Tap Seac craft market sees more crowd

Abigail Lai

The “Tap Seac Craft Market” marked its 10th anniversary during the weekend, featuring 220 local and foreign booths that provided a diversity of cultural and creative activities.

Held for two consecutive weekends, a total of 39 creative handicraft workshops will be held and will stage 50 music performances and interactive installations.

Retailers hail from different regions including mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore and Korea.

Various distinctive cultural and creative products, such as accessories, fashion designs, drawings, paintings, home decorations, creatively created potted plants, natural handmade products and leather goods, will be showcased to the general public.

There will also be 39 creative handicraft workshops conducted by booth owners from different regions to teach residents creative handicraft skills.

Yesterday, the site was packed with residents.

“This is our first time and it’s quite overwhelming. We never expected such a crowd and people are really friendly and keen to know our passion in making the products,” said Lorraine Lo, a retailer from Hong Kong.

The booth retails natural pet care products. According to Lo, the application to participate in the craft market was competitive, noting that there were over 200 applications from Hong Kong.

“Only less than 60 were accepted. This weekend we have 29 stores from Hong Kong, and I guess next week as well,” she added.

Lorraine Lo

Lo further explained that the store “Pawfume Lab” participates in different craft markets in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

Another participant that retails religious items, “Seeds Handcraft” noted that the fair had more attendees this weekend compared to previous years.

Abigail Lai, who participated for the seventh time, noted that the offerings at this edition featured an array of cultural products.

“I feel that there are much more different types of cultural art products this time, the [ambience] is a lot of fun,” she said.

“This fair is good chance to meet people and let them know about my products. I believe it’s a good event for us [retailers],” Lai added.

The retailer admitted that it is still challenging for art and cultural retailers to acquire a stable revenue, noting that there are not enough resources to support them.

To allow local citizens to participate in the 10th anniversary celebration of the event, IC previously launched the “10th Anniversary Programme of the Tap Seac Craft Market,” calling for proposals of the interactive installations, stage performances and creative handicraft workshops.

Inaugurated in 2008, the market serves as a platform for local and foreign cultural and creative practitioners to display and sell their products. It has gradually developed into a local brand for the cultural and creative market, according to the IC. LV