Craft Stall Displays

Another craft fair today! Back at Elsecar Heritage Centre with my upcycled and new paper crafts where I was last Sunday but this time for a vintage and craft fair. There were lots of very tempting stalls with such lovely items as vintage clothing, upcycled fabric bags, handmade jewellery and hand stamped fabrics. I did my best to resist but just couldn't help buying this fox ring from Hidden Quirks (before the fair even started!).

The fair was in Building 21 on the site which used to be an ironworks and its industrial past can still be seen which makes for an interesting and unique setting.

 

Seeing a different kind of fair to the ones I usually sell at gave me lots of ideas for new and different stall displays.  I particularly liked some stalls which used old crates like shelves to give a rustic feel and build height for large items. Suitcases were also used to good effect either flat on a table and open to rummage through or stood on their side open like a cupboard with items hanging in them. There was also a stall that had garden trellis around it to hang different items on giving a lot more display space.  Not all of these could be applicable to a paper craft stall, but they were great to look at and enjoy.

These are some ways that I displayed my crafts today.

I used safety pins to secure string to the table cloth to give extra hanging room and pegged my hand sewn hearts to them.  I also hung up packs of paper bunting in this way.

Chalk boards are really useful to add descriptions or special offers highlighting a certain product.  You can also easily change the price or the product to suit what's selling!

To match the theme of the earrings being upcycled, I reused an old picture frame to display them on.  It was from a picture that wasn't used anymore and I did stand on the glass breaking it when I was having a clear out (luckily whilst wearing shoes!).  I removed the glass and put a layer of wadding on the board which I covered with pink fabric from a pillow case.  I then strung ribbon across which I held in place with tape at the back and put the whole thing back in the frame.

Seeing all the other lovely stalls has given me plenty to think about in terms of display and if I can find some smaller crates I'd love to use them on my stall.  I only have one more summer fair and then I'm taking a craft fair break until the Christmas fairs start in November - by which time I might have found some crates!

Uniquely Upcycled - Summer Craft Fair at Elsecar Heritage Centre

I love to craft using whatever I can find, whether that's in a craft shop, second hand shop or, well, just something laying around! I make and sell a mix of new and upcycled items and one question I always get asked is 'What is upcycling?' Simply put, it's reusing something that's served its purpose and uping its value in some way; this could be in terms of money, usefulness or decoration. Got an old book that's been scribbled in? Use the pictures for gift tags.  Got a load of used postage stamps? Decorate a notebook. Today I had a stall at Elsecar Heritage Centre and decided to dedicate it all to upcycling.

It's amazing what you can do with goods past their best or intended use. There are loads of great ideas on the internet and I've added some links to my favourites below.  This is something I've always done, but I've only recently found that upcycling is what it's called!

Some of my favourite things to make are greeting cards, gift bags and gift tags like the ones on my stall today.  I'll always find something to make, I even upcycled the displays.  I covered shoe boxes with pages from a falling to pieces dictionary to act as 'shelves'; covered box lids with maps and music sheets to make little stands; and made price signs by cutting letters out of books and sticking them together to make words.

I had some lovely comments (thank you!) from customers and visitors to the fair who loved the uniqueness and creativity of my stall as well as liking the idea of things not being wasted and finding a new life. I also loved the feedback that people hadn't seen anything like this before and it's not what they usually find at craft fairs - I love the idea of creating something different.

The fair itself had a great choice of crafts and stalls ranging from cupcakes to cardigans, chairs to chutneys and candles to crocheted owls (lots of talented crafters here in Yorkshire!) If you're ever near the Heritage Centre when there's a fair on do call in, they're always full of interesting things.  In fact there's one next Sunday 28th July that's vintage and craft...and I have a stall there too!

So, now more people know about upcycling.  And hopefully some are inspired to try it too!

If you want to see more about upcycling, take a look at these sites:
http://twistedsifter.com/2012/06/creative-ways-to-repurpose-reuse-and-upcycle-old-things/
http://upcycledtreasures.com/
http://www.upcyclemagazine.com
http://www.commonground-do.com/
This post was kindly shared on Common Ground's linky party.  Have a look at the site as there are other upcycling ideas there too!