Truly scrumptious handmade and vintage fair

Last weekend was my biggest ever fair in Blackpool at the amazing surroundings of the art deco style Winter Gardens.
There was 122 stalls, all very different selling all sorts of amazing things from handmade scrapbooks to glamorous vintage dresses.
There was a full line up of entertainment on both days, something different every hour. We had a flashmob in Saturday afternoon arranged by the clever Mimi from urban dance project.
There was a vintage tearoom with old china and scones with jam and cream.
This was a completely different fair for Blackpool and I was thrilled the customers and public who attended thought so too.
I was rushed off my feet so didn't have much time to take photos but here's some that I did take.
I have set up a Flickr group called truly scrumptious vintage and handmade fairs if you have photos of the fair to share.
The stalls looked amazing, the stallholders were so friendly and the customers a joy, I can't wait for the next one happening on 6-7th October at the horseshoe pavilion in the winter gardens building in Blackpools town centre x

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside.....

We have a fantastic line up of entertainment both days at this weekends handmade and vintage fair at the Winter Gardens Blackpool, with FREE entry, over 120 stalls each day, a vintage makeover team, workshops and a face painter you would be mad to miss it!!

This is the girls from Goodnight Astor with their own tribute to the fair!!

Truly scrumptious biggest handmade and vintage fair

The fair is going to be a two day spectacular of crafts, vintage, entertainment and music with craft workshops, a vintage tearoom and lots of handmade goodness.

A two day spectacular of crafts, vintage, entertainment and music with craft workshops, a vintage tearoom and lots of handmade goodness. There will be over a 100 stalls selling the northwest's finest gifts, clothes, toys, accessories, food, art, cards, homewares, antiques..., collectables and much more. We are lucky enough to have two performances on the sunday from the very lovely burlesque performer Kitty Koko.https://www.facebook.com/KittyKokoUK We shall be having various bands performing over the weekend including the very special and amazing Kirsty Almeida https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=815834520, the talented Laura Catlow https://www.facebook.com/lauracatlowmusic the lovely vintage duo Goodnight Astor https://www.facebook.com/goodnightastor

We shall be having various bands performing over the weekend on the stage and tea and cakes served on vintage china all in the beautiful art deco surroundings of the Pavilion theatre at the Winter Gardens situated in the middle of Blackpool town centre 23rd June 10am - 5pm and 24th June 2012 10pm - 4pm Free entry

https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/344605302224954/

Biggest ever vintage and handmade craft fair!!!

I have taken the plunge and gone and book one of Blackpool's greatest landmarks The winter gardens for a summer vintage and handmade craft fair!!

its going to be a two day spectacular of crafts, vintage, entertainment and music with craft workshops, a vintage tearoom and lots of handmade goodness.


There will be over a 100 stalls selling the northwest's finest gifts, clothes, toys, accessories, food, art, cards, homewares and much ...more. We are lucky enough to have two performances on the sunday from the very lovely burlesque performer Kitty Koko and I am so hounered to annouce that the amazing Kirsty Almeida will be performing too - how amazing is that.
We shall be having various bands performing over the weekend on the stage and tea and cakes served on vintage china all in the beautiful art deco surroundings of the Pavilion theatre at the Winter Gardens situated in the middle of Blackpool town centre 23rd June 10am - 5pm and 24th June 2012 10pm - 4pm Free entry.

Stalls are still available but going fast £25 for one day or £45 for the full weekend. We can set up from 8am and as it is a secure locked area you can leave your stalls set up overnight if you are doing a full weekend. You will get a table and 2 chairs with extra space around you if you want to bring rails, furniture etc, please let me know in advance of any requirements you have regarding this so I can accommodate you.

There are people coming from all over, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Cumbria, Yorkshire to name a few so if you want to have a stall but don't drive just get in touch Im trying to organise a lift share.

