Wednesday 23 September 2015

Kirstie Allsop's The Handmade Fair, Hampton Court



Last Sunday I attended the third and final day of The Handmade Fair organised by Channel 4's Kirstie Allsopp. The Handmade Fair is a three day event based in Hampton Court which provides two huge tents full of stalls which contain a variety of products and also a plethora of demonstrations, workshops and classes. The entire thing is organised by Kirstie Allsopp who is known for her Channel 4 programs on various arts and crafts.



The Super Theatre and picnic area
As we turned the corner onto Hampton Court Road, the tips of the Super Theatre tent could be seen.This was the main site for the demonstrations taking place. I would strongly recommend that if you go next year, book all your classes and workshops in advance! When booking, the sessions are divided into demonstrations, grand makes and skills workshops. Naively I thought I could just turn up and buy a ticket but most things were sold out. 

A timetable for all events is provided in advance on the Handmade Fair website so you can ensure there are no clashes between everything you want to do. And plan into your visit the free talks and demonstrations. Its amazing what you can get for free such as a photography demonstration for product photos for craft sellers or loads of different sewing classes by Janome where you get to try it yourself. 


The West Tent Shopping Village

There were two huge white tents containing all the craft stalls from a wide range of different craftsmen and women. The tents were absolutely crammed with people all excited to buy some new yarn, kits and discover new things to try. It was great! My only comment was that some of the stalls were squashed together in narrow aisles so it was difficult to have a proper look at what was on offer. Hopefully that won't be the case next year. 


The Handmade Fair annual was available to buy at the entrance of the Fair and it was incredibly helpful when navigating the tents, checking the timetable and also had a few free patterns to try, courtesy of Mollie Makes magazine. 


A few stalls I have to mention as the people were so friendly and their stalls were great are:

Felin Fach

Beautiful, Welsh made blankets, scarves and cushions. They are all made from local Welsh wool so there is a very low carbon footprint and they support local industry. Also everything was so soft! Looking forward to buying a blanket when I have the funds. 

Photo from www.felinfach.com


Little Tins of Loveliness
www.littletinsofloveliness.co.uk

These are so adorable! Great for gifts for Christmas or birthdays or anything really. Does what it says on the tin (bad joke I know!). The lovely ladies of this company have created tins that contain all you need to complete a project from felt animals to embroidery to lavender filled fabric fish. Worth a look!

Photo from www.littletinsofloveliness.co.uk. This is the felt terrier kit.


Ben Rothery
www.benrotheryillustrator.co.uk
Buy this guy's illustrations! They are absolutely stunning. Below is one of the illustrations I saw at the Handmade Fair. After looking at his website, I wanted to buy everything, if only I had enough wall space!

Photo from www.benrotheryillustrator.co.uk


Linladan Embroidery

If you like embroidery, this company does a lovely range of colours. It also has a unique story behind it which makes it particularly interesting.

Photo from www.linladan.com
Blacker Yarn

Based in Cornwall, Blacker Yarns are currently celebrating their 10th anniversary with a new, one off yarn called Cornish Tin. This is a limited edition yarn which may already be sold out. I was lucky enough to get a skein at the fair, very excited! The ladies at the stall were delightful and so helpful. They are enthusiastic about their brand and were more than happy to spend ages with me looking through their different yarns and how they can be used. I'm looking forward to using my new skein and posting the results on here. No idea what I'll do with it just yet!

My lovely Cornish Tin yarn in Pengenna green

A few others to mention:







Apologies for the sheer number of links! I had to rein in my enthusiasm and my list of people to put on here. A few I haven't mentioned here will appear later on my blog in the from of workshops to try around the UK.

Did you attend this year? Let me know in the comments below :)