A FOOD and crafts market which is helping to maintain a village hall is also stitching social bonds together in a rural area of Swansea.
Upwards of 30 traders attend the monthly market in Felindre and celebrations were in the air last Saturday when it marked its second anniversary.
Rhian Ivey helped get Felindre Food and Crafts Market up and running with other members of the committee who run the community’s village hall. She said something needed to be done as financial support for the hall was lacking.
“We had to come up with ideas,” said Miss Ivey. Although she works in finance in London she lived in Felindre when she was younger and said it always had a place in her heart. Around a year before the market started she and her younger sister Carys Ivey had turned a candle-making hobby into a venture called HollyStar Candle Company.
Having started attending crafts markets herself she sought to incorporate the bits of them into the new one in Felindre – a community with many Welsh speakers around seven miles north of Swansea city centre.
“It’s a beautiful spot here, and we’ve got an indoor area and outdoor area,” said Miss Ivey. “The indoor area is great for rainy days. The market has a nice community feel. Lots of people locally bring their produce.
“New customers are coming every month. We always ask people where they’re from – last Saturday a lady said she’d come from Bristol with her family.”
The market is held on the last Saturday of the month in the grounds of the village hall. Miss Ivey said great effort was made to avoid duplicating what was on offer, so you wouldn’t come across four cupcakes stalls for example.
“There’s nothing worse for a trader than competing with one opposite you,” she said. “It’s about giving everyone a fair chance.”
Her mother, Audrey Ivey, of Felindre, sells home-grown veg and herbs. “I was born in the village and we’ve always had a large vegetable garden and glasshouses,” she said. “When the market started I thought I would start a stall, and it has turned out wonderful.”
Rhubarb, potatoes and herbs were among the seasonal produce for sale at her stall, Gardd Arosfa, last week and she said beetroot will be ready for the June market. “I do chat with people there, and they ask me questions,” she said.
Johanna Davison, who makes silver jewellery, takes her wares to the market. “It’s very much a social experience, there’s a good turnout and it does well for me,” she said. “It’s very much a community day out.” The trained beautician, of Morriston, began making silver as a hobby six years ago and now her business, Joon Silver, is her work and passion.
“I concentrate on online sales, but I don’t want to be stuck in my workshop,” she said. Customers at the market, she said, appreciated how her jewellery was made. “You’ve got the bruises on your hand!” she said.
Market volunteers such as Paul Northcote, who helps with parking and welcomes customers, are from the area. Lamb and beef reared locally is sold by Felindre farmers Glyn and Sue Morgan, also of the village hall committee.
One customer at last Saturday’s market said everything there was “top notch.” She said: “There’s such a variation of things to buy.”
The planned appearance of a fire engine and firefighters from Morriston last Saturday proved popular with younger visitors. Proceeds from the market are re-invested in the village hall, said Miss Ivey, with some also used for marketing and publicity.
Felindre has a pub, Shepherds Country Inn, but no shop. Six years ago the primary school closed despite stiff opposition.
“It is remote,” said Miss Ivey of Felindre. “But it’s just a lovely area and there is a really community feel up here.”
