An update on latest initiatives

Axminster Chamber of Commerce

Your Chamber working for you

There is a lot going on within the Chamber right now and we want to ensure that every business is aware of the opportunities. This newsletter covers just some of the upcoming activities that are helping to make Axminster vibrant again. Please sign up quickly for the Scarecrow Festival and consider ways in which you can participate in Axminster Gate to Plate. We are also looking ahead to Christmas and have a whole range of plans to attract footfall including music events and a model railway (more on those soon). There will be more street banners shortly and we are considering training workshops and business networking events. If you haven't already joined the Chamber please throw your weight behind what we are doing - it costs the equivalent of less than a £1 a week.

Our week-long Axminster Scarecrow Festival is a chance to have some fun while also attracting visitors to your premises. The project is being led by Ellis Holt with the express aim of creating a trail that stretches well beyond the town centre. All you have to do is come up with your own scarecrow character or physical statue of your own choosing and display it between Monday 2nd and Saturday 7th October when we expect the town to be crowded with visitors for the Axminster Gate to Plate food festival (see below.) We will publish a full list of scarecrow locations on our website and social media and encourage the public to do the tour. Their votes will determine who receives a trophy. Follow our link to sign up or to ask for more details.

Scarecrow Festival Sign-Up

Food festival coming our way

The Scarecrow Festival will be a great build up to Axminster Gate to Plate, a substantial food festival that will take place in the town centre on Saturday 7th October. It is being run by eat:Festivals, with both East Devon District Council and the Chamber as partners.The event will be heavily publicised to the community nearer the time but right now it is important that we alert businesses to the opportunity of an event that promises a big footfall in the town. Axminster is one of a number of events being run by eat:Festivals this year right across the South West, bringing the very best of local food and drink producers to town centres across Devon, Somerset, Dorset, South Glos and Bristol. Some 60 producers are already booked for Axminster Gate to Plate. There are still a few pitches available for any local businesses with fresh or artisan products. Follow the first link below to sign up.

From the Chamber’s perspective, we would like other local businesses to take full advantage of the footfall opportunity on 7th October. Pubs and cafes in particular should see a big potential audience. Come up with something special and we will help you to promote it. And if you usually close at 1pm please think about extending your day. Follow the second link below to find out more about how you can engage.

Apply for a pitch

How to engage

Are you in our business directory?

We now have more than 80 local businesses listed in our Axminster Business Directory, which has been a free resource for nearly a year now while the relaunched Chamber demonstrates all its benefits. The time has, however, now come when the directory has to become a free benefit of membership which we hope everyone will agree represents good value at £50 a year. In the next few weeks we will be contacting all the non-member businesses that have listings and encouraging them to join. Those who prefer not to do so will still be able to retain a presence in a more basic text-only format. We have a variety of enhancements planned for the directory over the coming weeks including the opportunity for users to add tags for their products / services. We will also have an added level of search engine visibility that will take users direct to your page so that it becomes your own mini website.

Visit directory

Good reasons for joining the Chamber

We are working to help make Axminster’s economy stronger
We give businesses a voice
We are exploring issues that matter
We are supporting individual businesses wherever we can
We are driving ‘shop local‘ campaigns
We are boosting the street scene with banners, community tables and more
You get a free premium listing in our online business directory
We are running valuable skills workshops (free to members) in areas such as social media
We are planning to create more networking opportunities
We are working closely with our local authorities
Axminster is stronger if we all work together.

Join now

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Our mailing address is: c/o Archway Bookshop, Trinity Square, Axminster EX13 5AP.
Email: secretary@axminster.biz

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