Craft Festival Bovey Tracey 16-19 June 2022: stand A11

 

I'm delighted to be participating in the Craft Festival at Bovey Tracey for the first time this year. You can find out more about how to get to the festival and how to buy tickets here: www.craftfestival.co.uk/Visitor-info-BoveyTracey. 

The festival is open Friday - Sunday from 10 - 5 each day. 

Directions

SAT NAV co-ordinates TQ13 9AL

Bovey Tracey is only 2 miles off the A38 Exeter to Plymouth Expressway.

Exit the A38 at Drumbridges Roundabout and follow signs to Bovey Tracey town centre. 

Follow the AA signs to The Craft Festival. 

Nearest train station Newton Abbot. Regular buses from Exeter, Torquay and Newton Abbot stop at Bovey Tracey. The nearest train station is Newton Abbot. Bus 39 takes you to Bovey Tracey from Newton Station. Exeter International Airport is 18.5 miles away. 

Tickets available here: www.craftfestival.co.uk/Ticket-info-BoveyTracey

 

Whiteknights Studio Trail 2022

Whiteknights Studio Trail 11 & 12 June 

11 – 12 June 2022 Whiteknights Arts Trail at the Museum of English Rural Life. 11 – 6 each day.I'll be there, next to the cafe with all the cakes, ha! I'll be alongside Ursula Waechter, a ceramicist. 

Craft Festival Cheltenham 11 - 13 March 2022

 

Craft Festival Cheltenham

11 - 13 March 2022
 

I am excited to be exhibiting at this show in Cheltenham Town Hall the weekend of 11-13 March! I would be delighted to see you if you can make it. There will be crafts galore, events, demonstrations - and if you're into The Great Pottery Throwdown, Keith Brymer-Jones will be interviewed live on the Friday!

 

one down, two to go.......

Well, the Crowthorne fair is over for another year. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and had a chat! It went well and it seemed busy - more so than last year. Now it's time to get the orders done from the show and get ready for the next fair, which is the Craft & Design Show at South Hill Park.

dates: 19 & 20 November 2011

price: £Weekend tickets £7, Conc £5 (Advance only)

venue: Wilde Theatre

Enjoy and explore handmade crafts from a wide range of UK artists.

Taster session available on the day in silversmithing, ceramics and printmaking.

Sat 19 Nov - 11am-6pm
Sun 20 Nov - 10am-5pm
Tickets on the day: £5, Conc £3, Under 10s FREE. Family £10 (2+2 or 1+3)

Craft in Focus 28-30 October

Next weekend is Craft in Focus at Crowthorne! I'll be there, along with loads of fabulous crafters like Lauren Denney - beautiful ceramics (stand 21). We'll be across from each other, I will be at stand 90.

1pm to 6pm Friday; 10am to 5pm Saturday & Sunday

Adults £4.50, Over 65's £3.50, Accompanied under 14's free!

South Hill Park and benchpeg

South Hill Park Christmas Craft Fair this weekend!!! 11am - 6pm on Saturday and 10am - 5pm on Sunday!! I'm in the Wilde Theater, see you there!

Proof that I've been working hard - here's a photo of a new benchpeg, followed by a photo of my well-loved benchpeg. The benchpeg is the centre of a jeweller's bench - it's where almost all the work gets done!

things I like

I've been so busy with craft fairs and teaching and my engraving course that I would like to just mention something else besides all that! So here's a small list of things I like that you might like too. Firstly there's my friends' new shop called Comma in Oxford which I visited last night for the first time. It's brilliantly set up and looks amazing - plus lots of fun gift items, so I need not worry about where I'm going next time I need a birthday present for someone:Then there's the talented bag and purse maker I was next to at Farnham - another good destination for presents for any girly girls you might know: Nicola de Cruz
Then there are the delicate, gorgeous ceramics of Lauren, for example this round vase that I think is absolutely lovely:And then for the knitters in your life (everyone's got one or more!!!) there are the luscious hand dyed yarns by Skein Queen like this one:

ONE MORE

One more craft fair to go - this Tuesday evening there is a Christmas market at Farnham Maltings in Farnham, Surrey. Open 5pm - 10pm! Last chance to get your handmade, unique pressies straight from the makers. 150 stalls and mince pies and mulled wine from the bar. See you there...

www.farnhammaltings.com

Open 11am - 5 pm Oxford Town Hall

Here's the link for more info about exhibitors and so forth: http://handmadeoxford.blogspot.com/
Really looking forward to this one - should see a lot of old friends :-)

middle of November already

I am baffled as to how it is already the middle of the month and I can see December's nose poking around the corner! It's super busy at the moment with all the craft fairs and sorting out commissions from the fairs. Plus I have the joy of a lost package - a victim of the postal strike, I suppose. I sent a package 4 weeks ago and it hasn't arrived yet. Naturally it was a custom piece, so now I have to make it again and quickly too! I keep meaning to put more items on Etsy/Folksy, but I just can't seem to find the time between everything else. I'll try to get something up today though! I'm also slowly progressing with my driving lessons and have a practical driving test booked - so I better be ready for it in January!!
At the South Hill Park fair I was in the same room as two other artists, one of whom I mentioned in the post below. The other is a glass bead maker (The Earring Cafe) - she demonstrated how the beads are made at the fair and I have to say it was fascinating. So if you're interested in colourful glass beads, have a look at her website. Here's a photo of one of her handmade glass beads:

little houses...

So at the South Hill Park fair, I was in a room with two other exhibitors. One of those two was Sarah Nicol - she makes these cute little houses which are doorstops. They are filled with sand, so weigh about 2kg. She also has smaller houses which are filled with lavender...also lovely. I particularly liked the doorstop houses...such a good idea and they are soft, so you won't stub your toe on them either. Here are some piccies of her houses....you can also visit her amazing website here.

Does Craft Matter to you?

Hello hello it's another super gloomy super rainy blah grey did i mention gloomy day. I'm sort of getting ready for the South Hill Park Christmas Fair, which starts tomorrow. I say sort of because I've somehow neglected to have any tea yet today so I'm warming up slowly! In any case, I thought I would pass on the Craft Council's plea for signatures to let the government know that craft DOES matter in the UK. I did sign it, because I am all in favour of the current and continuing craft revival. I love seeing skills being kept alive - better than complaining years from now that there's nobody left who knows how to do these things. Here's to handmade - from jewellery to silversmithing to knitting and everything in between!!! If you're interested in signing their declaration, see the below letter and link (the link is the last sentence).

Make Craft Count The Crafts Council believes that Craft Matters and we want to show that it matters to thousands of people across the UK as much as it does to us. The government’s own data tells us that “17% of the population took part in a craft activity in 2008/09” – we want to show what that statistic looks like in real support so that everyone can see that craft is highly valued. In the next few months, we will be posting the names* of all our signatories on our website so that we can demonstrate the great support for craft across the UK – and we need your help to show its true extent. *(Your name will feature on a graphic design to show your support, and will be the only part of your signature made public). So, sign up today and pass this email on to friends and colleagues. Together, we will show how much Craft Matters. Sign up to Make Craft Count