A lovely weekend with Redwood and many other woods

(written in mid /late March!)

After a long winter it is Spring, apparently although I woke up to a very sleety world this morning, and drove through ‘sleet’ lying at depth on top of the Cairn o Mount on Monday night.

Nevertheless, I feel as if my body clock has reached spring since this weekend’s two day, Redwood Spring fair, at Echt, outside Aberdeen.

Echt is a lovely village of dressed granite, typical of those developed for wealthy landowners under the influence of Queen Victoria and Balmoral. Aberdeenshire has the granite and the royal presence encouraged the landowners to employ craftsmen to use it to help them ‘keep up’ with the royals.

The people are friendly too, as I found out when I went into the shop to check on access and parking at the hall – I was first person there, and worried I was at the wrong venue!  I had a wee car trailer yoked and don’t enjoy navigating it more than necessary.

THE FAIR! The first trader I met, similarly prompt, was Will the woodworker. He carried a coat stand into the hall and I was entranced. 

My picture doesn’t do it justice. I later noticed he had a ‘standard’ lamp made on a similar structure and I have thought of little else since Saturday. (and I have done a lot since Saturday!)

There was also a very jovial woodworker with very quirky works, whose obvious wit seemed to come through in his work, 

There was an inventive woodworker, Richard Johnston, who had branched into CD structures, and who is going to help me find the tiny wooden hinges I need to mend a cantilever sewing box.

Inside, the hall had been refurbished for the Millennium, according to a plaque, but the wooden panelling retained an atmosphere which reminded me of an Agatha Christie country house.

The familiar face of Arlene Allsorts soon appeared and set up next to me with Harris Tweed in many guises, felted soaps and crocheted items.

Wildlife photographer, Bob Hamilton hung some brilliant pix on the other side. From buzzard to snow bunting, with a Japanese style finch portrait added for good measure, I liked the birds. Others had their own favourites.
Next to Arlene, Johnny Craig’s photography was very different, with surreal effects and compositions achieved with skilled photo processing.

Most stalls were art /craft orientated, but a local retro, repro, vintage shop owner unloaded a spectacular array of ostrich feathers, a blue and white ceramic footbath, fire buckets and ‘totem’ carvings, to name but a few.

An Aberdeen charity had a well stocked stall of vintage /antique goods and my New Best Friends, Lynn and Alex Skinner, had an eclectic collection of thoughtfully displayed costume jewellery and other goodies.

On the craft side, hand knitted baby clothes faced ruffle scarves and neighboured a stall packed with stitched cotton and tartan goods.

Saturday was slow, but Sunday took off and the line up of stalls changed a little Rhinturk breads and jams remained. I have shared some of the massive banana bread I won in the raffle, and look forward to being sustained by the remainder, throughout the first week of my imminent lambing.  

Sunday brought an influx of photography; flowers from Anneke Addy, landscapes from another and mysticism from Ally Hunter of the Gemali Emporium.

I had been looking forward to meeting my new neighbour Lorna the Clutterhound since we became FB friends last year. Her stall was beautifully set out and I fancied some of her frox.

Opposite me was another FB face, a friend of Lorna’s, Jennifer Watson, a gracious lady, whose watercolours ranged from free style floral studies to townscapes of Aberdeen.

Flowers appeared in many guises in the work of Amy Neville, mobiles, pendants and light boxes. I loved the light boxes. 

As the day was busier, I had less time to look at the new stalls or to take pix and for that I am sorry.

How did my stall fare? Very well! I reduced my bulk. I sold fabric, a ‘maxi’ woollen duffel coat I loved but had only worn once or twice – literally- a ‘TV set’ of cup and plate which have been separated within my storage for a year and only recently reunited! The wooden cakestand has not photographed very well, but the ‘trays’ are carved, with a white inlay which may be ‘mother of pearl’ or some or other material.

As well as sales on the day, fellow stall holders expressed an interest in my stash of Shetland wool, ‘alternative health /spirituality’ books and a display rack for the stall. Decluttering springs ahead!

Thank you to organiser, Lin Murdoch of Redwood Gallery for the use of her pix amongst my own and for the supply of tea and coffee during the day and for the gorgeous cheesecake!

Filling in the Gap

( this was written in December! but not posted for some reason - it may help to bridge the gap. Maybe I was hoping to find some pix.)

I'm not usually so quiet for so long, but I HAVE been busy - amongst other things - cutting grass at the caravan and attempting to cut grass at the caravan! Solution has been to borrow an ultra smart new strimmer.

Vintage fairs from Aberdeen to St Andrews have helped me to reduce my stockpile a little and I am beginning to see an improvement in floorspace.

Fairs have been very unpredictable, influenced by advertising, weather, competing attractions and demographics. I am fascinated by the demographics and how they work - at fairs around University and Art College, my wardrobe, dating back to 1980s - including the recent uncovering of a shelf of five jumpsuit /cotton flying suits  (but I am keeping one!) - seems to sell. In a country town, older buyers, who comprise the bulk of visitors, don't need crockery but will buy collectibles, bargains or something useful. When the wind blows young women into town, vintage tea sets are all the rage!

Edzell's Vintage Bazaar is the best for bringing a wide cross section of all ages and interests. Women of all ages will buy good quality clothes - and that is helping to make space in the wardrobe; younger ones like china, men will look out for collectibles - checking makers' marks and stamps as much as the look of an item.

I've just come to the end of three weeks of two fairs each weekend but sadly, didn't last the course. Coming home from Dundee on Saturday night I wanted to stop the car and sleep, but drove on the short distance, With a cup of tea and some fruit I went straight to bed, and must have been asleep by 6 pm!

This morning I woke up, intending to add some goodies to the car and head to Blairgowrie Then and Now Fair, but couldn't face food or drink and after phoning in my apologies went back to sleep.

Saturday in Dundee was a lovely day. It was a new, 'one off' Christmas craft fair in Roseangle Arts cafe. Footfall wasn't high, but there was a lovely atmosphere, lots of talented, friendly artists and makers and one very  artiste - a Spanish born singer songwriter called Fiona McAndrew - "My Dad comes from Edinburgh". Fiona played and sang throughout the day and she reminded me of famous US singer songwriters who say, "I started singing in coffee houses." She was excellent.

There were a number of crafty folk amongst the visitors including the very talented Heather Lumsden whose tartan jackets and embroidered velvet and tweed hats are legendary. I admired her 'biker' jacket, adorned with gold and silver painted knotwork designs. She, in turn, commented on my fringed tartan jacket and told me that she made fringed tartan jackets, too. The combination of that info and her Aberdeen accent led to my asking if she was the famed designer / maker and she acknowledged that she was. I felt honoured when she studied the design and construction of my jacket and even identified the type of machine with which the fabric had been bound.

Dundee Skillshare group had a stall too and I was delighted to receive a 'FB friend request' from a delightful Irish girl I met yesterday and had met previously at a skillshare class.