Vintage And Handmade

Christmas Fair 2011

2011-11-12T11:53:00.001-08:00

As the Christmas Fair is just 3 weeks away on Saturday 3rd December, we thought you'd like to know who will be having stalls. You are certainly in for a treat with the following superb sellers displaying their wonderful wares!

Jayne Soule - Country Cottage Chic
Michele Chivers - Cowboys & Custard
Louise Taylor-Bowen
Sue Lee - Penny Choo
Jacquie Robinson - Kitty's
Charlotte Hammick - The Handmade Lampshade Company
Sarah Rowlands - Vintage Notebook
Ray Warner - Thomas Etty Esq.
Lucy Przeleska - Lucy Bloom
Viv Sliwka - Hen's Teeth
Woo Gilchrist - The Devil Makes Work
Clare Powell - Daisy Darling
Maud Lomberg - Beyond France
Jayne Trotman - Slimbridge Soaps
Helen Roskell
Niki Fretwell - Nostalgia
Becky Beasley - Alice & The Thimble
Claire Moraldo - Made In Pixieland
Donna Flower
Alison Lidbetter - Bramble & Bloom
Heather Lawson - Hellish Designs
Karen Pomeroy - Floriane
Gertie Strahl - Treutmade
Emma Boyne - Box Mad
Hen Pinnington - Hen House
Katie Powell - Textile Treasure Seeker
Gemma Faithful - Faithfull's Quality Baking
Corinne Phillips
Dorothy Stiven
Suzie Johnson - The Wool Sanctuary
Stephen & Judy Newman - All Things Vintage & Beautiful
Lesley Loach - This 'n That
Elaine Jones - Kitsch & Curious
Leonore Holder - International Quality Kitsch
Jo Ross - Hesta Nesta
Sally Hall - Sal's Snippets
Lizzie Van Hasselt - The Washerwoman
Daniella Segal - Acorn & Will
Sallie Ead - Lucia's Red Roses
Amanda Stanbury - Shabby Chick
Louise & Amanda - Vintage Inspirations
Philippa Bowes
Beverley Jones - The Muddy Dog Company
Caroline Zoob
Jenny Barnett

One week to go!

2011-09-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

We hope that you are looking forward to next Saturday's V&H Textile & Fashion Fair! Just to whet your appetite for all thing fabricy, fashiony & funky, here is a list of the exhibitors at this event.....

Jayne Soule
Michele Chivers
Louise Taylor-Bowen
Viv Sliwka
Gertie Strahl
Sally Hall
Lizzie van Hasselt
Donna Flower
Katie Powell
Heather Lawson
Suzie Johnson
Jo Ross
Stephanie Milburn
Maud Lomberg
Judy Denton
Camilla Metcalf-Beavan
Sarah Hardaker
Jenny Dadd & Louise Mee
Clothkits
Handmade Living Magazine
Beverley Jones
Jane Adams
Gill Oakley
Ali Hocking
Philippa Bowes
Anne Jenkins
Sallie Ead
Kath Kingdon
Jayne Coleman
Alice Synge
Marilyn Craven
Jenifer Young
Julie Coates
Jo Stafford-Michael
Geraldine Shepherd
Celia Fazan
Janet Humphrey
Helen Roskell
Martin Conlan
Clare Powell
Caroline Zoob
Jenny Barnett
Eloise Scotland
Edwin Dyson

Not long now!

2011-09-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

Vintage Jumble Sale

2011-08-06T07:25:00.001-07:00

I do hope that lots of you will be able to join us at our second Vintage Jumble Sale next Saturday 13th August from 10.30am - 2.00pm.

Many of the V&H dealers will be having a sort out & offering vintage goods at giveaway prices - most items will be under £10!

Toys, books, games, china, glass, haberdashery, ephemera, clothing, textiles & much, much more will be available for your shopping pleasure.

Entrance is free & there will be tea, coffee & delicious homemade cakes served by the Rangeworthy WI in aid of charity.

