallholders. They seemed to have deep unfilled pockets and took a while to find any money within them. As seems to be distinctly the case this year, it was the last hour when there was the best spending, customers entering the building on their way to their cars after a lunch out or even those returning from earlier. It was good to see several larger items such as paintings being bought. Chgees was the best seller today with sales of well over £300 though there were many other experienced seller who managed sales of over £200 including an author, a stall selling trays and stall selling dog bags.

Thankfully most stallholders managed to leave before a huge thunderstorm hit and hail pelted from the sky ….. thee would have been impossible conditions even for the Mynt Team!

Henley-on-Thames Town Hall - 8th April

A good footfall but mixed spending

As we approached Henley the promise of a sunny spring day was very exciting. Good weather and bank holiday weekends are perfect for bringing people into this gorgeous town so footfall was not going to be an issue for us this time around. Set was smooth and the full hall had a gorgeous feel to it, very classy to match the people of Henley-on-Thames.

10 oclock struck and we were on our way, the first hour fairly quiet but the momentum grew and grew. Annoyingly, the town hall hosted a wedding during the day which had slowed footfall marginally as they use the same entrance but this seemed to time perfectly with the lunchtime lull so it didn’t affect us too much. The afternoon then proceeded to pick up with some good flurries of customers coming through the doors. They seemed to browse moreso in the earlier part of the day but definitely spent longer in the hall during the later staged giving us a much busier feel. We totalled 860 through the door.

Spending was a little mixed however, usually here its quite an even spread with a handful of exceptional sales. Today however was a little more split, some very good at the top end but a fee struggled to cover costs. We had 3 around the £400 mark and a further few clearing £250 at least but then also those taking less than £100 despite some good conversations. The last hour saved the day for a number of stallholders however, with one having taken around £30/40 by 230 and eventually hitting £400. We think perhaps the tourists here today rather than locals meant the spending was less consistent than usual but we’re still happy overall.

Guildford Guildhall - 1st April

A slow start but strong finish in Guildford

The journey into this stunning surrey city centre was not the most pleasant of trips. The rain was falling and the skies were grey, a real miserable feeling as we started setting up. We had a superb display of stallholders however and their positive welcoming manner was uplifting for the few that ventured out. The first hour is always quiet in Guildford but the poor weather in the morning dragged that out a little further with barely 300 customers in the first 3 hours! Eventually people starting to make their way out and the highstreet finally gained some sort of atmosphere, prior to 1pm the only positive out on the high street was the superb busker providing excellent entertainment throughout. The latter part of the afternoon was much busier thankfully and we managed to enjhoy a good day, albeith slow to start. We were very happy to achieve 954 in total through the door, down on last month but with such a quiet morning it was potentially actually a busier afternoon.

Spending was pretty good with most, there was an initial relectuance to part with cash but we certainly finished strong. 2 stall holders noting they hadn’t taken a penny half way through the day but still managed to clear their targets. The regulars were the most successful it seemed showing its worth appearing as often as possible in Guildford, returning custom is key here for sure. In terms of sales we had 4 stallholders passing £500 for the day and another 3 at least in the £350-£500 bracket. One of said regulars actually made their best ever sales figure, not far from 4 figures… definitely a strong finish to the day! A couple of stallholders struggled a little more but certainly no losses for the day. We’re looking forward to the next event here as it seems Guildford is on its way back to the top.

Marlborough Town Hall - 1st April

A gloomy damp day limits spending

It had rained throughout the Friday and we drove through floods to Marlborough. The sun never really rose during the day with lashings of rain for the first few hours, Stallholders arrived not expecting huge sales on such an unpleasant day. As we expected, there were few potential customers in town at the beginning of the day, and those who were there were battling the conditions and had little intention of coming into the event. The outside market was running, but there were few stalls there to be an added attraction. The coaches dripping off tourists didn’t arrive, probably having been cancelled, so there was not a major influx of customers and we instead had to rely mostly upon the local people. Thankfully when the rain stopped just before 12, there was an influx of people into the town, many being glad to have something to do. By continually walking around the town and clocking up over 15 miles between them, the team managed to entice 548 adult customers into the event, which they were pleased with considering the conditions. The first rays of sun hit the town at 4pm, just as we finished.

Grey, wet, dreary weather never encourages selling and despite there being some very attractive stalls, it was never to be a record breaking day. The stalls looked lovely and we had a really lovely mixture of products, from woodwork and slate coasters to children’s clothing. From an author to silver jewellery. Stallholders told us that they had low expectations, though there was always a delightfully positive atmosphere within the hall. Customers were just not in the right frame of mind for buying and sales were relatively disappointing for Marlborough with a jeweller managing to sell around £350. A few other stalls hit £200, thouh most were just below £100, very different to the event we had held just 2 weeks before. But thankfully most stallholders were not disappointed with many telling us it had exceeded their expectations in such gloomy damp conditions.

