Andy Munns
With just a few weeks to go until Christmas, a new pop-up shop showcasing locally made products has launched in time for the festive season.
The Wiltshire Makers pop-up shop is located within the Old George Mall Shopping Centre in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Started in November 2020, Wiltshire Makers is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company that showcases artisans from across Wiltshire and neighbouring areas or those with products intrinsically linked to the County.
To date, the organisation has been attending events and markets across the County and online, selling on behalf of many Artisans.
In the last year, the organisation has also organised their own successful markets at St. Thomas’s Church in Salisbury and in Michael Herbert Hall, Wilton.
The Chair of the Wiltshire Makers CIC, Claire Burden said, “This has been a long time coming and there has been a huge amount of effort behind the scenes to make this dream a reality.
“We received the keys at 6 pm on Friday 8th December and the Mayor cut the ribbon on Saturday 9th December at 10 am!
“A huge thanks to the team of volunteers who made it all possible. The response so far from the public has been overwhelming, and we have had nearly a thousand people through the doors this weekend.”
The Pop-Up shop has an initial licence for 6 months, but Claire hopes this can continue longer; she added, “We are truly grateful to the Old George Mall and their management company for providing a great location and store for the pop-up. We would love to see as many people as possible over the next few months and show your support by shopping local this festive season.”
The Mayor of Salisbury, Councillor Atiqul Hoque, who cut the ribbon on opening day, said, “It was an honour to open the new Wiltshire Makers pop-up shop on Saturday. It is always great to see a new business coming to the City; one that supports local artisans right here on the doorstep is even more special. I would like to wish Claire and her team the very best with this venture.”
A volunteer team will run the Pop-Up Shop; if you would like to help, please get in touch with the team via email info@wiltshiremakers.co.uk
The venture has received a grant from the Salisbury Area Board to enable data gathering in store, such as EPOS till and footfall counters.
There are lots of ideas in the pipeline, and the Pop-Up shop has its own crowdfunding page, https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/wiltshire-makers-pop-up-shop
Artisans interested in being involved in the project can find full details on the Wiltshire Makers website www.wiltshiremakers.co.uk
