My First Craft Fair. Pheeww.

Hello everyone,

who is that handsome young devil behind that gorgeous stand, you ask?

Yes, we survived and made it back from Seaham after our first craft fair yesterday. The Keep Calm it's a Show & Sell Etsy craft fair organised by the lovely Paula and Dave from KCCO on UK Handmade.

We were so nervous, well, I was really nervous about getting a rental car to drive up there and really didn't want to get a big car again. But we were lucky, I had a Vauxhall Corsa and it was perfect. This is definitely the kind of car we'd buy if we can ever afford it.

I think we did a good job with our stand, given this was our first craft fair, we managed quite well I think. I had invested in some display stands from Ebay so the prints and owls and cards would stand up rather than lie flat on the table.

 Quilts and plushies next to the stand

Odd Owls, Peculiar Penguins and Merry Matryoshkas. They got loads of attention but nobody bought them. I will list them in the shop soon. (need to take the pictures first of course.)

Art prints, cards ...

I attached one smaller hand sewn quilt to the back of John's painting racks.

I used my new towel rack to display some baby quilts and had a few larger quilts on a chair just in case someone asks for a larger or bed sized quilt.

Some pendant necklaces which premiered yesterday, nobody has seen these before and I will add them to the shop when I have the time.

Magnets, sold some of those

and a bit of art

The craft fair was great fun, the crafters and artist crowd was amazing, we had a nice community atmosphere and I met so many lovely people, such as the lovely Ezra from Knitella who came all the way from Manchester and sold some gorgeous knitwear.

I also met Claire from Baloolah Bunting who makes really unusual bunting which looks stunning, especially outside when the sun shines through the intricate designs.  

John from Lucid Curiosities is so talented, his paintings and Gothic art mixed with some native American inspired jewellery were absolutely fascinating. His stand was right next to mine and we spent the day chatting when the customers were sparse.

The lovely Shona from The Wood Muse had her stand right next to John's and sold hand carved spiritual wood statues, Dreamcatcher jewellery and much much more. Shona had brought her guitar and was singing for us, sometimes Joni Mitchell and then some Take That even. It was one of my favorite things from the day.

Nancy from Boho Raspberry shares my love of gorgeous designer fabrics and sells really colorful handbags, totes and pencil cases etc. Her stand was a feast for the eyes.

Stephanie from Rocker Doll Jewellery had the most amazing Gothic necklaces, I was really tempted by a pendant necklace with a book that opened up and revealed a clock inside, very clever.

I also met Kate from Oopsie Daisie Delights who had a gorgeous stand covered in all things vintage and very unusual crochet and cross stitch gifts.

OK, I have to stop here for today and leave some other lovely crafters from the fair for another blog post. But please go and check out these amazing artists and their websites or shops. You won't regret it.

I enjoyed that aspect of the fair the most, meeting new people and fellow crafters. There were not very many customers, even though I just saw a count of over 600 I find that very hard to believe, and my stand was right by the door and they all had to pass me (unless they came in using a different door). After around 12 it was very quiet despite all the marketing we all did and the amazing job Paula and Dave did in organising it. I did not sell much, not a single owl or plush toy which is what I was expecting, but nevertheless it was well worth the expense and great fun.

So now I need to find other craft fairs in the region that I can sign up for. I will definitely do this again when I have the time.

Lots of love,
Nadine