as we conclude our final preparations for the chatsworth country fair tomorrow (4th-6th sept), i feel that it is important to remember and reflect on what has brought us to this extremely exciting (and terrifying!) event.
our trade stand journey began almost a year ago on the 26th october 2025 at a very humble market in rydale, north yorkshire where we paid just £20 for a 3m outdoor pitch. we put plenty of time and energy into our preparations - of course, back then it was just crochet plushies on sale at a price point that barely covered material, let alone the many hours ella devoted to their creation.
we arrived with a cheap garden gazebo, no weights, 2 tables and a naive optimism of sharing handmade comforts with the people of north yorkshire. the resulting setup was about what you would expect. the gazebo we had bought was not a pop-up gazebo, so required building on site - i don't think this is a particularly relatable experience but if anyone has attempted attaching thin metal rods to cheap plastic gazebo joints, covering that structure with what is essentially a giant kite, then having to flip said structure over to get it right side up, please reach out over email! the attempt went as expected and resulted in a broken gazebo which wouldn't stay on the ground.
fortunately, we were donated a spare pop-up gazebo by a very kind fellow vendor which allowed us to get set up and officially began our first ever market!
what followed was 2 and a half hours of pure misery. poor weather and a lack of advertising led to the turnout you would expect from a £20 trading fee. our setup was plain, and the wind ensured that we couldn't put any of the decorations we had planned to use on the tables, i've attached the picture of the setup to this blog. we made a grand total of 0 sales.
i think what is particularly important to us about this story is the tale of perseverance and the effort of continuous and relentless improvement. it is an extremely important philosophy which was born in that quiet car ride on the way back to york, that a humble start wouldn't define thehuggablehook, that we would continue to learn and grow through trial and a whole host of errors which we struggle not to be embarrassed about.
that brings us to today, almost a year on from that story, we find ourselves completing the final preparations for our biggest show to date, with a setup that reflects what the huggable hook is: cosy, comfortable and handmade - even down to our market displays. we are so proud of how far we've come, and we are so excited for the future - we hope you will continue to follow along.
many thanks,
josh
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