Preparing for the Craft fair at the Mayor's Thames Festival

Over the past couple of years I have often been tempted to participate in an Art and Craft Show but just as often decided against it. A friend of mine who is a very good wild life photographer tours the art and craft shows in the country and absolutely loves it. He has been doing it now for over three years and meanwhile has a huge stall and many returning customers.

Last year before Christmas I had the chance to work for a day on his stall which was great fun and I was able to spend a whole day with my best friend (his wife) which is a rare occasion these days. But that day was also a bit of an eye opener. It was a fairly small fair and not very well visited so our takings were poor. I had a stroll around the other stalls and found the usual suspects like pottery and woodwork but also a few stalls that sold hand-sewn cushions, clothes etc. What shocked me a bit and my friend also confirmed this to me was that a lot of the stalls also sold imported cheap Chines items next to their beautiful hand-sewn ones.  Me being an idealist (or let's be honest a snob) thought and still thinks it wrong but then again I don't have to make a living from selling craft so I guess I better shut up. But when I left that day I was thinking long and hard if I wanted to enter a craft show one day. In the end I let it go and concentrated on commissions, sewing for me and my on-line shop. But the thought of showing my craft at a fair always comes back to me like a boomerang. As much as I do love the interaction via my blog, I also grave to engage face to face with other people and gauge their reaction to my craft. I realised this since having joined the LMQG which thankfully gives me that opportunity once a months.

So I started to do some research and came across 'We make London' who organise craft fairs in the capital which is of course ideal for me. I wrote to them asking about their Christmas fair arrangements for this year but didn't receive an answer. Then a few weeks later they announced on their block that they were invited to the Thames Festival that takes place on the 8th to the 9th of September.

Next thing I know I filled in the form, pressed the sent button and thought this will never happen anyway. Well, I got a place at the show and only 4 weeks time to produce a lot of small craft (I have enough quilts and cushions...). Needless to say I am delighted and terrified in equal measures.

So over the next few weeks you will frequently see purses, i-pad overs, kindle covers, on-the-go quilts, journal covers and God knows what and probably with each post rising panic levels too.

My idea is to make of everything five items (except the lavender pad of which I already made 20).

I know a few of you have been to craft shows before but I would love to hear anybody's thoughts on this.

And because there can't be a post without pics, may I then introduce you to my first sets of fives.

Mixed flex frame purses using Echino and Melody Miller

Above are my 5 flex frame purses which were so much fun to make. I am inclined to make some more. The smaller ones use 3 1/2" frames and the large one with the owl a 4 1/2". 

These are my coin frame purses. The frames are about 3 " and I drew my own pattern using this excellent tutorial here.