Spring Artisan Fayre - Sunday 12 April 2026 in Upwell
- siloutaggart
- Jan 19
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 17
ANOTHER GREAT SUCCESS!
£700.00 raised for Norfolk & Waveney Mind!
Our Spring Artisan Fayre - the seventh Artisan Fayre we've held - was another brilliant success! Simon & I would like to thank our wonderful artisans, visitors, friends & family who helped to make it all happen by spreading the word in a variety of ways.
Following on from the achievements of all our previous Artisan Fayres, our Spring Artisan Fayre fundraiser didn't disappoint. All the event profits are going to a charity that Simon and I hold close to our hearts - and we've raised a further £700 for Norfolk & Waveney Mind.
Combined, the seven Artisan Fayre events we've held so far have generated a fab £5700.00 for this worthy charity.
We are thrilled with the ongoing encouragement, positive comments from our artisans and visitors alike, and the overwhelming local support for what we're trying to achieve with these events. And it was lovely to have Kayleigh & Aimee from Norfolk & Waveney Mind with us too!
A HUGE thank you to our lovely, bubbly front of house, DEE, who had been feeling quite poorly in the run-up to the event but soldiered on and welcomed everyone with her wonderful warm smile and cheer. In addition to this, Dee and her partner Tony also donated some of the ingredients for the Fanoggins Bakery goodies. Despite feeling the strain of the day, Dee (joined by Tony later in the day) remained behind at the end of the Fayre to help clear tables and clean – we can’t thank them enough!
Although lots of our students and friends helped to spread the word about the event, we'd like to give a special thank you to our friend Michele who put out lots of leaflets and fliers for us in the Ely area, and stayed at the Fayre the whole day on stand-by ready to take over front of house in case Dee had felt too unwell to manage the whole day.
We’d also like to thank Zakiya (Fanoggins Bakery) for all her hard work baking and creating the tastiest of treats that were on offer on the day – and her partner, James, for helping to clear up at the end. We were all exhausted – in the most positive way of course :-) – so we’re really grateful to those who remained behind to help clear up and clean.
Massive hugs and thanks also to those artisans (you know who you are :-)) and our loyal followers, customers, students and friends who helped to share the event on their social media platforms, distribute posters and fliers, and assist in helping to create our high-quality successful artisan fundraiser event.
Once again, we were really impressed with the high quality of our attending artists and very grateful to those who demonstrated on the day:
Laura from Faux Flora By Laura - the art of crochet,
Simon from Blended Monkey - woodturning on the electric lathe,
Natalie from Cutlery with Attitude - hand stamping metal,
Sue & Lynda from Fen Mill Crafts - Powertex sculpture (see the workshops they are holding with us at Blended Monkey HERE,
Lilian from Fluffysminion - beadwork,
Mark Evans - stonemason - stone carving (see the workshops he's holding with us at Blended Monkey HERE),
Aimee from Nacho & Tiki's Studio - illustration (see the clay sculpture workshops Aimee is holding with us at Blended Monkey HERE),
Alan from Painted Sky Jewellery - tools used for copper jewellery making,
Kate from Parsons Wreath Co - dried flower floristry,
Gilli from Paper2Pearls - origami,
Sarah Madsen - silver jewellery designer and artist - silversmithing.
Some of our fabulous demonstrators
It was also lovely to see how busy our workshops artists were throughout the day too with:
Fen Mill Crafts providing a Powertex mushroom sculpture workshop and
Aimee from Nacho & Tiki's Studio offering a pop-up cards workshop
Our fun and creative workshops!
We are genuinely heart-warmed by the generosity and support shown by artists and visitors alike in buying raffle tickets to win the fabulous, high-end prizes created and donated by each of our artisans (thank you guys!), as well as the purchases from our pop-up Fanoggins Bakery who spent many days before the event prepping & baking their tasty wares. You can order their delicious cookies online or hire them for catering too! See their website HERE.
Tasty treats from Fanoggins Bakery!
Our fabulous artisans!
Join us for our next Artisan Fayres in 2027:
SUMMER ARTISAN FAYRE - Sunday 19 July (DETAILS)
AUTUMN ARTISAN FAYRE - Sunday 25 October
We enjoyed a fabulous collection of carefully curated Fenland & East Anglian artists, creators & makers who are selling their work, demonstrating their crafts & holding workshops on the day.
All event profits have gone to Norfolk & Waveney MIND, a charity close to our hearts.
WORKSHOPS & ATTRACTIONS
you saw at our
SPRING ARTISAN FAYRE
Most of our artists demonstrated their crafts throughout the day, but we also had some scheduled workshops that were pre-booked, including:
POP-UP CARD WORKSHOP
with Aimee from Nacho & Tiki's Studio
Unleash your creativity with a playful, 90-minute hands‑on workshop celebrating all things feline through creative crafting. Join artist Aimee from Nacho & Tiki’s Studio to create charming, characterful mixed‑media cat illustrations, and transform your favourite into a fun pop‑up card. Along the way, you’ll explore expressive backgrounds and other design elements through mark making, texture play, and creative experimentation - purrfect for adding personality and depth to your piece. Ideal for beginners and seasoned makers alike, this joyful workshop blends colour, texture, and a dash of British whimsy for a truly uplifting crafting experience.
POWERTEX MUSHROOM SCULPTURE WORKSHOP
with Sue & Lynda from Fen Mill Crafts
Use the magical medium of Powertex to create your own fabulously unique mushroom (approx. 25 cm tall) during this 2.5-hour workshop!
You'll fabric sculpt the top of your fungi, and use stone art clay to create the stalk.
Discover how to colour the flowers using varnish and various pigments, and provide a realistic base using goblin grass.
WOODTURNING DEMONSTRATIONS
with Simon from Blended Monkey
Throughout the day, Simon provided woodturning demonstrations on the electric lathe. Simon teaches woodturning (beginners, intermediate and a 2-day comprehensive course), green woodworking (using a pole lathe, axe block and shave horse), spoon carving, and sharpening.
More information about our woodturning workshops: https://www.blendedmonkey.co.uk/category/workshops-and-tuition
Comments