Find us at Rangeworthy Village Hall, Wotton Rd, Rangeworthy, BS37 7LZ

Don't miss a fun day out!

June Fashion & Textile Fair

2011-05-22T04:53:00.000-07:00

There is barely a fortnight to go until the next V&H event on Saturday 4th June & we are so looking forward to welcoming our regular stallholders as well as lots of new & exciting stalls to the fair.

After the success of last year's fair we have decided to move the fair to the larger venue of the Chipping Sodbury Town hall so that we could accommodate the demand for stalls & all of the visitors too.

This year we will have over 30 stalls brimming with lovely goodies. Stallholders include vintage fabric & haberdashery dealers Donna Flower, Liz van Hasselt & Sal's Snippets, textile artist Viv Sliwka, knitting expert Suzie Johnson (from the Kirstie's Homemade Home TV series), fabric designer Sarah Hardaker, the sewing kit company Clothkits, Handmade Living Magazine & many more including dealers in vintage textiles, vintage fashion & accessories & re-purposed clothing.

Entrance to the event is free and refreshments will be available all day in our Vintage Tearoom with teas, coffees & home made cakes served on pretty vintage china.

Free parking is available all over the town.

For more information please visit our website at

www.vintageandhandmade.co.uk

The following exhibitors will be attending:

Jayne Soule
Michele Chivers
Louise Taylor-Bowen
Viv Sliwka
Gertie Strahl
Sally Hall
Marie-Clare Blyth
Lizzie van Hasselt
Donna Flower
Katie Powell
Heather Lawson
Suzie Johnson
Jo Ross
Rebecca Engels
Stephanie Milburn
Maud Lomberg
Judy Denton
Camilla Metcalf-Beavan
Sarah Hardaker
Jill Patel
Jenny Dadd & Louise Mee
Clothkits
Handmade Living Magazine
Sarah Dinsmore
Beverley Jones
Jane Adams
Gill Oakley
Ali Hocking
Lisa Lipman
Philippa Bowes
The Makery

Hot off the Press..

2011-04-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

With just a week to go, the cogs of the Vintage & Handmade enterprise have been whirring that little bit faster and there is a discernible buzz of activity coming from our wonderful team of members who are all doing their bit to get ready for the Spring Fair on Saturday April 9th.

It has been busy here too at The V & H HQ, making sure that we keep the publicity machine stoked, as without the help from the glossies we cannot be complacent and just expect folk to turn up on the day. Every little whisper helps and the magazines have done us proud again with a mention in these various publications.....our faithful friends and supporters BBC Homes & Antiques Magazine who will be attending the fair in person, a nice mention in Bath and Bristol Magazine, The Boundary Magazine, Sodbury Gazette, Parish Magazine.. and numerous websites..... Family Soup, Where Can We Go, Vintage Network, UK Handmade, Sodbury Online..

Illustrated above is the lovely mention we have in the Vintage Issue of Antiques Explorer, a paper with a huge circulation amongst the antiques trade. So with all this fabulous publicity we hope to draw a bumper crowd to this next fair. We will have copies of this magazine available for you to take away for free - look for it in the tea room upstairs.

There will be a fine variety of stalls including our regulars... Donna Flower, Lizzie Van Hasselt, Daisy Darling, Sal's Snippets, Hen's Teeth, HenHouse, Acorn and Will, Country Cottage Chic, Cowboys and Custard and many many more, with some exciting new members joining us such as Vintage Inspirations, Hesta Nesta and Beyond France.

Our stirling team will be serving endless cups of tea and cake throughout the day .. and best of all.. admission is FREE as is parking in Chipping Sodbury.
Hope to see you there!

A Vintage Jumble

2011-01-10T08:30:00.001-08:00

Most of you are probably like us....we have loads of "stuff" that we are hanging onto but would like to clear out - too good to give away but not quite right for our shops/fairs/websites. It's time for a Spring Clean!

