MORE than 1,500 people flocked to Skipton Auction Mart at the weekend to attend the Mart Theatre's new annual fundraiser Crafts in the Pen.

Over 100 exhibitors transformed the cattle pens into mini galleries to showcase and sell their hand-made gifts which included jewellery, ceramics, paper crafts, metal work, wood, cloth and glass.

The event was launched with very limited funds - but will be developed for future years.

Andy Lynan, the mart's artistic director, said: "We relied on a small amount from each exhibitor which covered the costs of removing the heavy pen gates, and providing an electric hookup as the cattle pens are not normally wired up for this. Then, we spent everything else on advertising to get the visitors through the door.

"The idea behind the first event was to raise the funds to develop the event further for both visitors and exhibitors and we are now in the position to do this. We want to create a great Christmas market but unfortunately for this first year we didn't have the funds to decorate the site to give it a Christmas feel."

Half of the income raised will be reinvested back into the event to fund future improvements. These will include a greater range of stalls for visitors, improved electric provision for exhibitors, clearer signage and a huge makeover to give it a Christmassy theme.

Andy added: "One thing we need to also address is the cold. Although the cattle pens are protected from the wind and rain it is still technically an outside event. It's going to be very difficult to heat that space so we are going to look at various different ways to keep our exhibitors and visitors warm."

The other half of income raised will go to The Mart Theatre which runs the event.

It is the world's only theatre that runs within a working auction mart and it has received no external funding since 2012. The theatre has had to make major changes to stay open including putting on its own Christmas pantomime each year and developing events to provide funds to cover its costs.

"It was really nice to talk to the visitors who had no idea that we ran a theatre inside the building," said Andy. "It's a great theatre space that can seat up to 300 people. The mailing list has shot up over the weekend."

The theatre is run by a small team of dedicated volunteers who between them man the box office, create the brochures and organise and put together the Christmas pantomime, which, this year, is Jack and the Beanstalk. It will be staged from Friday, December 18, to Sunday, December 20.

"Crafts in the Pen will return next year bigger and better," said Andy. "Meanwhile, huge thanks go out to our exhibitors, our team of volunteers and all the staff at Craven Cattle Marts."