It takes a lot to coax me out of bed on a weekend morning, even under normal circumstances. So if you find me queuing outside an East London leisure centre on a freezing cold Saturday in December, it means that something quite spectacular is afoot.
I had heard of the infamous Craftacular from reading Bust magazine and having missed the last event in London, I was determined to get there early despite my hangover. The first 100 of us lucky punters through the door were given limited edition Prick your Finger tote bags, filled to the brim with cute, crafty goodies and of course the latest issue of Bust.
After freezing our socks off outside for half an hour, the first thing my companion and I did was hit the tea room for some defrosting. Gorgeous girls dressed to the nines in ’40s garb served us tea and cake at the Lady Luck Rules OK pop-up tea shop. The sparkly crackers filled with Tatty Devine-esque jewellery set off the china tea cups and 1960s teapots nicely.
Pompoms
Our thirsts quenched, we headed for the stalls, where over 60 crafty vendors sold their wares—from jewellery to dresses to notebooks to toys. Favourites were the hand-knitted baby slippers with pompoms (perfect for my baby nephew) and the homemade beauty products in vintage boxes and tins.
A Christmas fair just wouldn’t be a Christmas fair without a tombola and luckily Tatty Devine stepped up to the task. Never one to pass up a chance to gamble, I bought a couple of (unlucky) tickets in the hope of winning a mysterious silver bag from the Christmas tree.
Christmas shopping done, we finally headed for the DIY den where Fabrications owner Barley Massey supervised crafting sessions, soundtracked by girl DJs spinning everything from Patti Smith to MGMT. One hour, and mounds of ribbon, glitter, lace and sequins later, we emerged with our homemade rosettes pinned to our coats and headed out of the venue to the nearest greasy spoon; sparkling, rosy cheeked, bag-laden and ready for the festive season.
Photos from http://www.whatkatiedoes.net.
Oh I had a fabulous time too! Much larger than last years Christmas Craftacular, and in such a great space. Was lucky enough to get a free bag too, and really glad I did, I hadn’t read Bust before but I love it!
I just missed out on the last goody bag! Managed to get lots of Christmas presents though. Think they might need a bigger space next time maybe? Was def getting a bit crowded in there.