06 May 2012

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...
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The day before, stall sites marked out on the road
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Quiet, unassuming and resplendent in autumn colours - 'the square'
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Next day ... transformed
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Stalls and people
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Stalls in every street running off 'The Square'
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Amanda from Gryphon Design - so great to put a face to the name and beautiful  Steampunk style Jewellery
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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 :)
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My Wildflower Designs stall pre market start and including my mother's paintings :)
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Denyse from Kruizey Kidz with gorgeous merino babywear and waterproof clothing - another creative friend now met it person :)
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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/.



3 comments:

  1. Wow we need something like that here in Hamilton

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  2. It was my first visit, and I so enjoyed it, cheers Marie

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  3. Thanks for the post Mel, great to see it all.

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