Outlaw Craft Fair review

Craft Fair: Outlaw Craft Fair
Dates: Saturday 14th September  2013 10-5pm
Venue: St. John's Hall, Penzance
What was the venue like? Spacious and well used- one large hall with stage and one room just off the hall with pop-up supply shop, workshop space and cafe
Cost of stand: £30 
Entrance: £1.50 with £5 for specific workshops that ran during the day
Crowd: Women of all ages and families with a spattering of gentlemen
Footfall: Busy from the onset with slight drop off after lunch
Organisation: Incredible amount of organisation went into the entire event and it showed on the day. Organised by Judi Wildeman, Josh Wildeman and a fantastic team of helpful folk on the day.
Sales: Really good -  unexpected for the time of year and area.
Would you do it again? Yes definitely!

'If craft fairs could be entered for Britain's got Talent this one would steal the show...'

I was contacted by the Outlaw team back in May to see if I would be interested in applying for a stall and from there you could tell this wasn't going to be your average craft fair experience- a funky logo, an appealing website, an online presence via Facebook and twitter- yep they were planning something big!

Here's a list of what was on offer for the day:

• 40 designer-maker stalls (chosen through an application process- meaning the organisers could curate and promote confidently what and who would be turning up) 
• live demos on the demo table that rotated during the day run by designer-makers 
• demos that happened on the stalls as designer-makers sold their work
• over 5 pre-bookable workshops for £5 covering a range of crafty projects
• a dedicated kids craft area - the Crafty Kids Treehouse - where they could make 5 different outlaw kits
• a pop-up deli with amazing cakes, drinks and a wide selection of savoury goods
• a pop-up supply shop so folk could buy useful bits and bobs to create their own projects
• live music from local acoustic guitar player and singer Nick Mears
• warm, inviting, open, learning atmosphere

So basically you could turn up in the morning and not need to leave the place till close- in fact that's what I heard a couple of ladies did!

   

Plus here were the perks for having a stall:

• Free tea/coffee - all day! (just had to bring your own mug)
• easy access to unload and pack up
• very close parking and only £1.90 for the whole day
• opportunity to demo your makes and offer workshops if you wanted
• online inclusion and linkage on the Outlaw craft fair website
• being promoted through the Outlaw craft fair facebook pages
• two free tickets for the fair
• opportunity to talk and meet with other talented designer-makers
• opportunity to feedback to the organisers at the end of the event

In the lead up to the fair the organisers were certainly active in marketing the fair with frequent Facebook posts of makers work, behind the scene images of Outlaw HQ, a competition to win a VIP goody bag, as well as traditional advertising in local papers, sending out postcard packs to all involved  and clear signage on the day. A good incentive was offering the first 20 customers through the doors an Outlaw Craft Fair gift bag filled with all sorts of crafty goodies. 

Having been to Renegade fair in London which funnily enough ran a year ago to the day of Outlaw Craft Fair I'd have to say it compared favourably perhaps even pipping it with the convenience of the pop up cafe and great array of workshops and demos. The atmosphere was certainly one of relaxed learning and excitement to discover new craft and design with the knock on effect of interest and direct sales for stall-holders. Since the fair I've also had a number of wholesale enquiries from stockists who came to the fair seeking new products.  

The Outlaw team's attention to detail and professionalism really showed on the day and for a first time event they pulled it out of the bag! The brand have established themselves as a trusted provider of a well run craft fair and I'm hoping they continue- they've got the makings of a great business supporting and bringing Cornwall designer-makers to the wider craft scene and general public, as well as encouraging and inspiring more folk to get crafty. So for now watch this space! 

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Wonderland fair the fourth and final (of the season)!

Over the summer I've been participating in the monthly Wonderland Fairs organised by Petite Pencil.  The last one of the season is taking place this Saturday (10th August) please do pop by between 11-3pm if you're in the Helston area and take a look at all the lovely things there are. Below are a few pics I've taken during the events. 