We have been wondering how to clear out some of this clutter - not too keen on car boot sales, don't have enough parking to have a sale at home....so we came up with the idea of holding a Vintage Jumble Sale at the village hall in Rangeworthy (the venue of the first V&H Fair!) - we want the Jumble to be vintage & not just general household stuff. Prices will be "Cheap & Cheerful" so people can come along & find a bargain & we end up with some empty space at home. We have some of your favourite vintage dealers signed up already!

We have booked the hall for Saturday 5th March - we can accommodate about 18 stalls (6 foot tables). It will be a half day event - 11am - 3.30pm as we have to be out by 5pm & it means nobody has to get up at the crack of dawn to get there!

As our usual Tea Team are at university becoming very clever & educated, the ladies of the Rangeworthy WI have come to the rescue & will be selling tea & cakes to refresh you!

We have a few stalls still available, so if you would be interested or have any questions please contact either Jayne or Michele asap as space is limited!

Please note that this will not be like the Vintage & Handmade Fairs - but it will be a fun event & a chance to buy or sell a bargain!

Christmas Fair 2010 Photos

2010-12-05T00:14:00.000-08:00

How remiss of me! I haven't posted a link to photos of the fair! It was a fantastic day as always with streams of eager shoppers & a wonderland of Vintage & Handmade delights!
You can see the photos here on Flickr.

We are already planning the Spring Fair on 9th April 2011....watch this space!

Business as Usual...

2010-11-25T07:40:00.000-08:00

With only three days to go before the Vintage & Handmade Christmas Fair in Chipping Sodbury there is a flurry of activity going on across the land as our merry band of members prepare themselves for our Christmas bonanza. That is not the only flurry that is happening around the land and if the weather reports are correct.. a flurry of snow could land anywhere over the weekend. We would just like to reassure our visitors and fair members that it will be business as usual and it will take a lot more than a few icy flakes to keep us away from this long awaited date on the calendar. May we also remind anyone who plans to come along.. that the fair is on a SUNDAY this time so please don't turn up on Saturday .. because you'll have a long wait ahead of you until the doors open at 10.00 a.m on Sunday unless you bring a sleeping bag!
So.. with true British grit and determination.. we'll be there come what may.. come rain, shine or just a little flurry!

On the map

2010-11-05T01:17:00.000-07:00

Greetings folks and fellow fair dwellers.. it is only three weeks now before our 6th Original Vintage & Handmade Fair and you may have thought we had nodded off, but actually we have been rather busy drawing up plans for our next bonanza and welcoming many new members to our Christmas Fair, including the logistics of working out how to accommodate everyone! This year we will have 40 stalls of vintage and handmade finery on offer and a wonderful diverse collection of quality items to offer the discerning folk who flock to our fairs.

Here we have the final floor plans which includes a new room for us this year.. the elegant Charter Suite upstairs.

This room has enabled us to move our tea room and facilities upstairs so to provide more room in the main hall downstairs and provide a more practical area for serving teas. We will also have 7 new stalls upstairs as well as several in the main hall and lounge area and the stage area will also be utilised.

The upstairs can be accessed by two staircases, one at the entrance and another in the lounge, with a lift to help whisk visitors and members up the the first floor!

We can't wait to welcome old friends and new to our cracking Christmas fair at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall 10 - 4 p.m Sunday 28th November and look forward to seeing you all soon!

Below is a list of the exhibitors for our Christmas Fair.. click on each name and most link to their own website or blog..

