Contemporary Crafts at Bovey Tracey

It's been rather a long time since I last visited Blogland...house extensions, holidays and City and Guilds coursework have been keeping me entertained, but I'm here again now (and very much looking forward to reading everyone else's blogs and catching up with what's been going on).

Mr Treasure and have just returned from a glorious holiday in Cornwall. We stayed in St. Ives, which we absolutely love...to the point that we miss it like crazy when we're not there! Luckily, our holiday coincided with The Contemporary Craft Fair in Bovey Tracey, so we made a small detour on our way to sunny St. Ives...

This was my first trip to The Contemporary Craft Fair, so I had no idea what to expect. I thought it was FABULOUS! So many brilliant designers, with gorgeous things for sale. I could have happily given a home to so much of what we saw...including this jolly mosaic teapot.

Hand dyed stitched textiles by Rachel Gornall. Such intricate work and gorgeous colours.

Victoria Lindo's textile pictures made me smile.

Gorgeous ceramic pots by Rosanna Martin.

I loved the vibrant colours of Rachel Coleman's work. Her stand looked rather fab too.

I've seen Jennifer Collier's work lots of times in magazines, so I got very excited when I spotted her stand at the Fair! Her paper dress designs were my favourite. I love the fact that Jennifer uses all sorts of bits and bobs of ephemera in her work.

Rows of Jennifer Collier's pretty paper shoes.

Another designer whose work I've admired is Sarah Nicol. Not only does she make lovely little textile houses, she also designs a range of gorgeous slip painted ceramics. [I've just read the Fair catalogue again to make sure I've spelt Sarah's name right and found that she lives in Malvern, where I grew up! It's a small world!]

Now, I don't normally turn into a crazed fan, but I did just a little bit when I met the very lovely Poppy Treffry! Definitely the highlight of the Fair for me!

I was very taken with 'The Sustainable Contemporary Garden'. How fabulous would it be to have this pavilion in our garden?! I tried persuading Mr Treasure that this would be the perfect studio for me to work away in at the bottom of the garden. Despite the prospect of being able to claim back the parts of the house I've taken over with my work, books, things to sell at vintage fairs etc, he didn't exactly rush to buy one straight away!

Here I am with my new Poppy Treffry cupcakes tea towel after a truly inspiring and enjoyable afternoon. I'll certainly be pencilling The Contemporary Craft Fair into my diary for next year!

...DON'T MISS...DON'T MISS...DON'T MISS...

The first ever Vintage and Handmade Textile Fair is only a week or so away. I'll be there with lots of vintage textile and sewing goodies and my own designs of vintage-inspired decorations for sale. Do come and say "hello"!

Saturday, 3rd July

10am-4pm

The Old Grammar School, High Street, Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire, BS37 6AD