Castleton Christmas Craft Fair November 2014

After a break of a couple of months I attended a great craft fair at Castleton last Saturday.  it coincided with the switching on of the Christmas lights so the village was bustling despite the weather which was misty with occasional rain.

To get into the Christmas feel I set up my table with a red gingham cloth, made new price cards in red and added red lights to my white display tree. 

 As well as my usual goodies I brought along my mini Christmas Stockings and a new make for this year, mini bunting in a choice of Christmas or vintage/retro style fabrics.

It was a busy fair with a great range of stalls from turned wood to beautiful silver jewellery.  I also met a few familiar faces which is always nice. 

One particular one that caught my eye was Go Vintage, a wonderful selection of vintage and retro collectables.

It was a really enjoyable day, I made a profit and sold out of my Christmas mini bunting.  However I do have a few mini Christmas Stockings left so they will be appearing in my online shop.  

And finally.... as always there was a great selection of dogs visiting the fair but the one that caught my eye was Billy, who as well as being cute was the best dressed dog!

Bakewell Craft Fair February 2014

I attended my first Craft Fair last year in Bakewell and enjoyed it so much thought I would give it another go.  As it was half term this week I booked two days midweek to see how I would get on.

As well as my cushions and drawstring bags I took along my Gingham Flower Brooches and my latest make, Retro Sugar Bowl Pin Cushions. 

Unfortunately it was quiet, which I put down mostly to the recent weather.  However I met some lovely people and got some great ideas on how I can improve my display.  

I also met Ruth from Sticks and Stones Jewellery, she took an amber necklace that I no longer wore and rethreaded the stones to give me a lovely very wearable necklace.  

So I may not have covered my costs but to me it was still a success and I look forward to attending my next. 

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

From a personal point of view I have always felt that Christmas should start around 2 weeks before the 25^th December.  I hate seeing mince pies for sale in October and avoid looking at Christmas Decorations until I have to admit defeat in early December.  Where other children wanted to open their presents before the big day I was horrified at the thought and although I am now grown up I would never peak, shake or rip the wrapping paper!

 However as a seller I have learnt that I have to embrace the festive season a lot earlier.  Last year I was a bit late in getting my Christmas Stockings online so this year I had to be more organised. 

Some sellers have had their Christmas ranges up for sale since October but I opted for a mid-November launch to tie in with CRAFTfest, a online craft fair.  This has hopefully given enough time for sales but is not too early for the magic to run out!

So having launched my new range of Mini Christmas Stockings at CRAFTfest they are now available from my Folksy shop. 

This year I found a great range of new retro fabrics as well as some of my favourite fabrics from last year. 

I have also included some individual gingham designs for those who like to be more traditional.

Although I hope I have good sales this year lets hope there are a few left so I can use them to decorate my own home!

My First Craft Fair

I attended my first Craft Fair as a seller last Thursday and it was a great success!  Yes I made a modest profit after expenses but the main enjoyment was meeting the public and other sellers. 

It was a Craft and Gift Fair and held in an old wooden Scout Hut which was rather charming.  It had a good mix of sellers ranging from wildlife photography, vintage jewellery to knitting plus a very nice cake stall (at last someone that does proper Tiffin)!

I was given a corner with two tables which threw me a little as I had planned my layout on only having one; thank goodness I had taken along plenty of tablecloths with me.  Luckily I had plenty of time to rethink my display so it all worked out in the end.  I was also given a chair (which was comfy thank goodness) and had a nice little corner at the end of my table that allowed me to sit and do my crochet during the quiet times.

The Fair was in held in Bakewell a beautiful historic town in Derbyshire that is on the tourist trail.  So a lot of the people that attended were holidaymakers (with children) who had not planned to come along and nor were they looking for anything specific.  Luckily I had lower price items such as my Hedgehog Pin Cushions which proved popular to browsers, adult and children alike.  This highlighted that if I am going to attend further fairs in the future I need to have a wider range of lower priced items, some being attractive to children.   

I also got a lot of positive feedback, as people remembered their grandmother’s embroidered tablecloths and thought it lovely that someone was doing something with them rather than leaving them in a cupboard.   This gave me the opportunity to explain how I had got started and although they often did not buy anything they did take away leaflets and business cards and will hopefully pass these on to friends and family.   

However........

It was hard work and the preparation for such an event must not be underestimated and although I thought I was organised everything took twice as long as expected.   For example I normally only print out labels etc as and when I make an online sale but suddenly I had to do this for 30 or so items plus I needed additional material such as price tickets and carrier bags.

Also you have to have a thick skin!  Some people stood talking about my stall as if I was not there and a couple of times when someone was admiring my stall their friend said they thought my items were too expensive or they had seen something better!

