Dogs, pinnies and Gruffalos…

Evening All.

OK, so tonight’s Rockhoppers blog-writing tipple of choice is a well known brand of alcoholic Ginger Beer. (“You don’t have to have a drink to write a blog, but it helps…”). Scrum.

Anyway – like bin day, the blog is a day late this week due to the Bank Holiday. (Insert your own joke about rubbish here). This Bank Holiday weekend saw the RT team revelling in our gorgeous Westcountry surroundings, including a sponsored walk on Dartmoor to raise money for pooches with epilepsy (who knew eh?), enjoying a rather splendid meal at River Cottage in the Royal William Yard (fabulous food from Mr Hugh F-W) and finally a trek through Cardinham Woods in search of a Gruffalo (No joke. You really can go and hunt a Gruffalo…).

All of this was rather splendid, but also rather outdoorsey, so it was lovely to spend Bank Holiday Monday in the serene surroundings of the Moorland Garden Hotel, manning the RT stall at the Moor Things Vintage and Lovely Summer Fete, organised by the always reliable Miss Ivy Events. As always, the day was well organised with bags of character and atmosphere, and from a personal point of view, we had a stonkingly good day with loads of interest in our products (especially our beautiful range of handmade pinnies from What Jess Did Next – after all you can’t get much more vintage than a frilly pinny…). The only dampener was the fact the hog roast pretty much sold out before I got to it (humph – too busy having such a lovely time with the bloomin’ customers, honestly…). But my empty stomach aside, the day was a big success – it’s great to see the vintage and handmade scene is alive and well in the outskirts of Plymouth.

Therefore it’s with a twinge of sadness that we wave goodbye to the May bank holiday. Oh hang on, another bank holiday on the horizon, you say…?! Why, splendid – don’t mind if we do…

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The Elusive Super-Crafter

First of all, apologies for a slightly tardy blog entry this week. Last night during the usual post mini-RT bedtime / pre-Strictly results blog slot, I was flaked on the sofa after travelling to and from Hampshire in one day to pick up a third hand Punto. Anything I would have written would have been ramblings about needing rest and / or chocolate and / or a head massage.

Anyway, it wasn’t just the Sunday jaunt up the M5 which floored me; on Saturday Rockpool started its Christmas craft fair campaign at the “Crikey! It’s Vintage” fair at the Thistle Hotel in Exeter. It was a veritable vintage extravaganza with more than victory rolls, full skirts and red lipstick than you could shake a stick at. The whole event was a roaring success and was a blast for customers and stallholders alike. On the RT front, we kicked off the Christmas season in style, and had a whale of a time nattering to customers as well as helping some particularly well organised folk start their Xmas shopping. (Always happy to help).

One thing which always surprises me when we take RT on the road is the number of people who ask me “Ooooh, did you make all this yourself?”. Now, bear in mind that on the RT stall we have ceramics, jewellery, glassware, appliqué cushions, oilcloth handbags, crotched cafetierre cosies and wooden Christmas tree decorations, to name but a few. Even after hunting the South West for the best suppliers for the site, I’ve yet to meet the talented individual who could cover all of these disciplines, especially to a standard good enough to be let lose on the public…! Hey ho – one day I might find this super-crafter, proficient in everything from weaving to whittling, and when I do I’ll be sure to blog about them.

Still, in the meantime – here’s a picture (hopefully – if I’ve worked out how to post a picture correctly) from Saturday’s event. Looking forward to the next fair at Crocadon in Cornwall on 1st December. Hopefully by then I would have worked out how to fit all the stock in the back of a Punto…

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