Well that was an early start..........

A present from my beloved!

.......but wasn't it worth it!  It all started on a very cold Saturday morning when I got up at 3am to get to the Vintage and Handmade Fair in Chipping Sodbury for 8am.  That was the plan anyway and it all started very well.  I heard the alarm, managed to drag my sorry arse out of bed (and Mark's), make a tea and coffee, slap on some mascara and BB cream to look vaguely human, load the car and set off in plenty of time.  We were in a good mood and even the bitter cold and very foggy fog couldn't dampen our spirits.  How we laughed as we reminisced that we used to be coming home at 3am from a club and not getting up at the ungodly hour to go to a vintage fair, how mature we were now.  That was until we got to the town hall with plenty of time to spare and decided to go and get some breakfast a mile up the road.  That was our mistake, it had all been too easy, we were too jovial so of course something had to go wrong!  I left Mark in the car whilst I went to order our breakfast.  I was gone for all of 10 minutes but in that time Mark had left the side lights on, he turned the key and....................nothing.  He turned it again, nothing.  We had just driven 150 miles without hitch and now 1 mile from the destination, our battery decided to die on us.  Well I was calm for all of 5 secs whilst Mark called the AA and then as soon as I heard that they wouldn't be with us until 8.30am, hysteria set in!  Suffice to say the very nice AA man turned up very quickly, changed the battery and we were back at the hall by 8.35am.  No-one even knew we were late!
Now the fun really began.  We found our table and started unloading.  As I have said before, I am very good at supervising Mark in this situation and I actually think there were fewer mutterings under his breath and a lot less sighing than on previous occasions so maybe we're finally getting used to me being the boss in these situations ;).  My usual style of setting up my stall is, get everything out, put it on the table, zhuzh it up a bit and cross my fingers.

Pose dolls

My stall

Keeping guard!

She found her way to a new home

My one consession to Christmas decorations!

I definitely need to work on my presentation as some of the stalls are just amazing and I would love to have that kind of vision but I have my own style which will evolve over time as I get used to doing the fairs.  For the meantime I'm happy and it means I can go off and have a look at the other stalls!
I had met a few of the stallholders before but there were a lot that I hadn't.  I had read their blogs and seen their websites and was now meeting them face to face, they are like celebrities in the world of vintage to me!

Donna Flower

Donna Flower

Donna Flower

 First up was Donna Flower and her wonderful array of fabrics.  She has a wonderful website with every fabric you could wish for and much more besides!  I have visited her website on numerous occasions so it was nice to finally put a face to the name.

Hen's Teeth

Hen's Teeth

Another person whose website I have often visited is Viv's from hen's teeth.  She makes the most wonderful purses, bags, scarves, the list goes on and I actually purchased a little something form her as a prize for a little Christmas giveaway I will be doing in the next few days so keep your eyes peeled!

All things vintage and Beautiful

All things vintage and Beautiful

All things vintage and Beautiful

Opposite Donna were Stephen and Judy from All things vintage and Beautiful.  I had met them at Hartley Wintney and then saw them again as buyers at Village-Vintage.  It must have been an omen that I saw them at Village-Vintage because the next thing I knew, I had a stall at the next fair they were doing!  Their stall is always so bright and cheerful that it just makes you smile.

Country Cottage Chic

Country Cottage Chic

 I then met Jayne from Country Cottage Chic.  Jayne actually organises these fairs along with Michele so it was great to meet her and say hello as I had only had email contact before.  Mark was particularly taken with the circus above but unfortunately he doesn't have any room in his hallway to display it! (yes I am that generous, he has the hallway to display his man toys!)

Lovely ladies of the W.I Rangeworthy

Cake!

One of my favourite stalls, the tea and cake stall!  This was run by the ladies from the Rangeworthy W.I and the chocolate cake was delish.  Unfortunately I had to share with Mark but I made sure I had the biggest bit(s)

Jenny Barnett - Needle Felt Sculpture

Jenny Barnett - Needle Felt Sculpture

Now this stall intrigued me as I had never seen Jenny's work before but I loved her felt sculptures so much that I actually bought one of her kits to make one myself.  I am notoriously bad at anything that involves drawing or making, I'm all fingers and thumbs but I thought why not, what could possible go wrong (basically I'll get annoyed after 5 mins because it isn't looking how it should and Mark will have to finish it!)  You can buy the kits and see Jenny's work on her website Jenny Made 

Cowboys and Custard

Cowboys and Custard

Cowboys and Custard

The next stall was one after my own heart.  Michele from Cowboys and Custard has a wonderful array of old toys that I just love.  In fact the fairy at the top of this blog is from her stall, I thought she was brilliant and not quite as demonic as my other fairies I bought a couple of weeks ago!  Michele is also co-organiser of these wonderful fairs AND still finds time to seek out all her wonderful old toys.

Nostalgia at No.1

Nostalgia at No.1

Nostalgia at No.1

I have visited Niki's website Nostalgia at the Stonehouse many times and have even visited her shop in Shepton Mallet after visiting a fair there.  Her stall was magical with all her handmade fairies and angels and other gorgeous characters.

Hellish Designs

Hellish Designs

Hellish Designs

Hellish Designs

On the right of our stall was Heather from Hellish Designs.  She had gorgeous handmade french linen cushions and lampshades plus lots of other vintage goodies.  She also has a very nice blog which is well worth a read (just click on the link above)

The Vintage Box Shop

Canvas and Cloth

Emily and Camilla's stall

And lastly but by no means least were Emily, The Vintage Box Shop and Camilla, Canvas and Cloth.  We had a great day with these two and couldn't have asked for better neighbours.  I hope we see them at another fair soon!

So that's it, my account of a fair which was a departure from my norm and you know what, I loved it!  The Vintage and Handmade Fair was absolutely wonderful and both Mark and I really enjoyed ourselves.  It was so well organised and the hall was decorated just right and really got you in the festive spirit.  I loved meeting new customers and enjoyed telling them about my different vintage pieces.  I love to tell a story so it was nice having a captive audience!  It was also great to meet so many stallholders whose blogs I had read but had never met.  The fair was busy as soon as the doors opened at 10am and I don't think it stopped all day, my kind of fair!

As they say, a change is as good as a rest and I certainly feel re-energised after attending this fair :)