Thank You

Well, I can't believe we are but a couple of weeks (less actually) away from a brand new year... 2025 has absolutely flown by, the first year of Pretty As A Picture Board being swept along by a huge tide, which also saw the boys celebrate their eighteenth birthdays and myself reach the grand old age of fifty.

Myself and Shelley have been absolutely blown away by the support, love and warmth, not to mention the welcoming nature extended to us by the community (makers and artisan markets). We are delighted to have become a part of this community and we have cherished every smile, every hello, every stroke of Bob and of course, every invaluable piece of advice and guidance we have been so fortunate to receive.

So I thought it would be a nice idea to say thanks to those people who have been so friendly and have helped us enormously throughout the year and without whom, Pretty As A Picture Board would have endured a far more difficult first year than it was lucky enough to experience.

St Andrews Town Hall, where Artisan Market is held six times each year

Artisan Market St Andrews

We had been visiting markets around the central belt in the autumn on 2024, as we researched to see where we might like to apply to trade. We fell instantly in love with the vibe, the venue and the range of makers on display and the high quality of their crafts. After a successful application, we made our first appearance in February and could not have received a warmer welcome from the co-organisers of our "home" market in the magnificent St Andrews. Susan McMillan (who also runs her fantastic jewellery business Suziblue Jewellery from her studio in the picturesque Eask Neuk of Fife) and Kelly Hodgson, the fantastically talented wood sculptor whose Lignumandleaf business weaves magic with wood of all shapes and sizes, have made us feel so welcome and special and their words of support and encouragement mean so much to us, we want you to know that ❤️

We want to give special mentions to Emma, whose tireless work to help promote the market on social media and assist makers to make their own promotional material to share online, is really appreciated. Also to Lisa, one of the Fife Council staff employed at the venue - the impressive town hall - whose can-do attitude, helpfulness, friendliness and cheery disposition are always a pick-me-up when setting up (or packing away) on a cold, dark, wet and miserable day (which as we all know, is a relatively common occurence living here in Scotland 😭)!!!

Thanks to you all from us both, we can't wait to do it all again next year!

Craft & Flea Scottish Markets 2025

Craft & Flea

Upon our first visits to St Andrews, so many fellow traders asked us "have you heard of Craft & Flea" and suggested we apply! So we did and the rest, as they say, is history! The whole operation is extremely slick and Kennedy (who has now been joined for some much deserved help by Gem) does a fantastic job of processing applications, sending out floorplans and social media kits (from promoting the market and ourselves online). But a huge mention must go to our event manager, Niamh, who along with her colleague (sorry, but I don't know your name, but I desperately want to namecheck you!) make us traders feel so welcome, not to mention Bob (who is welcome at The Briggait, Glasgow (one of Craft & Flea's many dog friendly markets in the UK)). You are always there to welcome us at the beginning of each market, and answer our questions and help us locate our tables/pitches.

Wyldethistle Markets

Shelley and I certainly covered a lot of the Central Belt of Scotland in our first year of market trading, and we certainly got to visit two spectacular locations, courtesy of Wyldethistle Markets in the David Livingstone Birthplace Museum in Blantyre and the Marine Hotel in lovely Troon.

Wyldethistle was born in 2022, when independent makers Alice and Clair met whilst attending Ayrshire markets. They decided that they wanted to bring the best of the West of Scotland's creative community to a wider audience, through arranging markets, workshops and special pop up events.

Alice runs her candle and wax melt business, Melt Me Real Good whilst Clair has a fantastic range of products for those of an especially nervous, anxious, or neurodivergent nature, especially children and young adults available at the lovely Pandaandme.

We have become firm friends with them both and are glad we will still get to see one another at future markets after they took the decision to cease arranging markets to concentrate on taking their own businesses further and higher in 2026 and beyond.

The Night Market UK

One of our favourite discoveries of the year was the fantastic Night Market UK at Edinburgh's Biscuit Factory, located in trendy Leith, one of the city's most vibrant creative hubs.

