Artisan market nearing second anniversary

A market which celebrates the talented artisans of East Otago is approaching its two-year anniversary.

The Waikouaiti Artisan Markets (also known as the Otago Artisan Market), held at the East Otago Events Centre, were founded by Lisa Willmott, who moved to Waikouaiti from Canberra, Australia.

The first market was held on May 9, 2024.

Miss Willmott said she began the event after noticing there were no markets in the area.

‘‘I couldn’t understand why there wasn’t a market when there are so many talented people here, so I put out a post on the local Facebook pages to see what the community thought and they were very interested to have a market,’’ she said.

While the original markets were an ‘‘everything’’ market, Miss Willmott said the feedback from stallholders and the public was they wanted ‘‘artisan-only’’ markets.

‘‘There are people that make bags and candles. Last month, we had somebody that was customising putting photos on to magnets.

‘‘There’s jewellery and there are two ladies, one that makes blankets and the other makes handmade jackets for kids, so we have a whole range of things,’’ she said.

Miss Willmott’s mother, Julie Willmott, also runs a canteen at the market selling soft drinks, lollies, chips, chocolates and toasted sandwiches.

The markets are generally held on the first Sunday of the month although due to Easter there was no market in April.

‘‘People seem to really like it,’’ Miss Willmott said.

‘‘Crowds were down the first couple of months this year, which I found was the same last year as well post-Christmas, and especially with everything now that is going on in the world, it makes it a bit harder, but we still have the crowd and the stallholders all left the last market in March saying they had a good day and made good sales, so that’s really good, that’s what makes me happy,’’ she said.

The next Waikouaiti Artisan Markets is on May 3.