Meet the stallholders...Christmas Shopping with Megan and Mona

We love new traders..but we adore our regular traders too, like Kate Barlow from Wales who will be selling with us for her third time tomorrow. Please come down to the Guildhall to see her and her fabulous wares.

Hello Kate, for those who don't know, what do you make?

Tea cosies, pin cushions, brooches, cards, cushions and lots of other things.

What is your business/stall name?

My stall name is Megan and Mona, named after my grandmothers.

Where do you live?

I’m from North Wales originally but have lived in Cardiff  for over 10 years.

Have you ever sold at It’s darling! before? 

This will be my third time at It’s Darling! It’s a fabulous showcase for quality handmade items and I find it really hard not to spend all my profits at other peoples stalls!

Tell us about what you sell and the source of  your inspiration?

I use a mixture of new, vintage and up-cycled materials to create unique handmade items. I don’t make lots of the same thing, mainly because vintage materials come in limited amounts and also because I’m always impatient to move onto the next idea.

I love looking through old magazines from the 1940s and 50s, they’re full of crafty projects that can be adapted with a more modern twist.

What is your most affordable/value for money item and what is your most favourite?

My prices range from around £5 for corsages up to £45 for cushions, there’s something to suit all budgets. This year I’ve made some lovely little heart brooches from scraps of wool fabric that would make great stocking fillers, some gorgeous  crochet hook rolls complete with hooks, and lovely vintage inspired pin cushions.

What are your top three tips for Christmas shopping/present giving ?

Get yourself to It’s Darling! this weekend where you’re sure to find all your presents under one roof.

Reward yourself with a mince pie and a large glass of mulled cider.

Then while everyone else is panic buying on the 24th you can feel smug in the knowledge that you’ve beaten the Christmas rush,bought some fabulous gifts and supported handmade crafts!

Meet the stallholders...Christmas Shopping with Natty Deco

Ho Ho Ho it wouldn't be Christmas without a reindeer or two...so come and see Maggie Powell and her laser-etched wooden decorations to bring the season home.

Hi Maggie, what do you call your business? 

Natty Deco. 

Tell us about what you sell and your inspiration?

I make laser-etched wooden buttons and decos. I wanted to make something that used up scraps of materials that were otherwise been thrown away. I love Scandinavian, Swiss, and Japanese Design; plus scouting around old churches looking at tiles and wood carvings.

What is your favourite item?

Hair Garlands are my personal favourite and popular with visitors too.

What are your top  tips for Christmas?

Food or Wine everytime!

What is most darling about the South West in Winter?

When it snows.

For more information contact nattydeco@hotmail.co.uk or come and see Maggie at the Guildhall on the 19th & 20th November.

Meet the stallholders...Christmas Shopping with Passionflower Creations

Vashti Mayne from Weston in Bath embodies the artistic spirit of It's darling! and will be at the Guildhall on Saturday and Sunday with her wonderfully inventive jewellery, accessories and fascintators. Don't miss her!

Tell us about what you sell and describe your inspiration.

I make and sell jewellery and accessories, including fascinators. I love making my products and have always been a crafter. I love the unusual and quirky as well as the refined and elegant, so my products are a heady mix. I have a background in sculpture and installation art, which provides a lot of my inspiration, though I also love fringe fashion.

What is your most affordable  item and what is your favourite? 

My cheapest items are my butterfly hairclips at £2.50 each. My favourites have to be the mini-top-hats I make, as they are all so quirky and original.

What are your top three tips for Christmas shopping/present giving?

It's not how much money you spend on a present that matters, but how well thought out it is. Bearing in mind someone's personality and hobbies/interests try to find something that shows some insight into them.  Many local artisans like myself will create bespoke items specifically tailored to the person, as the gift will have been created especially for them they tend to be treasured by the reciever.

What is most darling about the South West in Winter? 

When the rolling hills are covered in snow.

For more information go to; 

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001748605722  and

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Passionflower-Creations/202244459803168

www.passionflowercreations.co.uk

Meet the stallholders...Christmas Shopping with Crown and Glory

Just look at these wonderful headbands - all made by Sophie King from Crown and Glory. She is coming all the way from Cornwall so make sure you pop along and say hi - and buy some of her amazing designs on Sunday 20th.

Hello Sophie, tell us about what you sell and your inspiration. 


