Meet the stallholders...tea and cake with artist Jane McNamara

Jane is a teacher by day and artist the rest of the time. She lives in North West London, has painted for as long as she can remember and will be bringing her unique and very popular designs that she sells at Portobello Market in London.

One of Jane's beautiful butterfly paintings

 Hello Jane, what tea and cake are we having today and where are we?

We are eating banana cake and drinking peppermint tea. We’re in my favourite cafe which is also the nearest one to where I live, although Bake-a-boo on Mill Lane London NW6 is also good for cupcakes and afternoon tea.

Tatooed Love by Jane McNamara

Delicious. Now, tell us about your paintings.

I have always enjoyed painting since I could hold a paintbrush! I am inspired by nature/ cartoons/ photographs and exhibitions, especially a butterfly exhibition I went to in France!

Black and Blue butterfly 

Why did you want to be part of “It’s darling!”?

Cath (Mrs Stokes) is one of my best friends and we sometimes share a stall together at Portobello Market in London. I came to the July "It's darling!" fair, was very impressed so wanted to be a part of it. I’m selling my paintings that I hope will make great Christmas presents and will have a small amount of handmade jewellery too.

Jane on the Portobello stall last winter

Describe your ideal Christmas day…

My ideal Christmas would be with all my friends and (most of) my family in a snowy mountain retreat. Someone else would be doing the catering!!

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without….

A long morning walk and lots of phone calls to the rellys in Ireland.

What’s “It’s darling!” in your life?

My niece and wildflowers.

Jane's art is darling to us...

...but wildflowers are darling to her.

To find out more about Jane or commission a painting please contact janeymack@hotmail.com

Meet the stallholders: 60 seconds with...Catherine Stokes from Mrs Stokes Vintage China

I moved to Bath last December after giving up a hectic media life and wanted to see if the dream of living a quieter life would live up to my expectations. So I decided to sell vintage china, mainly because it's so pretty - and now I am hooked. I had the idea to present them in nice giftboxes which has been a popular wedding/christmas gift and have a regular stall at Green Park Station Market in the city where I also sell handmade jewellery and other vintage bits and pieces too.

Mrs Stokes looking a bit pale - working too hard on "It's darling!" methinks

I am married to a wonderful, curly-headed fella called Jai (J for Jonathan, although don't call him that), have a wonderful mother Suzanne who is taking a stall at the fair too, lovely sister, brother-in-law, niece, stepdad, dad, little brothers and sisters...it's a big family and I love them all. I never planned to organise a vintage and handmade fair, it just kind of happened that way, when I met the very talented Rebecca Amesbury of Purple Sparkle Crafts. We were having a coffee one day when we thought "wouldn't it be good if...." So three months and not-a- lot-of-sleep later we have arranged the hall, booked the stallholders, bought the tea, washed the china and are ready to welcome whoever comes through the door!

Mrs Stokes' signature teaset-giftboxes

We really are looking forward to seeing what happens on Saturday and want to thank everyone who has supported us and the stallholders. My teaset giftboxes will be £20 rather than the usual £25 as a special offer for the fair only.

My three second wisdom is life's too short to worry (although I do all the time), my desert island survival kit is Redbush tea, my husband (he's really good at making things and would love to think of himself as a bit of a survival expert), and of course a cup and saucer (does that count as one thing?)

To find out more go to my blog, my website or come and visit me at Green Park Station in Bath on a Saturday.

Meet the stallholders: 60 seconds with.....Suzanne Lenihan aka Mrs Stokes' Mum

Suzanne Lenihan is calling her stall  "Mrs Stokes's Mother". It's true after all and she is bringing her gorgeous array of handmade cushion covers, bunting, lavender/rose bags and various other household soft furnishing items. She lives by the seaside in glorious Hayling Island in Hampshire and has been making things "since the children were small."

Suzanne in her lovely sunny garden by the sea

1. Why did you want to be part of "It's darling!" Did Mrs Stokes bribe you?

Ha, ha, no, it's because I thought it was such a good idea - aren't we all a little bored going around the same shops, selling the same things in every town we go to? There are so many talented crafts people out there but it's not always easy for them to find the right places to show their work.

2. What's your passion?

My family - my wonderful husband John, beautiful daughters Cathy and Emma, their fantastic husbands Jai and Owen and not forgetting our utterly delightful granddaughter Erin. My passion apart from my family is circle dancing ( which is not line dancing)

Suzanne made this bunting especially for "It's darling!"