Jayne - Country Cottage Chic
Michele - Cowboys & Custard
Lizzie - The Washerwoman

Sal - Sal's Snippets
Lucy Bloom

Nicky - The Vintage Magpie

Niki - Nostalgia At The Stonehouse
Sue - Vintage To Victorian

Leonore -International Quality Kitsch

Clare - Daisy Darling

Hen - Henhouse

Claire - Elfie & Me

Christine - The Sea Garden

Elaine -Kitsch & Curious

Amanda - Shabby Chick
Daniella - Acorn & Will
Viv - Hen's Teeth
Donna - Donna Flower
Jayne T - Slimbridge Soaps
Helen Roskell
Gertie - Treutmade
Karen Pomeroy
Lesley - This 'n That
Corinne Phillips
Charlotte Macey
Tracey - Vintage Bothy
Stephen & Judy - All Things Vintage & Beautiful
Sarah - Notebook Nostalgia
Jayne C - Ida's House
Louise Taylor-Bowen
Katie - Textile Treasure Seeker

Belinda Sharples - Ginger Rose Ltd

Homes & Antiques Magazine

Woo - The Devil Makes Work

Ana - Mrs Moores Vintage Store

Clare - With Love From Margot
Harriet & Kate -_Pegg Lane
Thomas Etty Esq ~ Heritage Seeds & Bulbs

Sue ~ Pennychoo Retro Vintage Greeting Cards

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Collect It Magazine

2010-10-16T00:27:00.000-07:00

As it is just 6 weeks until the long awaited V&H Christmas Fair I thought it was time to revive this blog & to start posting info again.
We have made an appearance in the November issue of Collect It magazine on their events page.
Hopefully this will reach those who love to collect vintage goodies.

We will be featuring in quite a few other publications in the next month or so & I will post them here as they appear.

Hope everyone is looking forward to a fun day once again - it will be a bumper event this year with a lovely selection of sellers - the regulars that you know & love, as well as some exciting new stallholders with selections to delight you.

Forget about the high street crush....come along to the fair for your Christmas shopping in a friendly & relaxed environment amongst like minded people!

I can't wait!!

Textile Treasures

2010-07-07T02:48:00.001-07:00

All the photos from the very first V&H Textile Fair can be seen HERE
Once again it was very well attended & proved to be a treasure trove of textile delights.
We will be holding another one next year, so watch this space!

In the meantime we are already working on a bumper Christmas Fair so don't forget to leave Sunday 28th November open for a day of delightful shopping!

One for your Diary ....

2010-06-26T02:39:00.000-07:00

It's official.. well even more so now..
The Western Daily Press have done us proud again and we have a mention in today's Antiques supplement.

So no excuses.. write it down on your calendar now and tell your friends..
The Original Vintage & Handmade Textile Fair is a week today, that's July 3rd at Chipping Sodbury Old Grammar School Buildings from 10.00 a.m - 4.00 p.m..Free admission.. Just look for the bunting.

There will be swathes of beautiful vintage textiles, haberdashery, textile art, wonderful cushions, buttons and beads, vintage clothes, designer fabrics, ribbons and lace, French linens to name but a few .. oh.. and not forgetting some much needed refreshments with home made cakes, strawberries and cream and the nations favourite drink.. Tea !!

Hope to see you there with some sunshine for company.

Chipping Sodbury

2010-06-22T06:30:00.001-07:00

The first Vintage and Handmade Textile Fair will be held here, in the Old Grammar School...

Across the road from the Town Hall... look out for the phone box and follow the bunting!

But here at Vintage and Handmade HQ we thought we would show you what else Chipping Sodbury has to offer on a day out!

A gorgeous traditional Grocer...

Beautiful Florist...

Ladies Boutique...

The famous Hobbs House bakery attached to an excellent, traditional butcher...

Always the chance of a vintage find at St Peter's Hospice...

Lovely cake decorating shop...

Sweet little Coffee Shop...

Shabby Chic Homewares...

For ladies who like to shop with a glass of champagne at hand...

A scrumptious Deli...for delicious sandwiches...

Fun for the children - paint your own pottery...

And for the gentlemen...

The Barber...

The Wine Shop...

And the Pub!! With a pretty good Restaurant too...

ENJOY!!

New Christmas Postcard

2010-06-16T23:25:00.001-07:00

It does seem crazy to be thinking about Christmas in June, but with our fairs we work for months beforehand - planning, preparing, advertising & promoting, so with a bit (actually A Lot!) of help from Mr Cottage in the technical department, we have designed a new postcard for the 2010 V&H Christmas Fair.