Crown & Glory was born in 2010 from my absolute obsession with hair accessories. From whimsical floral garlands to rockabilly pin up sets and everything in between, Crown and Glory's mission is to add that unique, finishing touch to every outfit. Each piece is lovingly designed and handmade by me, in low product runs, and available on a variety of attachments - combs, headbands, hairclips - to ensure you have a bespoke experience.

What is your most value-for-money item and what is your favourite?


Our fair exclusive, Build Your Own Bobby Pin Set, is a great pocket money feature. My favourite item to date is The Tachinator - a glitter mustache fascinator, from which we're donating 25% of profits from the sale of this item direct to Movember throughout November.

What are your top three tips for Christmas shopping/present giving?


This year I'm trying to give exclusively handmade gifts - either by myself or other wonderful sellers - the girls are easy, but I'm struggling to find stuff for my brand-name loving partner!

What is most darling about the South West in Winter? 


Wrapping up warm and going for a nice long walk in the country, stopping off at a lovely little fire-lit pub for a spot of lunch and working it off walking back again. Bliss!



For more details about Crown and Glory click here

Meet the stallholders....Christmas Shopping with Bunny Jump

It's Sunday night and time for something a bit cheeky to cheer you up before you go back to work. Meet Bath-based Bridget from Bunny Jump, a self-proclaimed It's darling! Virgin who makes lovely lingerie and will be at The Guildhall next Saturday. Read all about her and don't forget to withdraw your spending money, pre-book your tea-leaf reading, sign-up for your bath-bomb workshop discount ticket and enter the £10 shopping voucher prize draw. Remember the first 50 to turn up with a RSVP ticket receive a goodie bag with a free back issue of Mollie Makes magazine. The countdown has begun!

Bridget from Bunny Jump gets festive

Tell us about what you sell and your inspiration?

I make panties. Lots of panties. I make them out of pretty much anything and everything!I love hunting down unusual fabrics, or designing fabrics that are a little quirky. I also love finding cool vintage fabrics and unique charms to stitch onto them.It’s my aim to make people smile with everything I make.

Bridget wants her work to make you smile

What is your most value-for-money item and what is your favourite?

Everything is priced at £15 each. I like to think that I make something for everyone, so there’s a really wide range. If I had to pick a favourite, it would probably be the retro pin-up girl panties or the Star Trek ones..... Or perhaps the vintage Star Wars fabric ones....  (I could go on?...)

The retro pin-up knickers are her favourite

What are your top three tips for Christmas shopping/present giving?

I always try and buy people things they wouldn’t normally buy for themselves. Something that will make them smile. The more indulgent the better!! Of all the presents that I’ve given friends and family over the years, the homemade ones have always been the most cherished (and cheapest!). I also have very fond memories of a disastrous chocolate making session with the kids one Christmas... I think that year we may have bought chocolates instead!! Making gifts has become one of our family Christmas traditions.

I love the hustle and bustle of a shopping trip to London in the run up to Christmas... but the ultimate shopping experience has to be being tucked up in the warm with the internet, a mug of hot chocolate (with whipped cream... obviously), a real fire, a fabulous scented candle burning and some gorgeous Christmas music playing. Perfect.

What is most darling about the South West in Winter?

Bath in the winter is stunning. The Royal Crescent in the snow. The city centre with the Christmas lights on. All the quirky boutique shops and the Christmas market. There’s always something on. My favourite new Christmas tradition is to go and see ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ at the Little Theatre cinema. I love it!!

To find out more e-mail: bridget@bunnyjump.co.uk or join the Facebook page.

Meet the stallholders...Christmas Shopping with Kelly Bevan

Original artwork always plays a big part in our fairs so we are proud to announce that Kelly Bevan will be selling with us at the Guildhall on Sunday 20th November AND Jumble Jelly on the 29th November. So you will have two chances to appreciate her greatness!

Artist Kelly Bevan

Hi Kelly, tell us about what you sell and what inspires you

I sell collages made from butterfly cut-outs which can be made in any colour, collages made with postage stamps I have lots of ideas in my head for those but just need to find the right stamps! Also signed prints of my original drawings/doodles which are mainly black and white, but can’t resist colouring them sometimes. I get lots of inspiration from shapes formed in nature. I also sell greetings cards with prints of my original design/ drawings on, and some die cut items in felt mainly for people to use in their own crafts.

Hand cut butterflies £60 framed

What is your most affordable/value for money item and what is your most wow one?

I’d said the most affordable ones are the signed prints they are not limited edition and only £5 each. I’d said my most impressive is the Union Flag made of used postage stamps this is still a steal at £80 framed

Union Flag £80 framed

What are your top three tips for Christmas shopping/present giving?

