Having attended many, many craft events and holding mini fairs at the Rye Club for some time, I took a chance when a small shop almost opposite on Market Road was available to rent. It would mean a number of us could carry on doing what we do but in a more permanent setting. The aim was to eliminate as many of the craft fair problems as possible, to extend selling opportunities and reach new customers and to have more time to make.
Rye’s Handmade now has a wonderful range of handmade items available all year round, six days a week from a core group of local makers and the occasional temporary maker.
Each maker is free to make new items or continue with existing ranges, they can get creative with their display, price their products fairly and keep control over the expenses involved in selling. Some even offer repair work and will do commissions too. New items pop up all the time.
We are completely handmade. I don’t buy anything in that is mass produced and I even add some kind of handmade elements to the window display which I change on a regular basis. Every maker also has something on display in the window so coming up with a theme can be challenging! Quite often some parts of the window display are available to buy for a donation to Bowel Cancer UK when the display changes. But you often need to get in quick!
I couldn’t do it all on my own and I have some amazing helpers to cover in the shop, look after and sell other peoples items and still make their own pieces too.
And our truly wonderful customers: locals, visitors to town and our regulars, make it work. Thank you! They have been complimentary about what we’re doing and actively support us. Apparently we are “an Aladdin’s cave of handmade goodies”.
So we’re now into the third year, still coming up with new ideas and thankful of not having to stand in the rain all day!
We are open Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, but on Thursdays we close at 2pm. We also open for a little longer on event days such as the Rye Christmas Festival and on Sundays throughout the summer.
Image Credits: Susan Morris .