Coming soon to a fair near you.....

Here, there & everywhere?

2010-06-13T04:44:00.000-07:00

I hope that this post doesn't come over all "Grumpy Old Woman" but it's something I need to get off of my chest & air out.

Recently we have been made aware that there are a few new fairs setting up which are promoting themselves as Vintage & Handmade Fairs. We just wanted to let our visitors & stallholders know that none of these have anything to do with us - they are not our fairs, nor have we given them permission to use our name. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to make any difference.

I am all for enterprise & of course anyone can hold a fair, but why not try & be original?

When Michele & I first came up with the concept for our fairs we thought long & hard about a name. When we settled on Vintage & Handmade we searched the internet just in case anyone else was using it as we wanted to be original, be identified & not step on anyone else's toes or poach someone's business name.
It wasn't being used so we were able to register it for our own use.

I suppose that we should feel a little flattered that our fairs have inspired others to follow suit, but why, oh why not at least come up with their own name?

Jayne (taking Grumpy hat off now....)

V&H In Selvedge

2010-05-21T04:55:00.000-07:00

Moving on....

2010-05-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are - just days after the latest very successful V&H Fair & we are already working on the Textile Fair which is a mere 7 weeks or so away. We really have piled it on this year - normally we have a breathing space of 6 months until the next one, but in July we will be opening the doors once again on a fun new fair featuring selected exhibitors offering a wonderful selection of everything from vintage clothing, fabrics, haberdashery, soft furnishings, textile art, embroidery and more!
Selvedge Magazine have approached us and will also be attending this new and exciting event.

In the meantime you can catch up with photos of the Spring Fair on Flickr

Many of our stallholders & visitors have blogged about the fair - I have posted some below but if I've missed you pleased let me know so I can add it here too.

The V&H Fair is starting to feel like a family reunion as we catch up with fellow stallholders & our lovely regular visitors alike & we are all looking forward to meeting new faces at the next fair & introducing them to the rest of the V&H family (sounds like the Mafia!!)

Country Cottage Chic

Cowboys & Custard

Sal's Snippets

Hen's Teeth

This n That

Nostalgia At The Stonehouse

Daisy Darling

Lucy Bloom

Florence & Mary

Henhouse

The Kitsch & The Curious

The Random Jottings Of A Space Cadet

The Washerwoman

Suzie's Vintage Attic

Jane & The Happy Crow

Ticking Stripes

Summer Fete

The Fabric Of My Life

The Vintage Magpie

WooBarb

Time is marching on...

2010-04-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

This week we have been working on publicity & advertising for the fair.

We had a nice mention in the antiques section of the Western Daily Press on Saturday & we also have a spot in the online magazine "Family Soup".

Miss Cottage & friend have been out & about putting up posters everywhere from Stroud to Bristol, in shops, libraries & town halls, so hopefully they will bring in new visitors too.

We have also set up a Facebook page for the fair - you can join it here.

Tomorrow there should be an article in the local weekly paper too.

V&H Traffic Alert!

2010-04-21T04:49:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to give you a bit of a warning about traffic on the 1st May - the V&H is coinciding with the Badminton Horse Trials which is just a few miles from Chipping Sodbury - this will probably mean an increase in traffic in the morning so you may want to try an alternative route. Instead of using Junction 18 on the M4 you can go off at Junction 14 (for Thornbury) of the M5 if you are coming from a northerly direction or Junction 16 (the Almondsbury interchange for Thornbury/Almondsbury) of the M5 if you are coming from the South or West. This will avoid Junction 18 (the Bath junction) where most of the Badminton traffic will be coming off of the motorway.
I'm sure if you use a sat-nav you can find the alternate route or you can use Google maps http://maps.google.co.uk - the postcode for the hall is BS37 6AD, but if you need any more directions please ask!

I feel just like a radio traffic announcer!

