Goodie Bags are Go!

We've been collecting for promos for the last few months and we have had some fabulous items come in which really show how wonderful handmade really is.


Myself (Deepa, Lazy Giraffe), Katie (Twinklyspangle) and Becci (MomentsbyMartha) all congregrated on Sunday to stuff the bags full of goodies to give to our visitors. We have 200 bags ready to go, filled with wondrous handmade samples - everything from brooches to earrings, postcards to magnets!
If you would like a goodie bag you need to be one of the first 200 people to come to the fair on Saturday - see you then!

Deepa

Meet the Maker - Yunisacs

Today we are meeting Stacy of Yunisacs - a bright and beautiful shop filled with gorgeous purses in wonderful fabrics.

"Sewing has always been a part of my life, whether helping my mum back at home when I was much younger, or taking part in the craft projects at school. I cannot remember a time I wasn’t holding a piece of string and a needle! "

I love to be able to pick fabric I adore and spend money on purse frames, zippers and all kinds of supplies. Who doesn’t like a bit of shopping? I also like the freedom to try new shapes and create new designs that people will appreciate. "

Stacy's work is available on Etsy and Folksy, and of course at Handm@de Cambridge!
www.yunisacs.etsy.com

www.yunisacs.folksy.com

Promo Fever!

Over the last few months our promo 'wrangler' Katie has been collecting your wonderful handmade samples, business cards, postcards, vouchers and much more!

See below for a sneaky peek as to what will be in the bags. We are still collecting until the 31st March so there is time to get your goodies in the bags.

If you are visiting, the first 200 people to come through the doors will receive a free goodie bag.


Our exhibitors are also donating handmade prizes to a raffle being organised by the charity we are hosting, the Blue Cross. So you could be in with a chance of winning a fabulous handmade prize, at the same time as supporting our charity!

Meet the Maker - Perfect Little Purses

Today we are featuring Joy from Perfect Little Purses, she makes gorgeous, colourful handbags from unique fabrics.

"I have always been crafty in some way. I remember making a barrel shape pencil case complete with hand sewn zip when I was about seven. I have knitted, cross-stitched and papercrafted my way through life."

"I made my first bag for myself. A cute little basket style bag with bamboo handles, and then several more as Christmas presents. The following January, I set up my etsy shop. `Perfect Little Purse Company`. To my delight, the sales did happen . These days, most of my work is custom work and selling at fairs.

Making bags is a varied and never tedious journey as my one of a kind ethos makes every one different and transforming a brief into reality is indeed a voyage of discovery."

More recently I have begun making and selling knitted animals which are under the name of `Perfect Little Friends`. These have been so popular I have been franticly knitting to order but have a few of the little treasures to bring to Cambridge. I hope to combine my loves at some point and offer knitted bags also."

Joy will be sharing her stall with her daughter Emma, you can find Emma's interview on this blog under her shop name 'Dings Insanity.'

You can find Perfect Little Purses on Etsy -
www.perfectlittlepurses.etsy.com

We can't wait to meet the 'Perfect Little Friends' at the fair!

Update..

It is now less than 2 weeks to go before Handm@de Cambridge!

Our exhibitors are all beavering away at their crafts, ready for the big day and we at Handm@de are really excited to see all these wonderful handmade crafts all in one room!

Collection for our promotional bags is going well and we are still accepting samples for the Cambridge fair until the 31st March. If you miss this date your items will be carried over and will make up the goodies for the Winchester fair in July.

We will be giving out the goodie bags to the first 200 visitors to the fair, so if you are planning on visiting arrive early to receive your handmade goodie bags.

Please visit the website for more information about sending promotional samples:
http://handmadecraftfairs.co.uk/exhibit_wus.html

Meet the Maker - Cozee Cuddles

Sonali of Cozee Cuddles has been making patchwork quilts for almost a decade for family members.
She launched her range of super cozee handmade quilts for children at the beginning of 2009.

"My quilts are comfortable and practical . They are easy to manage and are good companions when you are on the move - especially for sleep overs and camping holidays."


"I love patchwork and the endless possibilities of creating stunning and unique patterns.
My style is based on modern sensibilities & I hope to introduce a whole range of my work into fun loving, contemporary homes.."

Sonali is an active trader at the Greenwich market and has just started exhibiting at craft fairs with Handm@de Cambridge being her second.

Her work is also available online on Etsy (http://cozeecuddles.etsy.com) and Folksy (http://cozeecuddles.folksy.com).

Handm@de Exhibitors Featured!

Check out the UK Handmade blog where one of our designers, Hodge Podge Arts has been featured

UK Handmade magazine will also be at Handm@de Cambridge, where you can pick up their magazine and more information about what they do.

Take a look at their website for more information!
http://ukhandmade.co.uk
http://ukhandmade.blogspot.com/

Meet the Maker - Softy Walter

"I love making things. I can't sit and just watch the telly, I have to make something at the same time! I really enjoy working with felt as it's so tactile and comes in such a wide variety of colours meaning the possibilities are endless!

