It's a great time to craft in Southland at the moment with the addition of two new craft markets in the region in the last three months.

The inaugural Otautau Craft Market took place last weekend, bringing a variety of craft stalls to the town for the very first time.

In March a Takitimu craft market started at Ohai, and has since expanded rapidly, bringing in a variety of visitors from as far away as Queenstown.

Otautau market organiser Kath Pinkerton said the idea came to her after meeting Takitimu market organiser Megan Anderson.

She said she loved the idea of a craft market and wanted to combine it with her love of crafting.

"Because Megan had set up hers and I saw how well it went well I thought, right, that’s something Otautau could do with... obviously we don’t have a craft market here. It’s something different... not only for crafters wanting to join us but also Otautau itself showing their support for us."

The market is held on the fourth Saturday of each month at Otautau Primary School between 11am and 2pm, with all funds raised from the market being donated to a variety of community organisations.

Mrs Anderson said there had been talk about setting one up in Takitimu for a while and she decided to "take the bull by the horns" to get it off the ground.

"We had our first one in Nightcaps at the local school there. We had 11 stallholders for our first market and we’ve just grown ever since."

She said the market had expanded so rapidly they now have a food van and coffee stall to cater to the attendees.

The market is now held on the first Saturday of each month at the Ohai Marae between 11am and 2pm, with funds raised going back to the marae which distributes it throughout the community.

Mrs Anderson said they had worked around other craft markets in the region at Winton and Te Anau to ensure the days didn't clash to allow people to go to a different craft market each weekend.

The next Takitimu market will be held this Saturday (July 6), while the next Otautau market will be held on July 27.