Stockton Heath Festival - 11th July 2009

The Stockton Heath Festival (in Stockton Heath, Warrington, Cheshire) is an exciting event spread over a few days (and a few venues!) which just gets bigger and bigger every year.

On Saturday 11th July, Stockton Heath Festival is hosting an Art and Craft Market - it should be a great event, with artists, designer/makers and crafters all displaying their wares.  I’ll be joining them, so look out for the 1st Unique Gifts stall.  Lots of canvases for kids’ rooms, clocks, picture frames and door hangers and door plaques.  Everything we do can be personalised especially for you - sometimes on the spot (depending on the stock we have with us).

You can look up more info on the Stockton Heath Festival here:

http://www.stocktonheathfestival.co.uk

 Look forward to seeing you there!! Oh, by the way - the Art and Craft market will be in Mill Lane Field (in Stockton Heath, Warrington - of course!).

Cheshire Show and Capesthorne Hot Air Balloons

I’m sitting here at the Cheshire Show, typing this in between chatting to the earlybird customers.  It’s just gone 9am, and looks like it’ll be another hot day.  Yesterday was hot, clammy and airless in the marquee, which made people want to exit asap - not brilliant!!  However, it was a good (if slightly sticky…) day and enough people braved the clammy conditions to keep us happy!

Today is the second and last day of the Cheshire Show, but the Capesthorne Hall Hot Air Balloon Extravaganza in Macclesfield is hot on its heels.  It starts on Friday afternoon, and runs into the evening, is on all day and evening till 10pm on Saturday, and runs all day into the evening till 8ish on the Sunday.  Phew!!  Long days, but should be great fun.

As well as making up customer orders, next week will be spent replenishing stock so I can add names, dates, messages, etc., to items and gifts at the fair.  It’s all hand-painted at the moment so pretty labour intensive!

I forgot to bring my camera today, but I’ll try to remember it for the hot air balloons!  It’s the first one I’ve been to and I believe they are amazing.

In the studio - new unique gifts being painted now!

It’s all go in the studio at the moment.  Here are a few pics of what is keeping me busy at the moment.  For a kick off (oh dear, was that supposed to be a joke…?) there are these footballs which double up as clocks.  They can be personalised with any name or message, which I hope will go down well with junior footballers.  Sitting alongside them is something for mum or big sister - a shoeshop doubling up as a pen pot.  You probably can’t see it, because it’s not so good a picture, but there’s a sale on in the shoeshop!!  Again, it can be personalised.

football clocks and a penpot shoeshop are nearly done

football clocks and a penpot shoeshop are nearly done

And then there’s these cat goodies.  A cat clock, pen pot, moneybox and hook rail.  There’s a mirror, too, but it didn’t make it into the photo.  I’ve added some appropriately catty quotes - although because they are painted to order, I could add your favourite quotes.  Or even your cat’s name… now, that would be spoiling him!

hand painted cat goodies just needing finishing off

hand painted cat goodies just needing finishing off

And today I was working on this campervan clock.  Hand painted, of course, but with a bit of a retro thing going on… distressed and with a personalised numberplate. 
campervan clock nearly done

campervan clock nearly done

I also tried out a bit of a craft fair display, and here is a peek at some of it.  The mirror looks a bit raggedy round the edges because I’ve not taken the protective plastic off it yet - I need to varnish before I do that.
trying out a craft fair table display

trying out a craft fair table display

My first craft fair’s on Sunday 31st May at Grappenhall Community centre in Warrington, Cheshire.  Because it is the first one, I’ll be offering introductory discounts on most things.  Come along and say hello!!