NI Craft Fairs 2010

crazycatcandles

No not a website, just a forum. You can set them up for free and then there would be a whole forum to post about different aspects of NI crafts eg, dates for fairs, tips, places to get stock from, just general chat etc.

Just a thought cause I used to run a music forum and it was free.
If a lot of people were interested I don't mind setting it up but maybe it would be more appropriate for some of the people who have been posting longer to be moderators.

Hope people don't think i trying to change everything, just think it would be nice for a great resource to have its own forum.

SuperMum2010

Ok, time for me to poke my head above the parapet I think.

I am responsible for starting this forum. My reason for starting it was when I began doing fairs 4 years ago, I found some other crafters secretive about their dates, coy about how they operated and generally not very charitable in terms of supporting a fellow crafter.

I am a very open person (sometimes not to my benefit!) and wanted to encourage others to be the same - suppose I was on a bit of a private mission to spread goodwill to all traders!

But it is almost as if it has been a social experiment, over the years we have faced our share of users and abusers of the thread. Close crafting friends have been verbally assaulted both by private and very public email, have been harrassed at work and at fairs by rude, threatening and downright offensive people. On the other hand, some of us have made close friends, discovered links to others ("its a small world"!) and have found their niche in the world, being able to express their creativity and bring in some veluable income for them and their families in really tough times.

You are all right in that the forum is an open place for discussion, but grown up discussion PLEASE! It is not a place for slagging each other off - that should always be handled professionally and privately. That is why the private messaging system is there.

If you do not know a person on this thread, dont just assume they are being rude or aggressive. I know all of the original posters and not one of them is like that. I do not know any of the new posters, but would never assume anything about them or fling accusations publicly.

I think we must draw a line under the last few months and I would ask the following of all of you simply as a fellow forum user and someone who likes to see everyone doing well - Im not posting this to be reprimanding, or to be "mummy" but I just feel so sad at the way the forum has gone and want to try to share my thoughts on how I would like it to go from now on:

• Take a little time to think before posting, perhaps try contacting a person privately first. Threads can always be removed if they are factually incorrect or distressing - all you have to do is ask in a reasonable way.
• Dont post things which are offensive or could be hurtful - to me that is just step 1 in being a decent human being
• Bear in mind that people read and interpret things differently - you could be merrily typing away with a smile on your face listening to Cliff Richard on the radio, but someone might read what you have typed and find it aggressive or hurtful
• Respect the fact that we are all here to express our creativity, make some money and friends and have fun
• Share your experiences in a thoughtful way - you can always invite people to contact you privately if there is something you are concerned about. The emphasis there is on SHARING! If you know about a fair, lets hear about it. It doesnt mean all 90 of us are going to trample each other to the best table in the room! But a better spread of stalls with everyone looking out for each other is better for business, gives the fair a great name, and makes people come back year after year.

I think that's it. Of course you are all welcome to comment (or PM me if you want to slag me off;)) but lets be festive, get trading and sharing and supporting each other PLEASE!!!

Rach39

Well said Supermum!!:T:T:beer::T

Merry Christmas!

harleygirl_2

Bear in mind that people read and interpret things differently - you could be merrily typing away with a smile on your face listening to Cliff Richard on the radio, but someone might read what you have typed and find it aggressive or hurtful

Supermum could you have at least pick someone decent to use an example off :rotfl:

smokiewater

Hello there

Apologies all round, it was very foolish of me to put another company name on this, a public forum, and for this I truely apologise.

It was also wrong, and extremely rude of me to assume that since I had not seen this company at Showcase or any other events in recent years, that they might not still be around and I again apologise, I am also delighted to hear you are doing extremely well!

I did not mean any detriment to the work of this company, indeed I have purchased some of their pieces as presents, and the guys gave me the gift of a lamp many years ago, which when I changed my dining room decor, was passed to a friend of my Mums, who still uses it daily, there is absoloutely no question that their work is of the utmost quality.

I will pm the guys themselves about the origin of the story, but posted it merely to encourage everyone to take insurance, accidents happen on a daily basis and it is vital we are covered.

To those of you who have quickly jumped to my support, I publicly say a heartfelt thank-you. I have been involved in craft fairs for over 10 years now, and in this time have never come across a group such as the main posters on here, who are so supportive and helpful towards one another. Many of us have stopped posting so much on this forum for various reasons, all well documented, and I sincerely wish that we can go back to the happy chat that we all used to enjoy here.

