I recently went to Handmade at Kew and the work on the stalls was exquisite. I didn’t know much about it before I went but I expected it to be good, however the consistent quality across all of the stalls blew me away. The stalls contained items that were unique and inspired. Although, they are all established makers they reminded me of the creativity I have seen from the graduates at New Designers.
I was particularly taken by the ceramics on show. I have added the vases by Ali Tomlin (www.alitomlin.com) to my wish list. She hand paints, scratches and draws on to the ceramics producing beautifully coloured and textured surfaces. The stalls covered a broad range of craft including glass, textiles, furniture, jewellery and metal work as well as many others.
The craft fair is set in Kew gardens which in itself is well worth a visit. The gardens are full of lovely plants as well as buildings and glass houses. Kew is also an important place for scientific plant exploration and conservation, holding the world’s largest collection of plant and fungal specimens. For more information about Kew visit www.kew.org.
I would highly recommend Handmade at Kew next year, I will certainly be there again.