03/09/2026
🍂🌧️ Bathgate Autumn Market Night 🌧️🍂
Was it a bit of a washout? Yes! 😂 But we live in Scotland… what can we expect?! ☔️
It’s hard when you’ve spent so much time preparing and the weather is against you, but sometimes you have to look at the positives — and one of the biggest for me is the amazing community and networking that comes with these markets. 🤎
I got chatting to another trader who was doing his very first market. We were talking about taking payments and he mentioned he didn’t have a card machine, so I told him, “If anyone wants to pay by card, just send them over to me. I’ll take the payment and give you the cash.”
And I’m so glad I did because he ended up having quite a few customers pay that way and would have potentially missed out on those sales otherwise! 🥹
At the end of the night, he surprised me with this gorgeous handmade vase and flower as a thank you. 🌸 Honestly, he didn’t need to give me anything, but it was such a lovely gesture and a perfect reminder of why I love the small-business community.
That community feel is something I really want Blooming Bonds to be about. I’ll help someone out where I can, I’ll keep my prices as affordable as I possibly can, and I’ll always support other small businesses along the way. 🤎
So maybe the weather wasn’t on our side… but there were definitely still some lovely moments amongst the rain. ☔️🍂
Small businesses supporting small businesses — that’s what it’s all about. 🫶
& a huge thank you to everyone who stopped for a chat and purchased anything 🍂💜
- Jim Kelly handmade woodcraft