A Sad Sad Day

Thursday 25th June 2009 has seen a sad sad day in the celebrity world.

Firstly, we were to read the news that American actress Farrah Fawcett, has passed away after a three year battle with cancer aged 62 years. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the TV series Charlie’s Angels in 1976. Fawcett later appeared off-Broadway to the approval of critics and in highly rated television movies in roles often challenging (The Burning Bed, Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story, Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story, Margaret Bourke-White) and sometimes unsympathetic (Small Sacrifices).

Fawcett was also a pop culture figure whose hairstyle was emulated by millions of young women and whose poster sales broke records, making her an international sex symbol in the 1970s and 1980s. She died of anal cancer on June 25, 2009, at the age of 62.

R.I.P. Farrah Fawcett (February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009)

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Then this evening, we heard that Michael Jackson has passed away after suffering from a cardiac arrest, aged 50 years. An American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Referred to as the “King of Pop” in subsequent years, five of his solo studio albums have become some of the world’s best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995).

Michael Jackson was a very controversial public figure but he was an incredibly talented musician… his music was/is fantastic and there are many tracks that I grew up listening to. His private life (which was often broadcast in newspapers) had many questionable events, the ‘balcony incident’ and other accusations we are all familiar with, but nobody can take his talent away from him. Nobody will ever know just how much truth there was in the newspaper rumours and accusations over the years and I didn’t like him as a person in his later years but the man was a musical legend.

As everyone knows, there weer many sides to Michael Jackson, both his fantastic musical talent and his controversial lifestyle but I just hope that people can leave the Jackson family to grieve in peace and those who dislike him can have the decency and respect to keep quiet.

R.I.P. Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)

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I am just so shocked that two celebrities that I have grown up with have passed away on the same day.

It’s a sad, sad day.

Craft Fair Essentials

As the craft fair season gets into full swing there are many crafter preparing for their first event, while many more of us are looking for better ways to display our items, different methods of attracting customers and general ways to improve our stalls at these craft fairs.

With this in mind, I have compiled a list of *must have* items to take to craft fairs… these will not apply to every craft but they may give you an idea of the sort of things you need, as well as other items which will be beneficial to make your day that little bit easier.

* Stock *
Greetings Cards
Keepsake Cards
Notecards
Gift Tags
Bookmarks
Multi-pack of cards
Scented Candles
Unscented Candles
Decorated Candles
Wax Melts – for oil burners
Wax Scented Teddies

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* Display *
Table covering (either table cloth or bed sheet)
Floor standing card display carousel
Table top wire card stands
Table top cardboard card stands
3-tier acrylic candle stands
Baskets for wax melts, bookmarks, seasonal cards

* Promotional *
Business cards and holder
Leaflets and holder
Banner/signs (and cable ties/string)
List of candle fragrances

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* Everything Else *
Table (if not supplied by venue)
Chairs (if not supplied by venue)
Notebook
Pens
Order Forms
Scissors
Sellotape
Blu-tak
Safety Pins
String
Calculator
Money Tin
Change (5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1, £5)
Bags and packaging
Lighting
Seasonal table decoration (eg. Christmas Tree)

* Refreshments *
Flask of tea or coffee
Canned/bottled cold drinks
Snack food

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Also think it helps to take along some examples of ‘works in progress’ to work on at the event as potential customers like to see that you do genuinely make the items yourself, and also if you are working on a piece then people are more inclined to come over to your stall to see what you are doing and in turn, have a look at what you have displayed

Personally, I always take along some headache tablets, rescue remedy, tissues and baby wipes as these are things that always come in handy and you never know when or where you are likely to need them!! Oh and of course some elastoplasts!!

Clothing-wise I’d recommend dressing in layers, especially at outdoor events as you can be toasty warm while you are moving around setting up your stall but soon cool down when you are standing/sitting around waiting for customers but you don’t want to end up cooking all day either. I prefer to wear layers so that I can find a happy-medium between cooking and freezing lol, and I always take my fingerless gloves with me cos although I don’t like cold hands, I find normal gloves a nuisance to wear if I’m doing anything.

Hopefully this post will help us all to be a bit more organised at craft fairs and if I think of anything else to add to the list then I’ll certainly let you all know!!