Romsey Town Hall - 25th March

A great atmosphere for this great venue

With the use of the lift this venue is quite easy to set up despite it being upstairs. We had a nice easy free flowing morning and the hall looked really good. A mix of regulars and some keen newbies graced the good people of Romsey today and it created a good atmosphere. The weather was far more pleasant than anticipated too so we had a good day ahead.

Numbers started flowing as we opened the doors, the team spread across the town centre working hard to draw the crowd. We did well and they came into the event at a good rate. The first hour was the quietest but the rest of the day was steady and we managed a massive 695 through the door, year on year this is superb for March here so we’re happy.

One of the best things about this gorgeous market town is the customers spend well and in doing so spend a longer time in the hall helping to make it feel even busier. Unfortunately, the previously mention lift had a minor meltdown and caused a few issues with the end of the day. Something we will be addressing with the council to ensure if are any further issues with the lift it does not cause us similar problems. With the lift fiasco distracting the team slightly we didn’t get as many figures as usual but found most sat within 1 and 2 hundred pounds with a few around £300. We know a couple struggled today but there was a huge opportunity to learn from other stallholders today and create repeat of future business so aftermarket sales will be good overall. Can’t wait to see Romsey again in the summer this year

Henley-on-Thames Town Hall - 25th March

A great start to our 10^th Season at Henley

Despite the threatening skies, the town of Henley was busy right from the start. Henley is usually a slow starter, but not today and within the first hour we had over 100 customers into the event. And so it continued until 2.00pm when we respectfully made way for a wedding at the Town Hall before starting up again once the photos had been completed. We could not quite believe the final hour of this event with over 200 customers flooding into the Town hall, some returning to buy products they had seen earlier, but many having had lunch now ready to experience our event. By the end of the day a very good footfall of 838 had been achieved.

Our events are looking better and better each year as stallholders become more and more professional and really switch on their ability to attract customers. The stalls looked amazing to day with not only some great height, but also some fantastic spring time colour to help them appeal to customers. The hall looked wonderful and the amount of customers coming out and making remarks that it was the best craft event they had ever been to were becoming regular. Our stallholders should be very proud of themselves in creating such a wonderful event and in taking their stalls to new heights

Spending was however not as good as we had expected at 2pm when we went around to check the stalls whilst the wedding photos were being taken. We were disappointed to hear that many customers, although loving the event, were not spending very well. However when we returned at the end of the day after the final rush hour, the results were remarkably different for many. One photographer topped £550, having been busy all day. 3 other stallholders achieved £400+, including a stall selling dragons and a charity knitwear/crochet stall. many doubling their sales in one hour. At least a further 3 stalls achieved sales of £300+, the final hour being remarkable for all of them. Our 2 authors did well too, both doubling sales in the final hour. Without the final surge of customers this would have been an OK event, but with the final rush, many stallholders doubled their taking for the rest of the day and we are only aware of one stallholder who failed to meet their stall fees.

What is it about ‘final hours; at our events? Hopefully a question we may find an answer to this year, but it certainly already shows clearly why it is vital to stay right to the end of our shows.

Lyndhurst Community Centre - 19th March (Mothering Sunday)

A very good event with crowds of customers celebrating Mothers Day

Lyndhurst is one of the places to go to celebrate Mothers Day, a picturesque small town full of cafes and restaurants in the heart of the New Forest. We knew in advance that so long as the weather was decent, we would have no trouble finding customers to come into our first event at this excellent location for the year. Although it was a relatively slow start with just over 80 customers in the first hour, once cars started to park in the main car park adjacent to the Community Centre, they continued to flow in all day. With meals booked between 11.30am and 2.30pm, there was a always a demand for the Craft Fair with families looking for somewhere to go before, as well as after their meals. Although many mothers had clearly already been given gifts, there were plenty who were treated to additional impulse spend gifts at our events. By working the High Street and the car park, aided by a stallholders giving ouy samples of tea, we were delighted to achieve a final footfall of 883.

Lyndhurst is always an easy set up with free parking in the compound to the rear of the hall making it easy for loading and unloading. The stalls looked wonderful and we had many compliments from customers on the quality of the crafts of offer. One set of customers declared that it was the best craft market they had ben to in over 30 years. Mynt Image are really glad to attract top quality stallholders who have such a positive energy and create such attractive displays. We had a wonderful mix of stalls today and this was commented on by the stallholders themselves with products ranging from cheeses to woodwork, art to fruit teas and trays to cushions. It was a wonderful mix and much appreciated by all who came into the event. Many customers came back several times into the event, exiting the 2nd time with some larger gifts they had thought about during luynch. We had at least 2 stallholders achieving sales of £400+ at this event, and several others achieving £300+. Most stallholders broke the £100 and we are only aware of 1 stallholder who had a poor day for some unexplainable reason. It was interesting to note that our stallholders selling cheeses almost ran out of stock!

