Whirlwind trip to Auckland

What a weekend! I think I'm still recovering. After managing to fill one of my suitcases right up to Air NZs 23kg weight limit (candles are heavy, ok!) and squeezing another 18kgs of stock, props and clothes into a second suitcase, the Mr and I set off to the airport for my first out of town fair. He came along for moral support, some extra arms for carrying things, and the additional luggage allowance. I haven't managed to get him excited about crafts just yet though...

We caught up with one of my original flatmates for dinner, and realised it had been far too long since the last time. We had a great time reminiscing about 'the old days' and all the people we used to know at the YMCA, which is where we met, as students fresh out of high school.

The next day we wheeled the two suitcases to the Auckland Art Gallery, and I must say, Christchurch's footpaths are much more wheel-friendly. I set up my stall, and waited in anticipation for the hordes of people. It filled up pretty quickly, and was busy for the whole day. I had a lovely neighbour, Louise from the The Binding Studio who I got to know throughout the day.

Luckily for me, Lucy from Felt had come up to check out the Fair, and kindly looked after my stall for a while in the afternoon. This gave me a chance to have look around at all the lovely things, and chat to some of the stallholders. It was great to finally meet some of the people whose blogs and tweets I've been following, including Blendy, Honey Design Books, Tiny Happy, Victoria n' Bird and Zippity Doo Dah, as well as catching up with Dear Colleen and Sarah from Songbird Designs again! I also got to meet the organisers, Jess and Kylie, who have done a great job of organising and promoting the Fair.

Yet again, I've only got photos of my stall. Please don't look at them too closely, I'm not good at taking photos indoors with no flash or tripod! I didn't think to get a photo of me behind the stall. By some strange co-incidence I happened to be wearing a top that was quite similar in colour to the wall behind me, which was made even stranger by the fact the wall was only that colour behind my stall. If you keep and eye out on the Auckland Art and Craft Fair blog, they are going to put some photos up of the event, so you'll be able to see what the rest of it looked like!

My Auckland debut

This weekend, for the first time ever, I will be taking to the skies with Rose in Thorns, and bringing my wares to Auckland. I'm excited to be involved the inaugural Auckland Art and Craft Fair, along with a very talented selection of New Zealand crafters and designers. The Fair is designed to showcase these artists, whose products have an emphasis on quality, craftmanship, creativity and style. You can purchase direct from the seller, knowing that you are supporting New Zealand talent and you will be taking home a special piece that has soul.

It is being held in the Art Lounge at the Auckland Art Gallery. Why not make a day of it, you can check some of the exhibitions at the Gallery, take a stroll around Albert Park, and have lunch at the cafe. There will be eftpos facilities available, where you can withdraw special market money which has been designed by illustrator Sarah McNeil. There will be $4 parking available for visitors to the Fair that use the Victoria Street Car Park, with a special discount voucher from the gallery.

I will be bringing my selection of recycled wax candles, including mini-teardrops and hand-dipped tapers, as well as my new range of soy tin and tealight candles. There will also be some recycled cassette tape purses, and if I can squeeze them in, some of the first of my range of soft toys, starfish rattles. You can bring along any old candles you would like to be recycled, and in return receive a 10% discount off your purchase on the day. If you come along to the Fair, do say hi, I like to meet lovely blog readers.

New Goodies available in my Felt shop

I've been busy this week, photographing and listing new items in my Felt shop. I have added soy tealights which I introduced at A Craft Affair. These are a little taller than your average tealight, last for about 7 hours. They come in a range of fragrances, or are available unscented. I have updated all the listings in my soy candle range to include all available fragrances . There are two new fragrances now available in the mini scented cube range as well – Coffee and Cinnamon. I have also added my new, and much talked about Starfish baby rattles. They are made from upcycled fabric remnants, and stuffed with natural New Zealand wool. If you didn't get a chance to check them out at A Craft Affair, pop over and have a look.

Now I'm busy preparing for the Auckland Art and Craft Fair this Saturday, I will post another blog about this in the next day. I won't be at the Rolleston Community Market this month, as I get back from Auckland late on Saturday night, and thought I deserved a break!

An Affair to be proud of

I had a great day at A Craft Affair on Sunday. Although I was still rushing at the last minute, I was much calmer than for my first market, Craft 2.0 a year ago. I did manage to finish my new product, starfish baby rattles, but have yet to upload them to Felt. They were literally brand new, I finished stuffing them at midnight, and sewed them up in the morning. My new soy tin candles went down a treat, and I sold out of the Mandarin & Mimosa fragranced ones.

I met some lovely sellers from other parts of New Zealand that I knew 'virtually'. It was nice to put faces to blogs and felt shopnames, as well as getting to know some local crafters a little better. As usual, it was rather busy, so I didn't get a chance to look around the whole building. Emma from Freedom Creative kindly watched my stall for me while I did a quick tour of the top floor.

I only got photos of my stall, so to see the whole fair, take a look at the A Craft Affair blog. Lucy has been putting up a virtual tour of the fair. Maddie from lilmagoolie blog has written a great overview, and you can read some great writeups from other sellers – Songbird Designs, Relique Vintage Jewellery, little minx, Black Swan Designs and Miss Millie. Finally a huge thanks to Lucy for doing such a wonderful job organising A Craft Affair. Yet again, you've done a fantastic job!

One day to go!

It's nearly here – A Craft Affair hits town for the very first time tomorrow! I have been very busy making lots of candles. There will be some new, never been smelt before fragrances on offer in my new soy candle range. They will be available in three different sized tins, tealights, and of course, in teacups too. I have also been very busy putting together something new. But I won't say what it is or post a picture here – you'll have to come along tomorrow if you want to be the first to see what it is!

If you do come along tomorrow, don't forget to bring your old candles along for me to recycle. In return you will get a 10% discount on your next purchase! You can choose to spend this tomorrow, or keep the coupon for a later date. There are plenty of good reasons to come, including free entry, cupcakes, the best hot chocolates, and of course lots and lots of fantastic handmade items made by some very talented crafters.

A Craft Affair is on from 11am till 3pm, Sunday 11th July at Our City O-Tautahi, corner of Worcester Boulevard and Oxford Terrace, Christchurch (the old information centre, right next to the bridge). I hope to see you there!