Sunshine guaranteed (well, probably). Your craft cover today, definitely.
The next time you are standing behind your craft stall on a warm Saturday morning, watching crowds file past the bunting and handmade signs, it’s worth considering how long all this has been going on. It’s great to remember that the summer fair is one of the oldest communal traditions in the UK, so your participation is actually breathing life into history.
Medieval fairs were the beating heart of social and economic life for ordinary people in a way that is difficult to fully appreciate from a modern perspective. For the common folk of medieval England, most of whom were tied to small villages and largely illiterate, a summer fair was one of the moments in the year when the world got bigger. Merchants arrived from further afield carrying unusual goods: exotic spices, fine silks, specialist metalwork and textiles unavailable anywhere else. Alongside the traders came minstrels, acrobats, jugglers and players performing on makeshift stages. There were archery contests, wrestling matches and, at the larger charter fairs, the thundering spectacle of a jousting tournament. These were major social events and the dancing went on until dark.
Some of England’s greatest annual fairs, such as Stourbridge Fair, Winchester’s St Giles Fair and the St Bartholomew Fair at Smithfield, grew into events of enormous economic significance. Stourbridge eventually became the largest fair in all of Europe and was the inspiration for John Bunyan’s Vanity Fair in The Pilgrim’s Progress. They became so important that town leaders used them to hold courts, collect taxes and announce royal decrees. Commerce, community, spectacle and storytelling all converged in one place each summer.
Centuries later, what has changed?
Walk around a modern summer craft fair and some things have not changed. The stalls are still temporary structures, erected for the occasion and packed away at the end of the day. The traders have travelled to be there, some from considerable distances. The atmosphere still carries that particular mix of commerce and celebration that makes a fair feel different from ordinary shopping. People come to watch, eat and enjoy being part of something communal; they don’t just buy and leave.
The most noticeable difference between a modern-day fair and a medieval fair is probably the smell (or lack of it) and the nature of what is being sold: exotic spices and fine silks now replaced with handmade candles and wax melts, jewellery, ceramics, textiles, resin work and skincare products. Larger, one-time annual events have been replaced by a summer-long calendar of markets, country shows, village fetes and outdoor fairs that give crafters a near-continuous run of trading opportunities from May through to September.
Another major difference is that modern-day stallholders will most likely all have insurance! Medieval stallholders were required to pay “stallage” or “picage” to the local lord, town council or church that held the royal charter to host the event. This granted them the right to set up a table, pitch a tent and sell their goods. Insurance though? Nay.
Why we need cover today
For the medieval trader whose goods were stolen, damaged or lost, that would have meant personal catastrophe with no safety net. If anyone was injured as a result of a trader’s activities, the consequences fell entirely on them. Happily, for the modern crafter, the situation is very different!
A Craft Insurance policy covers you for public and product liability at any event you attend throughout the year, indoors or outdoors, with no limit on the number of fairs. There is no need to notify us each time you set up a stall. Your cover applies automatically from the moment your policy is live. Professional indemnity is included as standard, so if you teach your craft or demonstrate it at an event, you are covered for that too. Optional add-ons include employers’ liability if you have anyone helping you, and business and stock cover for your tools, materials, equipment and finished work.
The standard excess is just £50, which is great news, and documents are issued instantly on payment, so if you decide to get your cover today, you can be ready to trade straight away.
Most craft fair organisers will ask for proof of public liability insurance before they confirm your booking. This is standard practice across the industry and has been for some years. If you are approaching the summer season without cover in place, you may find yourself turned away from events you have already planned around. Getting your cover today means that proof of insurance is in your inbox within minutes of completing your application, ready to share with any organiser who asks for it.
It is also worth knowing that some insurers have specific exclusions that catch crafters out. Candle makers, home fragrance sellers and makers of reed diffusers, room sprays and wax melts have discovered that certain general insurers simply do not cover their products at all. At Craft Insurance, we have very few exclusions, and we are always upfront about what they are. Another great thing is that we charge no administration fees for policy changes, so if your circumstances change during the summer season, you can update your cover without any extra cost.
Medieval fair traders had to carry heavy consequences when things went wrong, but you do not have to operate the same way! The craft fair tradition has survived for hundreds of years because it works, because people genuinely value handmade goods, community and the experience of buying directly from the maker. Protecting your place in that tradition with the right insurance makes sense!
Get your cover today
Fill in our short online form, choose your level of cover, and have your documents in your inbox within minutes. If you would rather talk it through first, Samantha or Naomi will pick up the phone and walk you through exactly what you need. Although we can’t claim to have been in business since medieval times, we have been providing craft insurance since 1986!