Payers Park
Every Friday (2pm – 7.30pm) and Saturday (11am – 5pm) from 20 November – 5 December.
Thanks to funding from Arts Council England, Creative Foundation and The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust a new programme of Student Makers Markets will take place across Kent this Christmas including a Christmas market in Folkestone’s Creative Quarter.
Student Makers Markets are vibrant street markets that offer creative young people FREE stalls and training to help them start up in business. Not just for students, any young maker is welcome to get involved and the team are currently recruiting local young creatives.
Markets are taking place between Payers Park and The Old High Street in Folkestone every Friday (2pm – 7.30pm) and Saturday (11am – 5pm). The market begins on Friday 20 November with the Christmas Lights Switch On event and ends on Saturday 5 December.
The work on sale, created by talented young makers aged from 16 to 30 will range from fabulous fine art to fashion, jewellery and gifts. Hand-made, unique and limited edition, they make the most perfect presents for family and friends. There will also be a programme of music, family workshops and demonstrations running across the weekends.
Alongside the markets, Future Foundry, the company that have developed the programme, supply free training workshops to help the young makers start their businesses and prepare for the markets.
Director Lisa Oulton said:
‘Research shows that those most likely to start businesses when young are the creative community, who then struggle to survive and grow due to lack of experience and business support. We created the markets to give young people a fantastic experience, accessible business training and valuable connections to other practitioners, cultural organizations and the business community’.
Future Foundry have partnered with The Design Trust to deliver a bespoke programme of training. Director Patricia van den Akker said:
‘We are very pleased to be involved, it's a wonderful experience to work with such an enthusiastic group of young, creative people. They contributed so many great ideas, creativity and enthusiasm to the online training I gave. It's infectious!’
The workshops will take place between November and December and are free to student makers. If you or a young person you know would like to take part please contact Lisa Oulton at info@futurefoundry.org.uk, or find the Student Makers Market on Facebook or Twitter.