april fair at the red dragon centre

The Craft Fair at the Red Dragon Centre was quite an adventure! Thank you Sandra, from Sandstorm Events, for organising a fair in Cardiff (and for finding us some chairs!) The first couple of days were quite abysmal; mostly due to the lack of traffic and VERY FEW sales. Sunday was great... lots of families were out and about, we made a decent number of sales AND met lots of fellow crafters!

I launched two new bars of soap at the fair, Attar, and the new gentlemen’s bar, Jock Block, which turned out to be extremely popular, so I was really happy about that...

In addition, samples of a new soap, one with French Argiletz Clay and Cocoa Butter were handed out, so I’m waiting to see what feedback I get from those before I begin production. I was amazed at the reactions to the aroma, which was a blend of Tea Tree and Lavender essential oils; it was a Marmite phenomenon, people either loved it, or hated it!

Because we were asked to set up a few hours before the centre opened on Saturday, I took a stroll around the stall and took some photographs of the stalls I felt ‘drawn’ to... and chatted with the stall holders to get to know them a little better...

Stewart and Anne Morgan are a lovely couple who make traditional wooden toys; I learnt that Stewart handcrafts them, and Anne handpaints each piece. The stall was simple, no fancy decorations, but the use of bold primary colours in the toys caught my eye...

They also had a small selection of handmade cards, beautifully detailed and lovingly displayed in a handmade wooden rack; I was getting so inspired to take up a new craft... so I moved on before I got myself too excited!

Stewart and Anne haven’t got a shop or a website, but if you want to find out what fairs they will be attending, you can contact me and I will send you their contact information (I don’t really want to put personal addresses and telephone numbers on the blog!)

I also met a fellow photographer at the fair, a Red Dragon Fair virgin like myself, Anthony Dudley of Aquila Images had a gorgeous display of wildlife photography. Whilst browsing through his selection, I felt I was taking a trip through to the heart of Welsh wildlife. Anthony really knows his subject, and his excellent photo of the a usually boring robin showed that he gets across the message that a great photograph must not come at the expense of the animal and it’s natural habitat!

To view a sample of Anthony’s work you can visit his wildlife website at the main Aquila Images site.

He has informed me that he also provides a wedding and portrait service, which you can explore further on the Wedding and Portrait Website of Anthony R. Dudley.

There was another soap-maker at the fair, a charming couple, Lillian and Anthony, with a little boy with the most beautiful smile I have ever seen!

The company is called Fairfield Gardens, and they produce natural soaps, bath and beauty products. On the first day, I watched Anthony set up his stall; I must admit wasn’t sure what was on sale at first... wicker baskets, bon-bon shaped packages with exquisite coloured ribbons... jars filled with colourful ‘stuff’! My first instinct was YAY CANDY! But the heady aroma of handmade soaps made it’s way to me... and that’s when I knew!

I walked over to the stall, and was AMAZED by the yummy range of soaps, bath tablets, body scrubs, bath salts... I bought a Revive bath tablet last night; I was feeling a little run down and ‘sniffly’... the camphor-based oils in the tablet unstuffed my nose and I went to bed a very happy bunny!
I was told that the Fairfield Garden’s website is going to be re-done, but at the moment, you can purchase their products at Fairfield Gardens - Natural Food. Natural Beauty.

And now I can tell you about my stall neighbour... Charlotte Gannon; a FANTASTIC craftsperson, almost a SUPERcraftsperson! Her stall was packed with an array of handmade cards, spectacle cases, colourful quilts, marble bags... even wine bottle jackets!

The one thing that REALLY got me enthusiastic was her brilliant selection of handmade bags. From totes to shoppers to mini-favour bags, they were a bright and colourful display of fine handiwork...

As a person, she was cheerful, bubbly, and unlike myself, didn’t get grumpy when the first two days of the fair were slow. 'I leeched' off her sewing expertise having picked at her brain those few days, and I plan to implement some of her tips this week. Thanks Charlotte!
You can purchase her handmade goods at the Blue Rose Crafts website; she also does custom designs so be sure to email her at Charlie@bluerosecrafts.co.uk if you want something specific!

Now, if you can make your way to the NEWS section of the Miche Wishi site, you can take part in my poll so I can decide whether or not to make the Lavender and Tea tree soap (maybe purchase a few bars as well? I know, its very cheeky of me... but occasional self-promotion doesn’t make me a bad person does it?)
Have a fantastic day!

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