1. Only give gifts you’d be happy to be given yourself.

2. Plan ahead, do not leave shopping until the last minute.

3. Buy original and unusual items where possible.

Signed horse print £5 or £20 framed

To contact Kelly Bevan call 07794240415

Meet the stallholders...Christmas Shopping with Refound Reloved

When we set up "It's darling!" in July 2010, we did so because we love handmade AND vintage. So we are always very happy to welcome vintage traders along as they always have such amazing finds. This Christmas we have some brilliant traders, starting with the wonderful  RefoundReloved. 

Tell us about yourselves.

We're Katy & Bronia and we will be at the fair on Saturday and Sunday. We sell a mix of vintage finds, some of which have been given a makeover by us, some left alone as they are just lovely already. We also sell a few handmade bits using vintage fabrics and haberdashery.

Are you looking forward to It's darling?

Yes, we are very excited to be part of it. It is so good that Bath is starting to develop a more artisan and vintage side to it, that has been fighting to emerge for years and that offers something different to the busy, same same, high street.

Tell us about what you sell and why/where do you get your inspiration?

Both of us cannot remember a time when we weren’t being taken to a car boot or jumble sale by our parents at the weekend - I guess we caught the bug. It is all that we knew. And we love it!  So, over time, our taste has developed and our joy in finding lovely things in all kinds of places has never abated. We are inspired by the history of an object, where it might have been and been up to! It is also as much about passing it on to carry on it’s journey and nothing is more satisfying than seeing someone light up when they find ‘their thing’. In addition to this we are both practical ladies, who have studied art and can sew. We have been making things for our own homes for years and have taken the plunge to make for others too. Also most of what we discover is made in England or the UK, and we love that sense of heritage, we should invest in British craftsmanship old or new.

What is your most affordable/value for money item and what is your most impressive/favourite/wow one?

We offer little curiosities, that change from event to event. Reasonably priced, but will give you that vintage look. we sell mix and match vintage plates that enable you to pull together your own individual dinner set from just £2 each. Bronia makes fabulous magnets and badges from vintage fabrics and her own original and stunning screen prints that will brighten up your coat or your fridge! We also sell painted small pieces of furniture by Katy, with blossom and birds and will be bringing a couple of children's vintage chairs that will have 50’s inspired illustrations on them.

What are your top three tips for Christmas shopping/present giving.

1. Buy something beautiful. if you fall in love with it yourself, buy it for someone else, the fun is in the finding.

2. Seek out the special little fairs early! don’t leave it late!

3.  Have a glass of mulled wine or Baileys while you wrap and put some Bing Crosby on the iPod.

What is most darling about the South West in Winter?

Walking through the best parts of Bath very early on a Sunday Morning on a crisp winter day when no-one else is up yet and you feel like you own the show! Oh! And the hills of course - sledging with your kids! nobody does the festive season better than your children.


Click here for their Facebook page

Meet the stallholders....Christmas Shopping with Eloise Scotland Textiles

Handmade textiles play a big part of It's darling! and this Christmas we're very happy to introduce Eloise Scotland and her fantastic work. She's from Bath and will be there on Saturday and Sunday. Start saving those pennies...

Eloise at Christmas

Hi Eloise, tell us about what you sell and your inspiration?

I’m a former lawyer, now mother of three small girls and textile maker in the wee-small-hours and in any other spare time I can grab! 

I have a passion for natural fabrics, linens, cottons and wools, which I use together with a variety of hand and machine embroidery techniques to produce bold and beautiful textile pieces for the home. 

I also welcome commissions - I love working closely with people to create  family trees and other one-off pieces to cherish, for gifts or to celebrate weddings, birthdays or other special occasions.

What is your most affordable/value for money item and what is your most wow one?

I think that my ‘Special Delivery’ lavender sachets are great value at £4 – they also make a great end of term present for teachers! And my favourite pieces for Christmas are definitely the Christmas tree angels – each one is unique and a very special way to top-off your tree.

What are your top three tips for Christmas shopping/present giving?

1.     Have a go at making your own wrapping paper – my girls don’t know it yet but in preparation for this Christmas they’ll be getting a large roll of brown paper, a box of felt tips, and their job will be to decorate and draw to their hearts' content!

2.     Shop local – Bath has some fantastic independent shops and Christmas is a very good opportunity to get out and throw some money at them! And the added advantage is that you don’t have to wait at home for online shopping to be delivered (or, worse still, queue up at the post office to collect missed deliveries!)

