Changes at Shrewbury Market

As Shrewsbury has become our main income stream we have decided to attend all four of the full trading days. This means two extra days at the market and the opportunity to change the layouit of our stall. Below is the old stall taken in Oct this year.
So far we have built a small tiered shelf seen below which gives a better view of the produce and more display space. With the aded advatage of giving more space behind the stall for scales, bags etc.
Our next job is to change the price labelling of the produce to which end a friend and customer has offered some help, more on this in a couple of weeks.

Shrewsbury Market

This is me standing on my stall at Shrewsbury Market. Since the decline of Farmers Markets we have concentrated on the retail market in Shrewsbury. Every Friday and Saturday will find me stood here selling our wares. The advantage over farmers markets (apart from the falling trade at farmers markets) is the option to sell bought in produce and even imported fruit and vegetables as seasons dictate. The farmers markets in our area are monthly or at best twice monthly which restricts the build up of trade by preventing a regular weekly shopping habit.
The weather has been the best for four years and for the first time in that period we have been able to sell courgettes with the flowers for frying with tempura batter or stuffing and deep frying.

One of our favourite lines salad packs picked fresh every morning, they have proved very popular with our customers at all our markets.

Saturday Sunday

Saturday the second and final market of the week, again at Shrewsbury Indoor Market Hall. Similar pattern to Friday. Up and picking vegetables: lettuce, spinach, spring greens, rhubarb and salad packs.
Millie has an eye infection so we have to attempt to hold her down to apply the twice daily drops, she looks a lot better now.

The markets are holding up well at the moment with both Friday and Saturday meeting targets.

Sunday church in the morning followed by checking out some new grazing for our small flock of sheep. Otherwise a quiet day apart from feeding chickens collecting eggs and checking watering in the tunnels.

Friday, market day

Up at 6.00am, harvesting lettuce, spring greens and rhubarb, Then off to the market and carry the produce from parking spot to market about 1mile. Seriously underestimated the weight of rhubarb. Spent the day on the stall not a bad days takings, then delivered three peoples shopping on the way home.

The other half picked up 25 day old chicks from Cyril Basons', they will be placed under a broody hen when it gets dark. Then had to take Millie to the vets with conjunctivitis, she came back with green eyes

Monday, Bee day

First thing I sorted out the orders for next week at the market, cancellations and additions according to how well sales are doing.Sales are generally holding up well, I have given up all the farmers markets now due to the falling income. So concentrating as I am on Shrewsbury it's important to get the offer right.
So after a short training session with Millie I checked the two main sites in Hereford about 40 colonies, they seemed well though well behind in development.
Bee Inspector rang tonight, wants to check all my colonies he will check The local hives tomorrow and the Hereford hives on Monday, this means going through every hive and every frame shacking all bees looking for brood disease. Lets hope al is well.

Last day at Moseley Farmers Market

It was a sad day for me last Saturday, after 10 years we have stopped attending the farmers market held in Moseley, Birmingham. We've never missed a market through rain, sun, illness, and vehicle breakdown we took our stall once a month every month for over ten years. Photo from Oct 08

Takings have been falling recently and with the additional competition on the market it has become less viable for us and looking at the trends of our takings this fall in income looks likes set to continue.
We will miss the traders, customers and organisers, all have been generous and friendly. We wish them all the best and hope that the market will be successful in the future.

New Market at Jewellery Quarter

We have started a new market at Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, it has been a steady start so far but there is real enthusiasm from the organisers, all based in the local community. I have never seen so many Jewellery and gold shops in one place before. There is a residential community who have been used to supermarket shopping. Hopefully we can provide an alternative to the high food mile, cold stored chemically induced food.

We will be attending until the December market and make a decision then whether to continue.
The dates for the markets this year are November 21st, December 5, both Saturdays.

Market update

This week we attended Ludlow Farmers market selling mutton and Shrewsbury retail market selling vegetables.

The demand for mutton seems to be increasing from last month and I sold out at Ludlow using our mobile chiller. Beef sales have been slow but lamb and hogget sales have doubled on last month.

Comparing Shrewsbury takings this week, with last year shows that sales are about 4% down year on year. 2007 when compared with 2006 was 3% down year on year.

Next week we have Moseley Farmers Market traditionally our best market of the year. The other Moseley Markets have maintained income on a par with last year, so it will be interesting to see what happens on the 20th Dec.

When all the seasons figures are in there will be a better comparison to tell how the markets are going.

Market report, Shrewsbury

The weekend we did the usual friday and saturday market, they are improving a little after the slump of 4 weeks ago and although we are £60 to £70 down per week we are seeing a market improvement in footfall.

Many small businesses are talking about a small downturn in sales but so far it is limited .

New chiller unit at market

The chiller unit we bought the other week has seen its first service, we unvieled it in alls its glory at Ludlow Farmers Market, it comes on its own trailer which is boxed in when you set it up on site.

We are using it with Clun Forest Organics Farmers, which is a group of four local farmers selling our meet cooperatively across a number of outlets.
The chiller was set up next to a stall also selling our vegetables and Trevor Wheelers (pictured below) potatoes, carrots and swedes.
It was a reasonably successful day especially considering the weather and that this was our first attempt. Our intention is to continue to attend on the second Thursday in Ludlow, then try Shrewsbury Farmers Market on the first Friday and to attend Bishops Castle Farmers Market on the third Saturday of the month.

All our meat is killed at the local abbatoir Griffiths in Leintwadine and is butchered by Welsh Farm Organics or Golden Valley Organics.

Going to collect the chill cabinet

We have bought a part share in a chill cabinet with a friend of ours who farms organically near Newcastle on Clun. It sits on a trailer which will transport it and will support it under a canopy. This means we had better get started on our meat selling enterprise.
We already sell every Friday at Myriad Organics in Ludlow as part of the Clun Valley Organic Farmers and this chiller will help with selling the meat to a wider customer base.

Markets in the current economic climate

In the past month we have noticed a downturn in our weekly market in Shrewsbury, while at Moseley market the sales are holding up, the pattern of buying seems to be changing. Is this the start of an ongoing problem or a reaction to all the hysterical "doom laden" reports in the media?
In order to maintain our business whatever the economic environment we have decided to expand the meat retailing part of our business.

The plan so far is too increase production of Mutton and start producing pork both for direct sales. To that end we have a part share in a second hand chiller unit and trailer, bought on ebay this week. I will post some pictures when we pick it up.The pigs I think be weaners bought in and fattened for a few months, mutton will continue much as before but we may well change to Hebridean sheep as these are known to make good Mutton

Moseley Farmers Market is doing OK but other retail outlets are suffering slightly

Moseley Farmers Market

On the fourth Saturday every month we take a stall at Moseley Farmers Market we were at the first market and have attended every market since, the range we sell is more limited than our regular Friday & Saturday Shrewsbury Market due to the rules of farmers markets.


The range you see here is all we harvest at this time of year including celery , fennel, aubergine, onions and beetroot, purple, spinach, and salad packs.