Our first two markets
We've now done two pop-up markets, and the difference between them taught us a lot.
Asian Culture Market, Wandsworth Mills — 29 August
This was our very first market. It rained and was windy most of the day, so fewer people came out than we hoped. The people who did stop by liked the candles and spent time looking. The Reading Buddha candle was our bestseller here.
Our bestseller that first day — a small Buddha, sat reading. Hand-poured in London, made to order.
Have a look →Even so, it was a useful first test — our first time talking to strangers about the brand face to face, not just online.
Food Art Fair, Ladbroke Hall — 5–6 September
This market felt different from the start. It was indoor, so the weather wasn't working against us. People seemed more interested and stayed longer at the table, especially the art crowd — a lot of them picked up on the details quickly, like the hand-carved gel wax ice cubes and the fact that everything is made to order.
On day one, we'd only brought a small amount of the Monk candle — mainly as decoration for the table, not really expecting it to sell. But it turned out to be the bestseller, not the Buddha. That's when we noticed something: which candle sells best seems to depend on the event itself, not just the product.
The one we nearly left at home. Hand-poured in London, made to order.
Have a look →After day one ended, we went home and prepped more Monk stock for day two, since that's clearly what people wanted. Got home around 10pm, prepped until 1am, and were back at the venue before 9:30am the next morning. Tiring, but worth it — we didn't want to run out on day two.
The people we met
But what stood out most from this event wasn't the sales — it was the people. This felt like an event about building relationships with other traders as much as talking to customers. We showed people our website and walked them through the catalogue, and a few who work in web design even complimented it, which meant a lot coming from people in that field.
Charlotte of Preaface Ceramics (@preaface), who makes small-batch ceramics by hand in East London, gave us one of her bowls. We hadn't done anything to deserve it — she simply wanted us to have it, on what was only our second weekend of doing this. It sits where we see it every day now, and it has quietly become the thing we point at when anyone asks whether markets are worth the effort. That kind of generosity between makers is not something we expected, and it is the reason we will keep turning up.
We also made a friend in C.Lo (@clodeliciousness), an artist who draws food and drink — negronis, soup dumplings, a pint of Guinness — with enough affection that you half taste them. We couldn't leave without buying one of her cards.
What made the difference
- Indoor vs outdoor — no weather working against us this time.
- The right crowd — people who already notice craft and detail responded faster to what we do.
- Matching stock to the event — different events seem to favour different candles, so it helps to watch what's selling and adjust.
- The people — the relationships we built with other traders ended up mattering as much as the sales.
Like a lot of small businesses, Tempus & Jubilo started as something we do alongside our day jobs — which meant that 1am prep session came straight after a full day at work. But the day jobs gave us something as well as taking the hours: read what is actually happening, change the plan, move. Being agile and responsive to change is the one corporate lesson that has translated completely, and it is what got a fresh batch of monks onto the table by half nine the next morning.
Two markets in, and it's already clear: the setting, the crowd, and the people we meet all matter as much as the candles themselves.