Tewkesbury Farmers’ and Artisans’ Market

Last weekend was bliss. Two days of no plans, fall sunshine, digging and cooking left me were very chilled indeed. I even made some chili on Sunday night to have for dinner on Monday, so the relaxation went into the week. If only I could always be this organized.

On Friday night we visited family in Tewkesbury. It’s a lovely little town, well worth a visit if you’re ever in Gloucestershire. Of course there’s the Abbey, but there are also several excellent charity shops (my weakness!). This Saturday also happened to be the day of an extra large farmers’ and artisans’ market, so the High Street was shut to buses, and I had to walk past all of it to get the bus home. What a shame! 😉 I was impressed with all of the stalls, but thought I’d share a few of my favourites. Supporting independent artists & craftspeople is becoming increasingly important to me. I can’t really afford to buy much of their work, unfortunately, but I hope spreading the word will still help somehow.

As you can see, there was a lot to browse. The first stall I stopped to look at properly, though, was local glass artist & illustrator Sarah Brown’s.

Unfortunately this is the only picture I took that I was happy with. Let me assure you everything in the stall was unique and beautiful! Sarah creates art with fused glass (sometimes based on her own illustrations), and what I particularly like about her work is how architecural and contemporary it is. So much of the fused glass I’ve seen in the past is metallic and while I’m sure many people love that, I find this kind of work more elegant. This ornament is just over an inch in diameter, and I bought one that looked like a Christmas pudding for a friend. Adorable! Sarah also runs workshops, and has a couple of very reasonably priced ornament sessions coming up in December. It was also really nice to discover someone who is based so nearby, literally just up the road from R’s parents.

Then I saw these beautiful ceramics. I think they have the glossiest lacquer finish I have ever seen. They also have subtle patterns. I tried to get a picture without glare, but couldn’t. So lovely. These are by Rachel Pritchard, a Worcestershire artist. Unfortunately I don’t believe she has a website, but she seems to be displaying in several galleries at the moment.

And then there was my favorite! As the Crow Flies is a Bristol-based artist (via the Edinburgh area, apparently) who uses ceramics as a base for her illustrations. I really loved the feel of all of her pieces. Most have nature at their heart, be it a peacock or wildflowers. Some were on stock porcelain, but still beautiful, while others were hand thrown or slip cast. My favorite was this dandelion vase – the design is gorgeous and I loved the shape. It was quite reasonably priced, and if I wasn’t going to a craft fair in Cardiff on Sunday I think I would have bought it. I settled for buying a harvest-themed tea towel instead. What can I say, I’m a sucker for tea towels. My Stroud-based friends and readers may be interested to know that she’s going to be showing at several Stroud markets this fall and is also showing in a gallery there.

 

Technically, Break Vintage wasn’t part of the market, but I liked that they got into the spirit of the event by putting a couple of tables outside. It is my favorite charity shop in Tewkesbury, and I always find something beautiful & unique there, whether it’s for me or a friend.

This time, it was this Victorian Coalport jug. Pink isn’t usually my thing, but I adore cherry blossoms. I also love how simple this design is while still being detailed – you can see they’ve painted in stamen dots, and one of the blossoms is facing away, while the handle itself is shaped like a branch that goes down either side to the blossoms. Wonderful.

How was your weekend? Have you found any lovely things in charity shops recently?