Saturday, 27th June, 11am – 4pm
The Alternative Markets is an inclusive organisation, as their poster says, ‘celebrating Individuality and Quirks!’ For the market lovers who came to the Centre on Saturday, 27th June, this meant a variety of crafts made by independent creators, as well as other items with a unique flavour. The event was their first in St Ives – and we were delighted that it was held at the Edward Hain Centre.
A day of sunshine!
There were seventeen traders in all, selling a variety of items – including psychic readings. The list was impressive:
Vendors started rolling up at around 9AM to set up indoors. Somehow our EHC team and The Alternative Markets organisers managed to navigate around each other while traders set up stalls (you can imagine, with 17 of them, and our small army of helpers!) and those bringing cakes and other goodies wended their way to our Courtyard Café.
The Markets had booked a fabulous array of stalls, with tempting items to choose from. Ideal for lovers of something a little different…
For those who missed the event and are curious to see more of what was on offer, we’d thought we’d post all the traders’ info here. Surprisingly few, however, are on Facebook or have websites. So below is a list of seven whose pages we found, in alphabetical order:
🦄 Amethyst Teacup: Charming, whimsical art, also on Instagram @amethyst_teacup_art
🌟 Angel Energies: Owner Tina Rowe (in the middle, above) gave readings on Saturday, and offers a wide range of interesting healing modalities on her website, as well as Vedic Astrology readings.
🏰 Guilded Veil Events: Curates immersive fantasy experiences in Cornwall (the perfect county for them, after all!)
🦋 Moth & Mantis: “Art, specimens and design inspired by the natural world’s darker elegance.”
📚 Pendergast Books: “Unearth the forgotten. Embrace the peculiar.”
🧚🏼♀️ Raggtagg Pixie: Delightful mushroom-inspired clothing and accessories!
🧙🏼♀️ Witchcrafty Creations: A small family business creating unique, handcrafted items.
Each one of them clearly worked so hard to prepare for the event, and bring along their wonderful wares.
The Courtyard Café
Our part of the day’s work was in providing food and drink, and setting up our Courtyard Café where visitors could enjoy their nosh. As usual we had delicious sweet treats for sale, as well as savoury snacks and crisps; and coffee, tea, soft drinks, water to drink. All handy grub for an on-the-go event – although clearly people took the time to relax in the sunshine and enjoy their food, being serenaded by lovely music from Claire and Kev!
Thank Yous
Massive thanks go to all who made the day happen (individuals’ first names in alphabetical order):
🌟 Our EHC team who put in weeks of planning, and extra hours to prepare and help out on the day; with a special shout-out to Kerrie, who held the fort in Claire’s absence and led the team effort; and to Janet, who is temping for Claire, as well as our newcomer, Petra.
🌟 A lovely team of volunteers served in the café, helped with decking out the Centre, set- up, clearing up afterwards and were generally fabulous: Angela McChesney, Elizabeth Veal, Jetta Suni, Nicola Redfurn, Sheila Rothmann, Shelley Jackson and Tish Berriman.
🌟 Local bakeries, stores and organisations who provided sweet treats: Café Art; the Co-Op; Food for All Cornwall CIC; St Ives Foodbank; Tesco (shopping credit to purchase savoury items); Warrens Bakery;
🌟 Volunteer Baking heroes: Cheryl Canning (cakes and sausage rolls); Dinky Kennedy (lemon and courgette muffins); Elizabeth Veal (cakes and both meat and vegan sausage rolls); Laura Alway (cream tea sets); Lynne Isaacs (cake and sausage rolls); Sharron Goldingay (2 trays of cakes). What a feast!
Whether on the organising side, helping on the day, or providing such an amazing array of goodies, you are all wonderful. Our events couldn’t happen without you!
