The UK craft fairs community

Why craft fairs?

The UK is without doubt one of the most creative and diverse places on Earth.

The talent of makers and artists needs a vent, a channel that allows both new and experienced people the chance to market and sell their work. They also need to network with their peers to exchange ideas and experiences. The craft fair can be that channel. It challenges people, it inspires and motivates people to do better and more.

Supporting your local craft fairs as a visitor and purchaser, helps to grow the community and encourage further creative, social and community wealth.

Spring Craft Fairs are on the March

It may have been snowing and freezing lately but Spring is on its way.

We hope that you have listed all your craft fairs or booked places for events to attend. Now is most definitely the time.

Looking through the calendar, there is a lot on during March. Mothers Day is on 11th March. St Patricks Day is on 17th March. 20th March is officially the first day of Spring - Vernal or March equinox. Do not forget to put your clocks forward 25th March. Then some great shows for Easter with Good Friday on 30 March this year.

Lots hope for some great weather during Spring and a great time to be crafting.

7 tips for a prosperous New Year

Now that the New Year is upon us, we a raring to go. We are actively looking for new events to attract to the site, promoting members and coming up with new functionality and services. As always, if you have something you would like to say, we are here to listen, just use the site contact us form for a quick response.

Here are our seven tips for making this year a better year than last year.

1: Get tidy. You do not have to wait for Spring. Now is the time to have a clear out. Sell or give away things you do not use or need. Through away anything broken or damaged. Tidy up what is left. Replace the things you need.

2: Get organised. This is not far from getting tidy, but it is perhaps more about a little change in behaviour. Let us say for example you do online banking, but you also receive paper copies of your statements. Perhaps going paperless will save you time and effort. That you could use for checking items rather than just filling them.

3. Prepare. Think about your year ahead and set yourself three realistic goals. Write them down, so you can look at them every day. It takes a while for a habit to form, so repeating an action each day will burn them into your memory.

4. Act. You know, those little jobs that only take a few minutes to fix but have been bothering you for ages. Removing a distraction or irritation will help you focus.

5. Look forwards. Occasionally the past can be a bit of a burden. You need to be mindful of your current position and where you want to be. Your idea of prosperity may be smiling more often, feeling well and enjoying yourself. This may require more effort than just making a few additional pounds. Just remember you must earn two pounds for every pound you spend. So, going forward, try to reduce your outgoings to increase your disposable income.

6. Be wise. Wisdom is not an easy path. You need to reduce impulsive behaviours and replace them with thoughtful contemplative positive actions. We all make mistakes, some of which we may regret for a long time. However, look at tip five and move on. The mistake may have been a loan or credit card, if could have been signing up for the three-year contract because it seemed reasonable or important at the time. What is important is that you act and do not keep making the same mistakes again and again.

7. Learn to delegate. If like Atlas the world is on your shoulders, it is more than likely that you put it there. If these words sound familiar to you then you need to make a change - it is quicker it I do it myself, I know I will make a better job of it myself, the only way I know it is right is if I do it myself. Delegation can be hard, it can mean compromise and having to repair mistakes. However, without delegation you cannot grow beyond your own abilities.

One extra thing to look at is routine. It is important to most people to create a positive routine that helps you attain your goals. Removing negative habits is a positive step.

Happy New Year.

Adding your 2018 events

It may seem strange to be thinking about next year, whilst you are in the busiest part of this year. However, many people have already started listing their confirmed dates for next year.

When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. if you already know some if not all the dates, times and locations of the craft events. There are lots of exhibitors that like to book up their calendars many months in advance. The longer your events are listed the better placed they can be in search engines.

You can add events to the site up to 18 months in advance, so it is not a problem to be listing events all the way to Christmas 2018. In addition, as there is no limit to the number of events you can add and no additional costs.

We look forward to seeing all your future craft events listed.