Today we are pleased to catch up with the wonderful Mary McDermott of We Make London to find out all about her inspiring work helping designers sell their handmade work to the public via top notch events and what she has planned for 2012!
We Make London Summer Popup Boutique at Oak Studios, Hampstead
We Make London is known as one of the premier handmade events organisers in London, can you tell us how it all started?
We Make London started as there was a need for fairs in London that weren't full of mass produced, imported items. On the chat forums of Etsy, a conversation started on affordable fairs in London. It was quickly established that the only fairs that fitted the criteria cost hundreds of pounds to participate in, so we decided to put on a fair ourselves. The original team of five had no previous experience in putting on an event but all had one common aim; to showcase their work in an environment in which it can be appreciated. The first fair was a success very much by trial and error, an experience which in itself is very important. There was then a lot of interest for a second fair and it all progressed from there.
The We Make London Team - Mary, Julie and Donna
Do you and the rest of the team have any formal training/experience which helps you organise and manage these wonderful events?
In the sense of Event Management, no. It's been an amazing experience learning the skills needed to organise our events along the way. I think that's what makes We Make events special. If any of us had any formal training and experience, there are certain things we might have done differently. We may have taken a more formal/ corporate approach to things, which would have lost the vibe and community feel to our events. But with a drive and a passion for what we do and and excitement for what's coming next we have achieved a lot.
We do have our own areas of expertise that has helped along the way like Graphic Design, Team Management, Organisational Skills, etc. We have made decisions and then thought "oh my god is this really happening?". For example the leap from a small hall to somewhere like Chelsea Town Hall. This has taught me two things:
- If you are following your dream and doing something you love and believe in you can achieve it, although no one is saying it will be easy and smooth sailing; and
- definitely don't take any mistakes as a failure, look at the mistakes and learn from them after all that's a more valuable lesson than any text book jargon.
The other thing it has taught me is if something feels right to you, no matter how scary it may seem, take the chance. You'll be surprised at what you can achieve. Just believe in your decision, work hard and it will happen.
Handmade has experienced such a huge renaissance over the past few years, why do you think this is?
There are a number of things I think has helped, mainly designers/ makers/ organisers/ tutors, etc pushing themselves to get the word out and making people aware of the beauty of Handmade. There are also a lot of workshops now all over the country, from beginners to advanced, that anyone can book a place on. This allows people to appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into handmade products. People that take part in workshops either realise they have a talent and it inspires them to make themselves and enter the world of Handmade or they realise they aren't really cut out for making things but can see the hard work and skill that goes into peoples work. Either way they are more aware of Handmade.
We Make Christmas at Chelsea Town Hall
It's clear that We Make London are passionate about showcasing the best handmade work in top notch venues; do you feel this is an important part of rebranding the handmade image?
I hope so, when we first started there were a lot of people that still thought of handmade as just craft and granny knitting and selling in church halls. So by showcasing amazing work, in beautiful buildings we have definitely shown people that this is not the case.
What inspired you to set up We Make London and what was the experience like; was there anything in particular that helped?
What inspired us to set up was our love for our own work. We wanted a place to sell our handmade items but at the time there were very few fairs that catered for designer/makers. They were either too expensive or they accepted resellers, so we were trying to sell our work amongst cheap imports. I think the real thing that helped us in the beginning and still does now is the enjoyment we experience in what we do and the sense of community and bringing like minded people together. I often hear feedback from our events that there is very much a community feel amongst the designers. We have a lot of regulars that have been part of our events over the last few years. This really helps to create the right vibe at our events.
Does We Make London have any predictions for the future of handmade in the UK; do you feel it will continue to grow in popularity?
I think it will most definitely continue to grow in popularity. More and more people are learning to make things and appreciating the workmanship that goes into handmade products. With the state of the economy at the moment, people are very careful with what they buy and from where. This has made them think more about where the products come from, where their money goes when they purchase, etc.
By buying handmade they know they are helping to support someone else trying to make a living for themselves rather than high street shops. I would love to see handmade on the high street becoming the norm. There is so much talent in the UK, why buy products mass produced and imported from abroad.
What do you love most about putting on We Make London events and what do you find the most frustrating?
I love the amazing work showcased at each of our events, we are continually blown away by the quality level at each event. I also love Event Management so I think I have a pretty special job. The most frustrating thing I think is time, there is never enough time in the day. If I can just make a clone to do all my admin work that would be amazing.
We Make London Summer Popup Boutique Goodies at Oak Studios, Hampstead
Organising such huge events at prestigious venues such as Chelsea Town Hall must be very hard work; what inspires you to keep going?
The amazing designers that we showcase at each event. If we can keep producing events that help to showcase their amazing talent and help educate buyers about the wonderful products made with love locally, then the hard work is worth it. I also really enjoy what I do, so if you enjoy your work that goes a very long way.
What are you most proud of in terms of We Make London's achievements and why?
I was really proud of the Pop Up Shop. We have had some amazing feedback. I am also really proud of the fact that we work hard to make every event better than the previous one.
We Make London Summer Popup Boutique Goodies at Oak Studios, Hampstead
We Make London's summer popup boutique at Oak Studios in Hampstead has been a roaring success; is this something We Make London plans to continue?
Most definitely, one thing we learnt from some of our regular visitors to our events is that the shop format was easier for people to browse, they loved everything being displayed in one place rather than lots of stalls. So it's nice for them to experience both types of events through us.
How has the experience of organising a popup shop differed from putting on a large fair?
It's definitely a lot more work. It was such an amazing experience curating a whole shop. The current team had no experience in working in a shop let alone setting one up. But again, we believed in We Make and worked extremely hard to put the shop together. People will probably argue that a 10 day shop is completely different to a 1 or 2 day fair and in way it is, but if you have a extremely good understanding of the people you are creating the events for then it doesn't matter if its a shop, fair, networking event, etc. The approach is exactly the same as they are all targeted at the same audience. I have attended a lot of networking events, fairs, crafting events etc over the last 3 years which has given me a good understanding of our audience. Also, being designers ourselves helps considerably as we already know what designers want and expect from an event.
What can we look forward to from We Make London for the rest of 2011?
Possibly another Pop Up Shop, more fairs, some outdoor events, and a Christmas fair. To keep up to date with all our events and news joining our mailing list which you can find over on our website and blog:
http://www.wemakelondon.co.uk/index.html
Comments
exposure !!
Hello, I could do with some help, there i've said it. I am very very passionate about what i do, and i most weekends at events i hear people say "wow, i have never seen anything like that before" My products need some exposure as a picture just isnt the same. I am keen to get my work in new areas, shops, galleries etc. Also, i am keen to hear what others think regards what i should be making apart from what i have done, so any ideas would be most welcome. Thanks very much, WaynePost new comment