The Teme Valley Market

I was absolutely delighted to have a three month trial with the Teme Valley Market earlier in the year and even more so to be accepted as a permanent stallholder!

The market is on the second Sunday of every month at The Talbot at Knightwick (aka Best Pub in the World) and features local producers of food, drink, arts & crafts. 

Here's a video my mum made of one of her visits in May.

There are too many fantastic makers to mention so I'll start with just a few of my favourites:

Ruby's Kitchen-  hands down the best fudge I've ever laid my hands on. Cherry Bakewell is my favourite flavour and I end up getting a bag every time I see Ruby at any event.

The Handmade Scotch Egg Company-  just delicious! So many different varieties to try and a couple of gluten free ones too! 

Jonathan Clift Artist Blacksmith- if you see any beautiful metalwork inside the Talbot, it was probably made by Jonathan. He also collaborated with us for 'A Celebration of Nature' in Worcester Cathedral in 2014.

La Fleur De Chocolat- A fellow newcomer to the market. Oh my goodness these chocolates are divine!

Hintons Specialist BakeHouse- Emma bakes tasty sweet and savoury treats including gluten free sausage rolls and cakes. I always get my lunch from her when she's at a market.

The next market is going to be on Sunday 14th August. I hope to see you there!

The Last Ever Art in Action

Life has been slightly hectic over the last few days with the arrival of our three absolutely beautiful rescue cats. I'm just about resisting turning into a full on cat lady, but it's a tough job!

10 week old Monty, 3 year old Whisper and 5 week old little Ink

A couple of weeks ago we went to the last ever Art in Action. I was absolutely gutted to hear that this year was the very last show due to difficulty in finding sufficient volunteers to run the event and I really hope it can continue in some other form.

It was Sam's first visit to the show so I enjoyed showing him some of my favourite makers and, of course, food stands.

Art in Action is set in the beautiful grounds of Waterperry Gardens. There are loads of different marquees filled with all of the artwork and demonstrations you could wish to see from glassblowing to illustration. 

My favourite tent is always the Market tent. This is the largest marquee with a fantastic variety of handmade items.

As this was the very last Art in Action, I did use it as even more of an excuse to shop. I can't show all of the photographs now as we stocked up on Christmas presents but here are a few from the day, and my favourite makers.

Elizabeth Welch makes stunning contemporary glass art, gifts and homeware. We really enjoyed chatting to her about what inspires her work. She is a big Game of Thrones fan and makes gorgeous tiny glass dragons! She was kind enough to let me try on one of her necklaces above. Check out her website to see more of her work.

After the first stint of shopping it was time to head for the shade and have a delicious lunch form the Aribica Spice Company.

We watched a really interesting raku pottery demonstration and did some more exploring after lunch. 

Before the end of the day, I had to return to Lucy Jade Sylvester's stand. I fell in love with her beautiful botanical and British insect inspired jewellery on my very first visit to Art in Action. I was lucky enough to visit her studio and had one of her beautiful dragonfly necklaces and some earrings for my 21st birthday present from my parents. I decided to treat myself to one of her delicate leaf necklaces as a memento of many happy years visiting Art in Action. I love it!

Hawthorn leaf necklace
Lucy Jade Sylvester

Independent Makers

I don't know about you, but 2015 went by in a flash for me. It was a busy year of starting at the the Hereford Art Markets, taking part in September and December h. Art events, visiting the Bologna Children's Book Fair and creating more books with my fantastic friend Alice Brunt. It was also a year of falling in love with a wonderful boy, a fantastic family holiday in Scotland and attending many, many weddings (perfect excuse to catch up and dance the night away with old friends!).

The sad end to the year is that the gorgeous ladies of the arter (Paula and Rachael) have made the difficult decision to close their beautiful home of handmade in Stratford. In the current climate it's getting more and more difficult for creatives to make a living. Paula and Rachael, with the help of Paula's gorgeous son Rory, have supported Mum and I right when we were starting out and we love them very much and wish them the very best with their next adventures.

It is one of my missions in 2016 to support independent shops and makers more. There's a fantastic campaign at the moment called Just A Card which aims to do just that. It's pretty much what it says on the tin- if a gallery or artist makes you smile and you love their work, try to spend a couple of quid on a card to support them if you can so that they can continue making beautiful things. As someone who spends hundreds and hundreds of pounds to be featured in various markets and events, believe me this can make all of the difference and help to cover costs.

With that in mind, here are a couple of my favourite makers from the last year:

Foxglove Bears

The insanely talented Sharna Rothwell of Foxglove Bears makes the most beautiful bears I've ever seen. Just take a look at her page to see examples of her work. They make the perfect present to commemorate a beloved pet. I have purchased two commissions from Sharna- a Ryan the Gosling for Harvey and a Truffle the rabbit for Sam. If there's a dry eye in the house when you hand over one of these presents I'll eat my hat.

Between the Smith gang we have quite the collection:

Katie Keith

I met Katie during one of the Hereford Art Markets this year. As well as being a thoroughly lovely person, she makes stunning cushions and home accessories using traditional hand-dying and hand-printing techniques. Dad gave Mum one of her dragonfly cushions for Christmas and it was very much a hit!

More to be added to the list soon!