Weird and wonderful shiny things - a star of Alfreton’s indoor market

Happy is certainly the vibe that shines from Carla Fletcher, aged 48, who runs the Sapphire of the Stars market stall in Alfreton.

Everybody has a story – and Carla’s is one of sparkling defiance and glittering self-belief.

“Follow what you want to do. I’m living proof you can do this. You can build a business from nothing. Stuff what people say… go for it!”

Her stall is an eye-boggling collection of dreamcatchers, gemstones, bats, bracelets, strange looking dolls, jewellery, charms, oddball spiders… and that’s just at a quick glance.

How would Carla describe what she does?

“I make lots of weird and wonderful shiny things, with the aim of making life a little bit better for people. I make everything with good intentions.”

“For me, it’s as basic as listening to someone playing a piano with love, or baking a cake with love. I put that good intention into everything I make, and that’s my way of passing it on to people.”

Her smile is most definitely one of these ‘shiny things’. Where did all this begin?

“I was watching a Stephen King movie… Dreamcatcher… and I thought, ‘yeah, I’m gonna make some dreamcatchers’. And I started there.”

Her answer creates a pause. She saw a dreamcatcher in a film and that started a business? She looks around the stall, laughs, nods and shrugs, her smile a yes I did.

“And when I started I couldn’t stop. You know… I’m not neurotypical and if I make one thing I’m going to make a batch of them all in different colours, otherwise I’m going to get bored if I make them in the same colour.”

“I went on from doing dreamcatchers to my art dolls. I make polymer clay fairies and dolls, and for that I’m known as Carla Von Frankenstein.”

Her laugh echoes through the indoor market as she points to the dolls.

“Mermaids… a cat fairy. A very cheesed-off genie. One-eyed ghosts.”

We pause as a lady approaches the stall, looks at some handmade brooches, lifting her scarf to show Carla the others she has on her coat.

After a chirpy conversation the lady leaves with a smile.

“Even if they don’t buy anything… as long as people go away happy, I’m happy,” Carla says. “They usually leave laughing or shaking their head… usually both at the same time.”

We go and sit between the stalls, a place Carla uses as a storeroom and workshop. She tells of her life before, working in “a very miserable office”, before making her life-change 17 years ago.

“When I was in regular employment, I needed to go out every weekend. I needed lots of creature comforts. But I don’t now. Because I get fulfilment from what I’m doing. I love it.”

“I believe you should live your life in a way that is going to make things better. For me it’s not about making loads of money. As long as I can live, and if I can encourage other people to do it as well… that’s basically it. Then of course, there’s Spidey!”

And here, is where things truly enter the realm of oddball. Carla chuckles, leans across to where a small spider puppet sits on a box, his legs now brushing his face as though contemplating his next move, his eyes staring straight into mine. And then, he speaks, with an ear-tingling squeak.

“I’m the mascot! Spidey! The mascot with the most legs!”

Carla tuts. Raises an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t be if you met a centipede or a millipede.”

Spidey spins round. Stares at Carla. Tells her to “Shut up!”.

Carla puts Spidey back on the box, rolls her eyes, grins, explains the back-story of her eight-legged part-time stall assistant, part-time TikTok celebrity.

“I’ve had Spidey since day one. Actually, before day one. I’d turn up at the stall and people would say, ‘where’s Spidey?’ and he ended up being the mascot.”

“He’s spoiled. He’s got Spidey Towers at home… two bookcases side by side that are full of his, erm, furniture.”

Through the gap between the stalls, appears Carla’s friend, Joanna Mepham, 47, owner of the Patchworkz Reloved stall next door.

In her hand is what looks like a cloth rabbit.

Joanna holds the rabbit up, wiggles it. Introduces Ronnie the Wrong-Way-Round Rabbit.

“When I actually came to sew his legs on,” Joanna says with a smirk, “I discovered the main body part was the wrong way round… And that,” she says, pointing to just below its belly, “is actually… his bum!”

Joanna and Carla’s laughter fills the market hall. “Yeah,” says Carla, “So if he trumps, he knocks himself out.”

It feels there is only one way to go from here. Strange question number one. If you had a time-machine where would you go?

Carla pauses. “Does it have to be on Earth?” No. “Okay. I think I’d just want to go and sit on an asteroid and watch the solar system form. I mean, dinosaurs will squash you. There’s all that tricky problem of altering timelines. Do we really want to take Spidey back in time?”

Okay. Strange question number two. If you could change anything, what would it be?

Carla pauses again. A smile on her face.

“I’d like more compassion in the world. Yeah. I don’t tend to go with regrets and things. I think stuff in your life moulds you and makes you who you are.”

A lady appears at the stall, asks Carla what the cold remedy was she mentioned. Carla writes echinacea on some paper, hands it to her. “You’re a good un,” says the lady.