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We’ve had an amazing high season this year, extending from 19th December to about 10th January when many people went back to work. There were a lot of international, mainly European visitors who loved interacting with the artists. Many artists made a special effort to be there as often as possible to maximise their opportunities over the period. Visitors particularly enjoyed watching them as they worked on site, finishing off special commissions or making more stock as their products sold.
Our gallery area was new this season and was very successful at catching people’s interest. It’s filled with one of a kind, limited edition pieces and high quality collectors’ items, in particular the best of the trophy heads, made from both beaded wire and various recycled materials. These proved to be a huge best-seller, often selling 3 or 4 a day with most being shipped internationally.
Most of our artists found their sales going up in this period but a few emerged as the best-selling artists for the December-January period.
Bongani Khumalo and George Dakora’s beaded wire trophy heads and sculptural pieces sold up a storm.
Jeff Mwazha’s marvellous sculptural pieces from recycled crushed wire included a life-sized leopard which sold to an international collector in January.Nicki Mayoyo’s clothing made with authentic fabrics from the Democratic Republic of Congo and her jewellery is another success.
Other artists’ work which is also proving very popular are Morris Chipangura’s beaded indigenous flowers and trophy heads and Sam Sithole’s recycled metal animals and his beaded wire and stone birds, while Boniface Chikwenhire's unique sculptures from driftwood continue to catch the eye of discerning visitors.
Supporting good sales
One of the features of our market which supports good sales is that people can collect together items from each of the units and pay for them all together in one payment at the central sales point once they’ve finished browsing. We’ve noticed that with this model people spend longer on site, put together bigger collections of favourite items and enjoy the whole experience more.
Another reason for the excellent sales is the high quality and diverse range of different pieces, all of which reflect a local character. It’s quite clear to all our visitors that these are all authentic, largely hand-made items, especially as they see artists at work creating new things as they shop.
Spier Craft Market for the best wire trophy heads
According to our wire and bead workers the word circulating among their community of artists is that Spier Craft market has gained a reputation for showcasing the best trophy heads currently being made, and we’re happy to have that affirmation from the artists themselves!
Come and see for yourself at Spier Craft Market between the visitors car park and the lake at Spier Wine Estate. Open daily 10am – 5.30pm.