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Wonderland Fair Number 3

Come along this Saturday (13th July) to the Old Cattle Market in Helston to explore the range of businesses showcasing their creations, from jewellery to prints, bread and cakes to gifts, cards, vintage and lots, lots more.  This will be the third Wonderland Fair organised by blogger Chloe Smith aka Petite Pencil.  I'll be there with a range of my Mellybee products - aprons, bags, stationery and of course the bargain basket which has ridiculously low priced items! See you there!

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Umbrellas for Weddings logo design & branding

Back in February I was approached by Cornish based company Umbrellas for Weddings.co.uk. They asked for a hand-lettered logo and branding that would be quirky and fun and would capture the essence of what their company sold- umbrellas!

Samples

We decided to create a repeat pattern made up of umbrellas and raindrops and used the same colour theme as the logo. This was also taken into the business stationery to make co-ordinating business cards, postcards and banners.

It was a really fun project to undertake especially made easier with owner Adele's flexible brief.
Make sure to visit the website - they have a great range of elegant and practical umbrellas suitable for girls and guys to take to weddings, parties or even festivals! I particularly like their heart umbrella range.

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2012 in Review

Wow, here we are at the start of another year! It doesn't seem that long ago that I was thinking of all the things I wanted to achieve for 2012 and now here I am taking stock of the last year and thinking there are a lot of things to be thankful for - especially in terms of new opportunities to illustrate, design and  sell my Mellybee wares.

This time last year I set myself the challenge of raising my profile, having a portfolio I could send out and having a website that I was actually happy to show rather than one that I muttered under my breath. Surprisingly I managed to accomplish the latter 2 in less than 3 months so instead of twiddling my thumbs I spent the remainder of the year taking all the opportunities that came along - like building my online shop and selling at Renegade Craft Fair in London and from there it snowballed.

Here are just some of the highlights in pictures- for lengthy details see underneath - it not only serves as a reminder of what has happened (I have a knack of forgetting such info) but also gives me the encouragement to keep going as you never know what will happen if you keep an open mind and give it your best shot!

So to all my lovely readers here's to a healthy, exciting, productive 2013!

From L to R:

• January: Portfolio sent out to studios, designers, people who I thought would be interesting to get to know.
• February : Website made using Wordpress - minimal design, minimal fuss - let the work speak for itself. Work also started on webshop using mySupadupa ecomerce template. Work also started on creating a nautical range for Mellybee and the jubilee.
• March: Accepted design brief for surfing company inkydeep- a totebag design! Joined fledgling online shop Two Red Trees, also based in Cornwall. Gain a new stockist: The Studio Shop in Orkney
• April: Hamster character work created for client through Southwest Broadband- my helpful website host provider. Design created for local shop Tyto - screenprinted in runs of 50 onto totebags.
• May: Poster work created for an events company based in Essex- Sunset sessions. 
• June: Jubilee Fever- my special Diamond Jubilee Corgi teatowels get featured in Archant's Jubilee Bookazine and sales in my webshop increase dramatically for Jubilee products- in particular from Japan! Gain new stockists: Maid in Cornwall & Sarah's Shop
• July: Approached by Oxford based lingerie shop to draw a glossary of lingerie items for their website www.puremarie.co.uk. In total draw 23 bras, pants and vests. Gain new stockist: Seawitch Stores, Mousehole. 
• August: Find out that I've been accepted to sell at Renegade Craft Fair along with my booth mate Hello Dodo- very happy but also means I have a lot of screen printing to do! Design Mousehole illustration to be printed on a variety of products for Seawitch stores.
• September: Receive an order to make 50 bespoke wedding portrait teatowels through online stockist: Fromthewilde - this puts me to the test. Make my way to my first craft fair in London via  train- 8 hour journey with the largest red suitcase and backpack- meet lots of awesomely brilliant crafty people including team Folksy and the Renegade team from the states. 
• October: Lingerie drawings created for Wed magazine's editorial feature on wedding lingerie. Find out that I've won the Superportfolio competition set up by Wiiv-win £300 and get more exposure for my work- website promotes makers through image led features. Design & draw Tyto Boutique's Autumn/Winter shop windows.
•  November:  Find out my products are being featuring in magazines - Cornwall life, MyCornwall and Cornwall Today. Accepted into Blogandbuysale's curated christmas Wishlist - Love, Joy, Peace Badgesets are shortlisted in both Mollie Makes and Confessions of a Design Geek picks!
• December: Increase in sales in all online shops particularly Folksy. Most popular seller- Gingerbread badgesets!  Interviewed for Mollie makes newest online magazine Gathered. Gain new stockist: Blueswift Gallery, Ramsgate. 

