Our amazing fair

 What a brilliant day the handmade and vintage craft fair was here in Blackpool, Lancashire UK. The sun came out after a week of rain and despite issues like the cake lady dropping out the night before and the karate group not leaving the building on time it all was a great success. Lots of visitors came to look at the stalls and have cups of tea in vintage china, the stall holders were all amazing, really friendly and had a great day too. Here are some photos of the day:
Here is Fran on her vintage boutique stall, so many lovely clothes - ohh to be a smaller size so I could fit in them!

 Here's me Dotty Delightful setting up, sold all my lavender rabbits so was very happy

 beverleys vintage cake stands, all upcycled by the lovely lady herself, very reasonable prices too

 Here is Claire (Mrs Marmalade) setting up her pretty stall, she is such a lovely lady who made everyone feel welcome

 Birds on the beach's stall, loved their handmade felt rabbits with a twist and shabby chic style bunting

 All the above photos are the birds stall, royal memorabilia galore!

The happy house ladies and Rob (happy house Elizabeth's son)

 Colette makes fused glass items like pendants and coasters which can double up as tiles, she uses natural items like leaves and fuses them in her studio

 My darling friend Melodie and her amazing felted items, these tea sets are adorable she takes orders and can make them in any colour.

 More Mrs Marmalade and her peg dolls and girly bunting

 Here is handmade by Lucy, this was her first fair and she makes Japanese style brooches and head bands in liberty prints

 More upcycled vintage tea ware cake stands by Beverley

 Alice in wonderland inspired canvases by me Dotty, I really enjoyed making these, they are still for sale £35 for the pair if your interested email me

owls on my stall (Dotty)

 The very busy cafe area served homemade gluten and dairy free cakes to very pleased customers all day, in fact we needed more chairs because it was so busy!

 Here is Paula from Bellaboos attic, lovely rag dolls for sale and cute pincushions

 Here they are Birds on the beach, doing what they do best - posing with tea!

Here is another shot of Bird's stall - lovely, it was their first craft fair experience too.

More photos to follow in the next post, we really did have a great time, it was lots of hard work setting it up and I got blisters from posting flyer's but it was so worth it, can't wait to do the next one in December, ready for Christmas shopping! Hope to see you there x

Introducing Hand made by Lozluel

Handmade by Lozluel ~ Cards made with care

We are a husband and wife team who make handmade cards. We have been making cards for a while just as a hobby but have now decided it is time for us to show people our designs. There are cards for all occasions: birthday, christening, wedding, anniversary etc and also cards for relatives. We have just set up a Facebook page showing our cards which will be available to buy at the craft fair, it is called HandmadebyLozluel Cards, feel free to add us and look at the cards we have made so far! we hope you enjoy our cards as much as we enjoy making them!

Introducing Two for joy vintage

Magpie - One who compulsively collects or hoards small objects. Two for Joy Vintage has been started by two friends sharing a love for vintage treasures, and now we want to share those treasures with you!

we have dresses and separates, shoes, bags, jewellery and a few hand made items using vintage pieces, like earrings and rings made from vintage buttons

find them on facebook

tips and tricks for setting up your stall

Hello lovelies, just though I would do a post about some great help and info on the web for first timers and even stall holders who have been doing craft fairs a while, about how to set up, what you need etc, there are loads of ways to set up your stall, you will get into the groove of how you like things and its always worth looking around for ideas to help you have a great display. A couple of important things which I think are worth knowing are:

 I always take a table cover, this can be a double duvet cover (perfect size), a tablecloth, a sheet etc, make sure its ironed and folded in your bag so it looks crisp and fresh.

 A cushion for your bottom, I have been caught out lots of time with all day on a hard chair - not very good for the posterior!

Change - make sure you take some, sounds obvious but it is important, especially if you have odd prices ie 99p

A price list of you items, I stick this to the spare chair so I can see how much things are without having to lean over the stall, especially if you have a few items priced differently
A drink and a snack, unless you plan to buy one at the fair (unless your at my fairs when you will get complementry teas and coffee for free!)

Cards/ leaflets with your name on and a contact number and website if you have one, so many order come after the fair from people who take your details.

Carrier bags, even though we all want to cut down on plastic bags some people will want a bag, I love paper bags with things stamped on them or if your handy with the sewing machine then some bags whipped up on that and maybe charge 50p or something to cover costs.
A calculator - in the hope someone will want to buy loads!

A couple of tricks and tips:
I always price things on a round number or to the nearest 50p, this way it is easier for me and my small useless maths brain to add up and not look like a fool!

If you are going to be brave and use 99's then a psychological tip is someone will be more willing to pay £9.99 than £10.00, they think they are getting a bargain and your only losing out on a penny.

Try and add height to your table, if its eye level its better, make good use of your table space by using bookshelves, rails etc

right here are some great sites to look at and see how the professionals do it!:
flickr craft fair displays
great tips
do it yourself jewellery displays
craft fair displays (including mine Dotty)
more displays