Well, I’m shattered! It’s been an absolutely full on day at Penrith Show and one which, despite the weather, I’ve really enjoyed. I was pleased to be there as part of the Brougham Artists exhibition – some six potters all based or connected to Brougham Hall, literally just up the road from the show ground.
I used to go to Penrith show regularly in my ‘official’ day job – chatting to clients and making cups of tea! – so it was a novel experience being in the craft tent, but one I’ve really enjoyed. As an agricultural show, it’s more about the networking than the selling, and it was brilliant to see lots of people I used to work with, as well as plenty of my swimming buddies who had dropped by to say hello. I also met some lovely stallholders – including the fabulous Rose from Roses Workshop who makes many beautiful knitted items. She was also kind enough to spend some time with me talking about how she uses knitting or yarn bowls. I really love making yarn bowls, so the more I can learn from knitters about how they like to use them, the better!
Setting up six artists on one stand turned out to be quite a challenge – but we clearly did it well because the Show President made an unexpected visit in the afternoon and announced that we had won the ‘Best Rural Crafts Exhibitor’! That was an added bonus and me, Fran and Ellen who were on duty at the time were presented with our cup by the Show President and may yet feature in the Penrith and Westmorland Herald.
We’d had quite a lot of rain on and off during the day but by afternoon it was getting set in and it was quite a muddy pack up and exit. Thankfully many hands make light work, and with a bit of rally driving from Isabella, we managed to get everything back to Brougham. (When they start towing out the 4x4s with the *really* big tractors, it’s time to worry!)
Now, my next target is Pot Fest in the Pens in October. This is a proper, big, pottery show, so I’m going to be working really hard over the next few months to produce lots of new pieces. I have a new range in progress which I’d love to launch at Pot Fest. I’m super excited about this, so some serious work ahead. And in between all that, I definitely need to get cracking on some more mugs. There are a few in progress with a target of the end of July, but I also need another batch for August, so I better get potting!