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National Festival of Making

Saturday 11th June 2022

It is a great delight to share that the National Festival of Making will return to Blackburn this June.

Once again, the Makers Market will be a key feature of the Festival. A wide range of stalls will display and sell work by fabulous artists, designers and makers.

This year’s marketplace will take place on Saturday 11th June and will have a new venue and format, at the stunning Blackburn Cathedral.

Apply here

The Makers Market is a collaboration between Festival producers, Festival of Making CIC and guest curators, Hopeful and Glorious to celebrate and spotlight art, craft and design from across the region. Hopeful and Glorious will curate a showcase of around 30 artists, makers and designers. These will have been selected for the quality and originality of their work.

The Makers Market will provide a platform for creatives to exhibit and sell. It’s an opportunity for makers to share and shout about their creativity and industry.

In addition to being a stallholder at the Makers Market, on Sunday there is an opportunity to take part in sessions to support your creative practice and share your skills with others. If you are interested in leading or contributing to one of the sessions, please indicate this on the application form. We hope that by concentrating the market activity on Saturday this will enable makers to benefit from taking part in the sessions and enjoy the wider festival on Sunday.

There will not be any food stalls within the Makers Market as all food products will have a designated area elsewhere in the town centre. If you are a food producer, please contact info@festivalofmaking.co.uk

The Makers Market will be open from 11am to 5pm.

Event information and how to apply

If you are interested in applying for a stand at the Makers Market at the National Festival of Making please complete the online form with links to your website/s and social media. If you are unable to complete the form online, please email hopefulandglorious@gmail.com to request a word version of the form.

Each stand should be presented to a high standard and have a distinctive, visually appealing appearance. We will consider makers, designers, artists, and photographers who meet our standards of selection. All work should be made or designed by you.

We are keen to encourage makers committed to developing a sustainable practice to get involved. We know sustainability is about making step changes and makers are fantastic at upcycling, recycling and minimising waste.

Before applying please read the Terms and Conditions at the bottom of this document as you will need to agree to comply on your application.

Makers can apply for a single 6ft table stall or a double table area (12ft). If you require a socket you will need to indicate this on the form and an additional fee is payable. Sockets are limited so will be offered on a first-come-first-served basis. We cannot guarantee any rear wall space.

The application form asks whether we can share your details with other Festival of Making partners. This is so that we can maximise the opportunity to raise the profile of makers taking part and allow makers the opportunity to take part in a range of opportunities around the festival programme.

The selection process starts in March and makers are advised to apply early. It may take up to four weeks to have a decision. Selection will be based on originality, quality, range of work (in relation to other selected makers) and contemporary approach. We will select makers monthly from March to the end of May (depending on stall availability).

The Makers Market begins at 11am on Saturday 11th June until 5pm. Set up will be Saturday morning from 8am. Dismantling stalls will take place after 5pm.

Apply here

More information

Tables and chairs are provided. All other display equipment must be provided by the maker.

6ft (2m) table£50.00
12ft (4m) table£80.00
Electrical socket£10.00
  1. All applications, confirmations, enquiries and payments will be made through Hopeful and Glorious.
  2. We will notify all makers by email if we can offer them a stall. Invoices will be sent soon after, along with venue details. The stall fee must be paid in full within 10 days of receiving the invoice. If you have not paid within the 10 days, then the stall will be reallocated. Bookings are only final once we have received full payment and a completed booking form with all required details.
  3. As this is an event to promote the work of artists, makers and designers, all the products on the stand should be created by the artist/s represented on the stand.
  4. All stall locations are allocated in advance with the area of space that has been paid for. If you require more space (e.g. for print racks, rails etc) you will need to contact us in advance and there will be an additional charge.
  5. Please consider Health and Safety issues and inspect your stall regularly for potential hazards. Makers are responsible for their own public, product and stall liability insurance and if appropriate PAT testing. It is the maker’s responsibility to display your work safely with full responsibility for the liability of products and the public with the stall. Any breakages are the responsibility of the artist.
  6. All artists are expected to add information to their websites, social media etc.
  7. Strictly nothing is to be attached/stuck to the walls.
  8. Exhibitors will be held responsible for any damage that they cause to the venue. Should there be any significant damage, the exhibitor will be charged for the full cost of repair or replacement and will be refused future bookings.
  9. There is no stall lighting – just overhead room lighting. If your work needs a specific level of lighting please bring appropriate lighting such as battery-powered Work lights / LEDs.
  10. Makers must attend for the full day 11am-5pm.
  11. We expect stallholders to offer quality customer care and offer to replace or refund if any product sold is found to be damaged, faulty or unsuitable for use.
  12. Stallholders are required to use the provided tables.
  13. Stallholders must dispose of their own rubbish and ensure that your allocated space is left clean and tidy, leaving only the furniture provided by the organisers.
  14. Final set-up details will be forwarded to each maker 2 weeks before the event.
  15. If the National Festival of Making is cancelled – due to force majeure including Government or Public Health England advice to cancel due to a risk to health, such as prevention of coronavirus – then an alternative date would be offered, if possible. If this is not possible then we will be provide an online market event for makers to share and sell their work.
  16. If you need to cancel your stall booking, please let us know as early as possible.
    1. Cancellation more than 8 weeks before the event a 50% refund payable
    2. Cancellation less than 8 weeks before the event – no refund payable.