Create Festive Fayre 2008

Pouch had a stand at the ever-popular Create Festive Fayre in Bristol this year.
It is always a great event, well organised, busy and people are keen to buy eco-friendly presents.



We met some lovely people and had lots of positive feedback from customers about the bags, owls, belts and Christmas stockings. In fact, we sold out of Christmas stockings. The fact the stockings were scented with cinnamon, cloves and star anise drew people over. The scent is so Christmassy that people couldn't resist buying one or two!



Luckily, the sun shone down on the red brick of the bonded warehouse in which the Create centre is located. Last year, it rained all day on both days, but the weather was fantastic this year, which was a huge relief and I'm sure it helped with visitor numbers. Considering the current economic climate it was heartening to see so many people still keen to support local businesses.



If you missed us at the fair, there's still time to grab an ecofriendly gift from our online store

Vintage Love: jumble sale jar

I love my latest vintage find, a jar from a jumble sale full of sewing bits and bobs.

All for the bargain price of 40p!

I find this type of find so intriguing. I know that someone has collected these pieces of haberdashery over many years, dipping in to the jar when they needed a particular button or buckle.

I had no idea what was inside, but I was pleasantly surprised to see such a lovely mixture of vintage sewing pieces.

All it needs now is a bit of a clean and I can start using them!

If you'd like to see more retro goodies, head on over to my "Vintage Finds" board over on Pinterest...

Follow Pouch : blogging + craft's board My Vintage Finds on Pinterest.

vintage finds: thrift store fabric

Here are some photos of the latest additions to the ever expanding Pouch fabric collection!
There is 1 piece of traditional floral fabric, 2 pieces of cotton check and 1 huge piece of funky vintage fabric (my favourite piece).
I love it when I get a good haul of fabric from my local thrift stores.
Now I just need to work out what to make with it all!

Taste of Somerset Festival

Pouch had a stall at the annual 'Taste of Somerset Festival' in Hutton on the 27th August.
Despite the rain and grey skies, the event was well attended. The large marquee was full of people sampling the best of Somerset food, drink and crafts. There was plenty of variety on show at the market. Produce ranged from the more exotic, such as boar and buffalo meat to more traditional fare such as Cheddar strawberries and of course, scrumpy cider.
Festivities carried on into the evening with a pig roast, music and cabaret and real ale and cider bars!

Repurposed belts

We are taking part in the 'Taste of Somerset Festival' on the 27th August
So we're currently in the process of putting together lots of stock to take along.
This is our latest batch of belts, made from repurposed belts covered with fab vintage fabric!

Scissor homage!

One of the most important pieces of kit when working with fabric, is a sharp pair of scissors. I love my Fiskars scissors, which probably makes me a bit sad, but without them, I can't make anything!

Vintage Haberdashery Finds Part 2

I recently found these in my new favourite shop!
Big vintage bakelite buttons, look a bit like eyes, 5p each from the Hospice shop in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, UK

Vintage Haberdashery Finds

We've had a bit of a bad start to 2008 when my Mum fell down the stairs, knocked herself out and broke her collar bone. I've been staying with her on and off over the past fortnight . She lives on her own and can't use one arm, plus she had concussion and couldn't be left alone. She's getting a bit better, but wont be able to drive or use her arm for at least 6 weeks.
When I pop out to get my Mum milk or a paper, I can't resist going into her local charity shops at the top of her road. One of them has a huge haberdashery counter with loads of little drawers and each one is full of threads, buttons, belts, buckles and everything else you can think of! I am absolutely hooked and it takes me about an hour to get some milk...
Here are some of the vintage haberdashery finds I've got my hands on :)

CREATE Festive Fayre

Winter sunset on the CREATE Centre

We had a great time at the CREATE Festive Fayre. It's a fantastic event to be involved with and we met lots of eco-aware people who gave us lots of positive feedback to our products. We sold out of our belts and clutch purses and wish we had brought more with us! The recycled fabric stockings sold well too and lots of people loved the lavender hearts and sleepy owls. The CREATE Fayre is a great way to promote Pouch and we gave out loads of business cards and 'buy handmade' badges and stickers.




I have lots more photos which I will post next week as we are off to Paris for 4 days on the Eurostar and I need to get on with my packing :)