On Friday I had the bright idea that we should get the train to Chingford and go for a walk around Epping Forest. Under normal circumstances this would have been a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon, but it rained on Friday, and then it rained some more. The forest was beautiful and despite the rain, and a thirty minute period when we got lost, our wander was a lovely way to spend a few hours. Having spent most of Friday afternoon squelching around in the mud, we thought it best that we should find something to do on Saturday that didn’t carry the risk of developing trench foot. On the train on the way back to Walthamstow I found a flyer in my wallet that I had picked up the previous weekend. The flyer was for the Chapel End Arts and Crafts Association fair, we went to this event last year so decided to pay them a visit on Saturday Afternoon.
The fair takes place at the Wadham Bowling Club on Kitchener Road, we always find driving in this bit of Walthamstow a bit of a challenge because some of the roads are blocked by gates to stop people using them as rat runs. Usually we find ourselves on the wrong side of the gates and have to back track through Chapel End to get to where we need to be. This weekend we remembered to take the correct turning from Chingford Road and made it to the venue without being beaten by the gates. When we first walked in we headed straight to Lucy Scott who makes amazing traybakes. We’ve stalked Lucy around various local events for sometime now, always keen to top up our supply of salted caramel florenteenies. With brownies and florenteenies purchased we had a wander around to see what else was on offer, I immediately noticed three beautiful mosaics made by Mark Fisher. I’d seen picture of one of them on twitter the night before and taken a shine to it. Mark explained that each piece of tile is cut individually and placed using tweezers, something I wouldn’t have the patience to do but the effect is stunning. We made our second purchase of the day in the shape of a mosaic of the Ancient House in Walthamstow Village.
The association pack a lot in to the small venue including vintage clothing and china, photography, hand-made greeting cards, jewelry and face painting for the little ones. I like this event because you get to talk to the makers, artists and bakers, it’s nice to find out what processes the makers use and how much time goes in to producing the items on sale. The other great thing about Chapel End Arts & Crafts is that all the members are local residents so this really is shopping local at it’s best. The event is also running on Sunday 15th between 11am and 4pm, why not pop down and see what some of Walthamstow’s creatives are up to. For more information including details and web sites of other participants that you will find at the fair, check the Chapel End Arts And Crafts Association facebook page.
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