Category Archives: bristol balloon fiesta
Home Sweet Home!
I’m feeling glad to be home after a long weekend away at the balloon fiesta in Bristol. We got back around midnight last night, and I’ve just about caught up with all the unpacking and washing (it’s surprising how much grass you find in your washing when you’ve been camping!), but I haven’t caught up on sleep yet!!
We had some long days – the marquee opened at 10am every morning and didn’t close til 7pm, and even 10pm on Saturday. But it was well worth keeping my stall open as there were thousands of people walking around in the evening waiting for the balloon glow to start. The location of the marquee wasn’t as good as last year, and I think even more people would have come to the marquee if it was in a better position, but there were still plenty of customers.
My stall was next to an entrance of the marquee which was brilliant for when it got really hot and stuffy, and if I wanted to stand outside and still keep an eye on my stall, but it wasn’t so good when the weather was wet and miserable! You can see part of my stall through the entrance of the marquee in the image above. I had my usual ‘L’ shape for my display which is perfect on a corner.
I displayed my new bunting for the first time – what do you think?
I made good use of the marquee and hung some items up on the backdrop of my display too. I also hung and draped things from my lights which looked really effective so I’ll definitely do this at my next event. I’m glad I took my copper wire, twigs, shells and little pieces of ceramic because I sat and made lots of new hanging mobiles/wind chimes. These looked really pretty hanging from my lights and I was so pleased to sell one of them to a nice couple. It makes me really happy knowing that people like my work enough to buy it 
I’ll post some photos of the mobiles later in the week.
I’ll post some photos of the mobiles later in the week.Overall it was a successful 4 days and I am pleased with the sales I made. I also met some really nice people who couldn’t have given me enough compliments! I get a buzz when people spend so much time looking at my stall and I like to watch them picking items up and feeling the surfaces.
I’ve had a few orders since I’ve been home so I think they are from people who picked up my leaflets over the weekend. Hopefully there will be more to come!
We had fun watching the balloons and other things going on, especially the night glow. The new special shaped balloon for this year was the Foamy Gnome – bright pink!
Dave caught the balloons all lit up just in time!
The best part for me was seeing the Red Arrows again. They are breathtaking, and it was a huge treat to watch them performing stunts and formations in the sky.
If you haven’t seen the Red Arrows before, you must! I just tried searching for some videos of them on Youtube but none of them do them justice – you really have to be there.
The marquee was deserted when the red arrows flew over the site, even all the stall holders abandoned their stalls to watch them!
What did you get up to over the weekend?
2 days to go!
On Wednesday me & Dave will be setting off in an extremely packed car full of camping stuff and lots & lots of my ceramics. We will be heading to the Bristol Balloon Fiesta where I’ll have a stall in a big craft marquee called the Craft Village, amongst other people selling their handmade items. We were at this event last year and it was absolutely fantastic, we are just hoping for the same hot weather – come on sun!
This year the exhibitors camping is directly behind the craft marquee so we won’t have to walk up a big hill to get to our tent like last year. Another change from last year is that the marquee is going to stay open til 7pm, and even 10pm some nights, rather than closing at 5pm. The site is open from 10am until 11pm each day, so there are always hundreds of people about. Last year some of the stall holders complained that the marquee should be open during the evenings as well, while there are still potential buyers walking around. So we will have some long days but it is all part of the fun! I’ve specifically asked for my stall to be next to the entrance of the marquee so that I can stand outside to watch things going on and still be with my stall.
The balloon fiesta is open to the public from Thursday 12th – Sunday 15th August. We are leaving on Wednesday to get there in plenty of time to set up the tent, stock up on food and settle in. I’m taking my laptop as there will be electricity in the marquee and I can use my dongle to go online, so you never know, I might be blogging with some photos while I’m there!
Dave is excited about the surprise mystery special shaped balloon, and I can’t wait to see the balloons all lit up during the night glows. I was never really that bothered about hot air balloons until I was at this event last year, they are actually really spectacular!
My online shops will be closed from tomorrow evening, and will re-open again on Monday 16th August. I can’t promise there will be much left in them though. It would be good to drive home with a lighter car
Work in progress… Balloon Plaques
I’ll be at a 4 day show at the International Bristol Balloon Fiesta again this year (12th – 15th August 2010). This is one of my favourite events because we camp on site and treat it as a little holiday. Last year the weather was gorgeous and the fiesta attracted its most ever amount of visitors so it should be even bigger and better this year.
Last year I decided at the last minute to make some plaques with hot air balloons on them. I only made 2 (silly me), and they both sold straight away. So this year I am getting prepared early and making a tonne of these plaques. People like to buy a trinket type item to show where they’ve been.
I’ve made plenty of plaques with the general simple landscape and a few balloons in the sky, but I’m not very creative at this sort of thing (I’m not keen on drawing!), does anybody have any other balloony-type ideas?
Summer Events 2010
It’s a positive feeling having such exciting events coming up. I think I enjoy summer events the most, especially if the sun is shining! It seems to bring people out and about. It’s also a fun time of year because we sometimes camp on site if the event is on for more than one day. I like to get there early, even the day before, to pitch the tent and still have plenty of time to set up my stall. Some events are outdoors so the craft stalls are all in marquee’s.
