Welcome to VSMS
When the pandemic started, we were worried about friends and family struggling to keep roofs over their heads and put food on the table but noticed many had crafty hands and/or small businesses. We put feelers out to see if any of them would be interested in a Virtual Market (as we couldn’t go out due to lockdown) … the interest was amazing so a Facebook group called VSMS: Virtual Shopping Market Stalls was born. This group covers the whole of the UK.
The idea was it would be for an initial 3 month period leading up to Christmas to help them through the hardest months BUT it was so gratefully received and requested that we continue – so we did!
6 years on, we have continued our virtual market which builds every year but we also do face-to-face events as well as a regular pop up shops (we’re now looking to roll these out in other areas).
2024 sees us open our training centre which will host a wide range of courses for many to access and learn with us.
Whether the small businesses are in our Virtual Market, at our face to face events, in our pop up shops or other platforms we operate, you can find anything between (approximately) 50 to over 100+ small businesses selling fabulous makes/sells that are unique and lovingly made or other goods. Examples could be anything from crochet toys, cards, bags, memory bears, fudge, brownies, book folding, Fruitology, knitted and crocheted clothing, wooden makes, mugs, painting sets, art work to jewellery and much much more. Plus those that sell products/services and more.
Each small business with us has a unique story behind it – their own WHY for doing what they do and why they set their business up – examples would be to save for IVF treatment, to pay for school uniforms, to subsidise incomes after losing jobs, a gap in the market, saving for a wedding and so on.
We pride ourselves on getting to know something personal about stallholders/Small businesses eg recovering from cancer, IVF warrior, mum of 4 and so on…because they matter.
There is a lot more to us that initially meets the eye – we are a community, providing a safe shopping experience, friends and much more.
There is great support for ALL our stallholders on and off screens, at venues and in our shop!
REMEMBER – Small businesses are the heart of our communities, behind every small business is a person supporting a family and building a dream.
