Ever wanted to trade at a festival?

We spoke to a couple of Midlands Makers who traded at Glastonbury this year to find out more.

Tira, owner of Skanking Swede has attended over 50 festivals, having worked at them since the age of 17 she combined her love of them with her creative business and now trades around the country selling her awesome jewellery to fellow festival goers.

Megan Crook, owner of Get Crooked had only attended one festival before taking her business out to them. Definitely not the traditional route but being a young single mum meant spare money was scarce and free time even more so!

We caught up with them both ahead of trading at this years Glasto to find out what it's like to take your business to one.

What gave you the courage to apply to trade at a festival?

Megan: "My business started as a knitwear label 20 years ago and the work I created then really reflected the young, care-free and sexy boho energy as I grew into womanhood. Customers at most traditional craft events always said I should sell at festivals and it wasn’t long before I gave it go with my funky wares."

How did you find the experience? How was it different to trading at markets?

Megan: "I loved it! There’s something magical about the camaraderie at festivals. The main difference is that everyone is much happier LOL"

Tira: "Trading days can be up to 12 hours, so good stamina is necessary. It's fun but it's so tiring!

I've traded independently and in a collective and what always gets me through is everyone around me, whether it be fellow traders, my friends/family helping out or just having nice customers."

I imagine there is a lot of preparation involved in trading at a festival, how do you manage creating enough stock for a well tended event?

Megan: "Like with any event I always aim to sell a minimum of 3x my stand fee to break even so my goal is 4x or more for an event to be profitable and worthwhile. I always try to have a wide price range of products available to cater to different budgets but its important to have a selection of ‘show stopper’ high ticket items within your offerings. They may not sell in multiples but can really boost a day’s trade and start planning your stock well in advance."

Tira:" Start early! For festival season I set aside time to make one style/design a week. I also take a lot of beads with me when I do markets so I can be making stock in quieter times! I usually will start around February and chip away at it - I ALWAYS wish I had more though and something surprisingly ends up selling really well and I think I don't have enough but that's just the way it goes with trading! "

Are there any downsides to trading at festivals?

Tira: "Portaloos, the weather! Like with markets, if it's very wet or windy it can make it challenging. Equally if it's too hot people don't want to shop. You also have a bigger set up and pack down either side of a weekend so sometimes I'm away for a week at a time and then straight to another one."

Megan: "Like markets they can be very weather dependent and some years are better than others. Stock can easily be damaged if it’s a muddy year and nobody wants to spend 2 hours a day spot cleaning everything with wet wipes #glasto2019

Most festivals cost much more than trading at markets so its important to weigh up what your brand can afford and if the crowd is the right audience for your products. The initial investment of buying marquees, ground cover, weights, building signage, lighting/ extensions, and all the camping gear to be self sufficient (if you don’t already own it) can take time to recoup and most festivals are flooded with imported tat so competition is steep."

What would you tell someone that is thinking about applying to trade with their brand at a festival?

Tira: "Do it!! It's a lot of work but heaps of fun! Always do your research on what festivals you're applying to and if it's your customer base/ what the shopping habits are like there, talk to fellow traders if you can. Give yourself plenty of time to make stock and get ready. If it seems like a big step at first, partner up with a complementary brand - lots of festivals also have a shared makers market so this is also great if you're starting out. Make your display eye catching, I worked as a trader manager for a festival for 3 years and it's all about the visuals!"

Megan: "Absolutely go for it but I would definitely recommend trading in collaborative group tents first as this will really help reduce the initial investment needed for festival trading and the trading hours tend to be shorter so you can enjoy more of the festival. Win win!"

Thanks guys!

Megan and Tira are both Nottingham creatives, you can find their work here.

Megan AKA @getcrooked

Tira AKA @SkankingSwede