A Unique Local Shopping Experience

Tapton Hall Farmers and Craft Market

Tuesday was a different day for me - a fair on a weekday.  Usually I'm a weekend stall holder in and around Sheffield which makes a lot of sense as people are off work more and in the shopping mood.  However, I thought I'd give it a go and I discovered some lovely local producers, crafters and customers.

After setting up my stall I had a wander around to see what was on offer and have a chat with the other stall holders. And as usual spend money before I made any!

First I discovered Make or Bake selling an array of baking goods. A whole rainbow (and more) of glitters and bun cases drew me in and then I noticed the champagne and the peanut butter flavourings - two of my favourites! I could have bought quite a lot here - put a showed restraint with just a couple of treats (and an early Christmas present purchase).

Next I had a chat with Janet of Home Grown Designs who makes beautiful cushions, bags, door stops and other textile products. She reworks discarded fabrics from clothes and sample books to create her work - an idea that I love and have in my own work too with paper.  I bought a pin cushion filled with fine sand which helps to sharpen the pins and needles (I always seem to blunt mine somehow!) as you use it and is also very helpful to use as a weight when crafting.

Hollow Meadows Flowers was a stall I'd seen before at a similar market in Hillsborough where I'd admired the wild flowers and country garden look. I had a chat with Rachel whose stall it was and she told me about the more natural and unstructured look of her flowers which she grows herself. I even treated my mum to a bunch!

My attention was then caught by Sweet Thing - it was a stall full of cupcakes after all! There was a whole selection of delicious looking cakes; the chocolate ones looked particularly appetising (and tasted just as good as they looked).

Their neighbour offered Nibble Nose cheeses, bread and cakes. I very much enjoyed sampling the handmade cheeses and couldn't resist a tasty caramelised onion cheddar which somehow made its way home with me...

And finally I had a chat with Roy at The Olive Tree Soap Co.  He makes a tempting range of soaps using olive oil and all natural ingredients using the cold pressed method which takes 8 weeks to make it rich and lathering. This means that no additives are needed in it so it's much kinder to skin. There was a lovely range of gorgeous scents and I had trouble choosing but finally bought some olive oil soap for myself.  One other intriguing scent was choco and beer which I got as a little gift for a friend.

Well, I thought it was finally until I learned about the stuffed vines leaves offered by The King Olive, a tempting stall with a variety of olives, stuffed peppers, homemade baklava and Turkish delight as well as the delicious stuffed vine leaves which ended up as my lunch (and were eaten before I got chance to take a photo!).

There was also my stall there with my usual range of upcycled and handcrafted cards, gift wrap and jewellery.

So, an unusual prospect turned into a very enjoyable day finding lots of Sheffield's unique gems on a weekday.

Another market takes place on September 3rd and on the first Tuesday of every month at Tapton Hall, Shore Lane, Sheffield. Although it's only a small, local market, there are lots of wonderful things to discover.

All the stall holders do regular fairs in and around Sheffield too so there are plenty of places to discover them for yourself if you can't make it on a Tuesday.