3 x 5 MINUTE SHOWERS

Hi Everyone.

We have had so much going on that we are now only getting the time to give you an update on our market which we had on Saturday.
We did the "rain rain go away dance" and they did listen. We had 3 x 5 minute showers, which was actually quite nice and cooled things down alot....It didn't seem to deter the thousands of customers we had through the door OR the huge amount of stallholders we had.

We were lucky to be in the Courier Mail on the Friday which we found out about on our market day...so thanks heaps to PHIL HAMMOND for listening and putting us in there....We were also #1 in the top 10 things to do this weekend, which was lovely (pity the details were wrong...but moving on). We were mentioned on 4KQ too which is a massive bonus when a plug is given without us knowing.

The Swanbank Steam Trains were a big hit...the first 2 trips were most popular with the carriages almost filling. Everyone who boarded came off smiling and loving it.




A good day was had by all, customers and stallholders alike...
We are always working on making the market bigger and better every month. If you have any ideas up your sleeve, we would love to hear from you...

Thanks for tuning in, we love keeping you posted on The Handmade Expo.
Our next market is on Saturday 20th March, so pop that in your diary..We will of course have the steam trains running again + all of our wonderful stallholders as well.

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Photos of Saturdays Market....

On a lighter note.

It was great to have Ipswich News attend our market on Saturday and take some photos:

click HERE to go to the link.

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

GOODBYE FACEBOOK :(

Hi Everyone

Due to unprovoked harassment and cyber bullying, We have had legal advice to close down some of our social networking pages, for me that means The Handmade Expo on Facebook.

We can still keep you up to date on the blog and you can send a friend request to my personal FB page...Liesa Gifford (which will be strictly monitored).

If you would like to be informed directly regarding The Handmade Expo, we would love for you to email us and we can pop you on our data base to receive updates personally...our email address is thehandmadeexpo@optusnet.com.au

We have other massive ways to keep you informed! At this stage our advice only relates to Facebook and Twitter.

We have also been advised to stop following blogs publicly and facebook pages that our cyber bully is following. We are still reading all our favourite blogs though (and following privately) and leaving comments to our friends and colleagues.
So if we dissapear off your blog, you'll know why.

We never would have thought this possible in this Handmade world or in the small business world for that matter, but there you have it and really, there is only so much harassment/bullying that one person can take. So, we are upset that we have had to do this, but really, this is the only adult way to keep away from it and to try and prevent it occurring.

Please correspond personally if you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them!

We will blog on a happier creative topic soon!

From Liesa, Micky & Miriam
:(

See you TOMORROW

Hi Everyone

We just wanted to remind you all that The Handmade Expo is on tomorrow at the Ipswich Turf Club from 8am - 2pm.
With around 100 stalls of Handmade lovliness to peruse including Fruit & Veg and other gourmet treats we can guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Now also incorporating Qld Rail Pioneer Steam Train rides thoughout the day, you'll be able take the children off on a train ride and then have a good browse of the MARKET! Tickets can be purchased just inside the gate of the market and train departs across the road.
Thanks heaps to Swanbank Steam Train for mentioning us in their Queensland Times advertisement today...TEAM WORK! Oh, here it is:



Hope to see you there, make sure you come and say Hi!
FREE ENTRY and FREE, EASY PARKING

New stallholders always welcome....

From
The Handmade Expo TEAM
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Handmade Heaven is having a GIVEAWAY

Hi Everyone.

Just wanted to pass on this great news...

Handmade Heaven is having a giveaway....you can see it HERE.

GOOD LUCK

From
Micky & MIriam (and Liesa too)

Market Hints and Tips

Hi Everyone.

We came across this amazing blog that had AMAZING hints and tips for stallholders...

You can check it out HERE....It will take a few minutes to read, but it is so informative...
Thanks Margaret from a little bit of kaos for agreeing to let us utilise these...


From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

Our new and wonderful ad....

Hi Everyone.

We are so happy with our new advertisement which you can find in the Ipswich News.
We hope you love it as much as we do.




See you SATURDAY...

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

INSURANCE...GOING THE EXTRA MILE

Hi Everyone.

Not only is insurance an extra cost if you are doing markets, but if you are only doing a few a year OR you only do 1 market that covers you, the extra cost doesnt seem worth it.

Most markets only cover for PUBLIC LIABILITY insurance (and charge you an extra premium), well, The Handmade Expo has gone the extra mile. If you have a stall at our market, we provide insurance for ALL of our stallholders which covers PUBLIC LIABILITY and also PRODUCT LIABILITY. This means, that if you do our market ONLY, you will never have to obtain MARKET INSURANCE. A saving for our wonderful stallholders and this is at NO EXTRA COST.
If you have Market insurance, we do not offer a discount, but you should ring your insurance company and advise that 12 of the markets that you do with The Handmade Expo every year are covered for insurance. They may offer you a discount or saving on your premium...(depending on insurance company, policy disclosure statement, etc).

