off something of a coup with their move to Dockyard.

When the Bermuda Craft Market was first opened in the old Cooperage building in 1987, sponsors and the 15 or so original craftsmen agreed to open on a one year trial basis. Today, exactly five years later, the market is bursting at the seams.

One of the biggest challenges for the artisans is keeping their wares well stocked. Ms Audrey Brackstone, general manager of the Bermuda Craft Market, says their work sells so quickly that some are having trouble keeping pace with sales.

"We've had about a ten percent increase in sales each year,'' says Ms Brackstone. "We have more people and more crafts being sold, but still, I never would have thought that we would do so well.'' Not that she ever doubted the ability of Bermuda's craftsmen or the quality of their crafts. "It was really a surprise how well we've done,'' she says. "We have some beautiful crafts made here in Bermuda and we're very picky about the quality of crafts we accept.'' As the market has only a slim advertising budget, it has relied mostly on word of mouth. It was one of the first ventures to set up before the business boom in Dockyard, which six years ago could only offer the Maritime Museum, Bermuda Pottery, and the Bermuda Arts Centre plus a restaurant or two and a few other shops for entertainment.

It was not long, though, before the West End Development Corporation began encouraging businesses to set up in Dockyard, and as it grew, so too did the Craft Market, which last year reported sales totalling more than $113,000.

Today, one of Bermuda's four regular calling cruise ships is based in Dockyard; there are regular events held outside; the Clocktower retail centre is expanding quickly; and more and more restaurants are opening. Dockyard has become a major attraction for both visitors and residents.

"I think the one thing that has helped us immensely is our location,'' Ms Brackstone says. "At first we wanted to be in St. George's, but we couldn't find a suitable spot.

"When we were considering Dockyard, we requested figures from Marine and Ports. We thought that if 60,000 people were going through the Maritime Museum each year, then we get those people in here to the Craft Market.

"Since then we've never stopped growing. The hard thing for us is finding new craft people and maintaining the quality of the crafts we offer for sale. We try to carry crafts that are 100 percent made here in Bermuda, though some of the materials must obviously be imported.'' Though Bermuda's artisans have been making crafts for years, it was not until visitors started buying up the locally-made goods that the idea of a craft market really took off.

The first real opportunity for showing local crafts was in the early 1960s, when the Department of Tourism, together with the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, staged its first winter tea and fashion show in Hamilton's City Hall, according to Ms Brackstone. The crafts trade quickly became a hit.

During the winter of 1974-75, when the tea and fashion show was moved to the Number One Shed, craftsmen began to discuss the possibility of having their own facility, devoted solely to crafts.

With the backing of the West End Development Company, the Tourism Department, and the Chamber of Commerce, the craft market finally opened in July, 1987.

A management committee, made up of Craft Market members, was set up to run the market on a daily basis, while the Chamber of Commerce, which underwrote the market, was to manage the accounts. Ms Brackstone, who served as executive director of the Chamber, was responsible for the treasury. But when she decided to retire from her job, market members worried about the future of the business.

After a series of meetings, it was decided that Ms Brackstone would take over running the market, and the market would split from the Chamber. Once the process of forming its own company is complete, the Craft Market will have an outstanding debt to the Chamber of $13,000, which Ms Brackstone estimates will take just three years to pay off.

The Bermuda Craft Market is open seven days a week. There are some 34 craftsmen selling their wares, and Ms Brackstone worries that space for displaying the goods is running out. "I think our next big challenge will be how to make the best of our wall space,'' she says.

Among those goods sold at the market are painted T-shirts, posters, potpourri, needlepoint, shell and cedar jewellery, stained glass, miniature cedar furniture, paintings on shells, cedar and slate, straw goods, candles, quilts, replica ships in cedar, decorative baskets, banana and palm leaf dolls, knitted slippers, children's wear and deco art, stuffed dolls, plus jewellery made with old buttons, sand, and stones.

BEST OF BERMUDA -- General manager of the Bermuda Craft Market Ms Audrey Brackstone shows the many locally-made goods sold at the Dockyard market.