Go to Play Market - I LOVED it!

What makes the Go to Play Market unique:

• The venue
• {finally} there is a kiddie focused market
• The signage, names, the setup and the general look and feel of the market
• The world class bike track - a huge draw card for all those adventourous dads/moms/sons/daughters!
• The kiddie entrepreneurial area.
• The passionate Go to PLay Team!
• Something the whole family will love.
 

I don't know about you but I am one inquisitive lady. When I go somewhere new I want to know more about what happens behind the scenes. Sometimes I am fortunate enough to be able to ask the questions and get the answers...

There are two lovely ladies behind this ingenious market and they have kindly agreed to share their thoughts with us.

Have a look at the Q and A session we had below:
 

 

Tell us a little more about yourselves as the two lovely ladies behind the Go to Play Market?

We are both mothers of young kids. I (Derryn) have 2 boys Liam and Kei aged 5 and 1 and Fiona has a boy named Rio who is nearly 2. I studied Hotel Management after I left school and then lived in London for 10 years working in the hospitality industry. I also did a lot of travelling, something I am so grateful for! I returned to Durban in 2003, opened a restaurant called Vestige Bistro and Bar on the corner of Musgrave and St Thomas Road, enjoyed that for nearly 2 years and then had my kids. I love being a stay at home mom but also felt I needed that something for myself! I have worked in the odd event over the last 5 years and furthered my studying, but felt that I still had not found what I was looking for. Never mind the hours and lifestyle that goes with working events.

Fiona studied a 3 year diploma in clothing production and then went overseas for 12 years, returning to South Africa in 2008. She then opened a shop called 'Mooi' (currently now situated at Earthmother) with her business Partner Lauren. She then sold out of that and started selling Lemonade with her very talented graphic designer husband Dino at Wonder Market. She too is a stay at home mom, but also needs that outlet for her creativity and passion for unique and local products.

 

We are both really passionate about spending time with our kids and have always wanted to find that something that we can fit in with their schedule!

{don't these 2 sound like superwomen?!}

In typical 'selfless mom' style there are no photos of Derryn and Fiona but below are some lovely photos of the families coming together to make the signage for the market. I love it!

 

Go to Play Market is run from Giba Gorge, why did you choose Giba Gorge?

 

Once we had decided to go with the whole kiddie focused market, we of course needed to choose a venue suited to the needs of our target market (predominantly parents and children) and a venue that parents would feel their kids were safe in.  We needed a venue with space and shade, where the whole family could have a fun day out and relax!  We had been to Giba for numerous Birthday Parties and to ride the BMX track and thought it would be an ideal venue for the whole family. It had sufficient parking, it had the little bike tracks, the swings and jungle gym and of course the beautiful walk to the waterfall. Not only did it offer moms and kids an ideal venue to chill, but it also offered dads (or moms) who are exercise prone, the opportunity to go for a run or cycle while the rest of the family stayed at the market. Not many dads are into markets, so we felt this was a perfect opportunity for them to be involved.  The fact that so many markets are popping up everywhere, we knew we needed that 'wow factor'!  The I Heart and Wonder Market are both very established markets, but we felt that for our market we had the space for kids and prams! Something I had battled to find at other markets. Of course there was the issue of the dirt road and the distance from Durban but we thought most adventurous families would easily travel the distance for a good fun day out with the kids.  Even more reason for people to stay the day! I know all the kids had a blast at the first market, which means all of us parents did too! We approached Giba with our proposal and here we are today.  We love the venue!



Why did you start the Go to Play Market?

 

I was sitting in the lounge one day with my Partner Jan, and the thought just came in to my head, what about a kiddie focused market. Both the I Heart and Wonder Market are very well established but I felt that for kids there was a gap for a market with space, kiddies entertainment and a good day out for both Mom and Dad. I had always wanted to start a market, but had never followed through with it, the timing wasn't right. We as mothers are always trying to find a venue where we can take our kids, feel that they are safe and happy and in return relax!  I knew I couldn't do this on my own, so the first person that came into my mind was Fiona!  She is hugely passionate about her Lemonade and was involved in the market scene, so I knew that she would be the right partner for me on this! We offer different skills to the venture, but at the same time are very similar in our vision and the quality of products we are looking for!  Her husband has been helping us out with the posters and branding of the market, so we are hugely grateful for that!

Dino came up with the name and Jan came up with the idea of naming the areas in our market after kiddies well known Children’s books. Even if people don’t get it, we feel the names are fun and represent the areas perfectly.  The bar is called ‘Five minutes peace’, the kiddies area is called ‘Where the wild things are’, the kiddie stall area is called ‘The Lilliput market’ from Gulliver's travels and the food court is called ‘The very hungry catterpillar’. Most importantly this has been a family affair.  Our kids helped paint all the signs, we collected the hay bales from Mooi River and had the covers made. We also had the kiddie stalls made! Our heart and soul has gone into this.  Everything has been hand- picked, hand-made and made with love!