I make my felt beads by rolling two different coloured sheets of felt together and cutting into sections to make beads. I then string the beads together to make necklaces and bangles or fix them together to make brooches and hair slides.

My favourite part of the process is putting together different colour combinations - I'm a colour geek! Check out www.colourlovers.com for some amazing colour palettes. I tend to make one off pieces rather than recreate them over and over, this is becasue I love putting together new colour combos so much. I think i'm a colour addict!

You can find Clare's work on Etsy and also read about her work and any other adventures on her blog.

www.softywalter.etsy.com
www.softywalter.blogspot.com

More Treasures..

Some more gorgeous handmade goods displayed on this lovely Etsy Treasury - click on the picture to see the Treasury, we'd love it if you left us a comment :)


Thank you!

Meet the Maker - Button Moon

Linda of Button Moon jewellery makes jewellery from buttons! Her business began after coming across a wonderful collection of buttons. "I started to help a friend who had discovered a number of buttons amongst her Mother's possessions after she had died and wanted to use them in some way. I also had a selection of buttons that I had acquired through the years. We started with necklaces and then developed other jewellery alongside those."


I love buttons, they have always held a certain fascination for me and discovering a use for them is even better. They are very tactile to work with.

Linda is currently selling her work at craft fairs and is looking into online selling in the future - Handm@de Cambridge is one of the few places to buy Linda's work at the moment, so we are particularly happy to host 'Button Moon' at the fair.

Pin up

Would you like a poster or some flyers to help promote the handm@de fair?

We'd love for some people to take posters to put up in their place of work, school, college, village -wherever is allowed!

If you would like flyers or posters please contact me at cambridge@handmadecraftfairs.co.uk and I can send you a few to help us get lots of traffic to the stalls. The flyers are A5 size and the posters A4.

Thank you!

Deepa
Handmade Cambridge Organiser.

Meet the Maker - Dings Insainity

Today we are meeting Emma of Dings Insainity, who will be one of the exhibitors selling her original art at Handm@de Cambridge.

"My work mainly consist of paintings, drawing, illustrations and fine art prints, although I do branch out into other forms of medium. It is quite eclectic in terms of one piece can be very reminiscent of childhood and the next can be quite the opposite, dark, meaningful. But most of all they are almost always full of colour."

"What I like most about my work is The freedom of creativity, there are very little restrictions unlike with some other crafts and to me it is something I can get completely lost in."

Emma's eclectic work is available on Etsy, Folksy and Artfire. Handmade Cambridge will be the first fair that Emma and Dings Insainity will be exhibiting at!

A Badge and a Treasury

I have made an Etsy Treasury West featuring some of our wonderful exhibitors, it expires tomorrow so catch it whilst you can! Click on the picture to visit the Treasury.

We also now have a blog badge for our exhibitors to feature on their blogs or websites to indicate that they are participating. Use the image below or the image on the right sidebar under the list of designers. Enjoy!

Meet the Maker - Snappy Sausage

Our next exhibitor interview comes from Snappy Sausage run by Abbi from Northamptonshire.

“I try to make lovely things for those who like something a little bit different, with a sense of fun, but for those who also take their style seriously. We specialize in jewellery, accessories & cards and very shortly a range of mugs, egg cups & cushions. Jewellery ranges from bracelets & necklaces made from both new & vintage trinkets to little plastic illustrated earrings. snappysausage is for the girl who likes to dress down as much as she likes to dress up!”

“I was the little girl who always had glue in her hair & permanent felt tip everywhere. I come from a pretty creative family”

The name snappysausage comes from Abbi’s pet sausage dog Lulu, who would very much like to be at Handm@de but can’t unfortunately. Maybe we will do an outdoor fair and Lulu will be able to join us!

“What I like most about my craft is the versatility, one day I will be rummaging around fairs and markets for interesting treasures to use in my jewellery, and others I will be at home making jewellery, cards or designing prints.

Abbi’s work is available to buy at several locations, including her main site www.snappysausage.co.uk . You can also find snappysausage on Etsy, Folksy, Bonbi Forest, Never Ender and the Projeto Gallery (phew, Abbi is one hard working designer!) – as well as at Handm@de Cambridge.

Applications Closed!

We are happy to say that all the tables are now booked up for the Cambridge fair!

We have a great selection of handmade products on offer and I am happy we are able to offer such variety to all the visitors to the fair.

If you missed out on a table please email us at cambridge@handmadecraftfairs.co.uk to be added to the waiting list, we'll let you know if we have any cancellations and you are next on the list.

To get involved in the fair without being a stallholder you can help us fill our goodie bags, which will be given to the first 200 visitors on the day. Also we'd love it if you could visit the fair too!

See the website and flickr group for more details on promotional items.
www.handmadecraftfairs.co.uk
www.flickr.com/groups/handmadefairs