Linocut Printmaker Haychley Webb was devastated to find her cash tin was stolen at the Local Makers Market in Norwich in Norwich on Saturday. But what happened the following day turned the horrible experience into a positive and inspiring experience
This last weekend saw me and my linocut prints heading to the brilliant Local Makers Market for a Seconds and Sample market in Norwich. I had a great first day on the Saturday and made lots of sale prints with misprints and older stock. The time came at 4pm for all stallholders to pack away so I packed a few items away and then left to get my car from around the corner.
I am on medication that can make me really forgetful, and I foolishly forgot to take my cash tin with me when I did this. When I returned 5 minutes later, the cash tin was gone, along with several hundred pounds. I hadn’t had the chance to get to the bank from my last few markets, including my first big print fair in Eastbourne the previous weekend and all my cash takings were inside.
It was a rookie mistake for someone who has been doing markets for years around Norfolk and one that I won’t make again. It was very shocking, and I felt instantly incredibly upset and panicked as that money was meant for my bills this month. I didn’t sleep Saturday night for worry and got up early to return for day two of the market.
Ordinarily I wouldn’t have attended the second day after something so upsetting had happened but Rosie, the organiser of Local Makers Market, was so supportive and does so much for the local creative scene in Norwich – I felt I would be letting her down by leaving a large empty space at the market Sunday.
I busied myself by carving a new linocut block during the market to keep my mind from panicking. During the day, the makers there were incredibly comforting and kind asking if I was okay – I cried to a couple of them though, I was finding it hard to control my emotions, especially on no sleep.
When I had packed up at the end of the day, Rosie pulled me to one side and explained that she had done something incredible – she’d contacted the participants of the market the night before and done a virtual whip around to help me regain some of the money I lost.
This was completely out of the blue and I was quite speechless. The fact that at such a tough time for small businesses right now, folks would donate money to help me was just overwhelming and I am so grateful to them. I’ve since had strangers and online followers donate money to me by PayPal, too. It’s turned such a horrible experience into a positive and inspiring event, and I am so thankful to everyone for their generosity and support.
Rosie Nolan, organiser of the Local Makers Markets, adds: “We’ve never had this happen at any of our previous events so it was a real shock. As an organiser, you get to know all the stallholders really well and form friendships with them, so it was really upsetting to see this happen. Small businesses are struggling at the moment and people like Haychley work incredibly hard for every penny they earn so it was just awful for her cash box to be stolen. I spoke to some of the other traders about putting together a collection and they agreed it was a lovely idea. Everyone wanted to help her out with the financial loss but to also give her a positive outcome after such an upsetting experience.”
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Featured image supplied by Haychley Webb
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