Any questions please feel free to ask, I know this is going to be an awesome event and can't wait to see you there. If you can will you share this link with your friends and followers, if you share it leave me a comment in the comment box on here or send me a message on facebook (Dotty D Lightful) with a link to where you have shared it and you will be entered into a prize draw to win some lovely handmade goodies x
https://www.facebook.com/events/274062292649467/

Christmas craft fair 10th December!!!!!

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

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

Introducing BellaBoos Attic.......

My name is Paula, married with three kids aged 15, 19 and 21

I live in Warrington, Cheshire. I am a self confessed craftaholic.  I love making things, especially sewing and knitting.  My Mum taught me how when I was a little girl and I have been crafting ever since.

 

 

 

 

I recently started volunteering one day a week at a place called Long Lane Garden Centre which is a charity which helps adults  with learning disabilities to access gardening and crafts.  I make lots of things for them to sell at craft fayres and in their shop as well as getting stuck in with the gardening and crafts when I go and do my volunteering.  Their claim to fame is that they appeared on an episode of Secret Millionaire (long before I started there), so are well known around Warrington.  It is a truly lovely place to spend a day and we have a lot of fun.

I have sold a few of my crafty things on ebay in the past, which is ok, but what I really want is to do a few craft fayres, partly to sell some of my ever growing collection of makes but also to meet other like minded crafty people.  I recently started my facebook page called BellaBoos Attic where I can show off all my things, but also find other crafters and admire their work.

Introducing Sugar's Treats AKA Hannah and Kirsty....

 'Sugar's Treats is an unbeatable baking combo who make cakes by day and fight crime by night. Ok, we aren't really but we would if we had the appropriate lair and weaponry.
In reality we are a duo of 2 best friends, Hannah and Kirsty who love cake and wish to spread the joy to the people. If we could fight crime with cake it really would be the best world possible.
The cake stall started to help out a friend who was organising an event and was let down at the last minute by their original cake stall. 'We could do that!' thought Kirsty, infused with excitement at the thouht of getting to do some baking AND turn a profit from it, not to mention being able to donate to charity by hiring the stall. It was a win-win-win situation, and so Sugar's Treats was born.....

As I've said we've both had a passion for cakes since, well forever. I will never forget he first cake I ever had, it was pineapple upside down cake and it was a revelation! Even at 3 years old I could tell this was going to be the start of something special. Regrettably Hannah can't furnish us with her first remembrance but was often found as a child in the kitchen with her mum, elbow (and sometimes ear) deep in flour, butter and sugar.
The main items to be found on our stall are cupcakes and muffins, all homemade with organic ingredients. The cupcakes we tend to stick with old faithful faves, vanilla, strawberry and lemon. The muffins we do play around with a little and try to offer something a bit different, ie carrot, macadamia and we do have plans for a savoury cheese and rosemary version at our next outing. Other cakes we have done include Earl Grey teabread (for those with not such a sweet tooth), lemon drizzle cake and tiffin (heavenly but sooo terribly fattening, I won't sell more than 3 pieces per person :))

 We like to make traditionally yummy treats for people with a slight quirky twist and are always on the lookout for fresh ideas. We adore our baking days, and the opportunities we get to go into the community and meet people. And it's the most wonderful thing to see your hobby please others, even if we do frequently get berated for making people ruin their diets!'

Truly scrumptious vintage and handmade craft fair, 10th september 2011. Blackpool

This Fair is different, unique and special, it brings together handpicked designers, crafters and vintage dealers who either make wonderful Handmade items or sell gorgeous Vintage treasures. If you love Vintage and Retro items and appreciate the love and time gone into creating unique items, then the vintage and handmade craft Fair is for you! Also there will be a cafe area serving delicious homemade cakes as well as a selection of teas, chicory drink and coffee on vintage tea ware. We also cater for dairy free and gluten free dietary needs. This is going to be held at Claremont community centre, Claremont Road, Blackpool, UK, which is a great space in a lovely area, the building opens out onto the park. If it is sunny we may even have a marquee outside for extra seating and stalls. Please do come along and support us, free entry. There is on site free parking. If you would like a stall please get in touch with a link to your website or a photo of what you do. Stalls are £10, set up from 12.30.