Page 44 - MarketTimesAugust2014
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  Official opening of Chesterfield indoor
NATIONAL Market Traders Federation President Michael Nicholson and President-Elect John Dyson joined the Duke of Devonshire for the official opening of Chesterfield Market Hall following a £4.3 million redevelopment.
The work was paid for by £2.1 million in grants from the European Regional Development Fund, the Heritage Lottery and the Derbyshire Economic Partnership, with the remaining cost being met by
Chesterfield Borough Council.
As he unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening the Duke of Devonshire said: “What a tremendous achievement to manage the market hall in a commercial way but in the interests of everyone who
lives and works in Chesterfield.” Pictured at the opening are (left to right): John Dyson, Michael Nicholson, National Association of British Market Authorities President-Elect Coun Mick Barker,
and the Duke of Devonshire.
   Charity biker beats his fundraising target
CHARITY biker rider Ian Johnson has successfully completed his 120-mile journey along the Yorkshire route of the Tour de France.
As reported in the June edition of Market Times Ian, who sells furniture on Sleaford and Spalding markets in Lincolnshire, was riding to raise money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer.
His target was £600, but in fact he raised nearly £900. And was still hoping for more donations through the website www.justgiving.com/Ian- Johnson24.
The challenging route began in Leeds on the day before the start of Le Tour, and took in several high peak climbs before ending in Harrogate.
Ian reports: “Weather conditions were fine at the start, and it was beautiful scenery. But wind increased and it started to rain about 30 miles in, making descents treacherous, resulting in several casualties.
“But I managed to stay on the bike over all major climbs — not bad coming from Lincolnshire!”
 Two Skies sells to the world from Edinburgh’s Royal Mile
A JEWELLER who began trading from a blanket on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and has scoured the world for precious stones is now selling his jewellery in 20 countries.
Despite employing nine staff and selling 50,000 pieces a year to countries worldwide, National Market Traders Federation member
Adam McIntosh continues to trade from a market stall on the Royal Mile and loves nothing better than telling his customers how his gems have been found and manufactured.
After leaving school at 18, Adam set off around the world with £150 in his pocket. He was given the name Two Skies by Stone Eagle, the
warrior chief of the Mi’kmaq native Americans who said he would always have a sky over him when he travelled and a sky in his native Scotland.
A business idea emerged after he was given some low grade opals for the price of a couple of beers at a bar in Australia by an opal miner who had just struck a rich seam of opals.
He named his fledgling business Two Skies and sourced gems from his travels, coining the slogan “collected with conscience and crafted with love”.
It is based on the fact that Adam is prepared to go down the same mines as the people he buys from.
The designs include contemporary and Celtic works using Scottish Green Marble — a white serpentine marble that is collected on the west coast of Scotland and “Forever Leaves” — skeletonised leaves covered in precious metals.
Each gem has its story — from the beautiful Larimer stone that is only
found in two square kilometres of the planet, making it rarer than diamonds, to the unique blue amber mined in the Dominican Republic.
One of the core product lines is Scottish Green Marble. Two Skies’ tales of free diving down to the seabed to collect it, together with the fact that Green Marble is one of Scotland’s few natural gemstones, attracted the interest of the BBC. A film shot on Iona was televised last month as part of the BBC’s Coast programme and more episodes are currently being planned. There are also plans for an eight series documentary for a worldwide audience.
Two Skies has recently started manufacturing a Scottish stone called Lewisian — collected from one of the most ancient rocks in the world in Scotland’s outer Hebrides. And the company has just discovered a source of Scottish red Garnet, which are currently being transformed into finished jewellery.
NEWS
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