by Jo Henderson
As you all may know recently Ros Badger and I were running a series of craft workshops at Port Eliot Festival in Cornwall. Being a festival newbie I didn’t really know what to expect but as first festivals go this one was pretty spectacular! Sunshine with no threat of rain all weekend, an amazing location and crazy crazy things going on all the time. It was fun from the off. It was also incredibly hard work.
On the Friday and Saturday we ran five workshops a day, we expected between 20 and 25 people a session and ended up with over 50 each time. Everyone was so friendly and so keen to learn and their creativity knew no bounds!
I could write an essay entitled “What I Did At My First Festival” but instead I shall tell the story in pictures…
We set off on a Tuesday. The car was – shall we say – full. (There was a roof box too!)
The car exploded all over our tent …
… With a little bit of Port Eliot magic a transformation happened. (Note to self, step ladders are like gold dust when setting up festivals, chairs on tables are not as good/stable/high.)
Thanks to Wilko, Hobbycraft, Nutscene and Block Design we were momentarily organised with scissors for paper and scissors for fabric … (guess how long that lasted!)
Pretty soon we were ready for business …
… Business came in droves
We made bunting …
… and pom poms …
… and pretty paper head dresses. Thanks to G.F.Smith for the amazing samples they supplied us with.
We made beautiful felt flowers and hair accessories thanks to the felt supplied by Blooming Felt
and this lovely couple are getting married next year. They came and learned how to make paper pinwheels. So that’s their wedding decoration sorted. (Just 20 or 30 left to make!)
There were paper pom poms as big as your head
and famous authors stopping by to make themselves a corsage for their upcoming talk. Lovely Susie Bubble also popped in and took some beautiful photos for her blog (a great place to visit if you want to know what went on at the rest of the festival!)
There was a moment of calm when Ros taught crochet with the wool and hooks supplied by the wonderful Loveknitting. (I lay down under a tree at this point and drank some gin.)
We couldn’t have done it without the help of many many people. Certainly our two festival fairies were amazing – Jago and Lewenna (above) helped cut up, rip up, hold up and tidy up all weekend. So big love and thanks to them and to Jo Henderson our amazing photographer who was snapping away all weekend recording all the goings on for our neeeeeewwww project coming next year …
To the wonderful people at Block Design, Blooming Felt, GF Smith, Hobbycraft, Homes and Gardens Magazine, Loveknitting, Nutscene, Port Elliot festival (Cathy and the team made us feel so welcome), Quadrille Publishing and Wilko thank you for the supplies and support.
A final thanks to all the lovely lovely people who came and took part in our workshops, tried a little crafting and learned a new skill. See you all next year.
This was not me
Oh Please Please Pleeesssee , can I be a Festival Fairy Godmother next year?
Looks like a fantastic time was had by all, love the decor of your weekend abode too!
I find your blog so inspiring that I have nominated you for a Liebster Award! Find out more at http://sarahjaneireland.wordpress.com and congratulations!☆