10 years of we are handmade

It’s hard to believe we have been running the we are handmade fairs for 10 years. Over this time we have  been joined by over 500 highly talented artists and makers from the East Anglian region and further afield, and it is really nice that some of our current stallholders have exhibited with us from the beginning.

We have always been keen to promote the work of artists and makers through our fairs, and are lucky that at each of our events we can showcase a wide range of crafts, art and photography.

Each event involves a great deal of hard work and planning, from administering applications and corresponding with stallholders, planning the layout, risk assessments and on the day logistics, to promoting the event online, through social media and in magazines/newspapers – not to mention many an hour spent delivering flyers and putting up road signs!

Once the Fair day arrives it’s all systems go and the adrenalin is racing whilst you set up the venue and greet the stallholders. Finally once the doors are ready to open you get a great sense of achievement (and relief!) and it is really inspiring to walk around the venue looking at the wonderful stalls and beautifully designed crafts on display. Each maker has not only spent hours designing and creating their products but also on working out how best to display their work.

We are delighted to have worked with so many talented makers and artists, and at each event it is a pleasure to chat to the stallholders and see all their fantastic creations.

For a while now we have been thinking of expanding we are handmade to include an online shop. This is a really exciting venture and features the work of artists and makers from around the UK, with a variety of work from makers in the East Anglian region. We are constantly updating our website and so you can expect to find the work of more makers added on over the coming months.

It feels apt to celebrate our 10th anniversary by expanding our capacity to promote the work of U.K artists and makers through both an online shop and at our fairs.

Photo: we are handmade Fair at Great Dunmow featuring Park Ceramics.