Makers Market at Black Swan Arts

Black Swan Arts is hosting a ‘socially distanced’ Makers Market on Sunday 15th November from 10am to 4pm.

At the market there will be fine fair available from a selection of Frome-based makers and creators.

One of the traders, Liz from Badger House Leather said “As a self employed maker (I make hand made leather goods and have a studio at the Black Swan Arts centre), the Coronavirus has affected my business by not being able to sell directly to consumers. 

“Part of the difficulty as a maker is that as soon as you sell your creations through shops, they have to make 40% at least (and rightly so as there are a great deal of overheads), but unfortunately the maker becomes increasingly stretched. 

“Independent markets were a way of balancing this a little and were essential for many of us to keep doing what we do. So the loss of this trade really has had a big impact.

“On top of this, I have fallen through the cracks for any financial support and I can only imagine that this is the case for a great many makers and creators locally. 

“Thinking about this, we wanted to create an event where other makers can join us and showcase their work and connect with other creatives before Christmas, whilst offering consumers the chance to buy directly from makers, especially before Christmas. 

“We are very lucky to have space and the court yard at the Black Swan and we felt that we needed to share this with other people who too might be struggling.  We would love to see you there, so please support us if you can.”