Craft Fair Success - Vote of thanks!

Well, after weeks of planning, organising, worrying and creating new items (including a few nights of waking up in a panic about the failure of it all!) the first Craft Fair I organised was a success for (nearly) all concerned. I say nearly, because one lady (who'd only booked in for the Saturday) left early (2.30pm) as she'd left her dog at home, so she obviously missed out on a few more sales for the rest of that afternoon. Also, a last minute entry for the Sunday table was taken by a lovely lady called Helen Hall who didn't really sell enough to cover her cost this time - but she wasn't put off by it and is still happy to take part in the next one, so I must have done something right!

I must begin, however, by giving thanks to all the people and companies who so very kindly donated items for either the tombola (HUGE success)  or as prizes for the Children's Card Competition. So, please join me in thanking the following - I have included links to their websites where relevant so please pay them a visit, too.

Andrea Farmer - fellow Rogue Gene Collective artist, friend and talented artist. Andrea donated two sets of her button hair-grips for the tombola:
andreafarmer.co.uk
andreafarmerart.com
Andrea on etsy
Andrea on roguegenegallery

Lorna Storey -  fellow East Riding Artist member and supporter of BADS - who donated a beautiful beaded spider for the tombola stall:
Lorna Storey
Lorna on Affordable British Art

Mike Finley - another Rogue Gene Collective colleague and amazing photographer, who created a set of stunning A5 sized cards just for the event, which I split over the two days for the tombola stall:
Mike Finley photography
Mike on roguegenegallery

Amanda Hunt - the third "A" of the Rogue Gene Collective (Andrea, Aitch & Amanda!) and a really lovely artist too! Amanda sent me a couple of small prints of her works, a key-ring with one of her paintings printed onto the design, and two small original works of art:
Amanda Hunt Gallery
Amanda on roguegenegallery

Georgia Coote - Georgia is another artist on the Rogue Gene Gallery website and her surface pattern designs are for sale as prints on there. Georgia also creates vintage-inspired jewellery - including necklaces and brooches. She kindly donated a couple of necklaces, brooches and pocket mirrors for the tombola stall. I was very happy to win one of the necklaces on Sunday!:
Georgia Coote 
Georgia on roguegenegallery

Di Jennings - Di is an art tutor who loves to pass on her knowledge to all her pupils and regularly features them in her blog - "Painting My Way". Di sent one of her original oil paintings of poppies in a field as a donation for the tombola stall.  I know Di through various online art forums, and once met her when we were on holiday in Shropshire!:
Di Jennings

Annette Cox -  I have met Annette once, and chatted online to her for about 4 years now. I was thrilled when I received an acrylic/ink landscape painting that she'd created just for the tombola - as was the winner of it on Saturday!:
Annette on Saatchi website

Artists taking part at the Craft Fair also deserve a mention for donating their works to the tombola stall:
Nichola Foster - I first discovered Nichola's finely crafted pieces of jewellery on Etsy last October when I did a search for local sellers in order to raise some interest in the Craft Fair. Nichola has been supportive throughout and proved to be great company at the event as well as a generous crafter, donating a bracelet and handbag charm to the tombola stall:
Nichola on Folksy
Nichola on Etsy

Katie Railton - Katie is a self taught photographer specialising in floral photography. She was also sought out on Etsy last year for the original dates in December and stayed on board for the April Craft Fair instead! Katie donated a large floral print:
Katie Railton Photography
Katie Railton - Etsy Shop

Lynne Smith donated a huge amount of prizes for the tombola - lots of soft toys, hair accessories, jewellery and framed pictures. Her silver jewellery sets were very popular - I bought a couple of coloured bangles from her for my grand-daughters, after I'd tried them out on myself first!

Lesley Wadforth of "Health In Harmony" donated two gift vouchers for the tombola stall. Lesley is a qualified General Nurse who now runs workshops and courses on holistic therapy including aromatherapy, yoga, reiki and stress management:
Health in Harmony website

For other tombola prizes, thanks go to friends and parents of our younger members at BADS - in particular Lisa Jones, Jenny Benge and Debbie Smallwood. Also, our neighbour Margaret was kind enough to donate a couple of prizes, too.

When I originally set the date for the Craft Fair in December (which had to be cancelled due to the bad weather) I contacted a few online Art/Craft suppliers that I regularly use in order to ask for donations. I am therefore very grateful to the SAA and Fred Aldous for supplying me with enough materials to cover the prizes in the "Design a Mother's Day Card" competition and  for some extra tombola prizes.
Society for All Artists
Fred Aldous

I hope I haven't left anyone out, as I am really grateful for all the donations we received - the tombola stall alone raised £132. Thanks also must go to the stallholders, without whom I obviously couldn't have run the event. They all put their faith in me for this first time venture, which really made me feel good. So thanks to Joan Hardy (Jams & Pickles), Christine Petch & Mary Wood (Wooden Figures), Lynne & Steve Smith (Silver Jewellery), Katie Railton (Floral Photography), Nichola Foster (Beaded Lampwork Jewellery), Kathy Marshall (Paintings, silk paintings and greetings cards), Anna Carter (Textile art and craft) and Helen Hall (Baby clothes and teddy t-shirts, cross-stitch cards). Thanks to Andrea Farmer too, for sending me a selection of her wearable art and small ethereal paintings to sell.

I would also like to thank two members of our youth section for giving up their time on Saturday afternoon to help out with the tombola stall - Molly Smallwood and Bethan Holloway.

Special thanks to my mum, June Greendale, for making the delicious cakes we sold and to my Dad, Albert Greendale for helping her sell them and the drinks on Saturday. I will treat you next weekend for your Mother's Day, mum!

Thanks to Scott Roberts and Steve Dale, both members of the Society who helped selling drinks and cake on Sunday. Thanks to everyone who turned up to support us.

My biggest thanks, however, must go to my best friend and husband, Keith. Not only did he help with creating the signs for outside the theatre on the day and prior to the event, he also helped with delivering leaflets, sorting and packaging the tombola prizes and actually running the tombola stall both days (as well as selling drinks when necessary). He supported me throughout and helped me fulfil the idea I'd had last year. Thank you so much.

I will be posting a bit more about the sales I made and any bits of news related to the success of the fair in another post, but for now, here's a few photos to show you:

The competition prizes donated by SAA, Fred Aldous and myself.

My stall

Mother's Day Card entries - 10years and under

Mother's Day card entries - 11-16 years

Hand-crafted wooden figures for the garden. All unique, and great gifts! These were really popular. Prices ranged from £3.50 to £5. A percentage of their sales go to a Meningitis Charity.