Creative business the BIC helped start up, All Kinds of Murals
Last weekend saw me venture to a local craft fair here in Sunderland.
The fair had something to suit everyone, from a range of beautiful hand crafted, vintage items, and quirky wooden clocks to recycled material handbags. What I enjoy most about these local events is being able to chat to the people behind the stalls.
It still amazes me how much resilience the people in Sunderland have and as I walked around and chatted one thing struck me the most, the majority of the people working their stalls on a weekend were doing this out of passion and were in full time employment in their “day job.”
Creative people are always at craft fairs and finding work in full time employment in the creative industries is becoming increasingly difficult but the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC want to reach out to those who are lucky enough to be in the creative industry already or are wanting to start up and leave their day job behind. A series of free practical workshops delivered by creative practitioners, including marketing the business, costing and pricing your work as well as social media and of course the big one – networking.
As I said I love attending craft fairs and seeing what people can create and sell and likewise what people are willing to buy but I want to see those behind their stalls doing what they love full time and making sure that Sunderland doesn’t lose its entrepreneurial spirit.
Craft fairs are a great way to buy local, promote local and promote our Sunderland businesses and entrepreneurs.
Working in the creative sector like so many of these businesses is a huge boost to the local economy, something which we should be supportive of in every way we can, both as buyers and sellers. We see so many clients with business ideas for new, innovative and creative companies. It’s a real pleasure to be able to assist them in their business journey contributing towards the greater good.