Postering

2010-04-15T06:40:00.000-07:00

Is there such a word as "postering"? If not, I just made it up - this is what Michele & I have been doing recently - putting posters up all over to advertise the Vintage & Handmade Fair which is in only a few weeks time. It doesn't seem very long ago since we were preparing for the Christmas Fair & the Spring Fair has arrived already!

If anyone would like to print out a poster to put up please feel free to take the image to use - if you click on it, it should enlarge to full resolution (hopefully!)

We are working on other local publicity too & there should be an article in the Western Daily Press on Saturday 24th in their Antiques section, so those of you in the South-West do look out for it!

New Textile Fair!

2010-02-24T04:25:00.001-08:00

Since we held the very first Vintage & Handmade Fair the concept has really taken off & become a great success with visitors really looking forward to each new fair.
As a result of this we have been inundated with requests from crafters, artists & vintage dealers for tables at the fair - we could have filled the town hall several times over! Quite a number of those asking have been textiles related & as we want to keep a balanced mix at the V&H we are unable to accommodate them.

This got us to thinking (we tend to do this quite often when sharing coffee & cake!) that a dedicated textiles fair could be a fun addition to the V&H stable - this would include all sorts, including vintage clothing, fabrics, haberdashery, textile art, knitting, crochet etc.....something for everyone.
As the town hall is quite large we looked for a smaller venue & were fortunate to find one just across the road in Chipping Sodbury High Street, right next to the library, which is the Old Grammar School
This venue will hold 16 tables in 2 rooms, plus there is a kitchen for serving our famous teas & cakes & a courtyard which will be nice as we intend holding the fair in the summer - Saturday 3rd July 2010.
Like the town hall, it is a light, bright & well kept venue which has just been completely redecorated & is a pleasure to be in.

Michele, the two Misters & I went for an inspection before we booked it & I have posted a few photos here to give you an idea - of course it will look much more lovely when decorated & filled with wonderful stalls.
I'm happy to say that all 16 stalls were snapped up straight away & we are pleased to announce that the premier textiles magazine, Selvedge will be there too!

This is the outdoor area which (weather permitting) will make a lovely area to enjoy refreshments, have a break between shopping & chat.

The entrance from the courtyard.

Mr Custard tickling the ivories....wonder if we can enlist him to entertain us on the day? ;-)

This is the larger of the two rooms which will hold about 10 stalls.

The smaller room will hold 6 stalls.

This is the entrance from the street.

The entrance is to the left of the clock tower, right on the high street.

So, what do you think? We'd love to hear your views!

May Exhibitors

2010-02-06T08:45:00.001-08:00

I thought it would be handy to list all those who will be exhibiting at the May fair. As you can see we have some dearly loved regulars & some exciting newcomers - I have a feeling that this fair is going to be very popular once again!

Lucy - Lucy Bloom
Michele - Cowboys & Custard
Sue - Vintage To Victorian
Jayne - Country Cottage Chic
Lizzie - The Washerwoman
Sal - Sal's Snippets
Nicky - The Vintage Magpie
Niki - Nostalgia At The Stonehouse
Leonore -International Quality Kitsch
Kathy Jobson
Clare - Daisy Darling
Hen - Henhouse
Claire - Elfie & Me
Christine - Sea Garden
Elaine -Kitsch & Curious
Jane - Jane & The Happy Crow
Amanda - Shabby Chick
Daniella - Acorn & Will
Viv - Hen's Teeth
Donna - Donna Flower
Jayne - Slimbridge Soap
Louise, Amelia & Amanda - Vintage Inspiration
Emma - The Orchard Studio
Helen Roskell
Priscilla Jones
Louise Taylor-Bowen

New Postcard For Spring Fair

2010-01-14T01:59:00.000-08:00

With all this snowy weather it's hard to imagine that spring isn't that far away!

With the spring comes our latest Vintage & Handmade Fair which will be held on the 1st May this year.

