THE end of the cruise ship season marks the start of a difficult time for the business people of St. George's, as the winter months stretch ahead with many fewer customers around.

Some of the smaller operators choose to shut up shop, go on vacation and wait until the hordes of tourists return to the Old Town.

Others stay open and do their best to keep business ticking over until next spring.

Determined to make sure the shopping possibilities of the most picturesque and historic settlement on the island do not go unnoticed, a group of vendors have seized the initiative to do something different to pep up business.

The St. George's Market Group first came to prominence early in the summer when they devised Market Night, a successor to the former Heritage Night, a mixture of old-fashioned market square shopping and entertainment.

Market Night concluded with the cruise ship season, but now the vendors are about to grace King's Square once again.

Tomorrow and the following Saturday, the stalls will reappear as the group try to lure Christmas shoppers to St. George's, with the promise of unique gift ideas and a unique atmosphere.

With the ferries offering a special service to the Old Town, direct from Hamilton, on both days, the vendors have high hopes for an influx of people from all over the island. The market opens at 10 a.m. and goes on until 4 p.m.

The Christmas Market series was supposed to have started last Saturday, but persistent rain forced the abandonment of that plan.

The St. George's Market Group public relations officer is artist Diana Amos, herself a vendor with her studio on Hunter's Wharf.

"A group of us started the Market Group in early summer to stage the Market Nights, because there was nothing planned for the cruise ship visitors," said Ms Amos.

"We had it on Tuesday nights because that's the night Heritage Night used to be. A group of us got together and formed a committee and we've been meeting every week since then.

"Since that worked out so well, we thought we'd try the Christmas Market idea. Colonial Insurance are the sponsors. They had approached the St. George's Corporation and the Corporation then asked us if our group would organise it."

The loss of the first market date due to bad weather had been disappointing, but it was not a major blow to the series, said Ms Amos.

"If we knew we were going to lose one of the three Saturdays to the weather, we would have preferred the first one," she said. "The National Trust walkabout on the Friday before was very busy and it's likely that most of the people who came here on Friday would not have come back on the Saturday. And we did not have the ferries for that day either."

Ms Amos said there were practical reasons - including the three direct ferries from the City - why Christmas shoppers should opt to do at least some of their stocking up for the holidays in St. George's, rather than Hamilton.

"There is free parking at Tiger Bay and in the car park on the other side of the square," she said. "And you can park free for an hour in the bays on the street.

"It's a relaxing and pleasant place to go shopping and there is not so much hustle and bustle as in Hamilton. It's the whole ambience of the town that makes it special.

"There are lots of small owner-operated businesses and the big stores like Cooper's and Trimingham's have branches here too. And you can have a leisurely lunch by the waterside. Many of the restaurants and the stores are offering specials." One of the vendors is Lucinda Worrell, who runs a thriving cottage industry making thousands of candles at her home in Bailey's Bay. She is an example of the many local craftspeople to have been given an extra outlet for their talents by the market.

"I started making candles as a hobby about three years ago," said Ms Worrell. "I made some with the kids at the Education Centre, where I work, and the kids took them home. The next thing I knew parents wanted to buy some.

"Then I had a candle party and some of the people who are came over were asking to buy them. I decided to make more and sell them - they're expensive to make."

Since then tourists have bought thousands of Ms Worrell's candles, many decorated with glass, shells and Bermuda sand, and exuding the aromas of various mineral oils. Ms Worrell has even received orders from overseas from friends of past customers who liked what they saw. And her candles are also distributed by Trimingham's, Cooper's and Carole Holding.

She can even customise her candles to include "anything you can melt into wax".

"One time I did a candle for an engagement party and I put the ring into the wax," said Ms Worrell. "I told the man he would have to light it well before the party because she would have to wait hours for it to burn down.

"I put all kinds of designs on my candles. I do them for weddings with a bride and groom on them. I've done some with ocean scenes and I've done some specially for Christmas, with Santa Claus and his reindeer and a Christmas tree."

So successful has Ms Worrell's candle business become that it eats up much of her spare time. She needs the help of teenage workers, especially during the summer, in gathering sand and shells and helping in the production process.

"My house looks like a candle factory," she said. "I must have more than 3,000 glasses in here. In the summer I have to work nine hours a day to make enough for the tourists.

"Right now, we spend most of our weekends making them. My partner and I set up on a Friday night, then we work all day on Saturday and right through until 4 p.m. on Sunday making candles.

"They call me the 'Candle Lady'. I give some taxi drivers a candle, so they can show them to tourists and sometimes tourists come directly to my house because they want to buy one."

Linda Outerbridge is another vendor. She decorates bottles and vases with jute, dyed in different colours.

"I started doing it about four years ago for myself," said Ms Outerbridge. "Then a girlfriend came along and saw them and said she would like to buy a few as Christmas presents. She said I should do more and sell them."

has made them in different colours such as blue, mustard and white and the vases and bottles have proved popular. "It's very time-consuming, but I enjoy it," said Ms Outerbridge.

Another artistic vendor is Joan Aspinall, who sells hand-painted glassware, including wine and brandy glasses and gel candles.

"Gel candles are a very popular product and I have combined them with hand-painted glass," said Ms Aspinall. "The painted image is lit up from the inside and it gives a sort of stained-glass effect.

"They're perfect for Christmas and I've designed some with Christmas motifs. An eight-ounce gel candle in a glass has a 40-hour burning time, longer than an ordinary candle. So it's likely that one would last all the holdiay season and more."

Ms Aspinall, who was a regular vendor at Hamilton's Harbour Nights during the cruise ship season, was inspired to try her hand at glass painting from three years ago, after being inspired by work she saw in Spain and in England. On a recent trip to Dublin, she saw hand-painted wine goblets selling for 40 euros (about $40) and in Liverpool for ?18 (about $29) - significantly more expensive than her prices.

Ms Aspinall said she sold ornaments, hurricane lanterns and and wine decanters as well as glasses and her designs included Christmas trees, gombey dancers and marine themes. She also offers a customising service, painting special motifs, colours or names to order on her glassware.

Both coming Saturdays will have the added attraction of the gombeys appearing in King's Square at 3.30 p.m. And tomorrow will also feature the St. George's Santa Claus Parade from 5.30 p.m., which might tempt some shoppers to stay on after the market winds up at 4 p.m.

Adding to the party atmosphere, the market will have a sound system and an emcee playing music throughout the day. The Salvation Army band will play at 12.30 p.m. on both Saturdays, followed by singer Mike Perinchief performing from 1.30 p.m. to 2.30 p.m. Majorettes will also perform and there will be fun castles for kids on Ordnance Island.

Customers will receive draw tickets when they make purchases and draws for special prizes will be held throughout the day.