April Showers And Open Days
“Here’s a tree in summer, here’s a tree in winter, here’s a bunch of flowers and here are the April showers!”
Many of us will remember this little ditty from our childhood. It has been chanted for decades by generations of children walking beside grassy verges in the town or quiet, meandering lanes in the country. As a child walked, he would pluck a long, wavering grass stem, quote the rhyme and then, with great satisfaction, strip the seeds from the head and throw them over his friend. This small ritual appears to have enduring appeal, though not so much for the hay fever sufferers amongst us. As with so many of our old country rhymes and sayings, there is wisdom embedded within it. April showers can fall upon us seemingly out of nowhere; a day of sunshine and blue skies can be unexpectedly interrupted by a short, sharp burst of rain, which clears as quickly as it came. However, for the unprepared, it can leave behind wet clothes on the washing line, soggy cushions on outdoor chairs and wet people with no umbrellas.
For craft business owners, having the correct small business protection for makers is similar to having an umbrella in April; the completely unexpected can happen, appearing out of nowhere and you need to be covered by insurance tailored to your business. The problem with the unexpected is that, however many risk assessments you do, or health and safety training sessions you attend, you simply can’t pre-empt every potential mishap. That’s why having some small business protection for makers offers you peace of mind as well as the financial backstop you would need if anything untoward did occur.
Our insurance covers you for when you are out and about demonstrating or selling your crafts as well as for selling online, or even opening your premises to others. Welcoming others into your workspace is both very rewarding for you as a crafter and also hugely beneficial to your visitors. Not only are you sharing your craft, but as you do so you will be creating community, offering space for like-minded people to connect and providing some time out of the ordinary for your visitors to relax.
Opening your workshop for a day involves some careful planning, and good preparation will ensure a great time is had by all. If this is something you are considering doing for the first time, here are a few suggestions which might help you. Think about the people who might be attracted to an open day at your workshop and maybe offer them a small activity to try for themselves. Consider, are they beginners, or would some previous experience be required to try your activities or will it be a mix of the two? Think of the age group too; if it is during the daytime, you will most likely get mainly retired people, but an evening might attract some younger working individuals. Once you have a rough idea of your clientele, you can plan a little project which will suit them. It is generally best to err on the side of an easy project, unless of course, you are catering for those who want to stretch their knowledge and increase their skills. You might consider offering a themed activity, for example, creating an item reflecting the season, or with a celebration eg Christmas, Easter, Mothers’ Day. Whatever you do, it’s always good to offer an initial instruction or demonstration.
You could advertise your open day using social media, posters at your local Craft Quarter/ Community notice board or handing out flyers at a specific event or a craft market you are attending. Include specifics of what is happening at the open day, eg materials, demonstrations, refreshments.
Once you have a good idea of what you will be offering, it’s time to think about your umbrella, ensuring you have tailored small business protection for makers which will protect your workshop from the unexpected. This would usually include both product and public liability. Public liability covers you for any claims made of harm or damage as a result of an action/inaction by yourself or one of your employees or volunteers and will cover you on your premises. Product liability protects you against any claims made of damage or harm done by one of your products. So for example, public liability would cover you for any slip or trip hazards, and product liability for a skin reaction to a bath product. Even if neither of these are your fault, small business protection for makers will cover any compensation required or legal costs. You will foresee and avert the vast majority or potential problems, but having insurance covers you for those instances you can’t foresee, despite all your best efforts.
The other type of insurance you might like to consider is business items insurance. This allows you to protect individual items used for your business. If you have specialist equipment which might be used by your attendees, it could be more susceptible to damage; thus, having the appropriate cover will enable you to relax, knowing that if there is any damage done, you will be covered.
Take a look at our website for more details and then pick up the phone or drop us a line and either Sam or Naomi will be here to talk you through the protection you need for your unique business requirements. Life throws curveballs sometimes and having insurance in place allows you not to over worry and frees you up to get on with what you are best at doing; creating stunning handmade crafts and sharing your skills and gifting with others!