FROM ANNA…
Hello and many thanks for following the Magpie here . . .!
I’ve been trying to think of what to say to explain the feel of Blue Magpie to makers who have not come across our Contemporary Craft Fairs before – but rather than use my words, here’s an excerpt from a thankyou e-mail received from one maker attending last November’s Fair for the first time:
“I really enjoyed the event - it was so well organised, visitors kept saying how well it was put together and you really are very skilled at selecting us makers and putting us all together so cohesively. The other makers were lovely, and I so enjoyed just chatting to the visitors. Compared to other events I have participated in; Blue Magpie was not too big to make it impersonal or too small to not have enough makers for the visitors - you achieved a really good balance. The venue is stunning. . . .The fee for the stand was reasonable too and it was a really good number of visitors. I would love to return again and would be more than happy to offer any support”.
Blue Magpie is a relatively small craft event, given that its setting is bound within the house I share with my family - but nonetheless we aspire beyond our physical size and hope to attract and select some of the most talented designer-makers working throughout the UK.
To date – although we are located in the middle of the country - we’ve had makers travel from Cornwall, Sheffield, Taunton, Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Staffordshire and many more!
Elmslie House is very much a Family Business and Blue Magpie is no exception – so you’ll find not only myself, but my parents, my three daughters, husband & ex-husband, stepdaughter and family friends, together with our small Elmslie House team helping to run the event. Blue Magpie, now in its sixth year, has grown from a dozen hand-selected makers in one space, to taking over nearly two floors of the house and enabling more than double the number of makers to be able to exhibit each day. We’ve also doubled the capacity for cake-eating, as we also operate two onsite cafés and I seem to spend quite a bit of time baking cake!
“The kindness and hospitality of you and your family really made it special for me. This event is driven by passion as well as your great eye for seeking out interesting art and craft.”
“I just wanted to say a huge congrats on a successful weekend. It was well organised and advertised and you were all so friendly and helpful which makes it so much easier. I loved the fact that your whole family were involved. It was also nice that the visitors were genuinely interested in the stalls and appreciated the time and skills that go into making the different wares. A lot of my buyers were interested in my methods and ideas which was a bonus - so the audience was perfect.”
We don’t have the capacity of larger Fairs – but we *do* have a beautiful setting, a friendly and welcoming environment, enthusiasm and passion for all things Craft, and a mission to share this with a wider audience.
In light of the current Covid-19 outbreak, although we are still anticipating going ahead in November we will of course, as a venue, be closely following government guidance – which might mean utilising social distancing measures, PPE or limiting the number of visitors at any one time. Please rest assured that we are constantly monitoring the situation in that regard.
One of the benefits of lockdown has been to see how innovative the creative community has been in generating support for both artists and makers alike – so we’re also looking at ways to integrate a virtual Fair for those makers who might prefer to still be socially distanced at home, but need a platform from which to help generate sales for their work. As always, we’d love to hear any suggestions and ideas to help with this.
With thanks and best wishes
Anna
and all The Blue Magpie Team at Elmslie House