Saturday 30th October
8:30am and the arrival of the vendors began. The variety of merchandise to be sold by the vendors was wide, from coffees from the Arcadian soils to art pieces that you find in the like of in any reputable art gallery. Saturday 30th October was the day of the first ever JustBe Small Business Fayre, hosted in the church hall of Peckham Rye Baptist Church in Southwark.
As the vendors arrived and began setting up their merchandise, there was an atmosphere that spoke to a sense of belonging and togetherness. Here we were, talented, gifted and creative people united by our fellowship with JustBe and joining together to be the pioneers of this celebration of diversity in our craftsmanship. For some of the vendors, like ourselves (Snoodsnhoods) this was the first Pop-Up that we had been able to be a part of since the pandemic restrictions.
At first, the day started very quiet and slow with hardly any customers from the public and as the curious vendors we are, we used the opportunity to check out each other’s stalls and dare I say took the opportunity to get first pick of the merchandise on offer. However, by the ingenuity of our hosts, they decided to go outside the venue to usher the public in to view the bounty that was on offer for their perusal. Their presence added to the already wonderful atmosphere we had in our midst. The day continued with sales, enquires, networking and one of the highlights of the day ‘The raffle’ where numerous prizes were up for the taking.
As the day came to an end and it was time to pack down our tables and stock. It was not say goodbye to the end of a trade day but (and we all were in agreement) that this was a ‘hello’ to the first of many JustBe Fayres.
Stella Betton, Snoodsnhoods
