Last Friday marked the beginning of The Handmade Christmas Fair in Manchester. Being fond of festivities and crafts, I hoped on a train in heartbeat along with my dear friend Lucy.
There was so much to see, this time with the fair being under cover in the beautiful building that is Manchester Central. The first stall we stopped at was Lubylu and were captivated by the gorgeous scents of candles and melts. They smelt good enough to eat and I couldn't resist getting some Cranberry marmalade melts which now fill my house with a wonderful festive scent- even when they're not being melted!
Like September's Christmas fair there was a beautifully decorated press lounge, styled this time around by the talented Things By Laura. I sadly missed the workshops this time but I couldn't help but take a few snaps of the beautiful display.
After lots of perusing it we took the opportunity to have a sit down and a well earnt drink. I was so pleased to see Deco Noir were back, this time leaving the 50s caravan and instead having a rather stunning grand piano which I couldn't help but pose with...
A trip to the fair can't be complete without seeing Kirstie herself in action so Lucy and I headed to the super theatre to watch Kirstie and James Mackenzie make gingerbread parking christmas trees and cinder toffee!
I also got the chance to ask Kirstie what her famous Christmas bake was to which she replied:
"It's really difficult. I know I've got James up here and I'm being really flattering, but because of the amount of eggs in a Yorkshire pudding, it's really good for the kids! In north Devon they do a lot of surfing and a lot of walks, particularly at this time of year and it's a really really quick one because it doesn't have to sit and you don't have to mix it and it's 20-25 minutes in the oven so I often find if I do it really quickly, it's really quickly done. For Christmas, I'm one for having a big breakfast and then a later supper at 5 or 6 o'clock on Christmas Day."
I also fell in love with these hand carved wooden stamps and couldn't resist getting one (watch this space for a DIY coming soon.)
Finally we topped off the fair with a cupcake and found these beautifully festive cakes by One Sweet Day who is now taking deliveries online- happy days! The mulled wine and cranberry cupcakes were simply divine!
Both Lucy and I came away from the fair feeling very festive and pleased with our goodies. It was a bit of a trek for us to get up to Manchester but it was well worth the visit and we're both keen to get Christmas crafting!
From the 18th- 20th September at Hampton Court Palace,
there was a rather wonderful craft fair held called The Handmade Fair.
The remarkable craft fair was put together by Kirstie
Allsopp and her team of experts; bringing buying, learning and making all
together for craft lovers alike.
It was my first time at the fair and I was fortunate
enough to blog the event and actually meet and interview Kirstie!! Excited doesn’t even cut how I felt
about this but that’s for another post- watch
this space. All I will say is she was even lovelier than I imagined and it
was so nice to sit and talk to her.
I went along on both Friday and Saturday to experience
the fair, doing workshops and watching demonstrations with my lovely mummy on
the Saturday. The fair had a festival
feel to it with its large tents, live music playing and balloons and bunting
strung up at every available spot. Kirstie was there to open the fair and
welcome in the first crafters of the day, which was really exciting to see!
On Saturday Mum and I started off by looking around the
shopping villages. They were huge!
Separated into two tents, there was the East village and West village crammed
full of fantastic vendors such as Deathby Tea, Reloved Magazine, Victorious Bee, Sloane,Betty & Dodge, Flossy Teacakeand many more with
their products displayed beautifully.
The tents were a visual feast of prettiness and there was such a variety of
things to buy from craft supplies for all your making needs, to ready-made
handmade gifts- making perfect presents. We came away with bags upon bags of goodies,
excited to take on new projects when we got home.
The workshops were great for learning a new skill or to
perfect an existing one you know and love. From paper craft to fashion, upcycling
to yarning there was something for everyone. We did two workshops on the
Saturday, the first being finger knitting and the second was upcycling a photo
frame using decoupage. Both the classes
were such fun, chatting to fellow crafters at our table and getting really
stuck in with what we were doing, so much so that I was covered in glue when doing
the decoupage! Finger knitting was surprisingly simple once you got the hang of
it and also very quick, making a bracelet in a matter of minutes. We were
actually meant to be sewing with wire but there was an issue with the materials
which was a shame but finger knitting was a great alternative. Decoupage was
run by Reloved Magazine and using old copies of the magazine, we upcycled old
photo frames. The different textures from the bits of paper gave a really nice
dimension to the frame and looked really effective as well as being fun to
make. Everyone loves a bit of gluing and sticking!
In between shopping and making, we found some fabulous
food stalls selling grub that literally made your mouth water. There were lots
of picnic benches set up, with everyone budging up to let people sit down. You
could happily chat to fellow crafters who were eating, going through their
goodies and even crafting in their own little groups. It was such a great
atmosphere to be a part of. There was also a rather wonderful collection of
cocktail bars… We were rather drawn to the Deco Bar with its airstream prosecco
on tap, 20s music, comfy chairs and photo booth! As you can see Mum and I got a
bit carried away with the photo boot …Ahem…
In the Super Theatre, we watched Kirstie with her expert
and close friend Sof McVeighgive a live
demonstration on how to create home-made beauty treats. I didn’t realise how
simple it could be to create products in your own kitchen, using some
ingredients that you’d have in your kitchen cupboards or growing in your
garden. I can’t wait to have a go myself, knowing that what I make isn’t full
of unwanted chemicals and also makes for great gifts.
As I said earlier, I was fortunate enough to be blogging
the event, being one of the official supporters of the fair this year which
meant I had access to the press tent. Here they had the wonderful wedding and
lifestyle blogger Louise from B.Lovedblogteaching fellow bloggers to take instragram-worthy shots of pretty
things, using the hashtag #InstaPrettyParty . The press tent was styled with
all the pretty things from upcycled sofas, a rustic table with props and a huge
floral wall with 3d flowers on. It was sooooo pretty! We were given free rein
of all the props and Louise showed us some great styling tips to make super
pretty Instagram posts. We were also given tips on editing apps, lighting and
rules of thirds to give us optimum images. It was really worth going along to
her class and I picked up lots of tips and ideas for styling photographs for
both Instagram and my blog too! I bumped into a couple of bloggers at the fair such
as Victoria from Random Nerdery and
strongly urged them to go check out the tutorial!
Here's some of the #instaprettyparty photos I took.
All in all, The Handmade Fair was truly fantastic. For me
it was also a wonderful way to spend time with my mum as we’re both avid
crafters and both share such an enthusiasm for it. I didn’t realise just how
many people were into crafts until I visited the fair and it was so nice to see
the age range of people in attendance.
I also vlogged the fair so if you want to see more, click the video below:
If you’re gutted that you missed this years fair, don’t
fret as there’s a Christmas fair in November. Once again sponsored by
Hobbycraft and Mollie Makes, The Handmade Christmas Fair will be held at
Manchester Central as an indoor event. Kirstie commented “This unique event will see craft lovers of all age and
ability, join together to share, buy and make. I’m thrilled that we have the
chance to bring The Handmade Christmas Fair to Manchester, especially as it is
one of my favourite times of year!” So if you’re wanting to get into the
festive and crafty spirit, check out The Handmade Christmas Fair
for tickets and I’ll see you there!