I have removed the offending comment from the original post - unfortunately it has been copied and pasted several times, and there is nothing I can do about these - if you had sent me a pm stating how I had upset you, I would have immediately removed same, but fully understand your reaction.

I also want to say, that their previous craft fair list was an extremely valuable resourse in its time, and I for one enjoyed receiving my regular copies. I also want to say that these guys are genuine, decent and hard working individuals, so please folks don't be hard on them - naming them was out of line, and quite frankly I deserved all I got! You are absoloutely right, I am well capable of standing up for myself, but also hope that I have shown that I am able to accept when I am in the wrong, and am trying to put this right.

Thanks for all your messages here and on other places

Just one last thing I would like to correct - someone mentioned that the offended person was a 'looker' which again he took offence at - I would just like to ask him to look in the mirror and confirm that she was definitely right - why do you think all the girls have been looking hugs from you for all these years!

Apologies all round and can we please get back to the nice stuff - loads of pm's on the way now!

celtoidesigns

Well said supermum!!!!! I genuinely am sorry if anything i have said or posted has added to the the problems of those members on here.

Even though I have been out of the craft fair circuit for some time, I am only too aware of the difficulties faced when attending fairs or circulating infomation. As I have mentioned previously, I used to create a craft fair listing guide that I circulated and had freely available on my website for everyone to make use of. Even back then around 10 years ago, I found the attitude of some crafts people highly unhelpful and abusive. Some definitely did not want others to benefit from the information I provided and some even acted as if they had a 'god given' right to attend certain fairs and keep others out.

Many times I was ignored and even abused at fairs by certain people because I had done this and in addition was veiwed by these people to be somewhat of a traitor to 'true craft' so the problems you mention are by no means a new thing.

My attitude was always very simple- we all had to start out at some point and relied heavily on the help of others to get into the craft fair circuit, people certainly helped me and I have formed a number of lasting friendships as a result, but there were others who simply took everything and gave nothing back. This is a very sad and unfortunate reality of the industry, and perhaps is one of the reasons I have decided not to attend fairs. Of course I had the added difficulty of those 'professional craftspeople' and artists who critised my work as not being a true hand made craft, which is another problem a lot of us face. Again my attitude here was very simple and is a basic sales philosophy- if the public like my work they will buy it regardless of who is also exhibiting, if they don't, I have no right to blame the organisers or others attending, but instead should look at my work and see what improvements could be made. We all are only trying to make a living and have a right to do so. Of course I understand that from an organisers and customer point of view it would make for a boring fair if everyone was selling the same stuff. I have also organised a number of fairs, something I now no longer do due to the hassle, and found the abuse and arguments from people who felt they did not have the best spot etc to be extremely wearing and quite frankly horrible.

But having said that, I have met a great bunch of people over the years and there are a lot of true genuine people in this industry who want to see and help others do well, I hope I am one of them. I may be out of the circuit for a long time and no longer hear of many craft fairs etc coming up, but I will try to contribute to this forum in any positive and helpful way I can, even if just to share my experiences.

I think it is great what you all have done and you all certainly should keep trying and forging ahead with it.

Good luck to you all over Christmas, I hope you all makes loads of money and have loads of fun making all your craft items.

SuperMum2010

Awh Smokie Im sending virtual hugs to you, What a humble and brave response which just sums up the lovely person that you are. Deep breath and lets move on now my friends :beer:

SuperMum2010

harleygirl wrote: »

Supermum could you have at least pick someone decent to use an example off :rotfl:

Trust you!!!!:D...Westlife? Daniel O'Donnell?:eek:

SuperMum2010

Thankyou too Celtoi and welcome to the forum :-)

celtoidesigns

Smokie - Many many thanks for that response, and now that i know who you are I am embarrassed to think that I thought you were capable of being nasty. I am also sorry, for taking it so personally. I know some would want me to continue this in private, but I felt it important for me also to apologise to you publically as I know you are a great person and have in all the years I have known you been a keen supporter of Celtoi and crafts people in general. You have done some great work in challenging and addressing the difficulties we have all faced when attending fairs etc and I am greatful for this and think we all owe you our sincerest thanks. Maybe I will catch up with you in person soon, it certainly would be great to get caught up, if there is anything you think I could do to help on this forum please let me know. Hugs A xxx