Sunday 8 October 2017

Handmade Fair - September 2017

It looked like a grey start for this year's Handmade Fair as we arrived at The Green at Hampton Court, not helped by the distinct reduction in bunting levels from previous years. Still, it didn't take long to get into the spirit of the day and start looking around for exciting things to do.



This year we took a bit of a different approach; we hadn't pre-booked for any of the scheduled events and instead decided to see what we felt like doing on the day. A number of stall-holders were offering their own workshops, so this decision turned out really well for us as we were able to book onto these spontaneously. It also took off the time pressure of heading from workshop to workshop, making for a lovely relaxing day! We even ended up with some sunshine after not too long:


As ever, the tents were filled with fun and beautiful things to see. We did an amazingly fun workshop at glass stand Craven & White, where we got to make our own piece that they took home, fired in their kiln and posted back to us. Here's the sort of thing we were aiming at:


Work in progress (my shoddy copy of their signature flower design and Pam's amazing under-the-sea soap dish):


And the finished coaster that arrived safe and sound in the post this weekend!


Not sure I have a career in glass ahead of me, although it was great fun to have a go. In the meantime I'll have to rely on other people to make shiny things for me (like Gamer Glass, so cute).

Here's an embossing demonstration from the enthusiastic team at The English Stamp Company:


And we took up the offer of a free wire jewelry making workshop in the Mollie Makes tent, creating this little bendy heart with Swarovski crystals.


At the press tent they were trying to fill a wall with origami faces and we were happy to help out with our own contributions:


Not sure how much they bore resemblance to the real things, but hey - I blame the paper selection!


It wouldn't be a Handmade Fair if we didn't fit in some shopping. This year I finally bought something from the stand of Nicola Hanrahan, whose bird-and-baking art I fell in love with last year, and now have one of her lovely tote bags housing my knitting supplies.


We also had a long chat at the Emma's Soap stand about their lovely handmade ethical soap. A lot of bars were sniffed (and purchased!)


The usual amazing range of food and drink stands were on offer, although if you wanted to find somewhere to sit with your lunch you had to have a keen eye and move fast to grab any space you could find - next year picnic blankets are definitely on the list of things to pack! The Deco Bar was back on site, although we were more drawn to the churros. Mmm, churros...


Another wonderful day at the Handmade Fair. Until next year, I'll leave you with some more pictures of the lovely things we saw. See you there in 2018!










If you enjoyed this post perhaps you could take a look at my Facebook page and leave a like or come and say hello on my Twitter or Instagram feeds!