HIB 2011......done

4 days in the beautiful city of Bath and I am now home. Hitting the ground with a little bit of a bump having to go back the day job this morning. Set up and the preview evening was on Thursday and then we have 3 days open to the general public.

Its been quite sometime since I last did a 'retail' or craft fair if you like, infact I think it was getting on close to a year. Other than the fact Handmade in Britain was being held in such a beautfil location and city and that I had already made my own assumptions of what I thought it would be like, I hadn't read or spoken to anyone who had previously shown at this event.

The Assembly Rooms have to be one of the most pretty buildings I have seen inside. The chandaliers were gorgeous and the fair was held in the 'Ballroom'. The detailing on the ceiling was beautiful.

It made for a 'perfect' venue for showcasing British Designer makers..........however. Attendance of the Private View evening was dissapointing, the only Trade customer I spoke to was a shop owner that I already supply and I had sent her a free invite so I'm guessing that doesn't really count. Over the 3 days I did make some sales and there were quite a few people through the doors but not half as many as predicted. Was it just a sign of the economic climate? No one can know for sure. If I were local to Bath and didn't need to pay for accomodation for the 3 nights and petrol to drive there and back then I think it would have been a very different outcome for me. This is just my personal opinion of my experience and if you were thinking about showing at next years show then I would get a collective opinion of other crafters who exhibited this year. But for me it just didn't work.

On the postitive side of things: I did get to visit Bath. I made some lovely new crafty friends. I made a couple of contacts which might lead to other things. C and I got to spend some time together on an evening without me being distracted by sewing, internet surfing or Tweeting :D And all in all I had fun.

I am quite the person where I didn't feel down that it hadn't been a success for me. I've just taken it on the chin and I am moving on. I loved how my stand looked, same set up as BCTF, but with an added perspex shelf for my purses and it was full, full, of bags. I swtitched the bags round a couple of times trying out different layouts and said goodbye to some of my bags.

I did finally meet the very lovely Judith Brown whom I have been chatting away to on Twitter since BCTF, her jewellery is so gorgeous if you have never seen it before check out her website. I also had the pleasure of having a stand next to Maya Wilson who designs hand printed textiles and makes the most gorgeous cushions and lavender cats, very stylish table runners and napkins. Helllooooo to my new friends *waves*.

So whats next on the agenda for me and bagladee??? Well at this exact point I have no idea :/ there is nothing booked in for me until April next year. So I guess I'll follow up some of the contacts and work on my website for a while. And maybe I might just get round to painting the upstairs of the house?? Who knows.....