Reporting from East Anglia
Hey welcome!
It's half way through February and I'm taking a couple of days to rest up after 2 long days working at the Craft + Flea events in Cambridge & Norwich.
Feels like the year has just begun but already I'm back at it and always meeting new people and shoving my wax melts up their noses (with consent of course 😉) January the 29th was my first event of 2023 in Stoke and it didn't disappoint! Something about you Stokies (can I call you that?) You're just a lovely bunch of people! I also treated myself to a lovely print from Nova and Me, a week later I discovered an awesome and unexpected Spice Girls post card in there. Thanks! What a sweetie.
At the beginning of the year I was adamant that I was not gonna be found doing any outdoor markets - however - some of you have found me doing exactly that!
You discovered me hanging out on Liverpool Docks last weekend - the weather was just too good to miss so I sent Matilda from the Makers Market a cheeky message and voila she and Trudy sorted me out a pitch next to Ted & Belle perfumes. We were an extremely fragrant pair of people to be around that day.
Liverpool was bloody brilliant as usual and it was amazing to meet people who I'd met in 2022 in Cairns Brewery Village and the Bombed Out Church Markets. This is a city which loves to shop!
This weekend though was inside the relatively toasty walls of Cambridge's St Pauls and Norwich's St Andrews. Both events were made so much easier than normal as I had my wonderful family come and help, provide endless entertainment and a moderate amount of embarrassment, naturally.
Mum was my top Bagger Queen, expertly handling all items and placing with the utmost care into our paper bags for everyone in Cambridge whilst my auntie was an excellent salesperson, loving all of the chit and the chat as well as sampling the local delicacies which included scones as big as your head.
My little brother also came along with a much needed caffeine fix. I can't wait to see the photos he took. Hopefully we'll get some of them upon IG and FB soon.
All in all it's been an absolute blast and I'm definitely going to try and do these long trips more often - well for as long as my little car can cope with the miles.
As for now, right now, I'm enjoying a cuppa tea (the toast & jam tea is my go to at the moment) and I've got my feet up and marinating in my rosemary foot sooth which is definitely helping release the tension in these oldish bones.
Make sure you do something fun for yourself today whether that's enjoying a foot rub, a bubble bath or even just 5 minutes of peace and quiet in your bedroom with yourself for company.
Some Wonderful Creatives I've Met Recently Include:
STOKE
Elise Pilkington - Stunning pet portraits, you can especially feel Elise's love of whippets.
Nova & Me - Lovely colourful illustrations to suit any age and mood on prints, cards, stationary and mugs.
Cut Out Prints - I just love art so here's another illustrator! This time though it's art in different shapes, even holes in doughnuts.
LIVERPOOL
Ted & Belle Perfumes - Always a pleasure taking with Zander, such a lovely soul and lovely addictive perfumes too!
NORWICH
Civil Block - Shouldn't really be bigging up a rival soap maker really but duo Kenny and Brent are just the nicest guys ever! If you're looking for a brutalist inspired block of soap then these are for you!
CAMBRIDGE
4 Eyes Patisserie - travelled almost as far as I have but not quite! The 4 eyes had enormous scones, croissant creations and even catered for me and my gluten free, vegan diet!