A lucky win at The Henley Country craft show, 2024
Bouncing along the country lanes through Stonor to the craft show venue is nostalgic for me. I’ve visited this part of the Oxfordshire countryside nearly every year since 2017 and I ever year feels strangely surreal because nothing seems to change year after year. Cyclists in lycra ride side by side along the long winding road and little baskets of excess fruit are placed in front houses. In this time of the year; late august, hedges are leafy and wild roadside flowers are tall and swaying in the breeze. Phone signal fades away and as I approach the park, set in a luscious green valley.
Entering the show ground, there’s an atmosphere that feels somewhere between a village fete and a festival with bunting and deckchairs around the central stage. Among the main marquees, a big bus is preparing to serve Pimms and the tea shop is layout out table and chairs. and It’s a lovely, characterful venue and a wonderful event to shop for gifts while supporting Uk based craftsmanship.
On this occasion I pull up and find that my pitch is already taken by another trader who has completely finished setting up their display furniture and framed artwork there. Thankfully, it’s quickly resolved when the organisers suggest that I set up my silks in an even better spot by the entrance to the Marquee. Having a pitch by the doorway means my space is not enclosed on both sides and so allows me an extra visible display area . An unexpected win!
The set up day, before the show opens, is when us traders meet our neighbours or bump into previous ones who we sold along side before There’s makers from all over the country unpacking vans and talking about their recent show experiences. For some it’s a highlight of their trading calendar.
This year I encouraged the super talented, Woodsmith to come from London and showcase his amazing hand crafted pieces. You can see his creations; lamps, tables, chopping boards and more here.
The grass is long and scattered with animal droppings, it’s often very uneven so keeping furniture level can be challenging. First I arrange the rails, tables and folding screen, hoping all screws, nuts and bolts will be in my box of fixtures. Every event requires me to reconfigure the layout and work within the limitations. Once the furniture is in place I can hang all the silks and arrange them on the table tops. This year I had the giant floor cushion with me which is huge and fabulous but tricky to know how to display. It cant actually go on the floor as the grass gets damp with dew at best and clogged with muddy rain water at worst. So it ended up balancing on the base of a metal clothing rail to raise it a few cm from the ground but it works surprisingly well.
Once the show opens at 10am on Friday morning, visitors flood in and begin making their way around the marquees. There’s a wide a variety of crafts and homeware to discover as you walk If you’re bringing along kids, there’s plenty of Children’s entertainment, face painting, fairground swings. The show is very dog friendly too, I always see so many breeds and proud owners. If you're without pets, I’d definitely recommend a walk through the food tent to sample the fudges, cheeses and Gins.
I try not to leave my stand to avoid missing any customer but when I need a bit of fresh air and a quick break, I head to the petting farm. This year was the most adorable gaggle of little squeaky ducklings all hopping around and falling asleep on each other. I tried to stroke the head of a little yellow one and it expected a treat so nibble by finger instead. I loved it even more for this.
Throughout the days are performances from acoustic singers which adds a little uplifting energy and atmosphere. This year my stand position was much nearer the stage so was happy to be able to hear the singing clearer than in previous years and enjoy some cover tracks.
I often find a few things to buy myself during the show and one seller I nearly always shop from is in marquee C, he sells all sorts of art tools really inexpensively so I pick up some more watercolour paper and replace some paint brushes. If your an artist or dabble in creative projects, I really recommend checking out his stand.
Saturday was really rainy and was a much quieter day than usual. But as a visitor, you can use your ticket to enter the show on any day over the weekend. It was useful be able to plan around the weather this year because the other days were really lovely. But by Sunday, the sun was back out and it was the busiest day of the whole weekend with hundreds of people enjoying the outdoor entertainment and exploring all the crafts stalls.
I've just secured my stand in the same position in Marquee D for 2025 so I hope to see you there next year!