Trader Information - Crafty Fox Market at Shambala 2025
The countdown is very much ON for Shambala - I hope all the preparations are going well. I won’t be joining you myself this year. Instead you will be in the very capable hands of Rae of Yay Rae Flay fame! Although not actually trading this year, Rae has traded with us a number of times before - please do talk to her if you have any issues at all while at the festival. Rae’s number is 07891603202
Arrival times are 1 - 6pm (Weds) or 9 - 11am (Thurs). Ideally you will arrive on Wednesday if possible. There is NO vehicle access to the site on Thursday so if you want to drive your things up to the marquee, you will need to arrive on Wednesday - otherwise it’s a case of walking things onto site. You will need a high-vis vest to be on site on the Wednesday and up until midday on Thursday and the Monday as it is classed as a building site on these days.
Although I can’t say for sure what the site layout will be, in previous years, we’ve been next to the circus tent Windy Van Hooten’s (see image). It has a distinctive arch at the top of the tent with a red roof. This may be a useful landmark if you are struggling to locate the Crafty Tent onsite.
Here is the table layout for our marquee (not to scale):
Trading hours are 2pm - 7pm on the Thursday and 11am - 7pm on the other days. PLEASE be on time every day - the market only functions if everyone plays their part!! You can eat your breakfast or put on makeup at the marquee but just make sure someone is there to look after your stall.
At the end of every day, we close up the marquee but bear in mind, it’s not 100% secure. There are (chargable) lockers on site where you can store cash or valuables. There is also the option to lock things in your car. We recommend you pack away your products overnight into storage boxes under your stall rather than leaving them out. This also provides protection against any overnight dampness in the air. Crafty Fox Market is not responsible for any loss or damages of products.
We have paid for trader WIFI but as with any festival scenario, there are no guarantees that it will work! Our experience of WIFI at Shambala in the past is that it has worked fairly well but isn’t 100% reliable. Please also be prepared for cash sales - there are cash machines onsite and Shambala ask that all traders also accept cash.
We will be providing a small PA system - if you want to plug in your phone or an ipod with a playlist, you are very welcome to play DJ.
It really helps to engage with customers as much as possible during the festival. Think about the signage on your stall and getting across the message that your products are handmade / sustainable. If you can offer anything interactive, that can also really help to get customers chatting. You should also make sure your pricing is clear.
If you are selling larger products or anything which can be easily damaged (eg.prints), you may find it helpful to offer a postage service where you send products to people after the festival. Alternatively, you could offer to hold the products until Sunday when they can pick them up.
Although we are hoping it won’t rain (!), you may find you need to protect your products from damp. The floor of the marquee is grass so it might be worth bringing plastic boxes to store stock in or perhaps an outdoor rug to put beneath your stall. It might also be useful to have large plastic bags to keep things in overnight in case of rain.
Please bring as much decor as possible to make your stall colourful and inviting. If your stall is positioned along an edge, you may wish to bring a large piece of colourful fabric to create a backdrop to your stall. You will also need to bring a tablecloth with you.
Rae will be at the marquee every day - please talk to her if you have any issues at all. It’s much better to deal with things as they arise rather than finding out later that there’s been a problem.
Sustinability is very much at the core of the Shambala ethos. Please note: ‘Shambala does not allow distribution of promotional flyers, posters or stickers of any kind. Please do not bring or distribute these waste items at the event. We are working towards a circular economy where all materials used at the event are repurposed or have a planned life-cycle.’ You will find the official Shambala trader guide HERE (password craftopia) which contains more information on their sustainability policy. Please take the time to read this. Don’t forget your reusable cup.
Wifi - do not share the trader network with anyone – this is a dedicated network for contactless machines only. There are other networks available for browsing or work. We need to protect the network - social posts should be completed before trading hours.
You may wish to bring a spare phone (if you have one) which only has the payment app on it. This will enable you to leave it with another person on your stall if you wish to move around site with your own phone.
Crew Catering Tent
Although we don’t have access to crew catering, there is a hot water urn available in the catering tent which you can use throughout the festival to make hot drinks or snacks.
Pack-Down
You can leave after 7pm on the Sunday but you won’t be able to get any vehicles onsite until Monday afternoon so you would need to be able to walk your gear off site. You may wish to bring a festival trolley to help you with this. Bear in mind that wheely suitcases won’t work if it’s wet.