It's been a while since I last attended a CL Fair, and I went this time mainly with a view to seeing how people presented their stands; I've already got some ideas for the craft fair, of course, but it is interesting to see what the pros come up with. Certainly as far as 'eye candy' went, the day was a roaring success. The attention to detail and the efforts to which the exhibitors went to create their stunning displays was amazing.
The stand which to my mind was far and away the best presented, was that of The Sea Garden. Fronted by Christine Nullmeyers and her extremely helpful mum, the stand was a distillation of Christine's lovely shop in Cornwall, and her brilliant blogsite:' a mermaid's tale' - see in the side bar. And it's not just my opinion; last year Christine won the Editors Prize for best presented stand, enabling her to return this year with extended floor-space as part of the prize. Richly deserved, I'd say. Unfortunately I didn't take photographs as I thought there was a 'no photo' policy, but go to the blog and feast your eyes on the photographs there.
I bought a few items and now wish I'd bought quite a few more! These Suffolk Puffs - or Yo-Yos as they call them in the States, were made up by an American lady using vintage 1930's 'feed sack' fabrics.
I've used some to create this little nursery cushion, bordering them with repro feed sack fabric by Moda.
I also purchased a couple of beautifully put together bundles of vintage fabrics - this is where I wish I'd managed to pick up a few more items, but the stand was very popular and it was a bit of a crush while I was there. I've already put some of the fabrics together to make this cushion, which is for the craft fair, though I'm tempted to keep it for myself.
I must state here that I don't know Christine at all, so have no vested interest in mentioning the stand or her blog.
There were one or two other stands which took my fancy and I did make a few indulgent purchases, this was, after all, a 'mini textile jaunt', but by 2pm I'd had enough and made my way home. It was a lovely sunny day, the trains were on time and not crowded, which rounded things off nicely. Always good to get home after an outing like this, quite tired, and somewhat lighter in the wallet department, but chuffed to bits with the goodies I'd brought home with me. Next time there'll be an overdue update on the craft fair. Bye for now!
