The Handmade Fair
When Kirstie Allsopp isn't making stuff or selling homes on TV, she's talking about making stuff at The Handmade Fair - a festival for craft lovers that she fronts. The lovely people behind the scenes sent me an invite to this year's fair at Hampton Court Palace, and I went on what turned out to be one of the first real days of Autumn, getting me into the perfect mood for making stuff for the build up to Christmas.
Tickets to the fair include three workshops or talks of your choice, and boy is there a lot to choose from. Wandering round I saw people making origami flowers, macrame baskets, crochet squares, icing cupcakes, upcycling, and even learning how to make bath bombs with Lush.
Truly, one of the best things about crafting is how you can choose to do it completely alone, or join other like-minded people for a good old chat-and-make session. Here you could just pitch up at a table and people would start chatting - such a friendly atmosphere, and I was amazed to meet people who'd travelled from all over the UK, and even Ireland, just to come here.
The fair is spread out over several giant marquees in an outdoor part of Hampton Court Palace. In between the tents are stalls selling everything from crepes to cheese to candles. I'll admit it, I spent a fair bit of time chatting with staff manning the Lush stall. I'm obsessed with this brand right now (see my many blog posts, tweets and Instagrams harping on about my Lush baths), and it was great to really chat to them about what they do. We also made fresh-flower crowns!
Inside the Super Theatre (it did look quite super!) there was a timetable of exciting talks hosted by Kirstie. She interviewed Cath Kidston amongst others, and there were also panels featuring Etsy, Pinterest, and the Crafts Council.
The biggest of all the Marquees held a kind of superstore of craft stalls. It was hell on earth trying to look at anything though, we were all so squashed and there was little air in there. All the stall owners were madly fanning themselves and looking worriedly at their beautifully arranged displays of stock. It's a shame, as I would have liked to learn more about some of the people behind these small businsses and the things they make to sell.
I did get to speak to one lady who sells cute wooden kits to make Christmas decorations with. She showed me how to do them, and I bought one. Stay tuned for my almost certainly rubbish attempt at this, which I shall duly blog about.
Of all the many yummy-smelling food stalls and appealing tea & cake stalls (yes, really), the one that caught my eye was this one below. A mobile prosecco bar. I want one.
If you like crafting and want to learn new skills, hone the skills you already have, learn more about the successes of the crafting industry, buy lots of crafty bits, or simply just chill out with friends and meet new people who love to craft too - I recommend the Handmade Fair. Gorgeous location (I had a good old wander round the Palace's gardens afterwards and a kindly warden even let me charge my phone in his little guard booth!) with a well-planned range of workshops and talks. A festival of creating, making and mending.