Thanks for reading, Laura xxx

Churchgate Midsummer Festival, Bolton

Saturday 20th June saw us getting out of bed bright and early to head up the M6 motorway and into Bolton for their Midsummer Festival which was being held on Churchgate in the town centre.

The weather wasn’t really on our side, as the heaven’s opened while we were on our way there and the rain and wind continued throughout the day. Our stall was set up by 9:30am which gave us half an hour to re-arrange things, have a look around and get things just how we wanted them before the event opened at 10:00am.

Although this was an outdoor event, we stayed dry and relatively warm in gazebos which were ‘on loan’ from Bolton Markets. The weather didn’t really put people off, and we had a great day, we met lots of lovely people and had quite a few sales, more than covering our weekends costs on day one. Lovely.

Throughout the day there was plenty for people to do and see, including ferret racing, shoeing of a shire horse and shire horse rides for children. There were lots of stalls for people to enjoy and the church yard had lots of charity stalls including Guide Dogs For The Blind, RNLI and Save The Children. There were also battle re-enactments in the church grounds which proved to be very popular entertainment.

Sunday morning was another early start, another drive up the M6 (in the rain) and setting up for day two of the Midsummer Festival… somehow we managed to set up quicker than on Saturday and were all ready for the day ahead by just after 9:00am even after a move around!!

Sunday’s weather was slightly better… a little drizzly throughout the day but nowhere near as wet as Saturday. A highlight of the event on Sunday afternoon was the street play which saw the landlord of Ye Olde Man and Scythe, John Jewitt, “executed”. He played the 7th Earl of Derby, James Stanley, who was beheaded for his role in the Bolton Massacre of 1643 during the English Civil War. The earl spent his last night at the pub and the annual re-enactment commemorates his death.

Although Sunday was the quieter of the two days, we still met some lovely people, made a few sales and came home with a couple of commission orders as well as making some very good contacts with regards to future events and possible custom so definitely a worthwhile day.

Over both days, hubby’s new range of wax scented teddies and candle holders proved to be very popular, so he will definitely be making more of these for the next event in our calender.

Throughout the weekend we met Lorraine of Baby Cake Gifts, Katherine of MWL Designs, Andrea of Westwells Florist and many more wonderful people.

We would like to thank Becky from Ye Olde Wench & Trinkets and her team for the excellent organisation of the event and for making us feel so welcome, the staff at Ye Olde Man & Scythe for the excellent free tea and coffee supplied for traders (which kept hubby very happy ) and for the wonderful public who helped to make this weekend the great success that it was.

This is one of the best events that we have been to and we would definitely attend future events organised by Churchgate Traders. Thank you all for an excellent weekend… here’s to the next one!!

New Ranges – June 2009

In time for our biggest fair of 2009 so far… Churchgate Traders Midsummer Fair in Bolton, Gordon has just finished three new ranges to add to his candles and candle accessories.

We have a new range of tealight candle holders, each one has been hand finished from branches which have fallen naturally. All wood used by us is gathered from the forest floor where it has falled through natural causes. All of our wood products are untreated.

This range of tealight holders made their debut appearance at our last craft fair in Dronfield and proved to be very popular amongst visitors and certainly proved to be a talking point.

Here we have this adorable little frog for those of us who like gimicky candles and gifts:

Next up we have a range of wax scented teddies, these soft plush bears are hand dipped in Eco Soy Wax and fragranced with high quality scentwhich it slowly releases over several months, the scent can be revitalised by using your hairdryer on a cool setting for 10-15 seconds. A great alternative to a shop bought airfreshener!!

These products are not candles and should not be lit. Also please make sure that the bear is not placed directly onto wood or polished surfaces as it may mark them, instead please use a coaster or mat underneath. Please also note that these bears are not toys and as such, should be kept out of reach of children and pets.

Organised? Me!!

Well, for once, it looks like we are pretty organised!!!

It’s 10:45pm on Thursday evening and we are preparing for a big event in Bolton this Saturday and Sunday… normally we’re still rushing around at midnight the night before the craft fair but I decided this week to try to be a bit more organised!!

All of our greetings cards and keepsake cards are in boxes, the table coverings are packed, the display stands are packed and the majority of Gord’s candles are boxed too… just the last few that he’s working on at the moment which will be wrapped and packed tomorrow. I’ve even got a small selection of card making items sorted to take with me, just in case we have any quiet time, which hopefully we won’t

Where are we going?

