Frodsham Monthly Vintage and Handmade Market Pitch for Frodsham Community Ideas Fund

About Me I am a 22 year old online entrepreneur - I run a vintage themed fashion boutique at http://www.yurei.co.uk My background is in digital marketing, I’m adept at business promotion through social media, SEO, website development and blogging. I have great experience in event planning. I ran Frodsham Vintage Christmas Fair last December with 200+ attendees, and I am running the market and vintage activities in collaboration with the Roatry club for ‘Frodsham Vintage and Handmade Festival’ in July. I have lived in Helsby for 11 years, and networked with many local small businesses, I’m passionate about buying from small scale entrepreneurs. I have spent the last year touring vintage fairs with my business around the country.

Funding We Require We are looking for £200 of funding to give our initial marketing a boost. I have my own business which will be a trader at the event, so I’m not interested in making a profit through hosting. Each month we will charge a rate under £10 to cover hall hire costs, which is paid by traders, ensuring the event can support itself in the future. Initial marketing however, will be difficult to cover by traders alone. We will need generic banners we can use each month, a Facebook advertising budget to boost attendees at the first event, posters to put in local businesses, flyers and more.

Costs Breakdown Item Required Price W/ VAT Postage Total Banner Small 24.00 28.80 3.00 31.80 Banner Large + Outdoor Material + Grommits 43.66 52.39 55.39 Large Sign for Picket 11.99 14.39 17.38 50 Single Sided A4 Posters 19.99 0.00 250 A6 Leaflets 19.49 FB Page Advertising 35.00 -- FB Event Advertising 20.00 £199.05

About Frodsham Monthly Vintage and Handmade Market After networking with many local small businesses I realised many are based at home, and cannot afford their own retail space. Business rates and rent aren’t viable in Frodsham for specialist small businesses. A monthly event would give traders a regular presence in the local community, where they can network, build up contacts, show off products and build their reputation. The event will be held on one saturday each month in the Parish Hall, Church Street. It will have a seasonal theme and ‘vintage tearoom’ to draw people in, and up to 20 traders. I already have a list of more than 30 businesses who are interested due to my previous events. This market will sell vintage, crafts, handmade items and homewares, homebaked foods, and very little which is ‘mass-produced’ making it unlike and non-competitive to the weekly Thursday market in Frodsham.

How would this help Frodsham? If small home businesses are given the initial boost in visibility, sales, community and networking, they are able to grow quicker and contribute to the local economy, perhaps leading to some traders eventually buying retail space in Frodsham, diversifying the high-street. A regular local event should be of interest to the communities of Frodsham, Helsby and the surrounding villages. Many people I have spoken to are excited about the prospect of ‘shopping local’. Please see the comments here: www.facebook.com/FrodshamVintageFestival/posts/1562400393972697 I find as a young person, many of my friends and people my age are moving away from rural communities after university as they don’t see many opportunities here. There’s a huge trend for young entrepreneurs at the moment, so giving young people somewhere local to test out a new business or idea is an inspiring concept that might encourage more to stay and get involved in the communities they grew up in.

Conclusion Frodsham is known as a ‘Small Market Town’, and we’re very lucky to still be able to shop at an independent bakers, a butchers, a produce store and more on our high street. However, if we want to secure a future economy where Frodsham is still a market town, we need to give a boost to small businesses who want to compete with giants such as Sainsburies, Tesco, Costa, Subway and other large names. I hope my idea will contribute to a creative, energetic and vibrant business community in Frodsham, where small businesses can help each other grow. These businesses will add something unique, special and will encourage people to travel out of their way to visit Frodsham - unlike businesses they might already have in their own areas. If we are going to keep Frodsham alive, diverse and modern, we need to help small businesses.

Useful Links My business: http://www.yurei.co.uk/ Frodsham Vintage and Handmade Festival: https://www.facebook.com/FrodshamVintageFestival My CV/Linked In : http://uk.linkedin.com/in/kirstieannpim Info About Frodsham Vintage Christmas Fair http://www.yurei.co.uk/frodsham-vintage-christmas-fair/