Local sellers at Sheffield’s first ever Makers’ Market said they “can’t compete” with established companies such as Amazon and IKEA.

All Good Stuff (AGS), a non-profit that promotes Sheffield’s local artists, designers, and artisans, hosted its inaugural Makers’ Market last Saturday.

Dawn Ireland, a textile artist with nearly 30 years of experience, said as an independent artist “you can’t really compete” against the likes of Amazon and Ikea. 

In 1994, she set up her own business as an independent artist and now sells embroidery, vintage fabrics, stamps, and postcards.

Her experiences while exhibiting her products have varied, and she said it is key that an event is “well advertised”.

Ms Ireland found Saturday’s Makers’ Market “a little bit slow” due to technical difficulties, and also felt unsure whether a lot of people would be arriving at the event when “there’s a lot happening in the city this weekend”.

She believes that local artisans have to rely on different factors for things to work out, including people realising that the products are handmade, and that the “right people come to visit” during exhibitions.

Rosie Butcher, who creates a variety of handcrafted cards, was one of the exhibitors.

She said: “When you do something, and then you go to a high street place, and you see [a product] for less, it’s a bit demoralising.”

Ms Butcher said the idea of making “something very personalised that means a lot” to a customer is what motivates her to keep going.

Stella Eden, another artisan, specialises in soy wax candles, and started her business ‘Getting on Me Wick’ during the COVID-19 lockdown. She researched ways to calm anxiety and began experimenting with essential oils before deciding to make her own candles that may help a person feel calmer when they are dealing with anxiety.

She said: “We make things by hand, which takes longer, and [because of] our costs and everything, I can’t compete with the mass production.”

Looking at the positives, the artists shared that while it is difficult to compete against largely manufactured goods and their price points, there is still an audience that exists for handcrafted products. 

Ms Ireland said: “I think it’s just finding the right audience for the work. Events like this are good because people can meet the maker and find out a little bit more about how the work is made.

“When people meet artists and makers, I think that helps.”

Ms Eden’s experience at exhibitions has largely been positive, as she highlighted the support of a great community. She also talked about the downside of the reality, where she feels that “we live in a society where it’s more focused on Amazon, and really fast, mass produced items”.

She said that she still has “a lot of customers who want something that’s handmade, and they will pay for more of a quality item”.

Speaking about the support in Sheffield for local artisans, Ms Eden said people are very supportive in the city, and “it’s a wonderful place to make things”.

She shared an instance that reinforced her motivation to continue with her business. One day a woman walked into the store as the then unreleased ‘Joy Candle’ was burning, and loved the smell so much she bought it for her wedding.

Ms Eden said: “She had all her friends and her family there and she said the feeling was just overwhelming and she just never forgets that day and on her wedding anniversary.

“I was so honoured that even though I wasn’t there, I felt like I was [at her wedding] because she got the joy candle burning, so that brought me so much happiness and joy.”

The woman now always buys the same candle on her wedding anniversary to give to her friends and family.

For Dawn Ireland, it is the positive feedback from people that drives her to continue with her business.

Ms Ireland said: “They see my work and the reaction I get from people that like my work and that makes me think, ‘Yeah, this is why I’m doing it’. Not only do I enjoy making, but when I see people appreciating it, people buying my work, it really makes it worthwhile.”