It was good today to see yet again our more regular stallholders working with the many new stallholders to our events. There was a great deal of laughter and chat between stallholders and we had no negative comments regarding the event. Many stallholders asked us when we next had stalls available and within a few hours of the end of the event we had already taken several new bookings for our future events from stallholders. We had also had some lovely comments from stallholders and customers about our Mynt Image members of staff, many stallholders commending our staff for the amount of effort and the communications regarding the event.

Newbury Methodist Church - 18th March

A promising new venue

Our first event at a new venue is a learning experience for all concerned and so the Mynt team arrived early and had time to survey the surrounding area prior to being met by the venue staff. The first order of the day was to get some early arrivals into the car park whilst simultaneously preparing the hall for the 8.30am influx. Between managing the car park and the arrivals and setup into the hall the team was well occupied right up until the start of trading by which time our exhibitors had put on a tremendous display.

The first hour of trading was extemely slow, with the town very quiet against a backdrop of low, dark clouds which were providing a constant light drizzle. A little water has never put us off though and by the second hour a figure close to two hundred had been achieved. With one person manning the enterance throughout, our second member of the team was able to explore the area as we tried to gauge the responses to our town crying at various locations. Frustratingly we found that the areas of highest footfall in the town were too remote for effectively moving people towards the hall. And so, concentrating on working the area in sight of the hall a steady pace was achieved for the last few hours as the day turned from cold clouds into warm sunshine. A total of 501 visitors had been achieved by the end of the day.

Our stallholders reported a day of tough trading with some breaking even and a couple not managing to achieve that. There were a few notable successes though, with jewellery doing well and some experienced art exhibitors making very good profits. Garden ornaments also did well and floral arrangements were well subscribed too.

Post-market discussions with the venue have already yielded a number of interesting ideas to increase the visibility of the market. We have found with other venues that over time our continued attendance at market builds trust and reputation within a community and so we are positive that this first fair will be the start of that same process in Newbury.

We are excited to see this venue begin to flourish over the course of the year for sure.

Witney Corn Exchange - 18th March

Witney proves popular as we'd expect

A few spots of rain on the journey to Oxfordshire had us a little sceptical but as soon as we arrived to set up it brightened up nicely and that continued for the rest of the day. We were greeted with a totally transformed hall for this event as they have built theatre style seating that retracts to open the hall up. Despite this taking up some room at the front of the hall the removal of the stage opens the floor space giving us more area to work with. Not quite enough for extra stalls but enough to allow everyone an extra few inches here and there. Overall the dynamic has improved somewhat and we think it'll work well over the year.

The hall looked good with a nice mix of returning regulars and some newbies but most importantly the atmosphere was friendly and inviting. Welcoming a fairlfy steady flow of 751 customers over the course of the day most stallholders did well. The footfall was pretty consistent with similar numbers per hour but there was a bit of an ebb and flow if you break it down. We'd see a quiet 5 minutes followed by a busy 5 minutes and this seemed to repeat fairly constantly. Odd but with an overall good flow we're certainly not complaining.

Sales seemed pretty good too, especially for this time of the year and bizarrely not a huge amount was for mothers day. Customers tended to buy for themselves more so than others. We saw 2 stallholders around £600, and another handful clearing £400. Triple figures were achieved by many and those that struggled a little reported having learned a lot and gained some invaluable experience ready for next time. Roll on the next one

Marlborough Town Hall - 18th March

A great start to the year at Marlborough

It was a grey cloudy day with rain imminent at any time, but thankfully we only experienced a few heavy showers throughout the day which did little to stop the amount of potential customers on the streets. The town of Marlborough was relatively quiet all day, though there were people around, many of them on coach tours to Wiltshire or staying locally and just visiting the historic town. We started to receive customers before we were officially open, always a good sign.

Although the conditions may have kept local people away, there were plenty of people willing to come into the event throughout the day once the traffic jams in the streets had been navigated. By racking up a huge number of miles walking around the town as well as broadcasting from the steps we managed to attract 683 customers into the event, a very good figure for Marlborough in March

The hall was totally filled with stallholders today with very little room for any stall to expand and we had turned away many prospective stallholders due to the event already being full. There were many of our regular stallholders as well as a good mix of stallholders new to us who were welcomed into the event by our regulars and made to feel welcome. Set up os always easy at this event and today was no exceptions, with most stallholders being ready to trade well before set up. During the first hour customers spent very well and we were surprised with the large number of sales being made. Unfortunately although most customers came in between 11am and 1pm, this was the period of least sales and stallholders were become a little despondent. As is usual at our events, the final hour of the events the afternoons are always more profitable and after a lunch in town, customers started buying much better again. One jeweller achieved sales of £400+ and two other stalls, an artist and a charity knitting stall achieved sales of nearly £300. Most other stallholders achieved sales of between £100 and £170 and we are only aware of 2 stall holders who failed to meet their table fees. It was also worth noting that of our two charity based membership stalls, one managed to sign up 7 new members and the other 3, goof figures for this time of the year.

