13 June 2010

Craft 2.0 - The Road Trip

Saturday dawned a beautiful clear and crisp winter morning, as Joy (Kazzalblue), Katherine (Sleep and Her Sisters), and myself (Mel – Wildflower Designs) met in Hastings ready to begin our Craft 2.0 Wellington Road Trip.

4 or so hours of lively conversation and beautiful scenery later, we arrived at The New Dowse in Lower Hutt.

So much to see (and buy), it was fantastic to meet fellow crafters and artisans in person. There was such a variety of products and artistic mediums – being a jewellery designer, I was of course, drawn to the jewellery stalls first … mmmm shiny!

Often, you go to a market or fair and the number and similarity of jewellery stalls is a total put-off. Well yes there were several jewellery stalls here, but to my delight, styles were completely unique and varied and the quality was top notch – from wood-based laser cut pendants, to Japanese washi paper decoupage, to Victorian style necklaces, to fabric based designs and everything in between – diverse and inspiring.

Of course there were other stalls too (!) and a large range of crafts and wares were represented – knitted goods, printed lampshades, cupcakes, linen, vintage print coasters, sewn book covers, to name just a few – and I could go on and on.

Another of our members, Marian, of the artisan clothing design brand ‘Marian Smale’ was in attendance. To see her creations all in the one place and be able to feel the fabrics was a real treat.

Presentation of stalls and point of sale material displayed was of the highest standard and it was easy to see why Craft 2.0 has the fantastic reputation it does – all credit to the organizers for their commitment to such a high-quality, accessible event.


Our ride home was a full of chat on what we’d seen and who we’d met, and a dinner stop in Palmerston North capped the day off with a lovely meal at Trio Café (ask me what Fruity Bubble Tea – a drink - is – unless you’re of Thai origin, I bet you won’t guess :) ). A debrief was hastily noted down on the only available paper – brown paper bags!

We’d had a great day, seen lots, come away with a real sense that ‘handcrafted’ is being valued and appreciated more than ever before.

As well as a fun day out, this was a reckie mission for several of us who would like to sell at future Craft 2.0s . Watch this space for details of who successfully applies, and which event they can be found at.

And my thanks to Joy and Katherine for being great travel mates – I so enjoyed spending time with lovely people who ‘get’ handmade, and have a passion for what they do.

6 comments:

  1. It was a great day Mel. I really enjoyed been able to put a face to all the many names I have come to know and seeing the beautiful products they had for sale. I bought a few things and showed them all proudly to hubby when I got home.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the paper bag debrief.. I feel a launch party coming on girls!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It was a great trip, and great company... when I showed my daughter some of the things I bought she said they were all stealworthy...

    Can't wait till the next one now!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad you had a great trip. Craft2.0 sure is a cool outfit. cheers Marie

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, sounds like you all had fun. What a great opportunity for everyone to have fun with friends and promote what you all love doing. All the best for your endeavours on the handmade craft scene! Karen.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lovely write up Mel! Was so nice to meet up with you guys :)

    ReplyDelete

We love hearing what you have to say, please feel welcome to leave your comments...