Still I would highly recommend it but you need to be prepared so I have added a check list to My Pages which will hopefully be of help to any Craft Fair novices like me!  

Folksy Summer School 2013

Last weekend I attended the Folksy Summer School, it was held at the Discovery Centre in Ecclesall Woods, Sheffield, a lovely setting and the weather was with us.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the second day but thoroughly enjoyed the first day.  As well as a great goodie bag we had talks from makers and experts, demonstrations, good food and “nice people” (a Mini Moderns joke)!   

Luckily I took a big notebook as there was a lot of information to take in.  It certainly gave me lots to think about but three things really stood out.

Tell a Story:

• Not just what you do but why do you do it
• Tell people about the journey your projects take, the good and the bad
• Tell people about yourself 

Branding:

• It’s more than a logo
• Use contact opportunities to reinforce your brand, goes back to telling a story
• Reinforce your brand with existing customers

Identify What You Enjoy:

• Look at all elements of the making journey
• Look at expanding into other aspects such at teaching or demonstrations
• But don’t forget you still need to do the boring stuff!

So as part of my forward plan I will:

• Review my online profiles, more "why” not just “what”.  
• Look at the information I send out with my items, make it more personal.  
• Start a “To Do List” making sure the boring/urgent items get done as well as the nice/non urgents!  

And finally this blog, the summer school made me realise that I enjoy writing as well as making so I will be putting aside time to improve it, post regularly, tell the story........

Everyone Needs a Drawstring Bag

Finally I have completed my first collection of drawstring bags.  My excuses have been the weather, being distracted by the need to rescue my garden my doing lots of watering and trying to avoid any ironing!

It has been lovely sitting outside under a parasol doing the hand sewing but the conservatory, where my work table and sewing machine are set up has been peaking at 48 degrees!  Sewing when you are "glowing" is not a great idea!!

However this cooler patch has allowed me to get them finished and I am very pleased with the results.  They come in a range of colours and sizes and I have used vintage embroidered table runners, tray cloths or seat backs to make them, with the usual trademark gingham.  I also managed to source some lovely matching gingham ribbon to use as the drawstrings.  

 So why do you need a drawstring bag?  I have come up with the following list and no doubt you will have lots of other suggestions:

• Prettier than plastic bags when packing shoes or other items you want to keep separate
• Great for laundry, especially in a spare room hanging behind the door
• Smaller ones are good for jewellery, especially if you have a lot of large necklaces
• Haircare bits and bobs can be kept together, I use one for my straighteners and brushes when going away (But please make sure they have fully cooled down)
• Ideal for storing fabric scraps that are too small or odd shaped to fold
• Will keep unmentionables away from prying eyes in the bathroom

My bags are now on sale at my Folksy shop please take a look!

Love My Work Table

My new sewing machine is going well.  It's slower than a full size one and I wouldn't want to make curtains on it but for the short lengths of stitching that I do most of the time it's ideal.  It has a large foot but being clear plastic its easy to see what you are doing, great for when you need to stop stitching at corners etc.  Also the spool is drop in and has a clear cover so you don't get caught out when the thread runs out!

My other great buy is a cake stand from http://www.dotcomgiftshop.com.  I was looking for something to store my reels of ribbon and this has proved to be ideal.  

So having set up my worktable in the conservatory I have a great place to work with a lovely view of my garden.  That is what I call inspiration!

Gingham Glory - The Start

This is my first attempt at a blog!  

I have always loved vintage items spending many hours in jumble sales when I was young moving onto charity shops as I started to get more pocket money. Although a lot of my collections have moved on I have always kept my linen, some of which came from my grandmother.

 I have also enjoyed sewing and in the past made a lot of clothes and home furnishings. However as work commitments increased over the years collecting and sewing took a back seat.

Now I have the time and having been inspired by programmes such as Kirstie's Handmade Britain and magazines such as Making I looked at what I could do that was different.  So Gingham Glory was born. http://folksy.com/shops/lal179

The first range for my shop was Linda's Linens, hand made cushions from rescued vintage embroidered table linen with contrasting gingham backs. 

My love of fabric also extends to vintage and retro patterns which I have used to produce 1960s and 1970s inspired cushions. 

Another of my favourites is my hedgehog pincushions, they can be used by sewers or look equally cute on the dressing table with brooches.

I had forgotten how much pleasure sewing gave me and double so now as it gives me a good excuse to go out hunting for old table linen, retro fabrics and lovely trimmings. 

I am aiming to give updates via this blog on my new makes and places and things that inspire me.  And if the weather improves you might get to see some of my garden!