Meet the people: a magical Derbyshire kooky of ‘out there’ at an indoor market
Carla Marie Fletcher is a weird and wonderful shiny thing. Her stall at the Alfreton indoor market is, as she rightly describes it: “an adventure”.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 And follow me to where all the magic occurs.
00:13 And the chaos.
00:14 Hello, I'm Carla Marie Fletcher.
00:16 I run Sapphire of the Stars, based at Afton Indoor Market.
00:20 I've been in business for 18 years.
00:22 I would say I'm a dream weaver, doll maker, and artisan.
00:25 I make a range of dream catchers, fairies, jewelry,
00:29 all sorts of weird and wonderful and shiny goods.
00:32 And I've also now moved more out into the retail world
00:34 of selling gemstones, incense, dragons, and more.
00:37 Funnily enough, I was inspired to start it
00:39 after watching a Stephen King movie with my dad
00:41 called Dream Catcher.
00:43 And from that, I decided I just wanted to make dream catchers
00:46 and never stopped.
00:48 I made the decision to start selling them.
00:49 I left my old job and went on a business course
00:53 with the local job center.
00:55 And then a good friend I met back,
00:57 he suggested I share a market stall with him.
01:00 And it kind of went from there.
01:02 Very inspired to make things that you can basically dress
01:05 yourself and your home with.
01:07 I've always connected with anything that's fantasy.
01:11 I definitely don't live in the real world,
01:14 which is probably not a bad thing.
01:15 Another thing we absolutely love here are miniatures,
01:19 especially Spidey.
01:21 - Who are you calling miniature?
01:22 - You.
01:23 - You're a terrible ventriloquist.
01:24 I know I am.
01:26 - Yes, we love trees.
01:27 We love all sorts of miniature goods.
01:29 And of course, the fairies need somewhere to hang out as well.
01:32 - And me.
01:33 - And you, of course.
01:34 Anywho, so we have miniatures booties
01:37 turned into all sorts of wonderful little creatures
01:39 like fairies, bees.
01:41 - So they're not so scary.
01:42 - That's true, yes.
01:43 - Not like the misty's.
01:44 - Oi!
01:45 - And Spidey, she does her little potion bottles.
01:51 - Yes, I do.
01:51 I have to turn Spidey into a toad.
01:54 (laughing)
01:55 Move.
01:57 Anyway, as you can see, Spidey's a bit of a prima donna.
02:01 But we also do these wonderful little potions.
02:04 A fever potion, you know, to cure your A fever
02:08 or give it to a spider.
02:09 Oi!
02:10 We also do a love potion, of course,
02:13 for self-love, of course.
02:16 And as you can see,
02:16 here is a wonderful little range of charms.
02:19 We get all different kinds in, including...
02:21 Yours truly.
02:24 Andy, come mix and match
02:25 and make your own little charm bracelet.
02:28 And look fabulous, of course.
02:30 Like me.
02:31 - Afton Moffett Hall is a fantastic place to work.
02:35 We've got a wonderful community of traders.
02:39 We're filling up with more different kinds now.
02:41 After COVID, of course, things went a lot quieter.
02:44 But we keep going.
02:45 We've got quite a nice variation.
02:47 Two new traders recently as well.
02:50 I love to be a part of it.
02:51 I run the Facebook page as well.
02:54 And we've also started doing a Tuesday trader spotlight
02:59 that focuses on each one so that we can keep it personal
03:02 and work with the local community as well.
03:04 People should totally come in
03:05 because you're always gonna get a really warm welcome.
03:09 Everyone is so friendly.
03:10 It's especially wonderful when the cafe's open as well.
03:13 We get lots of local people.
03:15 On Friday and Saturday, we have extra traders.
03:17 We have craft Saturdays,
03:18 so people can come in and sell the wares.
03:21 And all of that.
03:22 And of course, you get a free Spidey badge if you come in.
03:25 And sweets, because we like to bribe people.
03:29 But we just like it to be a really enjoyable experience
03:31 when you come in.
03:32 This stall is meant to be an adventure.
03:35 That's the whole idea behind it.
03:37 Well, I started out with Dreamcatchers.
03:40 Still one of my popular sellers.
03:42 These are one of my earliest designs
03:44 that I actually created.
03:47 Spidey loves to help.
03:49 - I'm so pretty.
03:50 - They remind me of the trajectory of planets.
03:53 - Wow, that's a big word, Smith.
03:54 - Yes.
03:55 I've had my own routines.
03:57 - Really?
