the joys and pitfalls of Christmas markets

Oh, it's a difficult old business, selecting which craft fairs and markets to attend with one's handmade wares. I tend to pick a few I hear about through other makers and give them a go. This can go one of two ways:

1. Successful: sell some pieces, give out some business cards to people who like the jewellery, cover my costs and a bit more

or

2. Stand for 5 hours in a virtually deserted hall emitting increasing waves of desperation as three old ladies and a toddler wander around, until I want to leave and weep into a plate of chips at the nearest pub.

There is no way of knowing which of the above experiences will play out, one can only turn up with one's best intentions, enthusiasm and a smile and hope for the best. During a particularly dire Saturday event recently my mum and I brainstormed a few possible techniques for attracting customers even in tumbleweed-quiet circumstances:

- drawing attention to one's stall by performing a spontaneous and vigorous dance
- using a lasso to 'encourage' visitors to view the stall
- intimidation and swearing.

Not having personally tested them, I wouldn't recommend any of the above techniques, but it's something to think about.

my mum gets things organised

Because neatness and methodical-ness are not my strong points, my lovely mum helps me out a lot with the things that need doing for my wee jewellery business that are not the actual making of jewellery. I do the making bit, and she gives me a bi-monthly clip around the ear to remind me to refresh supplies at stockists or reply to emails or whatever.

So today I showed up at their house with 5 boxes of jewellery, display stands, paperwork, tablecloths, lamps and assorted items, organised Nancy-style (ie. crammed in haphazardly), and my marvellous mum and I worked through it all, dividing things into needed and not-needed, potentially useful and old rubbish. We also found:

1. a small, green, plastic pirate's sword
2. 5p
3. a dead fly.

So now we have 3 boxes all packed up and ready for the Christmas craft markets. *phew*

getting ready for my first craft fair of the season

Having had an on-off lurgy for the past few weeks and being busy at weekends, I am rather behind schedule for preparing for the Christmas fairs and craft markets I've booked for the next few weeks. My next one is this Sunday, the newly-established Craftmakersmarket at Avoncroft Arts Centre in Bromsgrove, this Sunday, the 6 November.

I've been gathering some lovely display things, including a somewhat worn antique jewellery box, some vintage cocktail glasses and plates, on which to show my wares. So I'm excited to see what it looks like when it all comes together (courtesy of my mum, who is far more talented at display layouts than I).

things I have been making

My creative ideas have been a bit scattered lately. The real truth is I have had plenty of excited moments thinking 'ooh, I'll make one of those!', then got distracted by something else pretty. However, I have made a number of bracelets with some yummy ribbons, charms and printed fabrics I bought when I went to France earlier in the Summer.

This one is made from a red ribbon I bought in a little boutique in Loix on the Ile de Re, on the west coast of France, called Campagne et Compagnie. Evidently the trend for chic crafting is sweeping la belle France, and of course being French, they do it with a little extra flourish and style.

This yellow bracelet is made from a Liberty print fabric and little charms I bought in Paris at La Droguerie, near Les Halles. La Droguerie is such a magical, beautiful shop it deserves a post all to itself, so I will write all about it sometime.

These bracelets are now for sale at my Folksy shop.

Dig for Victory: fab name, gorgeous dresses

I just spotted the Folksy store of Dig for Victory, an independent British fashion label that transforms vintage fabrics of all kinds into stunning dresses like this:

Fabrics might be old curtains, remnants, tablecloths or any charity shop gems they find. How immensely clever to be able to turn them into such beauteous garments...

Lovely cushions by Betsy Jarvis

Betsy Jarvis makes minimal, chic cushion covers from hessian and linen. I was drawn to these the instant I saw them, because they are so simple, and vintage-y, and would sit perfectly in my imaginary apartment on the rue de rivoli, or when I'm pretend sipping jasmine tea fashionably in New York, or whatever, you know, I just think they're really, really nice.

the cotswolds vintage fair

I have started to get very excited about this upcoming event in Toddington, Gloucestershire on Saturday 27 August.

 

When I was little, I loved going to jumble sales in the local village hall and finding some 10p treasure to hoard in my bedroom. One year I bought an old typewriter; it weighed about the same as a Ford Cortina and some of its keys didn't work very well so my typewritten letters were a little hard to decipher, but I loved it! This event I am sure will be a sight more salubrious and stylish than the dusty jumble sales of my memory, which is why it's even more exciting. Rummaging for grown-ups, with tea and cakes: how perfect.

i made a cushion today

So, normally other things get the better of me, like having plans, or feeling like a bit of a div when it comes to sewing machines. But today I actually sat down in the kitchen with a few bits of material and made this cushion cover. Fancy, no?

I think it looks better than my actual sewing skills/interest in precision or neatness would suggest. It's just a piece of velvety-striped fabric I got for 20p in the remnants area of a fabric shop, and a couple of bits of polka-dot cotton I had left over from making curtains. (*clears throat* I have only made 1 curtain so far but I like the thrifty, on-top-of-things sound of what I just wrote).

I simply pinned the pieces together and sewed, leaving a gap for the cushion pad to go in (£5 from Dunelm Mill), then I stitched a length of ribbon to each side of the gap to close it and look pretty.

Frankly, I believe I have just demonstrated that a lack of any real skills or patience should be no barrier to creating something quite nice.

ohh, I like very much: Becca Williams' Tenby Street jewellery

I totally love these beautiful little house pendants and cufflinks by Becca Williams. She has handmade them from silver and resin. I am amazed at how precise the lines are and how cute and nostalgic the shapes. I love the way the silver edges gleam against the flat resin surfaces. Really I just want to live in them...or failing that, just stroke them a bit. Weird?

hello!

we like we make is a blog about lovely things, made by nice people. It's been brewing in my brain for some time, and on it I'm going to share some of the most delectable things that people all over the UK are making by hand - jewellery, art, accessories, handbags, bits and bobs for your house, decorations, cards and what-have-you.

I'm also going to post some tips & ideas for making your own scrumptious thingies that you can have a go at yourself.

So to prepare for all the lusciousness that will soon be spreading across these pages I am now going to get my beauty sleep, so I'll have plenty of energy for running about looking at lovely items and bringing them here.

see you soon