 

Please tell us more about the kiddies area and why this is such an ideal outing for families with children?

 

We have a kiddies area at the market offering face painting, sand art, cup cake decorating, tables and chairs with colouring in sheets, dress up boxes and photo boards. We have girls working in the area, playing with the kids and just keeping an eye. We hope this makes the parents feel more relaxed! We also have made our own Play Market Play packs for girls and boys. These sell for R60. We feel these are a great birthday gift! We also have a bubble machine blowing bubbles all day for those real littlies! They love bubbles! There is so much space between stalls that kids can ride their bikes and moms and dads can plonk their blanket down and sip on a cold craft beer, glass of wine or a soft drink. We also serve divine cappuccinos! This is a real family day out! There are so many ideas flowing around at the moment, we cannot wait to share them with everyone!

One of our special features is our very own kiddie entrepreneurial area. These stalls are run by kids who have made their own items. It is too sweet and was a real hit at the launch. We initially did not want to charge for these, but have decided to charge R50 a stall. We feel this will teach the kids that nothing comes for free! You pay for your materials and you pay for your space ‘rent’! This is the rent we charge! We have 4 kiddies stalls at the moment, but will grow this over time! 
 

How many stalls do you have?

We currently have 30 stalls.  We feel this is a good number to start off with.  We would rather focus on quality than quantity.  We would rather focus on getting people to the market, supporting our very talented stallholders and making sure we do not down slide on our quality of stalls.

How many stalls would you like to ideally grow to?

We would love to grow, as so many of these markets have, but this growth will be steady while we find stallholders who are passionate about their products!  We have had many people approach us to run a stall, but have had to turn them away.  This is not an indication of the standard of their products, but merely the fact that either we have something similar on board or they are more commercial goods. We do not want products you can find in the big shopping chains.  We want to support local people who make the items themselves or source it locally and the goods stick out from your ordinary run of the mill item. We would love to see ourselves grow into a combined food and family boutique market!  This will take time!  Good foodies are hard to find, but we know they are out there! We are also strict with the aesthetics of a stall.  We believe that the face of your stall is just as important as the quality of your product. 

If you would like a number, we would love to get to 80/100 stalls.  There is place to grow yet we still want to have that space for kids to play!

How much is it to get in and what does the cover charge include?
 

Giba charges R10 entrance fee for adults and kids over 3.  This gets you an amazing venue with a vast array of kiddies entertainment.  The face painting is free and so is the dress up, photoboards and colouring in. We have advertised on our poster this month guided walks to the waterfall.  This will be free of charge, but will work on a booking system. First come first serve.  We will organise 2 walks throughout the market day.  Of course the guides would not shun away any tips, but is not compulsory! We will pay the guides!

I noticed that majority of your stalls stock handmade/locally produced items, is this part of your selection process?

 

As mentioned above, yes we ideally want handmade/locally produced items. Fiona and I know exactly what we want! Whenever we go to shows or exhibitions to do research, we can point at the same stall at the same time and know whether we want them or not! We have very similar taste! What we also notice is that most of the markets have the same stallholders. We would like to find new ones! This takes time and perseverance and lot of research on our part.

Potential stallholders need to fill out our application form, send in pictures of their products and then we will get back to them.

We have varying stall holder fees. These can be discussed on request. Rates vary on the size of the stall and whether or not a stall needs power or a gazebo. We have also just introduced a new concession fee for stallholders who we feel need it and are prepared to just have a table and chair with less space. If people are interested in a stall, they need to email us on gotoplaymarket@gmail.com and we will send them an application form along with terms and conditions. We try to get back to people straight away, we believe in constantly being on the ball and up to date with our admin!



So there you have it. If you want to spend a day out with your family you will want to visit Giba Gorge and the Go to Play Market. Shop local and indulge in some great food. We had Suki's Indonesian Food {the pepper chicken and noodles is delicious} just by the way. But I wanted to eat so much more than just that!

For more up to date infomation on the Market visit www.facebook.com/gotoplaymarket and like them.

You can email Derryn gotoplaymarket@gmail.com

Future Market Dates:

Saturday November 16 2013

Saturday December 14 2013

Saturday January 11 2014

Saturday February 8 2014

Saturday March 15 2014

Photography by by Luca Barausse {not me...Luca's great photos blew my straight outta the water} www.lucaphotography.co.za