Stanwick Lakes | Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics

Category Archives: stanwick lakes

Summer Fair & Panel Presentation

July 26, 2010 Charlotte 3 Comments

You might remember my previous post about a summer craft fair at a new venue, the Stanwick Lakes Visitor Centre. I was at this fair yesterday, and despite the venue being very small (there were only about 8 stalls altogether), I was very pleased with the items I sold, and did better than expected. Overall it was quite a slow day, but picked up during the last 2 hours which I think was expected for this venue. Most people were just visiting the area to either walk their dogs, walk along the lake, and enjoy the scenery. Many customers told me they didn’t realise there would be a craft fair there, so it was a pleasant surprise for some of them.

Because the space was very limited, I was restricted to only one table, and I am used to having two. I was worried I wouldn’t have enough room to display everything, but I managed to use a few boxes to alter and expand my space a little. Half of my tv display stand usually comes with me to craft fairs (see below), it’s brilliant for displaying items and adding height to the table! I decided not to take it yesterday as it would have taken up most of the table space. I still managed to create a balancing variation in height without it.

~ News ~

This morning I went to a jurying session where I had to show and talk about my work to 8 people on a panel. You may also remember my previous post about this last month – it was to apply for membership to be part of the Northamptonshire Guild of Designer Craftsmen. The people on the panel were all current members of the Guild, and they were all very friendly and welcoming. I was very nervous about it all this morning, but I shouldn’t have been! It was quite informal and I had a cup of tea. I was expecting them to say “Right, go ahead, tell us about your work…”, and I was prepared to do that, but it was just general chatter and they each asked questions. They said my portfolio and presentation were professional, which was good to hear because it is something I am picky about and hoped I had everything just right.

The selection of work I took was this riverside vessel below, a set of 4 natural leaf coasters, a natural vase and my summer dish.

I am now waiting to hear back from them to find out if I am selected to join the Guild as a member. It will be a fantastic opportunity if I am selected, it would be great to be part of a group of like-minded people that are all passionate about what they do too.

Posted in: News, northamptonshire guild of designer craftsmen, stanwick lakes, stanwick lakes craft fair

New craft fair venue

June 17, 2010 Charlotte 3 Comments

A few weeks ago I visited the new visitor centre at Stanwick Lakes in Northants, where a craft fair was being held. The visitor centre is a new stylish building that was built to attract even more members of the public to it’s beautiful surrounding areas. Stanwick Lakes is a unique countryside attraction offering a country park, wildlife, leisure facilities, assault course, adventure playground, bird hide, picnic areas and loads more.

It was one Sunny Sunday afternoon that I visited the lakes. It felt strange to be a customer at a craft fair, rather than a seller. I wanted to go to get a feel for the venue, as this was the first fair that has been held here. I was very impressed! The building has a very modern feel to it and is close to achieving carbon neutrality with rain water harvesting, a sedum roof, ground source heat pump from the lake, solar roof panels and it’s own wind turbine. Inside there is a stylish gift shop, restaurant and a quiet area upstairs where you can sit and admire the views.

The room for the craft fair was much smaller than I expected, with only about 8 stalls. I was a little disappointed at first, but then thought this could be an advantage because there wouldn’t be much competition for the sellers. After speaking to some of the stall holders, they seem to have had a good day. I think it all depends on the weather too – an attraction like this is a great day out for anyone but only if the weather is nice. I’ve booked a stall at this venue for the Summer Craft Fair on Sunday 25th July if you would like to come along and enjoy everything going on!

This leaflet stand really caught my eye, I love things made from driftwood.

Talking about craft fairs, Marie over at Vintage Inspired Loveliness has a new page on her blog for craft fair display ideas. She has featured my wicker basket idea for small items, and many other ways of displaying different items by other crafters. Check it out!

Posted in: craft fair northamptonshire, northants, stanwick lakes