Sherbourne Vintage Textiles and Retro Fair

I could feel the flood water washing the underside of my well loaded van as I drove to Sherbourne for the Vintage Textiles and Retro Fair. The warning lights on the dashboard eventually faded as I arrived at the hall.

As usual I didn't have a preconceived layout for my stall, so I did lots of unpacking and rearranging. It all seem to work out ok, and I managed to cut fabric without proper sheers. I discovered that you can't rip rayon, and now have a bruise from using the only scissors in my toolbox.

 Oh I  didn't try those bent scissors! They might have been better than the ones I struggled with. Can someone please tell me why they are bent?


The fair was arranged in two rooms, with one stall outside. I had a bit of a wander and took some photo's in the second room.

There was a man with furniture.

..and a makeup artist and stylist working together to do makeovers. As well as the other stalls in the second room I think this was were the cups of tea that Mc kept supplying me with came from.

I'm booked in for next month, and will be in the same place - in front of the stage. That's 12th Feb 2011. I may hint at a Valentines day theme, because of the date.

Tea and doughnut packaging waiting to be made into tags

Cup of tea and a doughnut.
This is how I'm preparing for this weekend's fair at Sherbourne in Dorset. There's going to be a Vintage fabric, textiles and retro fair at Digby Hall from 10 until 4. It's £1 to get in. The new year is starting with this new fair, and it's going to be a regular monthly event.




After eating and drinking I can get started on making price tags out of the packaging. Pricing items beforehand has become essential to me, because I like to nip into town to snoop, while leaving my assistants in charge! It also helps to think prices out before hand, so I'm not put on the spot by enthusiastic customers.



I always favour Krispy Kremes boxes, because of the spots, but the Christmas packaging is extra nice. The red with white spots have much more impact than the regular white with green.



Tea boxes are just the right thickness for my hole punches. Anything thicker would kill them. When I have a pile of tags I find string to finish them off.

This is just one of the jobs to be done. I've got loads of fabric to select, measure and price. I'm still thinking out the layout of my stall. I like a bit of height, and usually use shelves and various stands.

It's been years since I've done a fair at Digby Church Hall in Sherbourne. I used to make and sell baby clothes at craft fairs there when the girls were tiny, so that's almost 20 years ago! I'm off to find it this morning to make sure I can remember where it is and haven't got the wrong Digby Hall! I think there's two.

I'll make sure I take my camera and report back after the event.