There are two weeks to go until our first fair of the year. We will be opening our big green gates to makers and creators all weekend on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th May, who will host stalls selling textiles, food, ceramics, vintage and antiques, wood work, flowers and craft. Tickets are £5 on the door (credit or debit card) and children under the age of 16 are free to enter.
This is our biggest and best Spring Fair yet and we are so pleased with this year's line up of stallholders; everyone attending offers something truly unique, but all are connected by the thread of beauty, functionality, provenance and the influence of history and heritage craftsmanship skills.
With so many new stallholders coming to Water Lane, we wanted to take a moment to introduce a few more Meet the Makers, so you have an idea of what to expect and plan any purchases. We look forward to seeing you for what is sure to be a brilliant weekend of food, flowers and friends.
The Merchant's Table - Charlotte Packe - Tim Plunkett - Drift Jewellery - Eleanor Torbatti Ceramics - Pajotten - Alba Jewellery - Scribble & Daub - A Circular Story The Natural Dye Works - Norse Vintage - Katya de Grunwald - Susie Petrou - Luks Linen - Jam Jar Edit - Paul Hale - Susan Phyall - Wilder Botanics - Derring Studio - Gina Portman - Bird in the Hand - Sussex Willow (Sunday only) - Daybed Company (Saturday only) - Amongst - Halstead Bakery - LAM - Blackwood Cheese - Nightingale Cider - Zak’s Kombucha - The Sussex Bee - Cold Blow Coffee – Basil’s Funghi Farm - Three Legs Brewery - Water Lane Produce
Coming to Water Lane from the market town of Woodbridge in Suffolk is The Merchant's Table. Housed in a double fronted Georgian shop, Susanna Cook sells beautiful hand-crafted objects by independent British makers and artists, with a focus on her local communities in East Anglia and London. Susanna will be bringing heritage and contemporary crafts for the home to our Fair.
Each piece of Drift Jewellery is made by hand by Fiona Petheram, using sea glass she finds on the Suffolk coastlines and abroad, combined with precious metals, semi-precious stones and pearls. A love of natural forms means that all her designs take their lead from the varied sizes and sculptural shapes of the glass having been shaped by the sea, lightly tumbled and drilled by hand before being worked into a piece of jewellery. Colours vary, luminous whites, greens and blues, that were probably once part of a wine, ale or ink bottle; through to the rarer purples and pinks that perhaps come from perfume or medicine bottles. Pieces that in time may become increasingly rare, as the growing use of plastic containers makes sea glass harder to find.
Charlotte Packe is a lighting designer and artist who was born in Suffolk and studied at Goldsmiths College. She has been working with lighting since 1990, creating lighting installations and designing bespoke luminaires for private and corporate clients as well as manufacturing small batch runs for selective retail outlets and boutique hotels. Her work is always materials inspired, working on refining and paring back with a natural influence from nature, and aiming to bring calm sculptural lighting, working with warmth and restraint, to enhance the light within our homes.
Focused on functionality, minimalism and the process of slow living, Eleanor Torbatti makes stoneware ceramics in her Norwich based pottery studio. Her work is inspired by functionality; if she needed, it then she will make it. Eleanor seeks out inspiration from the north Norfolk coastlines and landscape to form, glaze and fire functional home and tableware using a traditional practice that references organic aesthetics. Alternating between hand building and wheel thrown pottery, Eleanor creates minimalist pieces that are conscious, intentional, mindful, and sustainable using the natural colour palette of clay such as off white, earthy creams and beiges.
The Daybed Company make beautiful made-to-order, handwoven, hardwood daybeds. The comfortable foam toppers are covered in a selection of quality fabrics, based on an ancient North Indian Charpoy pattern. The beds can be used in the house as an alternative to a chaise lounge and will keep their rich dark wood colour; alternatively they can be left outside throughout the year and the turned Iroko wood will silver beautifully over time. A bespoke piece of furniture that will last a lifetime.
The Sussex Bee is joining us again at the fair, but this time will be in the food court area. A small-scale apiary, in the heart of Sussex, The Sussex Bee is run by Lia, in partnership with over one million bees. Having tended to bees since childhood, Lia has learned the art of beekeeping from her father, who has cared for honeybees for over fifty years – and still does so to this day. Her traditional wooden beehives are located in ancient woodland, in the village of Ansty, overlooking two naturally seeded wildflower fields. The diversity of this flora is reflected in the flavour of The Sussex Bee honey. Each hand poured batch is unique in taste, showcasing seasonal variations of the Sussex countryside.
We're looking forward to welcoming The Three Legs Brewing Co to the Spring Fair. Three Legs is an independently owned and operated Brewery and Taproom, established in 2014, located in Bexhill-on-sea. They brew, cask, keg and barrel-age sessionable pales, seasonal sours, IPAs and classic beer styles.
Motivated by a desire to produce practical pieces that are both simple and beautiful, wood-turner Tim Plunkett creates functional boards and tableware from wood sourced around his home in Norfolk. The forms of his pieces are simple, with pure lines, which emphasizes the character of wood, embracing their distinctive and beautiful patterning. The wooden boards and tableware are unadorned and are exceptionally durable, made to be used for many years to come.
Previously a curator of contemporary art, Caroline founded Scribble & Daub in 2012 and has since created illustrations for leading international luxury fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands. Each piece of Scribble & Daub stationery is a tiny work of art for stylish gifting, hosting and correspondence. Made for those with a sophisticated eye for design, each card is letterpress printed at a traditional workshop from founder Caroline's original dip pen and ink illustrations, and then individually hand-painted in the studio with coloured inks.
