Handmade Christmas Fair 2015

Over the weekend of the 20th November, I attended the Handmade Christmas Fair in Manchester! I was working on the Craft Asylum stand, hosting workshops all weekend and teaching people how to make this cute Winter Bear gift box using the Sizzix machines, Winter Wonderland dies and the Candy papers..

It was lovely to see people using the dies and papers I had designed! Although, we worked through the project together, everyone added their own personal touch and hearing the comments from the public was just so rewarding. I love to hear what people think!

We also spent Thursday (and Thursday night) building our stand and creating a fantastic Winter Wonderland! We wanted to make everyone that stepped into our stand to feel festive and happy to be there.. I think we did a great job in the end with our garland, decorated using the dies from the Winter Wonderland collection in a variety of different ways...

Handmade Fair

This week, in the studio, we have been extremely busy working on some eye-catching decorations for  the Craft Asylum stand at Handmade Fair. We will be attending the show all weekend, providing make and takes as well as being involved in the skill workshops! Wish me luck! It's always amazing to be involved in the shows and get valuable feedback from the consumers. We also love having a beautiful stand to exhibit how versatile the patterned papers are and to create a buzz around our products. We think these pinwheels do the trick!

Candy collection by Craft Asylum

Recently, I spotted my first paper collection for Craft Asylum in the Chester Hobbycraft store. This was such a great achievement having worked with the brand for over a year now. I love to think of crafters taking it home and transforming the patterns into brilliant projects. The collection consists of a 12x12 paper pad, a 6x6 paper pad and some stamps, which all co-ordinate really nicely with one another, meaning the crafting possibilities are endless! Below are a couple of the designs featured in the collection and a store snap. I have also shared some of the designs on my Instagram and website here! This collection will also be a major part in the skills workshop we are doing at Handmade Fair in a couple of weeks, more on that soon!

Promotional Ideas

Along with working and doing small commissions here and there, I like to think about new ways I can promote myself as a designer. After visiting a couple of consumer shows, I felt inspired to show the design industry what I was capable of and thought about ways to push to promote my designs from my on-going portfolio. I decided to pack together some promotional material, to send out to companies and to help expand on my own little brand.