Becc and Nicole work tirelessly to curate some incredible markets across the UK. We have had the pleasure of trading at Cottiers, Glasgow and on three occasions at Biscuit Factory in Edinburgh. We learned the hard way that doing back to back night markets (Glasgow and Edinburgh in June) and planning a daytime market the day after an appearance were both rookie mistakes, and ones we do not wish (nor plan) to repeat next year! 😂

Bob, after one too many back to back Night Markets 😂

We have already applied for our return to Biscuit Factory in the New Year, we hope to be invited and we would urge you to visit us there, we will always have our full range with us and of course Bob as well)! Plus I can't recommend the draught beer from the local brewer, Barney's. Stone's Throw Lager is one of the nicest lagers I have ever tried and it is so lovely!

Support The Makers

Patience makes perfect! Okay, so I know that isn't a saying, but it made me laugh! We have always wanted to trade at Support The Makers ever since we learned of its existence. We visited one of the markets at Portobello Town Hall, which has a very special place in Shelley's heart as she lived in the area, loves the beach and has many friends close by. The market is very successful, and therefore the waiting list to be invited is rather lengthy. As the market has expanded and adding more venues, it has meant that more makers can be accomodated. Our patience payed off and we made our first visit to a market organised by Carmen (more on this incredible woman in a minute) in September, at Lind and Lime Distillery in Leith. We returned again in November as part of Leith Creative Trail and had one of our most successful market days this year. We were thrilled to learn that we will make our debut at Portobello Town Hall on Sunday 01st March and that we will get to return to the city a couple of weeks later at George Watson's College on Saturday 14th March!

We have participated in an Instagram Live where Shelley got to have a lovely chat with Carmen, who is the powerhouse behind Support The Makers. We had a fantastic chat with Carmen a few weeks ago and wow, this is someone who is so passionate, so committed, so driven and so "in the corner" of small business and makers & artisans it beggars belief. For the 120% you give of yourself to curate and arrange your markets and to make us feel so welcome throughout the day, thank you so much and we can't wait to see you again in the New Year!

Lind & Lime, Leith Creative Trail in November

Solsgirth Home Farm

We ended the year at what we might come to regard as true incredible discovery, almost in our backyard, in nearby Dollar (Clackmannanshire). Solsgirth Home Farm was first mentioned to us in July, by a fellow trader at Pitlochry Market who thought we might do well there. We secured our spot for the Christmas Market in December and we have to say, the setup, the venue, the clientele and the quality of the makers who had been selected absolutely blew us away. We just CLICKED with the whole setup and are so so happy that we have been confirmed for EVERY weekend in 2026, from February through until December! Heather and Jan made us feel so welcome and we were extremely flattered to learn that they really wanted us to become a regular participant in what they are building and we can't wait to go on this journey together and see the market grow and grow (as the foundation is certainly there) and I am sure you will do a fantastic job)

Solsgirth Home Farm

We must thank the other markets we had the pleasure of attending this year. Thank you to Abigeal, organiser of Stirling Night Market at the Albert Halls, for your hospitality this year (and for introducing us to the incredibly talented Jodie Differ)!!! Thanks to The Handmade Show in Perth Concert Hall, where we had an enjoyable day's trading. Thank you to Focus, who kindly invited us to guest at their market in Stonehaven and were so friendly. Thanks (and sorry for doubting you! 😂) Jimmy at Pitlochry Market for being such a great host and for all of your support!

I want to say a big thank you to some of the makers who took us under their wings, gave us such fantastic help and guidance, but above, made us so welcome thanks to how friendly they were in greeting us into their beautiful, wonderful community. But I realise that this will need a Part 2, so I will blog about them next week.

All that remains for me to say, is thank you for reading, thanks for your support in 2025. Whether you have merely visited us at market, bought something online or in person, followed us on social media, taken one of our leaflets or a business card, mentioned us to a friend, shared our content online, we are grateful for it all and it really means so much to us.

Have a lovely Christmas and I hope you join me next week as I thank some of the fellow traders who have helped us so much in our first year of markets.

Richard