I have just ordered new postcards for advertising the fair & thought I'd share it with you here.
The fair is fully booked already with a few new sellers joining us & we are looking forward to it already!

Anyone who would like to promote the fair is most welcome to use this postcard image on their blogs or websites.

V&H Fair in the Gazette

2009-11-20T06:53:00.001-08:00

Lovely Annie & her creations were one of the stars of the show at the Christmas V&H Fair & here she is appearing in our local newspaper!
Click on image to enlarge & read the article.

Christmas Fair

2009-11-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

Sadly, the Christmas Fair is over for yet another year - all the anticipation & then the enjoyment of the day are just lovely memories, but you can read all about it on various blogs jam packed with super photos, so do take a look at them (and if you have blogged about the fair do let me know & I'll add a link here).

For lots of lovely photos please pop along to the Flickr group or the website.

You can also see photos with a difference - these are in 3D but you do need the special glasses to see them properly:
Fair in 3D

Don't forget to add next year's dates to your diary:
1 May 2010
28 November 2010

Country Cottage Chic
Cowboys & Custard
Sal's Snippets
Henhouse
The Vintage Bothy
Donna Flower
Nostalgia at the Stonehouse
Florence & Mary
Textile Treasure Seeker
A Bun Can Dance
Hen's Teeth
Little Cottage Comforts
Heidi
Lucy Bloom
Suzie's Vintage Attic

We drew the raffle by using a random number generator & the lucky winners were:

Vicci Davis (Bristol)
Julie Elliot (Wiltshire)
Annie Hutchinson (Stroud)

They have all been contacted & will either collect their prizes or I'll be posting them this week - congratulations to you all.

From this week's paper...

2009-11-13T03:59:00.001-08:00

Click on image to enlarge & read....only one more sleep ladies, gentlemen & children!

One week to go!

2009-11-07T09:37:00.001-08:00

Just one week until the fair now - if you'd like a reminder of who is going to be there take a look at the website here:

http://www.vintageandhandmade.co.uk

Something new & exciting for this year is a free raffle for all visitors.
The first prize is a one-off special Vintage & Handmade Fair Christmas shopping bag stuffed full of lovely goodies all donated by our wonderful stallholders.
There will be a few other prizes too, including sewing books donated by Sew Hip magazine & a year's subscription to Homes & Antiques magazine.

So, if you are coming to the fair look out for it near the tea table & put your name down for a chance to win!

The Countdown Begins

2009-10-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

Only 14 days to go now! We had a nice little feature in the Western Daily Press today.
Click on image to enlarge & read!

Reap and Sew ..

2009-10-16T02:59:00.000-07:00

A lovely glossy edition of Sewing World has just dropped through my letterbox and I must confess I had forgotten all about the article that Katie had told me about some months ago.. As it is always a thrill to see our event mentioned between the pages of magazine.. this one is no exception and Katie has done wonderful justice to the talents of Viv at Hens Teeth and Nicky from The Vintage Magpie .. Two lovely talented ladies who will be attending the fair in November.Many thanks Katie for such an interesting feature .. hope to see you at the fair!

Homes & Antiques Magazine

2009-10-05T08:31:00.001-07:00

I have just noticed on the countdown on the Vintage & Handmade Fair website that we have exactly 40 days to go until the Christmas Fair!

Coincidentally, today I received the November issue of Homes & Antiques magazine & there we are on the "Out & About" page!

Some great news that we want to share with you is that Homes & Antiques have asked if they could have a stall at the fair!
It really makes us feel that we have been accepted into the "serious" fair brigade to have such a well known & loved magazine attending!

Sew Hip Article

2009-09-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Sew Hip magazine had a stall at the Vintage & Handmade Fair in May & they printed a nice write-up in their summer issue.

I have scanned it & posted it here for you to read - click on the image to enlarge it.

Just in case you were wondering - it's only 68 days until the next one!