Some events are inside too, like the popular craft fair organised by Pennine Fairs at Sywell Aerodrome, Northants. I love this event – there are always tonnes of high quality handmade products. The fair is inside Hangar One, and has been running for many years. It is advertised extremely well and seems to get busier each time I’m there.
The airfield is right outside the hangar, with small aeroplanes, helicopters and microlights flying in the air if its a nice day. I’ll be exhibiting my work at the Sywell Aerodrome in Hangar One on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday this year (4th & 5th April 2010).
Then theres the events being held in the grounds of stately homes. On 22nd & 23rd May I’ll be at the Althorp Estate Country Show, in Brixworth, Althorp, Northampton, organised by Oakleigh Fairs. The summerhouse that stands here is dedicated to the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales.
At the show there will be entertainment such as the Suffolk Punch horse demonstration team, birds of prey flying displays, the sheep show, rural demonstrations, a champion dog show, plus bouncy castles etc for children, as well as the arts, craft & gift marquees, and lifestyle & food hall stands which give you the chance to sample and buy unique products.
This summer you can also find me at Castle Ashby House in Northampton, not too far from Althorp. I will be in one of the craft marquees in the walled garden on 26th & 27th June.
Visitors of the event will have access to all of the Castle Ashby Gardens too. Theres the sunken lawns set out in front of the orangery, as well as ponds, nature trails, butterfly garden, and a fuchsia house. There will then be a chance for afternoon tea and a meal in the tea room. I can’t wait to have a wander round myself!
And finally, another event with Oakleigh Fairs – The International Bristol Balloon Fiesta. This has to be my favourite. I was an exhibitor in the craft village for the first time last year, and can’t wait to go back 12th – 15th August this year. We’re planning on camping in the grounds of the show again, it was so much fun, like a mini holiday! Check out my blog post about this event from last year, lots of happy memories
If you’re in the area on any of these dates please come and say hello if you decide to visit! They are all great events that are guaranteed to be a super day out.
Bristol Balloon Fiesta 4 Day Event
I’ve just got back from the International Balloon Fiesta in Bristol after a 4 day event at the Ashton Court Estate (6th – 9th August). I think it was the best event I’ve ever been to, I enjoyed every minute of it, met loads of lovely people, saw some amazing things and sold lots of ceramics! The weather was absolutely goegeous which was an added bonus.
I couldn’t choose a favourite photo out of the hundreds I took of the balloons, but here are a few. My favourite balloon was the Churchill Dog, he was always one of the first to be blown up and seemed to be watching all the others with his cheeky grin.
I had been to my local balloon festival in Northampton a couple of years ago, but with the Bristol Fiesta being an international event, I really can’t describe how so much more amazing it was. There were hundreds of balloons taking off during the mass balloon launches and I got this strange happy feeling when they all took off together! It was a beautiful sight seeing them all up in the air over the city in different shapes, sizes and colours.
I couldn’t believe how many people were there on the Saturday. During the afternoon the marquee where I had my stall was literally packed, people could hardly move! A lot of stall holders usually complain about the lack of people at some fairs and events, but I bet they would have also complained about there being too many last weekend, it was that packed!
I was pleased with my stall layout, I had 3 tables displayed in a zig zag which I had never done before. It was nice to have a little cubby hole space for people to walk into, with my board of plaques on the corner. I found that my sets of coasters were one of my most popular items, and people were really interested in the melted glass in the bottom of my dishes. I had a couple buy a vase and then come back to buy a set of coasters and ask me to sign one of my cards because they think I will be famous soon! I also had the usual comments such as “unusual, very different, beautiful, lovely.” Oh and “cute” was a new one!
I will be showing some of the items from some of the other talented exhibitors I met at the show in my next post, so watch this space for that!
Towards the end of the first day of the show it rained a bit and the weather got a bit chilly. Just before the night glow started, there was a gorgeous pink sky, which I think means “pink sky at night, shepherds delight”. Well it sure was a delight for the next 3 days as the weather was constantly hot and sunny, with the air being still enough for the balloons to fly.
We had fun camping at the top of a hill in a quiet corner. Well it was quiet until the early hours of each morning when we were woken by the sound of the fire blowing up into the balloons flying low over the tent! I heard someone say there was a dragon in the woods! We were lucky to have a great view from the top of the hill, with lots of wild deer about.
Seeing the night glows was a such a stunning experience, I loved how each balloon lit up in time with the music being played, it was so clever.
Finally heres a photo of the Red Arrows, the world famous aerobatic team who performed loops, rolls, bends and twists in a beautiful air display of high speed stunts. Again I had difficulty choosing which photo to show, they are all fab. It was amazing how they displayed each formation perfectly, I don’t know how they do it! Sometimes the commentator would let everyone hear what the pilots were saying to each other… as well as hearing their instructions and commands, we could hear “woohooooo!!” when they came flying over the trees across the site!
This has definitely been an event with lots of great memories. I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at my photos and reading my experience, as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.
