My first Bearwood Handmade Fair!

On Saturday I did my first ever Bearwood Handmade Fair and I have to say it was a wonderful experience.

There were so many happy smiley faces despite the arctic conditions outside (can it really be Easter next weekend!), friendly customers - THANK YOU, endless cups of teas from the lovely Marianne and lovely fellow stallholders to chat to. Watch out for welovebearwood's article on Laura's delicious cakes coming soon.

Those Crafty Muthas did Bearwood proud with a great fair

Photo by Wayne Fox Photography

The idea behind old'scool trading has been in the making for a while really but only really got going when I got slightly carried away at a Biddle and Webb auction in January.
I love old costume jewellery and was getting very annoyed when I kept losing out on all the brooch lots I wanted so when a very shiny collection of military buttons and cap badges came along I just knew I had it to be mine. Yeah!

Military buttons are great for transforming clothes and giving very plain jackets/waistcoats/shirts/skirts etc etc a new lease of life.

They make great  jewellery too, forget Versace.... military button earrings are the future!

Photo by Wayne Fox Photography

With lots of help and advice from the very patient Stefan at Bearwood Indoor Market's Bead Savvy I got busy making jewellery. Necklaces, rings, handbag charms, brooches - there's so many different things you can do with them. It's been a real learning curve for me....the kitchen table has never been so untidy, I've never glued my fingers together before and I never realised how much a big part of your life it can become.

I have really enjoyed giving cigarette cards from the 1930s/1940s a new lease of life by converting them into magnets and keyrings (people did look so much more glam back then), turning old keys, some of which I'm sure are over 100 years old into necklaces and making greeting cards using old postcards (much more special than the over produced cards today). Very old'school trading.

Photo by Wayne Fox Photography

Thanks to the loan of Thimblemill Library's badge maker (Julie McKirdy is such a love), I designed lots of tache badges (even the Queen looks good with a handlebar moustache!). Bearwood badges were created too (Bearwood the thinking person's Harborne was very popular yesterday....how right...eh!

Photo by Ceri Saunders

I have to say a very big thank you to my lovely hubby...who has put up with my frustrations, the kitchen being a mess and for giving me lots of brilliant ideas....not forgetting for giving me the inspiration for old's cool trading slogan of copying his handlebar moustache.

Photo by Wayne Fox Photography

Photo by Wayne Fox Photography

Photo by Wayne Fox Photography

We're going to be selling the Bearwood badges on the blog and if you saw anything at the fair on Saturday or in these photos which you fancy too, please get in touch at oldscooltrading@googlemail.com.

Photo by Wayne Fox Photography

On a final note, if you asked me if I would do a Bearwood Handmade Fair again, the answer every time would be YES PLEASE!

 P.S. If you had a stall at last weekend's Bearwood Handmade Fair and would like to be featured on the welovebearwood blog please contact us at welovebearwood@googelemail.com

P.P.S. We love Wayne Fox Photography, definitely one of the best photographers in the business.  For more examples of his photos please visit the Gig Junkies music review website or Wayne's own website.