So, just something a little extra that The Handmade Expo does for YOU...

See you at our next market...February 20th...

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

TOOT TOOT.... CHUGGA CHUGGA!!

Hi Everyone

We are super excited to have finalised the Swanbank Steam Train Trips which will happen from the front entrance of our market once a month.... The long trips go for about 1 hour and the shorter trips go for about 30 minutes. We have been on a train ride and can tell you all that it was a nice experience. We highly recommend it.

9:15am Short Trip
10:00am Short Trip
10:45am Long Trip
12:15pm Short Trip

Long Trip:
Adults: $16
Children 5-15: $9
Children u5: Free
Concession: $9
Family 2A 3C: $40

Short Trip:
Adults: $9
Children 5-15: $5
Children u5: Free
Concession: $5
Family 2A 3C: $22

Tickets can be bought at the entrance of the market.

Thanks for tuning in.

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam

WE WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN THE HANDMADE EXPO....

Hi Everyone.

There seems to be a few markets getting around the traps at the moment...Therefore, we would like to put it out there why you should come and be apart of The Handmade Expo.

WE ARE ALL HANDMADE...this is what we love and are passionate about. From Food to Clothes to Fresh Produce and so much more. We love local and support local. We do not allow imported or manufactured goods into our market so there is no competing with low low low cost imported items. We are the original Handmade market of Ipswich.

WE ADVERTISE... We believe that your hard earned money that pays for a stall should go towards advertising (as well as other costs of course). We advertise in the local papers, Handmade Magazine (national), Peekaboo Magazine, school & council newsletters, Event Calanders on the internet, blogging, facebooking, twittering, large banners and signs at the Turf Club and at Riverlink Shopping Centre, Large shopping centre signs, Professionally printed brochures which we hand out at the market, letterbox drop in Ipswich and Brisbane and also handout to all the customers who go through Handmade Heaven, we put them on notice boards and get our loyal stallholders to put them on their market tables (wherever they may be), Radio (interviews and advertisements). We also have A FRAME signs that go up on the main road the day of the market + we have a blowy man to catch passer bys attention.

VENUE...We operate at a high quality venue. The exposure is priceless with THOUSANDS of cars passing our banners and advertising all week. Easy access, Easy and free parking, GREAT facilities. The areas available at this venue range from undercover, shady, grassed and paved areas...

WE HAVE INSURANCE...AT NO EXTRA COST.

WE RECEIVE SUPPORT... from Ipswich Mayor, Paul Pisasale (who has come to almost ALL of our markets)

WE LOVE...our stallholders and acknowledge that without you, our market would not be possible

WE OFFER...a full day out..now that we have secured the Swanbank Steam Train pickups/dropoffs this gives customers a full day to browse, shop & train ride

WE HAVE SECURED...Bus trips throughout the year to come specifically for The Handmade Expo.

WE ARE ORGANISED & FRIENDLY...We allocate areas, we confirm payments and we are 100% approachable for all of your needs and feedback

WE ARE CUSTOMER FOCUSED...We are always friendly to our customers...everyone who walks through our doors, we make them feel welcome and want to return.

WE NO LONGER...have an entry fee...We were charging a $2 entry fee, however, we have reached the point where this no longer needed to ocurr

CONFIDENCE...We have built up both stallholder and customer confidence

DATABASE...We have a very large database that reaches both stallholders and customers once a month of which this increases every day.

COMPARE...We would like to compare markets and show where we sit in the MARKET WORLD :)

Small farmers market $10 -$15
Trash n treasure $15 - $20
Mixed variety including imported and manufactured goods $20 - $40
Handmade Expo $50 including farmers and gourmet food supporting local
retail precint mixed market $55 - $80+
Brisbane based market $55 - $220+

REGULAR...Management meetings to cover feedback and how the market went and what we can look at changing to make it better for both stallholders and customers.

WE HAVE...Room for everybody that grows, bakes & makes.

OFFICE...Handmade Heaven (downstairs in The Old Flour Mill, Brisbane Street, Ipswich) is part of The Handmade Expo and is available for you 6 days a week. We have eftpos/credit card facilities for you to use...even over the phone transactions for your convenience.

WE SPECIALISE... in what YOU do.

We are so excited to bring you The Handmade Expo in 2010 and look forward to seeing all of you on the 20th February.
If you would like to book a market stall, we have them available to download on our blog on the right hand side, we are also available on email at thehandmadeexpo@optusnet.com.au or you can call us on 0422876154.

Thanks for tuning in.

From
Liesa, Micky & Miriam