Well, Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st June 2009 will see us at the Churchgate Traders Midsummer Festival in Bolton… it is looking like it will be a fab weekend, with a line up including:

Craft Market
Beer Festival
Battle Re-enactments
Live Music
Ferret Racing
Shire Horse Riding
String Ensemble

And much much more…

Why not have a look on their website to see what they got up to last year? Churchgate Traders

Here is an example of how Churchgates 2008 Midsummer Fair looked:

We are now crossing our fingers for some great weather over the weekend so that we have a good turnout at this event and everyone has a great weekend

Needless to say we’re keeping a close eye on the weather forecast on the UK Weather website!!

Of course, Fathers Day here in the UK is on Sunday 21st June and as we’re not going to be here to wish all of you wonderful Dad’s a great day, here is a little message especially for you…

Keepsake Cards

As well as working on our range of candles, we have also been busy working on some new keepsake cards to add to our ranges, please let us know what you think.

Wedding Cards…

Golden Wedding Anniversary…

Birthday…

Anniversary…

Baby Girl’s Christening…

Decorated Candles

We have also been working on our range of decorated candles which can be created for any occasion.

Today’s focus has been on “Dad” candles with Fathers Day being just a few days away.

And we have also added the following candles to our range…

Candles! Candles! Candles!

Today’s first post is to show off some of Gordon’s new candles, he has been working hard to restock his range of candles for our forthcoming craft fairs and has a few new fragrances which smell absolutely yummy!!

First of all we have this delicious After Eight fragranced candle in a lovely green…

Next we have Green Apple fragrance in a deep purple coloured candle…

And the last of the new fragrances is this lovely lilac candle scented with Parma Violet…

After requests from customers for his Praying Hands candle, he has also made this Lavender scented, ivory coloured candle, which is decorated with lavender scented dried flower confetti…

Craft Fair in Dronfield

Another weekend, another craft fair!!

Saturday 13th June 2009, saw us with an early start to the morning and a drive to Dronfield Civic Hall where we met Melanie and Richard of Cottage Creations to take part in their craft fair… this was the first fair that we have done with Cottage Creations and we were made to feel very welcome.

Gordon and I, set up our stall and everything was ready by 9:30am… everything in place, organised, re-organised and ready for the flow of customers who would start arriving around 10:00am, so I took the opportunity to have a walk around the other stalls and chat with some fellow crafters and stallholders.

No matter how we organise our stall at these events, I always think I could do better, but here is Saturday’s attempt:

There was a lovely friendly atmosphere throughout the day and all stallholders had a really nice rapport with each other which was great, as although the event seemed to be well organised and well advertised, there weren’t a lot of customers attending, and those who did come in to have a look around didn’t really seem to be spending.

The weather was beautiful and the hall is situated on the same car park as the local Somerfield and some other shops, and around the corner from Sainsburys, there were signs out around the town and people had read about the event in the local newspaper so the only thing that I think was against us was the hot and sunny weather and everyone wanting to make the most of it by being outdoors!!

We’ve got another craft fair booked with Cottage Creations on 11th and 12th July 2009 at Baslow Village Hall, so fingers crossed that one will be more successful!!

In the meantime, we’d like to wish Melanie a speedy recovery after her accident a few weeks ago… after an early morning fall in her garden, she has shattered her ankle and after surgery, is now in plaster for around ten weeks and is reliant on a wheelchair so our thoughts are with her at this difficult time and we’re sending Melanie lots of healing thoughts and hoping that her recovery goes well.

Fathers Day – Sunday 21st June 2009

With less than two weeks to go until Fathers Day and so many Dad’s who deserve some tlc and to be pampered, we have a selection of our Fathers Day cards below.

This is a small selection of the cards we have created for this occasion and we aim to be able to provide something for everyone… does your Dad have a specific hobby or interest? Perhaps you’d like to include a family photograph on a special card? We can create a unique greetings card specific to your requirements, so why not get in touch with us and show your Dad you care with a personalised and unique greeting or keepsake card.

All orders placed between now and midnight on Monday 15th June 2009 will be subject to free postage… this offer is valid on all cards and candles, for all occasions.

If you would like to contact us, you can either email us at laurascardsforalloccasions@yahoo.com or contact us through our website Cards & Candles For All Occasions *click here* and we will aim to reply to your message within 24 hours.