Street food has finally reached Sheringham. Its becoming quite a big thing in North Norfolk. Lots of small trailer vans popping up at markets, country shows and stately homes. Locally this has been pioneered by Fat Ted's Street Food here in Sheringham, and The Bucket List in Cromer. There is also a more peripatetic outfit whose name I think is brilliant, called - Only Food & Sauces. No idea if the food quality lives up to the promise of that name, nor where they are from. But that wins the best business moniker of 2022.
Talking of business Stevie boy, how is yours doing? If there is any pattern at all at the moment, its quiet at the start of the month with a late rally in the last few weeks that saves the day, and pays us a wage. July was this in a nutshell. Only 10% down on 2021, so a distinct improvement on June and May. It is a strange retail environment we are living through, when the smaller the degree to which your sales have declined becomes a barometer of success. But we will take it as such nonetheless. I think, given the dire state the economy is in, I think we are doing well if we come anywhere near breaking even.
August in its first few days, has been rather flat. But then its hot and its very muggy, what do you expect? Who in their right minds wants to sweat and shop? Also, its Sheringham Carnival week, and the demographic of people on holiday feels noticeably different to that in late July. More over stretched families and generally less well off folk. The summer schedule of events the Carnival Committee puts on in the town are, retail wise, a very mixed bag. Few work in our favour. They just create too much competition for folks attention and spending, in which we generally lose out.
Inflation is hitting many of our craft makers material costs. They are having to increase prices or absorb some of it by making a less healthy return. It is affecting us too. Increases in the cost of wood between 25-30%, some materials we buy originally imported from the EU are up 50%.
One of our best selling lines has been a range of small square fabric covered clocks that I make. Last year we were selling these at £14.95, with a full markup. This rose to £16.95 at the beginning of the year. They've recently had to go up again to £19.95, but that price is not a full markup. We don't think we could sell them for more than that. I'm giving some thought to adjustments to the way I make them, to keep both our markup and the selling price reasonable. Otherwise we may, if material costs keep rising, have to consider not making them.
Worse is yet to come so we are being informed. Already dreading what the Winter will bring. We are going to review the state of things re - the future of the shop in Sept/Oct and if we go on, plan where we go on to. Its not just the economic outlook that is looking bleak is it? We get rid of our charlatan PM, to be followed by this shamelessly low competition between Sunak and Truss. To see how many unpleasant policies and unfeasible, uncosted and ultimately undeliverable promises they can make to their hugely unrepresentative Conservative party membership.
The longer this travesty of a government goes on, the more despairing I become about the future of our country and democracy. Meanwhile the economic and environmental situation worsens. Our environment secretary is a climate change denier. Our Culture secretary is devoid of culture. Our Home secretary has no humanity. Our current Chancellor is being investigated for tax fraud. The Tory party itself, so it appears, should be put on suicide watch.
On the bright side we look set to do our first craft fair in Norfolk at the end of August. Our one and only experience of doing a craft fair was seven years ago when we lived in Cambridge. That was such a disaster we've never considered doing one since. But our approach and our stock has changed quite radically in the intervening years. Plus, we really need to broaden the reach of our business beyond Sheringham. This event is in Sheringham and its being organised as an experiment to see if it fly's or not, so there are no fees involved. There are costs in setting ourselves up with a gazebo, a table, some merchandising props, card machine and insurance. Plus making a representative selection of our stock. But we appear to be ready to test the temperature of this particular water again, and see if this time we can float in it.
With the series of heat waves we've been having the cereal harvest in our local fields is already done. Modern harvesters are massive machine that kick up a huge amount of straw and dust that settles onto everything. Better to stay inside and close all the windows if you have breathing difficulties. The other reason for getting the harvest done ASAP is the increased risk of it catching fire. Particularly in the fields running alongside the train lines of the North Norfolk Railway. One stray ember from a steam train and whoosh, your crop is up in flames.
It is, nonetheless, quite a bizzare image driving back from Wells next the Sea the other evening. To see the wide rolling expanse of newly harvested fields with these large cylinders of bailed straw scattered across them like a board game abandoned by giants. It was extraordinarily surreal.
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