A Day at the Martinborough Fair

There's something super special about the iconic Martinborough Fair - it's held in the Martinborough township with the entire central square and surrounding streets closed off as 450+ stalls set-up and take over the town for the day.  Organised by the local Rotary organisation it has been running for some 35+ years like a finely tuned machine on the 1st Saturday in Feb and March, with customers converging from far and wide - 25,000 on average we are told. 

This year, the usual Feb market went ahead, however the 2nd March market was hit with a vengeance by the 'weather bomb' that swept the country and a May re-run was organised for this past Saturday.

A wind and rain free day ensued and 5 x New Zealand Handmaders made the trip from various parts of the country.  It was a joy to meet 2 members in person that I had only previously talked to on-line, and the market in general was a fantastic experience.  Here are a few snaps taken during a running (literally) visit from my stall to visit my creative friends...

The day before, stall sites marked out on the road

Quiet, unassuming and resplendent in autumn colours - 'the square'

Next day ... transformed

Stalls and people

Stalls in every street running off 'The Square'

Amanda from Gryphon Design - so great to put a face to the name and beautiful  Steampunk style Jewellery

Nicola from Coulter and Coulter (fabulous recycled woollen blankets and fabrics printed with original designs) in her 1st stall space ... it changed, I can't show you, the only photo I got inadvertently had Nicola bending down to get something for a customer - a bottom shot may not be deemed acceptable in the blogsphere with a non R18 rating, fine bottom though it may be :)

My Wildflower Designs stall pre market start and including my mother's paintings :)

Denyse from Kruizey Kidz with gorgeous merino babywear and waterproof clothing - another creative friend now met it person :)

Jo from Red Lippy  - with art pendants galore!

It should be said I had to wait at every one of the NZHM stalls for there to be a break in customer traffic, what a great day!

If you're keen to visit/have a stall next year, you can find more info at http://www.martinboroughfair.org.nz/.