3) Have you any special offers for "It's darling!"

I'm selling bags of assorted coloured beads for craft projects at 40p a bag

4) What's your three second wisdom - life or craft advice?

Love what you're doing/making, go back and fix any mistakes because even if nobody else notices it you'll always know that it's there. And stop when you get tired because that always the time that things go wrong.

Beautiful handmade cushions

5) What's your desert island surival kit?

Hand cream, BBC Radio 7 and a soft pillow.

To contact Suzanne please email her.

Meet the stallholders: 60 seconds with...Soleil from Bisous Vintage

Soleil Martin spends most of her Saturdays at Green Park Station market at the moment, helping Mrs Stokes sell her vintage china. Soleil has an eye for the beautiful and the stylish, which is why it's no surprise that she is putting her talents to good use and running her own vintage clothes and accessories stall at "It's darling!" She doesn't have a blog or a website at the moment but she says, "if the fair goes well, who knows?"

Sunny Soleil

1. Hi Soleil, what's behind the name of your stall?

"Bisous" is French for kisses. My father is French and my name means "Sun" in French.

2. How long have you been doing what you do? 

This is the first time I have held my own stall; I usually help run Mrs Stokes Vintage China stall at Green Park Station market.

3. Why did you start? 

My dream is to one day open my own shop selling vintage clothing.

4. What's your inspiration/ethos behind what you do?

I have always loved vintage clothes. I’ve always liked the idea of wearing clothes that have a story.

"Bisous" is French for kisses

7. Why did you want to be part of "It's Darling!" 

I’m very excited to be part of ‘It’s darling!’ because I think it’s about time Bath held a vintage and handmade fair.

8. What's your piece of "three second wisdom"?

"People need to be made more aware of the need to work at learning how to live, because life is so quick and sometimes it goes away too quickly" – Andy Warhol

9. What in your life would you say is "It's Darling!" and can we have a picture of that? 

I recently bought a blue polka dot 50’s style dress, I definitely think it’s darling!

Soleil thinks this gorgeous dress is darling - so do we

If you want to contact Soleil, come and find her at Mrs Stokes Vintage China on Saturdays at Green Park Station Market - or at "It's darling!"

Meet the stallholders: 60 seconds with.....Christine from Ginger and Pep

Christine Leech is a magazine art director by day,  and “Ginger and Pep” the rest of the time. She makes charm bracelets, cushions, other fabric goodies, “and’, she says, “anything that takes my fancy really. ” Based in London, she doesn’t have a website or blog yet, so come to The Guildhall on the 17th to have a look at her fabulous handmade wares. Time to get to know her...

Pretty arty

 1. So Christine, how long have you been doing what you do?

Well I started early,  I won my first craft certificate (for Best Hemmed Hankerchief) at the Village Flower and Produce Show when I was six, then when I was 13 I started selling felt animals and Fimo clowns with my sister at the school craft fair, and now I can't seem to stop.

2. Why did you start?

a)  When I was young I was always seeing things I wanted in shops, mum would comment on how easy it would be to make, so we often went home and did just that

b) Inspired by my mother and grandmothers to turn the odd bits of fabric, lonely buttons and stray sequins I was always collecting into something gorgeous

c) There was nothing to watch on telly

3. What's your inspiration?

I'm like a magpie when it comes to anything that looks like it could become something else, I bring it home, store it away and wait for inspiration to strike. And if it sparkles so much the better.

Christine has been making felt animals since she was 13

4. Why did you want to be part of "It's darling!"

To support my friend Mrs Stokes on her new inspiring business venture and to come back to Bath where I went to college. Also to make some space in my bedroom by selling some the things I can't seem to stop making.

Buy yourself one of Christine's unique charm bracelets at It's darling!
 

5. What's your ultimate three second wisdom - life or crafting advice!

"Curtsy while you're thinking what to say, it saves time"  (from Alice in Wonderland)

6. What three things would you want to be stranded on a desert island with?

A solar powered ipad with an unlimited audio book library, I think the dulcet tones of Stephen Fry reading Robinson Crusoe would inspire me. Liberty (the shop), whenever I need 10 minutes time-out a little wander through this shop recharges my batteries, and just think of the amazing tent you could make from their haberdashery and fabric floor.   Eversuchalotof cheese (and if there was a pineapple tree on the island I'd be in heaven)

 Cute as custard Ginger and Pep cushions

7. What in your life would you say is "It's Darling!" and can we have a picture of that?

My house. I'd send you a pic but the burglars might track it down.