What a week! Tube strikes, freezing temperatures, snow, student riots; yep last week in London got a little hectic. Time now then for a quick round up of just how rockin’ the Chistmas Craftacular in York Hall was last Sunday.
The busiest London Craftacular yet, York Hall was BUSTing at the seams as shoppers braved the unusually cold snap and queued round the block for the midday opening, complete with amazing tote bags from Prick Your Finger and Etsy stuffed full of crafty goodness, and they just didn’t stop coming!
Tatty Devine supplied the Christmas tree centrepiece, laden with winnable Tatty gifts, while the Seaside Sisters constructed an icy igloo from which to sell their wares.
We kept warm with tea and cake (and soup, when Lorna got her soup-warmer working!) from Buttercupcakes and crafted our fingers warm by crocheting moustaches with Louise from Prick Your Finger knitting shop and by making pom-poms with the lovely craft writer Perri Lewis.
Louise models her moustache!
Pom-pom trimming, with yarns supplied by the wonderful Rowan.
And there was even an impromptu hoola-hooping performance by Martha of Rock-a-Hula while DJ El Nino was on the decks.
I was super excited to see who won the Etsy £100 shopping spree, but when we drew the raffle (that was me fluffing up the announcement on the mic on behalf of Etsy’s George and Amity), the call for a winner fell on deaf ears. “We shopped, and then we had to leave before we spent too much money,” says winner Kelly, who was psyched to pick up an email telling her that she was the winner, since she has “a list of Etsy favourites as long as her arm” that she can spend it on.
And, of course, we had a all-star cast of designer/maker/crafters. A big shout out to The Hand of Fatima (and a apology for the behaviour of our London cab drivers!) for coming all the way from NYC to take part, and whose stall was a favourite of Etsy winner Kelly’s. “I have a girl crush on her,” she says of the Hand of Fatima’s Mariam, who was adjusting jewellery for shoppers on the spot.
And a few more photos from Garry Maclennan of YHF Photo to really round things up.
Clutch Me shares a table with Lucie Wren Millinery.
Jimboart’s ceramic designs.
Andrea Garland’s pots of face cream.
Cool-dude bears by Freerange Doodle.
Tatty Devine’s Rosie reaches for the prize.