3.     If in doubt, I always think lottery tickets make a very good stocking filler!

What is most darling about the South West in Winter?

Seeing the mist rising from the canal on a frosty morning walk.

To find out more about Eloise before the 19th & 20th email her on 

escotland@gmail.com or visit her blog

Meet the stallholders...Christmas Shopping with Purple Thread Designs

Cross-stitch isn't just for grandmas any more. Oh no. Just ask Amy Tilston from Purple Thread Designs whose cross-stitch kits include a VW van! She'll be at It's darling! on Saturday 19th November at the Guildhall. Let's meet her.

Amy

What is your business/stall name and where are you based?

My company is Purple Thread Designs and I am based in Bristol

Have you ever sold at "It’s darling!" before? 

I’m a ‘It’s Darling’ Newbie! I’ve heard wonderful things about the markets though so I’m really excited to be a stallholder this time.

Tell us about what you sell and why/where do you get your inspiration?

I design original cross-stitch pieces and then sell the kits for others to make. My inspiration has come from my own home and loves to be honest- especially the ‘I need tea’ piece! As I also take commissions for personalised pieces the inspiration often comes from the customer 

What is your most affordable/value for money item and what is your most impressive/favourite/wow one?

I think the card kits (£4.50) are a great introduction to cross-stitch as they are small but still produce a great piece to give away or frame. My favourite ‘wow’ item has to be my big LOVE piece as I get such lovely comments on how colourful it is.

What are your top three tips for Christmas shopping/present giving (anything from stress-busters to homemade presents)?

1.     Try and make it fun by agreeing on a theme for presents.

2.     If you are hand-making something, take ideas from things your recipient already    has/loves.

3.     Always remember to take in a cake/tea/cider stop whenever shopping to refresh!

What is most darling about the South West in Winter?

Snow across the Downs 

For more information about Amy and her work email amy@purplethreaddesigns.com

or go to www.purplethreaddesigns.com

Meet the stallholders...Christmas Shopping with Lazy Crafternoons

As regular readers will know, we have been running quirky Q & A profiles on stallholders ever since we started in July 2010 - it was our clever Becky Darling's idea. We've noticed it's been copied by other handmade events blogs this year...but hey, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! And it really brings the traders alive, so we can't blame 'em for trying. So, to start this season's round-ups we'll first introduce Chris Webb from Lazy Crafternoons, his Bristol-based craft workshop company that will be running bath bomb workshops on the 19th & 20th November at Bath's Guildhall.

Chris aka Lazy Crafternoons

Hi Chris, tell us about what you'll be doing at It's darling!

I’ll be selling my range of Christmas decorations and household items, as well as promoting and delivering my creative workshops.

Have you ever sold at It’s darling! before? 

This is my first ‘It’s Darling!’ Fair ever! I’ve never been as a seller or a shopper, so I’m excited to see it firsthand.

Tell us about what you sell and why/where do you get your inspiration?

I grew up in an very ‘Do It Yourself’ family where we learned to make our own things and be creative… over the past few years I’ve taken my ‘make and do’ attitude and have offered creative courses and workshops which try to make it easy for people to make their own products and introduce people to the incredible joy and pride that comes from making things from scratch.  Everything I make and sell, I also teach – from handmade bath and body products to home accessories and patchwork quilts!

What is your most affordable/value for money item and what is your most impressive/favourite/wow one?

My laser cut Christmas decorations are only £3 but one of my proudest items are my Reindeer Jingle Bell Decorations which placed in the Sewing Directory’s Christmas Competition this year!

What are your top three tips for Christmas shopping/present giving.

1.     If you are making homemade gifts – take it easy and don’t take on too much. Be reasonable in what you hope to achieve, as it should feel like fun and not a Christmas sweatshop!

2.     The generosity and value in homemade gifts comes from the time and effort that goes into making them. Have confidence in what you do and remember that if you wanted something mass produced you could go out and buy it – don’t be a perfectionist and be proud of what you make!

3.     You can’t make for everyone on your list – so shop for those who you can, and make for those who’ll truly appreciate the effort you put in.

What is most darling about the South West in Winter?

I’m re-discovering in the south west after years of being away in London and The North… just about everything is darling to me. I’m really looking forward to seeing what’s going on, and using all the fairs and shows as an opportunity to get to know the creative community.

To book a bath bomb workshop at the fair go to http://lazycrafternoons.eventbrite.com/. 

For more information about Chris and Lazy Crafternoons, click here.