Into Spring - The Fairs - February & March 2018

This lovely little chap is by Northern Primitives who are based in Yorkshire. It is a great example of what I mean when I refer to "vintage inspired handmade" or "made using original materials, techniques and designs". Their pieces are all individually handmade and available to buy from their Etsy shop.

There will be some lovely handmade stalls at the Stratford Fair which is taking place on Saturday 17th February in the Town Hall alongside stalls displaying high quality original accessories, jewellery, clothing, homewares and vintage haberdashery. The Town Hall is situated on the corner of the High Street and Sheep Street opposite the Garrick Inn. The Stratford Fair is a small fair with around sixteen large stalls.

Then just one week later we travel to Market Harborough for the annual Vintage & Handmade Fair at the Three Swans Hotel. It is our largest fair of the year and brings together forty stalls from across the East Midlands and beyond. The range and quality of the stalls for 2018 is very high, lots of original accessories, some lovely handmade wares and authentic 1940s styling for ladies will be by Amy of Amys Vintage.

The Plump Partridge is a popular coffee house and artisan bakery situated on the Market Square in Northampton, they will be joining at the Market Harborough Fair so there will lots of bakes to take home to enjoy after the fair!

The Vintage Jumbles are great fun and take place twice a year at St Matthew's in Northampton. Originally planned to open 2018 early on 6th January it was necessary to move the Jumble forward to 17th March (which in a way is great as we stall have it to look forward to). There is an old style tea room and bargains galore! If the weather is good there is a pretty walled garden for picnics and more stalls outside on the lawn.

The blackbird picture was given to me at Christmas, I like blackbirds, they have a beautiful song that starts just as dawn breaks on late winter mornings and they also feature in a stylised form on 1930s packaging of Bird's products (principally blancmanges and custard).

And if the song of the blackbird isn't enough to convince you spring is just around the corner here is further evidence. Bulbs look great planted up in old enamel canisters or preserve jars.

Keals of Market Harborough (10a Abbey Street) and just thirty seconds from the fair sell some fantastic items, if you are visiting the fair make sure you call in.

Here are some of the things on display when I called into Keals earlier this month.

I have spent quite a bit of time taking posters to various shops and cafes with the inevitable consequence of nice cakes! I would like to thank everyone who has helped by taking a few flyers or posters.

I would like to thank everyone at Totty Teas (which you can find at Welford Wharf in Northamptonshire) for the warmth of the welcome extended and the lovely cakes on view. Last week I visited lots of villages to put up posters and TottyTeas was the perfect stop for a pot of tea and slice of coffee cake.

I would also like to thank the friendly people at the Rutland Antique Centre in Uppingham. I visited in January and particularly liked a 1930s handmade toy piano and Singer machinist's chair.

While in Uppingham I found a shop called Legacy (11 High Street West) and was impressed by the range of accessories, jewellery and handbags on display (there is also a large room of clothing for gentlemen).

Finally we had a de-clutter of some shelves which hang in the kitchen at home and here is the result.

If you would like any information about the fairs please call 07827 228747, email nptonvintagefair@btinternet.com or contact us via Facebook or Instagram