10 minutes on the Couch with the founder of the Crafty Fox pop up market….

This is a really obvious question, but why the name Crafty Fox?

We were banding around a few names and different variations of names. We live in Brixton, Brixton has a lot of foxes, it’s a craft market and “Crafty Fox” stuck.

What made you create the Craft Fox Market?

I make jewellery and I started to look for Christmas markets back in September, but it was too late, most fairs were booked or too expensive and not in my price range. So, I decided to create my own fair, I have experience in events management and I did think it was going to be a lot easier than it has been, but so far it’s been fun and hopefully the fair is going to be great.

Why did you choose south London for the fair?

I live in Brixton, but I usually have to travel to east and north London for anything Arts & Crafts. There’s a lot of talented people in south London and it’s crazy that there isn’t more activity down here.

Tell us more about the market, how many stall holders will there be on the day?

There’ll be 25 stalls on the day, ranging from home ware to clothing and Jewellery to cakes. The full list can be found at the Crafty Fox blog; List of the Crafty Fox stall holders and we are also hoping to offer crafty workshops and we’ll be accepting the Brixton pound.

Etsy are your sponsor, what a find, how did you manage that that?

I sell my ‘Galavant’ Jewellery on the Etsy website, they’re an American website who is growing quickly in the UK, when I approached them, and they accepted and have been really supportive of the market.

Describe the market in 3 words?

Exciting, fun & unique.

The Crafty Fox market is taking place on Saturday 11^th December 11-6pm at the Dog Star in Brixton. Check out the dapper Crafty Fox blog for more details.

Cup Cake Classes in Clapham Junction

Fancy making these?

Well I didn’t bake the cakes, they were already prebaked, but I did design and create all toppings. I can now say I feel more confident piping icing, plus everyone at work seemed to enjoy them.

The cup cake class, was held on a Sunday afternoon at the Rafayel Hotel, (Near Clapham Junction) by Baketique, which is the brain child of Michelle Husserl, Check out the link for more information, Baketique The next cake sessions take place on November 7^th and 21^st. 

Sadly I went by myself and it really is a girly day out, a glass of champagne is waiting of which I downed two as there were a couple of no shows, it would be a waste to leave it.

The Critic Talks

Overall pleasant, but expensive for what you receive. I would have loved to bake my own cakes, learnt how to make the right icing consistency and then iced my cakes.

However, it is a very nice gift.

The start of SW Craft Club

I’m new to blogging, I’m sure you will start to see that writing isn’t really my forte, but I can assure you that craft is. Over the last week, I’ve been scouring the internet looking for craft or cookery courses taking place in South London. It was mostly a depressing internet search, with over half of the courses taking place in East or North London. My search had bought up a lot of out of date information but occasionally a glimmer of light would shine down and I’d find a little gem of a course, group or company, with an event taking place in South London and had I not searched I would now be trekking to the east to get my crafty fix.
Don’t get me wrong, this blog is not about us versus them. I love East London as much as the next person; Curtain Road, Hoxton Square & Brick Lane are little treats after work or at weekends, however the commute to get there and back in my mind is a mission, especially after a glass of wine or two. So, because of the distance it really is a treat and my desire to stay local; to go out locally and discover more of what is going on around me and what is locally growing.  
To put it frankly crafts/ craft courses in South London are lacking and I feel it is my South Londoner duty to bring craft awareness south of the river.
This blog is going to be a little slow to begin with, but don’t you worry, you won’t always be hearing from me, I’ll be roping my friends in to lend a writing hand. However this blog is going to be stagnant unless I hear from anyone who wants to be part of the club. I welcome your suggestions, comments and contributions.

I look forward to hearing from you

SW Craft Club XX
ps. you can also find me on twitter at http://twitter.com/SWCraftClub