Sunday 6 December 2009

Linton Farmers Market

James went off to a wedding this weekend & I stood in, roping in my dear new husband for moral support (and to lift the heavy stuff of course). Yesterday we took some of Jim's fabulous rare breed pork to Linton Farmers Market.

A half day market, it was very busy, with lots of people shopping for Christmas joints to freeze til they need them. We tempted everyone with tastings of a cold roast shoulder, which worked a treat - we sold every joint! Our award-winning sausages also went down a storm. We came away feeling extremely proud of ourselves, particularly since the cashbox told the same story meaning we could carry it home like a trophy.

It was really interesting to experience a farmer's market as a trader, since I'm so often on the other side of the stall. I learned a lot about making sales - there's a very fine line between being too pushy and gently persuading people to purchase for the first time. My experience of being a customer myself made me cautious initially, but I soon realised that people are genuinely interested in our story of local farming, and our family's support of rare breeds really does catch the imagination. The number of repeat customers was really heart-warming, with so many saying that they'd stopped buying anyone else's pork! It helped having two of us working the stall so that we could talk to so many more people. I also needed the mathmatical abilities of my other half as I realised my mental arithmatic is seriously rusty!

Linton Farmers Market is held every first Saturday of each month, from 9.30 to 12.30, at Linton Village College in Cambridgeshire, which is here: http://www.farmersfayres.co.uk/linton.html
PLEASE NOTE: there won't be a market in January.

Other friendly stall holders included: Artistry In Cocoa, Jane's Cupcakes, Laura's Cakes & Cookies, Cobs Bakery

Juliet D-H

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