03:58 - Yes.
03:59 And we do lots of different kinds, lots of different sizes.
04:02 Help!
04:03 (sneezes)
04:05 (sneezes)
04:07 Oh, Spidey.
04:08 - Are you still doing it?
04:09 - I'm still very busy, yes.
04:10 I think, especially if you're having a miserable day as well,
04:14 come round and we'll cheer you up.
04:16 We're always here to cheer people up.
04:18 People either walk away laughing, shaking their heads,
04:20 or a combination of both.
04:21 And you'll probably get a free sweet as well.
04:24 I think some of my favorite things to do
04:26 is definitely all the fairies and the dolls.
04:29 As you know again,
04:31 ♪ Call upon Frankenstein, yes we know ♪
04:33 ♪ You could be Eagle ♪
04:36 Anyway, that's the Muffin and Huff.
04:38 So we do a selection of fairies.
04:40 Mermaids.
04:41 Skelly fairies.
04:44 Cat fairies.
04:47 Lots of fairies.
04:49 The cat fairies, we do have to watch.
04:51 They have a habit of running off with wool.
04:53 So we had to give them a little sample
04:55 because of the weather.
04:56 We're next to a wool stall.
04:57 You don't know what's gonna happen
04:58 in the middle of the night.
04:59 Cats.
05:01 And here's where I like to hang out with the mermaids.
05:03 Sometimes I sit and have a little refreshing bottle pop
05:06 or something, or a little bit of cake.
05:08 And I hang out with all these lovely little mermaids.
05:11 That was nice swim.
05:13 Now I'm like, I can't swim.
05:14 You know you want one.
05:15 He needs a bath.
05:17 Oi!
05:18 When it comes to baking stuff,
05:18 I love the Greek word called Meraki,
05:20 which basically means that bit of love
05:22 you put into everything you make.
05:24 And to me, it's as simple as baking a cake.
05:26 You know if someone's baked with love, it's just nice.
05:29 If someone plays a piano really badly,
05:30 you know the difference.
05:31 And for me, it's a big part of that.
05:34 And plus, what I love about markets
05:35 is we're the ultimate vintage experience.
05:38 You're going back to basics.
05:39 You're going to self-produce goods as well.
05:41 And again, I think that's good for the community.
05:45 This is Bob.
05:46 He actually assists us with all the badge making.
05:48 Say hello, Bob.
05:49 Bob.
05:50 Tell this Bob.
05:51 Bob, please.
05:52 Bob.
05:53 Say hello, Bob.
05:54 Bob.
05:55 All he says is Bob.
05:55 Bob.
05:56 That's all he says.
05:57 We've tried to get him to say more,
05:58 but it's just Bob, isn't it?
05:59 Bob.
06:00 Bob.
06:00 Bob.
06:01 Bob.
06:02 And yes, we do.
06:04 So we do different kinds of badges.
06:05 We can take orders as well.
06:08 We do bulk orders for parties, businesses.
06:10 And we also do Makromi, which is quite new,
06:13 such as handmade bags, such as this one here as well.
06:17 So that's just another wee part of what we do.
06:20 Bob.
06:21 Diffusers.
06:22 We do fragrance oils.
06:23 Incense sticks and cones.
06:26 Backflow burners.
06:28 Gorgeous dragons.
06:30 And a cabinet of gemstones.
06:32 Got some lovely pieces of amethyst.
06:35 And some one-off pieces.
06:37 We have the crystal quarter where all the gemstones are.
06:43 A lovely little gentleman makes the earrings
06:45 and pendants for me.
06:47 Lots of handmade sun catchers.
06:48 Up here.
06:50 More gemstones and accessories.
06:52 And brooches, which were also an early product.
06:55 And we have the beautiful display of the giant tree.
06:58 And back past the Weird Sisterhood,
07:03 which have all the dolls and the fairies.
07:06 More dream catchers.
07:07 We do advise people to fly safely.
07:12 Cosplay ears.
07:14 Hair accessories.
07:15 Scarves.
07:16 And Spidex style lounge,
07:19 which is all hair accessories, bracelets,
07:22 and stuff like that.
07:23 It's 42!
07:28 What's the answer to life in the universe?
07:30 42.
07:31 And we want your reaction as well.
07:33 The exasperated reaction to it.
07:35 That has to stay in.
07:37 (laughing)
07:39 (upbeat music)
07:41 (upbeat music)
07:44 (upbeat music)
07:46 (upbeat music)
07:49 (upbeat music)