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Mellybee Autumn/Winter 2012 Collection

Here's my latest offering of products ready for the Autumn/Winter season. New to the collection are my screenprinted cushions which have been in the pipeline for well over a year. I've added to my Christmas line more of Mr. Gingerbread as last year he did prove to be a popular card and decoration choice! You'll also find my Love heart mini-totes have been expanded into a Love, Joy, Peace range with products not only suitable for the festive season but also for a range of gift giving ideas- like births/anniversaries/weddings/valentines etc! And lastly I've made a Home Sweet Home mini line that includes a lavender bag, card and cushion- perfect to brighten your home this Autumn.
Enjoy!

Open publication - Free publishing - More 2012

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Seawitch Stores Mousehole

I've been fortunate to work with Danielle, owner of Seawitch Stores since it opened its doors earlier this year. Situated right on the harbour in the small but beautiful fishing village of Mousehole, Cornwall,  she stocks the shop with all sorts of treats and treasures- from candles to sweets, to homewares and handmade cards. 

Danielle invited me to design a Mousehole illustration for the shop.  It's the kind of project which gets me excited as I love the challenge to create something for a particular place that captures the area. The final illustration features the iconic clock tower that is at the centre of the village, the christmas lights that are put on in spectacular display each year and the mousehole cat and boat that according to legend weathered the stormy seas to bring back food for the starving village- the fish they caught was made into a stargazy pie which is now a local dish. The design now features on kids tees, teatowels, cards, notebooks, bags and will shortly appear on mugs too!

So if you're in the area on holiday make sure you pop in and say hi to Danielle whom I'm sure will give you a warm welcome and a cheery smile!

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Tin

10 years ago today I married my best friend, steadfast supporter, greatest encourager and eternal optimist- my husband Tony. It seems apt that having lived in four different countries that we are now in Cornwall- home of Tin that we celebrate our tenth anniversary. We spent the day visiting Levant mine and having a relaxed day just enjoying the scenery, eating yummy picnic food from the Cornish Hen deli in Penzance and being tourists!  

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Cornish Maid

Hello! I thought I'd share with you some photos of a lovely cafe/gallery/gift shop and my newest stockist which has just opened not far from where I live in a little village called Mawnan Smith, Falmouth. Initiated and run by Cornish maid Sarah Bailey this sweet cafe is already fast becoming the heart of the community- situated on the village square you'll find a warm welcome and cheery smile from Sarah herself. You'll be offered fresh coffee, tea, freshly baked bread, croissants and the choice of cake even before you've found your seat and taken in the art and craft on display and for sale.

If you're on holiday in Cornwall it's well worth a visit and would make a lovely treat and haven away from the rain! Visit online for a glimpse Cornish Maid

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Summer lovin'

Hello! Just thought I'd share some images from over the Summer. This is our first summer in Cornwall since moving in February from Aberdeen and has been quite different.  The fact I've been able to wear one layer almost the entire summer should tell you how much warmer it is this end of the country- I don't think I ventured out wearing my flip flops at all whilst in Scotland! 

Instead of going away we decided to just explore cornwall and so had a week where we took day trips,

had some BBQs on the beach, visited a few cornish markets, met a tortoise, saw the Tea ladies and spent some time with friends. 

I've also been making and selling in a few summer fairs and will show you what I've up to soon...

but for now hope you've had some time to rest.

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