Selling handmade furniture at local markets

Why local markets still earn their pitch fee

An online listing shows a photograph. A market lets a stranger run a hand along a dovetail joint, sit on a stool and feel whether the height suits them. That contact is worth more than any amount of scrolling, and it is the one advantage a furniture maker has over a flat-pack retailer. Markets also give fast, honest feedback: if twenty people walk past a £650 oak side table without slowing down, you learn something. If they all pick up the same little ash chopping board, you learn more.

Treat a market as three things at once — a shop, a test laboratory and a networking event. The cash you take on the day is only part of the return. Commissions, restoration work and "can you make me six of these?" conversations often arrive weeks later.

Choosing the right market and booking your pitch

Not every market suits handmade furniture. A general Saturday street market with a £15 pitch and a car-boot atmosphere will not reward a £900 dining bench. Look instead for artisan, makers', farmers' and vintage fairs, food festivals and Christmas markets, where shoppers arrive expecting to spend.

• Ask about pitch size and access. A 3m x 3m pitch sounds generous until you park a van beside it. Check whether you can drive on to unload, and by what time the vehicle must be moved.
• Check the mix of traders. Three other woodworkers is not fatal; no other woodworkers is often better.
• Confirm what is provided. Tables, gazebos, power and lighting vary enormously. Get it in writing.
• Ask about paperwork. Most organisers want £5 million public liability cover, and some require a simple risk assessment for anything heavy or sharp-edged.

Book two or three dates rather than one. A single market tells you almost nothing; a season tells you whether the footfall, the season and the customer profile actually work for you.

Setting up a stall that survives a British day out

Assume wind, rain and one burst of unexpected sunshine, and build your display accordingly.

• Weight your gazebo properly. At least 20kg per leg, plus guy ropes. A gust will take an unweighted 3x3 straight over a neighbouring stall.
• Take a groundsheet and a spare tarpaulin. Damp grass ruins unfinished timber and cardboard signage.
• Bring a trolley or sack barrow. Carrying a walnut bench 200 metres from the van is the quickest way to end the day exhausted.
• Plan the floor. A simple rug makes a stall feel like a room rather than a car park.
• Light it. Battery LED strips transform a dark gazebo, and a head torch earns its keep at 6am.

Arrive at least ninety minutes before opening and set up in the same order every time. Keep a labelled box of essentials: cable ties, gaffer tape, spare price cards, cloths for fingerprints, and a flask.

Displaying pieces so people can picture them at home

Furniture flat on the ground reads as stock. Furniture at seated height reads as furniture. Lift pieces on to tables, crates or low plinths, and arrange them as you would in a room: a small table with a lamp on it, a stool beside a bench, a chopping board with a bowl and a loaf.

Keep the sightlines open. A wall of tall pieces at the front hides everything behind it. Put the biggest, most eye-catching item at the back or to one side, then step the display down towards the aisle. A plain backdrop — an old linen sheet or a painted board — stops the stall behind yours cluttering your display and your photographs.

Label everything clearly. Handwritten cards with the wood species, finish, dimensions and price answer the first three questions before they are asked. Mention what is included, such as delivery or a care kit, because that is what separates you from a showroom.

Pricing, payments and the paperwork nobody enjoys

Price for the market, not for the workshop. Your figure should cover materials, your hourly rate, pitch fee, fuel, insurance and the pieces that come home unsold. Round numbers feel like retail; odd numbers feel like a bargain bin. £380 reads more considered than £379.99.

• Take a cash float. Around £60 in small notes and coins, plus a secure bag you keep on your person.
• Carry a card reader — and a backup. Signal in a market square is unreliable, so be ready to take a deposit by bank transfer.
• Bring paperwork. A receipt or invoice pad, a sign-up sheet or QR code for your mailing list, and business cards.
• Be clear about delivery. Most furniture will not fit in a customer's car. State your delivery radius, cost and lead time, and take a deposit rather than full payment on the day.

Talking to customers without becoming a salesperson

The best market traders are not pushy; they are interested. Ask what brought someone over, tell them where the timber came from, and let them touch things. If someone lingers, offer one true story about the piece — the reclaimed beam, the joint you remade twice.

Do not chase the sale. Offer to hold a piece for a week with a small deposit, take their details, and follow up afterwards. Keep a notebook of every question you are asked, because it is a free product development list. And when someone says "I could make that myself", smile and agree — then mention that you also sell the timber, the tools and, occasionally, a Saturday course. Markets reward the makers who turn up season after season, with a stall that looks like nobody else's and a genuine interest in the people who stop.