Christmas Fair at St Helen and Katherine House School, Abingdon.

I have done many different fairs and markets over the years. When I lived in Hull 1990-1993 I regularly had a stall at Hull University student union and other local craft fairs and the Christmas Market in Trinity Square in the town centre. When I moved back down to London in 1994 I used to go to Camden Market on a Saturday morning to get a pitch there for the day. You never quite knew whether you would get a spot or not but I always did, they were exciting days, being in the thick of things.

Over the years I have had less time to focus on fairs with other work and life commitments, but I still love to do them, and I have done at least one Christmas craft/hand-made fair a year since 2010. A fair or two at Christmas is part of my working year, a part I really look forward to. My daughter helped me for the first time at a school Christmas fair in Appleton in 2013 when she was 5 and she has been a regular helper since then.

I sold work for 3 years in Winchester Guildhall at a wonderful Handmade Christmas art fair from 2010, in Woodstock at the Woodstock Christmas Market in St Mary Magdalene Church for a couple of years, as well as the Ipsden Christmas Market in the barn, Cholsey Meadows and Tap Social Christmas Market in Oxford amongst others over those years.

This year I just did one early fair at Bicester Avenue Garden Centre and one at St Helen and Katherine House School in Abingdon which went very well. It is great to be back out and about meeting people and talking about my work. Each year I feel sad to pack my things away for another year, but in the new year I will be thinking of new things to make as I would like to do 2-3 fairs next Christmas season. We’ll see, watch this space…..