Carlisle’s Teenage Market is continuing to capture the imagination of the area’s young entrepreneurs with all stalls at the December market booked with 24 hours of the event being advertised.
The Christmas Teenage Market is being held in partnership between Cumberland Council and The Lanes Shopping Centre. The market will be held in The Lanes on Saturday 2 December, which coincides with this year’s Small Business Saturday.
The Teenage Market will complement the Carlisle Christmas Market which is being held in the city centre between Friday 1 and Saturday 17 December.
Supported by the High Street Taskforce, the Teenage Market is a fast-growing nationwide initiative set up by teenage brothers Joe and Tom Barratt in Stockport to transform our town and city centres with the creativity of young people.
The Teenage Market offers young people aged between 8 and 25 years old the opportunity to gain experience of making, selling and marketing their own products. Young performers can also have the chance to take part with performance opportunities throughout the day.
Whilst all stalls are now booked there are still opportunities to perform at the market. If you are singer, dancer, actor, musician or comedian sign up and get involved! Simply create your performer profile on the Teenage Market website - and then apply to take part in the Carlisle Teenage Market on Saturday 2 December 2023.
With over 44,000 people visiting the centre on the same weekend last year the Teenage Market is a fantastic opportunity for young traders, performers, dance or theatre schools to raise their profile within the city.
Councillor Anne Quilter, Executive Member for Vibrant and Healthy Places at Cumberland Council said:
“We are delighted that the Teenage Market is going from strength to strength within Carlisle and that it is continuing to attract young traders from across Cumberland.
“We are pleased to be working with The Lanes Shopping Centre on this event and thank them for providing our young people with the opportunity to trade within a different retail environment, I am sure that our young entrepreneurs will really enjoy this experience.
“I am sure that there will be some fantastic Christmas themed items for sale at the market and I hope that as many people as possible support our amazing young people, by buying from these local businesses.”
Susan Young, Manager of The Lanes Shopping Centre added:
“We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Teenage Market team at Cumberland Council to support the Christmas Teenage Market by hosting the event within The Lanes Shopping Centre. The Lanes is pleased to be able to offer local young traders the opportunity to sell within an indoor retail environment and we believe that this event will really complement the Christmas shopping experience for our customers.”
Co-creator of The Teenage Market, Joe Barratt, said:
‘Taking part in Teenage Market events not only gives young people across the country the free opportunity to grow their small businesses, but it also helps them develop really important life skills for the future, such as building confidence and better communication.
“With a recent survey from the National Association of British Market Authorities also finding that only 8% of market traders are under the age of 40, there has never been a more important time to identify the market traders of tomorrow. I applaud the work that Cumberland Council are doing in this area, by working in partnership with the government’s High Streets Task Force to bring a regular programme of Teenage Market events to Carlisle and hope that the local community continue to show their generous support for the inspiring young people involved in our events.’
Millie Hadden, 17, is taking part in the market for the second time. Millie is selling homemade crafts such as decorated candles, children’s games, wooden pencil holders and other seasonal items to fund raise for a trip to Malaysia where she will be supporting conservation projects.
Millie shared with us more information about her planned trip. She said:
“Whilst in Malaysia I will learn from local villages about their efforts to reduce the local pet trade of the native sea turtles. I will partake in night patrols along beaches, build hatcheries and monitor the hatchlings from the nests. The trip is all environmentally friendly with the aim to be as carbon neutral as possible! I am fundraising all of the money for equipment and trip fees myself so every little helps! I also have a face book page @Millies World Challenge 2024.”
A mum of one young trader shared with us how being part of the Teenage Market has benefited her daughter, she said:
“My daughter is a relatively shy and retiring 11 year old and I encouraged her to participate in the Teenage Market primarily to boost her confidence in speaking to people. She quickly got into the swing of things and even started offering deals and suggestions as opposed to just taking money! Preparing for the market also gave her something to do at weekends - she thought of stock to sell and prepare and calculated prices. In addition, it opened up discussions about profit margins and she even brokered a "loan" from her Grandparents to buy supplies!”
If you are looking for some different, locally produced presents and stocking fillers for Christmas this year, whilst also supporting local young traders and performers, visit the Carlisle Teenage Market in The Lanes Shopping Centre on Saturday 2 December, between 10.30am and 3.30pm. To apply to be performer visit the Teenage Market website.
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