Ripon Little Bird Artisan Market will return on Monday.
The May Bank Holiday event will be the first staged by Ripon City Council for 18 months.
The covid lockdown put paid to all public and civic events planned by the council in 2020.
They included the 75th anniversary celebrations for VE Day, Saint Wilfrid’s procession and Remembrance Sunday.
Andrew Williams, council leader and chair of the city council’s events committee, said:
“For the first time in 18 months Ripon City Council is once again able to provide an event for local people to enjoy.
“I hope that as lockdown restrictions ease we will be able to return to the larger scale events that we have hosted so successfully in recent years.
“We have ambitious plans for the summer onwards and will provide further details on our plans as soon as we are able to do so.”
The time has come for Ripon City Council to stage its first event since the covid lockdown
The market will have more than 40 artisans selling homemade local products.
It will be open from 10am to 3pm and social distancing measures will be in place.
As well as providing a platform for the artisans to display and sell their goods, the council hopes it will attract footfall to benefit businesses in the city.
Items on sale will include clothing, jewellery, hand-crafted wood items and food.
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Jackie Crozier, owner and curator of Little Bird Artisan Markets, said:
“The Ripon artisan market celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit of the local traders, inviting visitors and residents to discover artisanal crafts from up-and-coming local businesses and further afield
“As someone who was born and lives in Ripon, I am very proud to hold events in the city I am passionate about.”
For more information on the artisan market or to become involved as an artist, artisan or vendor, email info@littlebirdmade.co.uk.
Dreams are coming true for Ripon entrepreneur
For many individuals and businesses, the coronavirus crisis has brought nightmares, but for Letasha Johnson it has provided a pathway to achieving her dreams.
Anxiety and sleepless nights caused by the covid 19 pandemic have seen a surge in demand for the healing, feel-good and therapeutic hand-crafted products that she makes at her Ripon home.
Orders have tripled, when compared with the same period last year.
The 24-year-old mother of two young boys, who started her business LR John Crafts four years ago, told the Stray Ferret:
“This has been a particularly difficult time for many people and they have been looking for ways to alleviate problems such as sleeplessness.”
This has brought an increase in shop and online sales for custom-designed items including dreamcatchers, inspired by those made by native American tribes and comprising a frame, webbing, ribbon, lace, feathers and semi-precious earth stones.
They are made to be placed close to beds in a position where the morning light falls on them. Legend has it that the dreamcatcher filters out nightmares and allows only good dreams through.
To catch a dream – some of the range of goods made by Letasha Johnson
Letasha said:
“In recent months, they have proved popular for people of all ages and with different needs, from those who are finding it difficult to sleep to parents whose children suffer night terrors.”
Varieties range from the more traditional round construction, to dreamcatchers in the shape of animals, whales and unicorns – which are generally custom-made for children’s bedrooms.
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Sales online through Etsy, social media and her own website are now made to 21 countries, including the USA, Australia and Hong Kong, along with orders placed by customers across the UK and other European countries.
Letasha also makes protective face masks, as well as jewellery and hair accessories including scrunchies. She supplies goods to Liz and Kevin Hill for sale in their Karma shop in Kirkgate and other outlets, including hair salons and a wellness centre in Nidderdale.
With the increasing demand for her products, she has enlisted help from her mother, sisters and friends to handle orders and, in the longer term, hopes to employ other skilled crafts people, working in their own homes and making the range of products.
Letasha said:
“When I left college a few years ago, I knew that I wanted to develop a crafts-based business and, with help from a lot of people, I am pleased to say that my dreams are becoming reality.”