This Sunday, 9 December, a group of London Met students and graduates will be setting up shop on one of the busiest shopping days of the year at Brick Lane’s Sunday UpMarket.

Run at the Old Truman Brewery, traders at Upmarket sell everything from fashion, accessories, art, food and bakes; it is one of London’s most exciting and imaginative markets which features many up and coming designers and artists.

Each year Accelerator offers some of London Met’s best designer-maker students and graduates the chance to run a stall and sell their own handmade products. This year students and graduates will be selling items varying from jewellery, bags, woolly hats, scarves, ceramic pots, wooden storage boxes and much more.

Natasha Triay, Student Enterprise Manager at London Met, said: “This is a great opportunity for students to not only test customer responses to their products, but it also gives them first-hand experience in running a business as they learn skills such as how to promote, how to speak to customers and how to use social media.

“It’s an ideal opportunity to undertake market research and they get to keep any profit they make. By participating in this event, students enhance their employability by developing their entrepreneurial skill set.

Last year, Adam Watts, a Furniture and Product Design BA student said, “Doing the Christmas Market has been a great real-world experience for me. I’ve received invaluable feedback to develop my products further and studying product design this has given me an edge to continue in my degree”.

If you are a London Met student or recent graduate and would like to get involved in next year’s Christmas market, please register your interest.