Crafty things

This is Bob's latest chair made from Yew and
a very burry piece of Lime for the seat - it's
very strokeable!

At long, long last it feels as if Bob's furniture business is starting to become a reality - somehow the scaffold board furniture he has been making doesn't seem to count.  At the weekend we had a stall at a craft fair in an art gallery in Oswestry.  This forced us to get on and design some leaflets and business cards, polish and wax all the old stock and get our heads back into selling mode which is all good.  The Willow Gallery is quite a nice venue with a cafe and little shop and it was fairly busy most of the day and everyone was very complimentary.  Quite a few people seemed genuinely taken with the chairs and lots of people took leaflets.  We had some smaller stuff to pad the stall out  and we sold some of that - some cards I'd made with pictures drawn on slivers of oak and yew, the same but mounted on slate as a picture to hang on the wall, a peg board made out of an old oak fence post and some garden dibbers.  So, we made a profit on the day and came home feeling as though we'd had a pat on the back which is a nice feeling.  The girl who runs the gallery also asked us to leave some bits and pieces for them to sell in the shop (I had to make some more oak cards for them as there was only one left).  They have a craft fair each season and I think it'd be worth going a few times, so people get to know you.  Next one should be around Easter.

The week before Laura was manning a stall at village Christmas Fayre where the monastery is.  She was raising money for ROKPA, the charity she works for up there.  I had made a lots of cards and comedy knitted chickens for her to put on the stall (in addition to their other stuff) and my things  brought in about £130 for them, so that was worth doing.  Someone has even asked for some more of the knitted chickens so they can sell them where they work/live (still in aid of ROKPA) and so I am knitting away like mad again!

This weekend Carol and Graham (sister and brother-in-law) are coming so Graham can have a go at furniture making.  Over the next year or so he is going to make a rocking chair under Bob's guidance - he can just do a bit to it whenever they come to visit.  Actually, Bob has never made a rocking chair before (he knows the theory), so he'll be learning too.  Luckily, we went to the local woodyard earlier in the week and they had unearthed three big planks of Elm which we were able to buy for seats.  We have had real trouble trying to find anywhere round here that sells interesting wood, so it was quite a relief.  We never had this trouble where we used to live and were quite spoiled for good woodyards.  We even phoned one of them up thinking we might have to go all the way back to Northamptonshire to get the wood for Graham's chair!  That would have been ridiculous wouldn't it?

I guess after Carol and Graham's visit we'll have to start thinking about Christmas.  Working at M&S does put you off it all a bit - mince pies were in at the end of August!  It's all just so . . . . so . . . I don't quite know the word?  False?  Forced?  Not sure really.  I actually like Christmas and gathering greenery to decorate the beams in the kitchen, getting in touch with people, making cakes, etc, but just not all the commercialism and one-upmanship.  I must just be getting old!