What was lovely to see especially today was the wonderful relationships which developed between stallholders. There were plenty of new friendships made and older relationships re-established. With such a positive atmosphere within the hall, most stallholders really enjoyed the day, many swapping contact numbers and noting when they would meet next. It is so nice to see the Mynt Image family vibe extending from 2022 into 2023 already.

Lymington Masonic Hall - 11th March

A great start to the year at Lymington

The forecast had been variable throughout the week, but we knew that we were in for a cold grey day. Thankfully the rain kept off and the earlier predicted strong winds didn’t materialise meaning that it was far more pleasant than expected working outside.

Set up was easy with the assistance of a 3rd member of staff to look after the hotly contested free car parking, and he proved to be invaluable. Unfortunately with illness, a breakdown and one stallholder attending a different market where they were not booked, we did have some spare spaces, but these were gladly snapped up by our stallholders who managed to make the event look delightful, appealing and full. The first event of the year for most stallholders is often a little difficult because after almost 3 months lack of trading things never flow as easily as they should. Most were glad to get in quickly and to get their stalls looking good before many disappeared out of the hall for some refreshments before the event started.

The streets soon became busy just after 10.00am and we started advertising the event the entire length of the High Street to ensure that the footfall didn’t suddenly stop at Mid day. Lymington is notoriously slow in the afternoon usually, but we knew there were plenty of people in the town and they needed to be brought down the hill to the venue. Our flood of visitors just didn’t stop at all throughout the day, with the final hour of the day almost as busy as the first. By the end of the day we had managed to attract 1050 customers into the event …… much higher than usual at this time of year. At least 70% of the customers were holiday makers, staying in both hotels and campsites throughout the forest. Clearly the holiday season has already started in the New Forest.

Spending was good and especially good for the time of year with at least 1 stallholder, an artist selling over £400 and 3 other stallholders making £300+ including a couple selling fabric bags and a stallholder selling home furnishings. Most stallholders made between £150 and £200 including all but one of our jewellers present. Candles also went down well with both stallholders selling around £200.

This was a great start for the year at Lymington and demonstrates well how our active marketing techniques bring the right customers into our events such

as Lymington. If marketed correctly a good footfall at Lymington will always result in good sales especially if you have the correct sort of product to appeal to the tourists who visit Lymington throughout the year.

Guildford Guildhall - 11th March

Guildford gets the events rolling for the 2023 season

The first fair of the year at Guildford and we were promised a cold start, happily the weather was not as bad as anticipated. We greated a new helper to our ranks today, Calum proving himself ready to help with whatever tasks were thrown his way, a lot of stallholders appreciated his help bringing things into the hall for them. A number of seasoned exhibitors were present and a number of exhibitors who were new to us. Everyone's displays were very professional and all were ready to trade as the 10am mark whizzed by. The first hour of trading in Guildford can be quite on the streets and today was no different but a lot of people were coming in and we achieved close to 90 footfall in the first hour, which had risen well over 200 as midday struck. By this time there were singers on the street, which can make it difficult to work but we always manage to find a way to manage the space between us and we also had the benefit of bubbles from a stallholder's entourage which captured a lot of attention just outside our door. We became aware of another craft fair running just up the street in the church, which was providing some competition but nevertheless by the end of the day just as rain started to appear we had achieved an unexpectedly high footfall of 1089. Sadly a couple of stallholders left the event just after 4pm as the main Mynt presence was reconoitering the craft fair up the road, Guildford is the only fair that we run which is open until 5pm but this is very well communicated and the reason for the late finish is that the High Street is pedestrianised between 9am-6pm, therefore we keep the doors open on behalf of the stallholders and work the outside environment an extra hour for the benefit of all. We cannot be inside managing the stallholders and outside bringing in the public so it is a matter of trust and respect between us and the exhibitors and a matter of solidarity between all attendees that you remain until the close of the event as packing up early is disruptive to the event as a whole and has a negative effect on all concerned. Traders reported a difficult day of trading with the public happy to browse but not eager to buy. A half dozen had sales over £200, with at least two over £400 and one over £300, of the remainder there were 7-8 over £100, a few who just broke even for the day. Sadly there were a couple of stallholders who did not break even, with one who did not have any sales at all which is particularly disappointing to hear. In all, we were pleased with the turnout from the general public and cheered by the numbers that came in to look around but were not pleased to hear how hard it was to convert the footfall into sales, we hope that this improves as we come out of winter and into the full bloom of spring.