A call has gone out for the Eastern Cape’s top crafters and artists to exhibit and sell their work at the Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World’s craft market, which will open in December.

"This is going to be an arts and crafts market with a difference," says Lorraine Bester, who heads up the Red Shed craft centre at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and is assisting with the establishment of The Boardwalk’s craft centre.

"It will be a working market where shoppers will be able to see artists and crafters putting the finishing touches to their creations." "Then, having seen how a basket or a glass ornament is made, they have a greater appreciation of the workmanship and the skill that goes into creating it. For the crafter this translates into sales at the counter." "For the visitor, it adds to the fun of the centre and adds that little bit of extra value to the work that they are buying. It’s great to be able to tell your guests that you watched while the artist put the finishing touches to the painting on your wall, or you saw how the clay pot was thrown."

The Boardwalk craft market will also have a different mix of products to those offered elsewhere in the country, she says. "The Eastern Cape has some truly amazing and unique craft work, and The Boardwalk’s Art and Craft Centre will provide an ideal outlet."

At least 20 per cent of the lettable area will be devoted to the manufacturing or finishing of works. This is a formula which has been proven at the Red Shed in Cape Town. The success of the Red Shed has been built over years of trial and error, and Eastern Cape crafters and artists will benefit from this experience.

"The stakes are high for both the tenants and the Boardwalk and we want to make it work," she says.

Both co-operatives and individual artists will be catered for. "What we need is a mix of products that appeal to the locals, national tourists and foreign visitors," says Ms Bester. "The key to the success of the centre will be that it offers gifts for the whole family. It will be a place where the people of Port Elizabeth can go to buy a gift or commission a painting and where tourists can buy African crafts to take home with them."

"It will also be a fun place to visit – along with all the other attractions at The Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World."

Ms Bester is working with a number of local craft groups to help them set up co-operatives to sell their products at The Boardwalk Art and Craft Centre. Previously disadvantaged crafters and artists are being advised on how to set up and manage co-operatives, and also how to formalise their own businesses.

"We are creating as many employment opportunities as possible, but they have to be sustainable. This is not a charity. The craft centre will have to pay its own way, and that means the whole experience of shopping, purchasing and living with the art work must be enjoyable."

The Boardwalk will be implementing strict quality standards at the art and craft centre. "Again experience has shown that we cannot afford to have one or two sub-standard stalls in the centre. People tend to remember the bad experiences rather than the good ones, and that reflects on all the tenants."

The Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World will have 19 barrows in addition to the 29 stalls in the arts and crafts centre. "The barrows provide an opportunity for small businesses who are not, strictly speaking, crafters. "There would, for example, be a tie shop or someone personalising T-shirts and mugs."

Stalls are still available at the art and craft centre, which will open in early December to catch the Christmas rush. The whole excitement around the opening of the festival retail complex at the Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World will give crafters a great start. We will be working hard at sustaining the momentum through the rest of the year," she says.

Anyone interested in taking a stall at the Boardwalk Art and Craft Centre can contact Lorraine Bester on 021 419 2885.