BIG NEWS…
THE MARKETS ARE HERE!

We’re absolutely over the moon to announce our first markets. They will be held on
Saturday 3rd November and
Saturday 1st December
11am - 4pm

Those lovely folks at Urbis have kindly agreed to host them with us so if you fancy treating yourself, or some Christmas shopping with a difference bring your pennies and spend spend spend!

**For a stall at these markets** check out the full details and email your application to us by Friday 21st September…

Information

Manchester Craft Mafia is a new group supporting urban crafting in and around the Manchester area. We are looking for makers to join us in the following markets.

Saturday 3^rd November & Saturday 1^st December
11am – 4pm
Urbis (Manchester City Centre)

The venue has been selected to provide an indoor city central location with full facilities and guaranteed footfall. Urbis core visitors are young, urban, culturally aware shoppers, families, students, and creative practitioners / professionals. An ideal market for contemporary urban crafts.

The market will be held in the Urbis foyer, guaranteeing that every visitor in the building will encounter the event. To make this yet more of an occasion, Urbis will be holding family crafting workshops the same day to increase visitor numbers and heighten the buzz within the building. For more information about Urbis see www.urbis.org.uk

Stalls

Stalls are limited and all makers must follow the application process below.
Fee for taking part is £20 for a table, or £15 each for a shared table, per event.
Makers must staff the stall themselves.
Table measurements: tbc

**Deadline: Friday 21 September 8.30pm**

Criteria

We will prioritise:

• Makers of contemporary, alternative, indie and DIY crafts
• Makers who don’t have any permanent outlet (i.e. no physical shop, an online store is acceptable however)
• Makers from the Greater Manchester area
• Crafts people, not all creative forms (rather than for example, fine art, photography, or other homecrafts such as baking)
• Handmade work – rather than vintage goods or supplies.
• Those whose work sells at under £50 for the significant majority of items.
• Work that is currently under-represented in the market, for example paper goods, homewares, techno-crafts, furniture. We love textiles and jewellery and thankfully we have lots of it – but we’d really like to see some other stuff too!
• Makers must have public liability insurance. You will be asked for a copy of your documentation on the day. (See below for more information).

Applying

If you are unsure if your work is eligible please see our FAQs below.
Please email the following to ask@manchestercraftmafia.com by **Friday 21 September**

1. Name, address, email address and ‘phone number
2. Biog of max 150 words about your work, influences etc
3. 3 clear images of your work - the type of work you wish to sell on the day (no more than 3 please)
4. Address of your relevant website / blog if you have one
5. Letter explaining why you would like to take part in the Manchester Craft Mafia Market, why you would benefit from it, and what’s unique about your work.
6. Which date(s) you wish to book
7. Whether you require a full or shared tablePlaces will be confirmed by email by Sunday 30 September

Q: I’m not sure what you mean by alternative / indie and DIY crafts, does my work count?

A: Have a look at our galleries and news pages on the website, and at the other UK craft mafia websites, to see what sort of work we mean. (www.leedscraftmafia.com and www.glasgowcraftmafia.com). If you think your work would look at home amongst this type of thing get in touch. If not, you can still subscribe to blog or visit our calendar pages which will list details of other craft fairs and selling opportunities that might be more up your street. See www.manchestercraftmafia.com

Q: My work isn’t exactly crafts – could I still take part?
A: Maybe – if your work is design, art, print, or anything else but it involves crafts techniques somehow in the production process we’d love to look at it. We’d especially like to see zines and techno or electronic craft as well as the usual formats. We take each example on a case by case basis.

If your work isn’t really connected to craft at all it’s less likely, however we can add you to our standby list and might offer you a place on an occasional basis if we have spare stalls and feel your work fits with our general ethos.

Q. I sell vintage stuff, am I in?
A: Well, we LOVE vintage stuff in our own lives – crockery, homewares, fashions etc - but it’s not what this market was set up for. However if you make new work from repurposed vintage findings then yes, please apply…

Q. I’m not from Manchester, does that matter?
A. Not necessarily – we prioritise makers from the Greater Manchester boroughs because it’s where we’re based. Also because the idea behind Craft Mafias is that they can spring up anywhere to support their local craft scene – so there might be one nearer to you, or you could start your own! In the meantime if you fit with our other criteria anyway and we have some available space we’d still love to have you involved so get in touch.

Q. What’s this about public liability insurance?
A. Public Liability Insurance covers members of the public for any mishaps arising as a result of your activities. Most public events and activities such as craft markets or workshops would require this. Urbis is a public building and will check all stall-holders insurance on the day so you need to be covered, and bring a copy of your documentation with you. Public Liability Insurance lasts 12 months and costs anywhere from approximately £30-£100. Further information is widely available on the internet though you may find this discussion thread a useful starting point
http://www.flickr.com/groups/ukhandmade/discuss/72157600951548003/