28.06.2021

Young entrepreneurs to compete in York’s Young Traders Market

A diverse array of young entrepreneurs will be setting up their stalls at Shambles Market on 29^th June for the York heats of the National Market Traders’ Federation (NMTF) Young Traders’ Market competition. A range of young traders will be taking part in this special one-day event which will take place on Shambles Market from 9am – with residents and visitors invited to come along and support these local young traders.

Businesses taking part offer a wide range of products including:

Alysha Smith ‘NaturallyAlys’ – selling unique soy wax candles and products
Andrew Rooney – Rooney’s Flytraps – offering carnivorous plants and more
Carrie Doyle; Smunny Girl Prints – selling high quality character prints of film & TV female icons
Laura Muldoon; – selling new and exciting artwork using watercolour
Millie Thomas; Sweet Treats by Mill – with a range of brownies, traybakes and more
Izzy Robinson; Bizzy Pig Designs – offering handmade scrunchies and more
Fran Swann: Apricity Jewellery – selling beautiful gold and silver jewellery
Emma Walker – Moody Mare Patisserie – offering brownies, cupcakes and more

The young traders will be competing against each other on the day to ensure the highest quality customer experiences on their stall – with judges looking at everything from merchandising and sales skills to communication, pricing and product offer. The judging panel on the day will be made up of local business owner Ellen Harvey from Harvey’s Cheese, Emma Rogers Selby’s Market Manager, York’s Town Crier and York Mix presenter Ben Fry and Marc Bichtemann, Managing Director of First Bus York.

The heats are a great prospect for young entrepreneurs (aged 16-30) to showcase their businesses and compete for the chance to represent York at the regional competition in Doncaster in July. As part of their support for local businesses, First Bus York are also offering the winner a year-long pitch on Shambles Market. One trader will be guaranteed a spot on the market each week throughout the year to help them continue to develop their business and customer base.

Winners of the regional heats then have the opportunity to go on to be crowned Young Trader of the Year 2021 at the NMTF national event in August which is a celebration of all young entrepreneurs trading on our nation’s markets, festivals and fairs.

Phil Waines, Market Operations Executive at Make It York said, “The day will be a great opportunity for young traders to get in front of a new audience and meet other like-minded people, with a chance to even go on to be crowned national champion.

We have some fantastic young traders taking part with a real mix of different types of businesses – everything from flytraps and sweet snacks to hair clasps.”

“The event is a real celebration of the creativity and entrepreneurship of the city’s young business owners and we can’t wait to welcome all the traders to Shambles Market!”

As part of the day’s celebrations local funk and jazz band, the ‘Cambridge Street Band’ will be playing a selection of songs throughout the day.

For information about the NMTF Young Trader competition and videos of previous winners, see https://www.nmtf.co.uk/campaigns/young-traders-market/ .

Follow Shambles Market on social media for more updates on the event and the traders taking part.

For further information please contact:

Amy Goodman, Consumer Communications Manager

Email: amy.goodman@makeityork.com

Ana Ignatova – Communications Executive

Email: ana.ignatova@makeityork.com

Notes to editors:

About Make It York

Make It York’s purpose is to develop and promote the city and its surroundings – nationally and internationally – as a vibrant and attractive place to live, visit, study, work and do business. Its mission is to grow the economic prosperity and wider wellbeing of York and its citizens. In practice, this means delivering a range of projects and programmes based around our four corporate strategic priorities. These are: