Hi WordPress,
As I’m back on another train I thought I’d write to you again and give you an update on what’s been happening in the Mooniiplaits Crochet world.
It’s actually been a crazy May 2025 with Artisan Markets and Craft Events every weekend. I’m going to focus on the 3 day Hay Castle Trust Craft Fair today, as it was a new event for me and it was on during the Hay Book Festival, so an extraordinarily busy event. I’d like to start by thanking Sara and Bev for organising and looking after us. A mention also to the cafe staff who took breakfast orders. I also had my sister’s help, so many thanks to her as well.
I elected to set-up on the Friday before, so I could start the event as gently as possible – managing energy levels is one of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt over the many years of doing craft fairs. Also it turned out there were only two unloading spaces available for over thirty makers. However, we were allocated a time slot and Bev was on hand to guide me around to my space. I had a slight hiccup when I thought I’d heard something drop and had half the site looking for my car key which I had still attached to the keyring. Panic! A good start… not. Anyway that aside I got the display in place and had time to introduce myself to my neighbours, before heading home.
Day 1: Saturday morning I drove into Hay with purpose, already feeling part of the festival scene. Although the Castle Trust Craft Fair was on the castle grounds, the festival atmosphere (and people) spill-out all over Hay and there were streams of people wandering back and forth from early morning until late at night. There’s a great energy around the place come rain or shine… and we had both lol.
I finished setting up my Tiny Bags, took some photos of the display, moved a couple of pieces around, then sat down with a strong coffee and enjoyed the view from the castle lawn.
As you can see it was a great view. Throughout the three days, when I had a moment, there was music, drumming and exercises on the lawn. I particularly enjoyed watching the early morning folk who sat in the deckchairs with a newspaper and cuppa – very civilised.
The morning flew by and before I knew it my sister had arrived… briefly, before heading off for the first of her Bookfair events.
Day 2: Sunday morning found me staggering up the steep hill to the castle lawn carrying several extra display pieces. Another time I’d have two tables, as there was so much more space than I’m used to having. So, after tweaking the display the table worked better. Customers were in ‘buying’ mode and we all did well. Most events stop at 4pm but at the Castle Trust Craft Fair the extra two hours caught many folk winding their way back from the main festival, now ready to carry items back to their base-camp. Interesting.
Day 3: Monday was a tad on the damp side lol. Thankfully, not the whole day, but enough to dissuade folk from sitting in the deckchairs on the lawn for most of the day. The musicians had to retreat indoors after their music was blown away (much to the joy of the children who chased after it, squealing, loudly) during a performance. The marquees held up well though and we continued through to the end of the day.
I thoroughly enjoyed the event and would both recommend it and do it again – with the extra table. It was not a cheap event, for me, but then there was so much more footfall. The event was well managed from beginning to end, which enabled us all to focus on our displays, on being successful and gave us the opportunity to meet other makers, which is always inspiring.
Mooniiplaits Crochet 