;-)

Christmas Fair Postcard

2009-07-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

I know it's really early, but you can never be too prepared, so I thought I'd show you the new postcard for the Christmas Fair. I had great fun putting all the pretty goodies together to photograph. The back of the postcard has all the information & we'll start distributing them at various fairs & venues running up to the big day.

If you'd like to keep up with updates & information please do join us as a follower.

Flickr group for V&H Fair photos

2009-06-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

Several of you suggested setting up a Flickr group for all V&H photos & as your wish is Mr Cottage's command, he has set one up for us.
You can find it here, so please add all your lovely photos!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1148188@N23

Front Page News

2009-06-04T09:20:00.001-07:00

Look who appeared on the front page of the local weekly paper today!
Click on the picture to enlarge & read.....

All in one place

2009-05-31T12:25:00.000-07:00

I keep seeing lovely blogger posts & reviews about the V&H Fair & thought it would be a good idea to post links to them all here, so as I come across them I will add them & if you've written a review please let me know & I'll post a link to your blog too!

Country Cottage Chic

Cowboys & Custard

Sal's Snippets

Corinne Phillips

This 'n That

Rubyred

Patchwork Harmony

Josie-Mary

Daisy Darling

Menopausal Musings

Hen's Teeth

The Hen House

Lucy Bloom

Nostalgia At The Stonehouse

Jane And The Happy Crow

The Vintage Magpie

Mr Snippets

Making Good Use

Vintage To Victorian

The Washerwoman

Ludabelle

Hardaker and Pope

Handmade By Goosey

Cake Makes The World A Better Place

Acorn & Will

Molly Cupcakes

The Kitsch & The Curious

Textile Treasure Seeker

Elfie & Me

Hardaker & Pope

The Pigeon Loft

Busy, busy, busy!

2009-05-30T03:31:00.000-07:00

Phew! The place is heaving. I had to get out for some air!

More photo's on Flickr.

At Last!

2009-05-30T01:15:00.000-07:00

Beautiful day. Lots of excited ladies setting up their goodies.

You can see photographs from the fair at Flickr.

Western Daily Press Article

2009-05-27T23:54:00.000-07:00

The Countdown Begins.....

2009-05-23T06:12:00.000-07:00

Western Daily Press Saturday 23rd May

Before I disappear off the map for a few days to seek some chill time before all the madness and merriment commences... may I just remind you that there is a rather wonderful event taking part next weekend... no.. it is not a General Election though goodness knows we need one.. Mr Brown are you listening?
If you could all please synchronise your diaries and clocks.. next Saturday.. a throng of eager bloggers, lurkers and fellow country men.. will be descending on Chipping Sodbury Town Hall..in the county of Gloucestershire.. for the Vintage & Handmade Fair 10 a.m - 3.30 p.m This is our second event and we are confident it will be bigger .. better and with more cake than the last!
We would love to see you there and hope if you do come along you will come and say hello..
We are a friendly bunch and I can promise you that there is something for everyone at this fair..
Have a wonderful week and look forward to meeting you!
Michele x

Emergency Blog!

2009-05-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

Hello to anybody who finds me here!
I woke up yesterday to find that my Country Cottage Chic blog had just disappeared into thin air *poof*!
I have no idea why, but reading the Blogger help boards it seems that this has happened to quite a few people. It is absolutely impossible to actually email someone at Blogger to get help or find out why it has gone.
I feel as if I've been set adrift with no home & no friends!
If anyone has any suggestions on how to resolve this I would be grateful.
So, in the meantime I will use this blog which later on will have lots of photos of the Vintage & Handmade Fair! Only 7 days to go!!

Saturday PS: Just to let you know that I have set up a new blog as it seems that my old one has disappeared for ever.
I haven't posted anything there yet but if you'd like to find me I am at:
http://countrycottagechic2.blogspot.com

If you have me bookmarked or a link on your blog all you need to do is add "2" after countrycottagechic.

As you can see this blog will be a combined effort between Michele & I for all things V&H Fair!

:-)
Jayne