Here at Spoonflower we love a good handmade fair and Kirstie Allsopp’s The Handmade Fair was one for the books. Together with over 15,000 makers we filled the Green at Hampton Court Palace just south of London with bunting, fabric and handmade goodness galore! Here’s a look into our weekend of making from Berlin team member Allie.
Allie: After a short hop from our Berlin factory over to London, Maria and I were excited to get to work building our booth and prepping for a weekend of sharing Spoonflower with our British community. Kirstie kicked off the three day event first thing Friday, welcoming the first of over 15,000 makers that would visit the fair over the next few days. Meeting her was inspirational to say the least and I love any lady that can pattern match like a pro!
Having the opportunity to chat with a handful of makers using Spoonflower fabrics in their products was a highlight of the weekend. I loved seeing the sweet little creatures stitched up by Náttuglur, an Icelandic creative, and the sophisticated home goods crafted by Sarah Blythe! The creative energy in the space was palpable as workshops started and inspiration filled the air. 
Every hour brought a new workshop with classes covering topics like modern calligraphy, gift wrapping and jewelry making! Each day during the fair I taught a simple workshop on creating a seamless repeat by hand in six steps. Seeing the creativity of the participants was the best part. My favourite from the weekend was a supermarket-themed design complete with a shopping buggy and rotisserie chicken!
In addition to connecting with folks during the one hour workshop, we were able to visit with our British friends at the Spoonflower booth. We filled our space to the brim with fabrics, handmade goods, DIYs and a crafting space! Our colouring station saw a constant rotation of crafters of all ages eager to fill a swatch of our Woven Wallpaper with their favourite colours.
Overall it was an amazing weekend sharing Spoonflower goodness with our community in London. I loved hearing what skills each maker was interested in growing and the sewing projects currently on their cutting table. Here’s to a wonderful first trip to The Handmade Fair and excitement for more fairs to come!
We’d love to know what handmade fairs you’ll be attending. Leave us a comment below to let us know where we can find you getting creative.
Happy crafting,
Allie
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