Twenty years ago the Bermuda Craft Market opened in the Cooperage building in Dockyard as a retail venue specifically designed to showcase locally-made crafts such as cedar work and jewellery. The ambience was that of a rustic marketplace, with wooden barrels and other bric-a-brac dotted among the merchandise displays.

Artists and artisans were on hand to sell their goods, and some also demonstrated their craft.

Ideally located to catch the tourist trade, the Centre was also popular with resident shoppers in search of locally made goods.

Run entirely as a co-operative, with each crafter renting their their stall, the Market continued to thrive.

While the concept has stood the test of time, the interior design did not. With the growth of crafters and merchandise, the place took on a cluttered look. It was difficult to see the goods properly, and certainly they were not displayed to best advantage against the grey stone walls.

Traffic flow through the place became something of an obstacle course, particularly when people created bottlenecks by gathering to watch artisans at work.

As the operator of any commercial venture knows, without updating the ambience and merchandising techniques, customers are likely either to be turned off, or to adopt a “been there, done that” attitude, having looked in and seen nothing new.

By the end of last year, this was the point which the Centre had reached, and the new board decided it was time for action.

Enter artist and display designer Will Collieson, whose creativity is well known, and the hallmarks of whose work are the ingenious recycling of found objects and minimalist design. For many years, passers-by admired his window displays for two major Front Street department stores: H.A.& E. Smith’s and Trimingham’s, and his work is much sought-after at art exhibitions.

Mr. Collieson saw his challenge as retaining the craft market concept while enhancing the interior’s then-hidden “incredible, old industrial features”. He decided that opening up the area in a very simple way would not detract from the craft market feel.

Taking inspiration from an earlier visit to the Chelsea Craft Market in New York, which is housed in a former Nabisco biscuit factory, Mr. Collieson remembered that its developers had achieved a certain “feel” by successfully retaining and enhancing its original industrial patina.

“It was a fabulous experience, so I started with that feel,” he says.

Aware that some of the crafters were averse to change and preferred to decorate their own spaces, Mr. Collieson took care to ensure that the final design was a collaborative effort based on compromise, and decided on a basic black and white colour scheme as the basis of the revamping.

Taking advantage of the off-season, the Craft Market closed its doors and got to work on the refit.

The entire ceiling, with all its visible ducts and piping, was painted flat black, which immediately made the space look bigger, and the rough-hewn walls were whitewashed. Against them simple wooden ‘ladders’ were angled, also painted flat black, whose ‘steps’ would be used for display purposes.

Showcases were rearranged to allow shoppers easier circulation, and rustic trestle tables for crafters’ demonstrations were added. An old ‘kitchen’ area was removed to provide more display space, and access from the southern end was improved.

Today, the transformation is complete, and it is impressive what a difference Mr. Collieson’s relatively simple changes have made. The area is visually brighter and more inviting without losing any of the market ambience. Some of the old barrels and stone jars have been retained, but this time arranged in an attractive grouping, and other old, topical objets such as block and tackle, complete the décor.

Crafters’ stalls, formerly arranged haphazardly, are now grouped logically by merchandise type. For example, all food stuffs — jams, jellies, rum cakes, the Outerbridge and Gosling’s ranges of products — are all located in one ‘Food Court’, along with Bermuda cookbooks.

There is an antiques corner featuring maps and other items, and a section for Bermuda cedar products, most of which meet the current preference for useful items, such as lamps, candle holders and picture frames, rather than souvenirs. There is even an impressive cedar chess set and board table created by a prisoner and student of Chesley Trott.

Children’s books and toys are located in the same area, as are Bermuda books. A new range of products designed exclusively for the Craft Market and available nowhere else has also been added. Among these are are reproduction Blaeu, Shenk & Valk, and Speed maps, as well as unique notelets and ceramic Bermuda cottages.

Work produced as fundraisers by local charities Beacon House, PALS, the Women’s Resource Centre and the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute include wickerware, desk diaries, notelets, and a new range of Bermuda photographs reproduced on canvas. There are prints of Dockyard landmarks and Bermuda flowers and laminated place mats featuring prints of local paintings.

Shoppers can still find hand-made baby gear, including knitted sweaters and crib quilts, as well as a wide variety of hand-made jewellery, ranging from North American Indian-influenced items to original pieces designed and made from recycled fibre optic telephone cable, sea beans and Bermuda cedar.

Hand-painted china, ceramics and glassware; Bermuda sand, sea shell and beach glass-decorated picture frames, hand-screened clothing with hibiscus and Bermudiana flower motifs, banana leaf, Gombey and character dolls, Christmas ornaments and candles, cat-shaped doorstops are also included in the very large inventory of goods proudly made by local crafters.

A way has also been found to revive lathe demonstrations of cedar work, thanks to a special vacuum system which prevents the dispersal of sawdust into the air and surrounding area.

Complimentary hot coffee is always on tap (donations accepted), and on demonstration days, tastings of certain foodstuffs are available.

“The whole concept is designed for an easy shopping experience, and I really enjoyed doing it,” Mr. Collieson said. “Of course it is an ongoing project, and I will be visiting periodically to make sure that people don’t encroach on space and so forth.”

Craft Market manager and director Audrey Brackstone is also very pleased with the new design.

“The building is identical to when I came in 1991, but now we are able to create interesting displays with the new scheme of things without detracting from what the market is all about,” she said. “Kath Bell designed the crafts criteria all those years ago and she deserves a lot of credit. She did an excellent job for crafts.”

Looking around the revamped surroundings, and reflecting on the longevity of the Craft Market itself, Mrs. Brackstone said, “This is a huge success story, which is why we need every bit of help we can get. What we earn is merely the commissions. It is a co-operative — everybody owns the market.”

Stores and individuals who copy the Market’s original products are a threat and not viewed kindly.

“When you have established a home for crafters of original products, and then others undermine us by copying what we carry, but not necessarily made in Bermuda, then you are undermining an artist. I have a hard time with that, but we just try to keep going,” Mrs. Brackstone said. “Fortunately, we have a lot of people who support us. Bus and taxi drivers are our ambassadors, which makes it really wonderful.”

Plenty of art at Dockyard