We’re back!
Block out the next two Fridays because ARTE, The Makers Market is back and it is better than ever! Actually we never went away; we were just ‘on pause’!
Catch our crafters and their stunning pieces at Mercato Mall, this Friday 18th September from 10 am – 10 pm and at Times Square Centre next Friday 25th September from 10am – 6pm.
Just as butterflies burst forth from their cocoons to navigate the world once more with an added change and a lot of beauty, so do we and we can’t wait to see you all again on this journey.
It’s been a strange hibernation period for us all. Many of you have sent your children back to classrooms and re-joined the office. Some of us braved the skies again and others, the supermarket! We are all in this together and at ARTE Market, we’re taking every possible precaution to welcome you back with confidence, safety and as much magic as possible.
What To Expect
The ARTE Makers Market brings you a personalised experience in wide-open spaces without the confines of shop walls. In line with government guidelines, we will be keeping a distance of 2 metres between each vendor. We will be asking all our visitors to remain vigilant not to over-crowd any one stall. We will allow one customer at a time at a vendor’s table, unless they are shopping together as a family. The great news is you will really get to appreciate and connect to the products that catch your eye and have meaningful conversations with the maker, learning the story and process that each piece carries with it. Keep an eye out for ‘Do Not Touch’ signs – most vendors will ask you to sanitize your hands or wear disposable gloves (provided) before touching their products, wherever this is practical and possible. We are approaching this on a maker-by-maker discretion and for some, the nature of their products may make sterilizing difficult which is why you may be asked not to handle unless buying. Alternatively, you may request the vendor to handle that bar of soap, or hold up that piece of jewellery for you, which will minimise the number of different people handling display items.
A Sneak Peak
We are so proud of our ARTE family and how they’ve rallied together, worked harder than ever and sought new ways to bring you their beautiful creations over the past six months. The craft community has been busy! Designers, merchandisers, entrepreneurs and artisan families – normally tucked away in their own secret workshops perfecting their craft and continuing traditions – have been brainstorming together in new collaborations and concepts. Zoom, WhatsApp groups, Facebook and IG Lives have been pulsing with the word ‘crafts’ and ‘craftspeople’ in ways that have never happened before – the result has been wonderful! But the community have remained ever hopeful for the opportunity to grace our market with their ‘makes’ once more, because no matter what, you can’t smell a candle or soap online, sample handmade confections or stumble onto something you never knew you needed or wanted without the stalls and booths of a craft market. And of course, they provide the biggest bonus of them all: the personal connections we’ve all been missing over the past six months.
ARTE’s artisans will therefore, as always, be offering a bit of everything! Expect to find pieces of all price ranges, colours, and designs; of re-imagined traditions and never-seen-before creations. For a recap on our talent, make sure to search the hashtag #artethemakersmarket on social for a sneak peek of what will be on offer.
Don’t Miss Out
We can all agree that half the charm of a craft object is the appreciation of the making process, the personalities of the makers themselves, the tradition which they are carrying forward or the innovation they are bringing. The magic of a craft market not only lies in the splendour of pieces which are on offer, but to have the maker tell the story, show the material, and explain the technique that transforms it. Whether through weaving, painting, carving or forging, their pieces are literally ONE-OF-A-KIND that no automated factory can replicate. ARTE makes are handmade, so that whatever you do choose to buy, only you in the whole-wide-world will own that one unique item – We’re not talking one in a million, we’re talking a one in 7 billion pieces to keep or gift or treasure!
We can’t wait to see you all again!