Etsy Made Local: Penryn Etsy Made Local: Penryn Etsy Made Local: Penryn Etsy Made Local: Penryn

Etsy Made Local: Penryn

15 November - 17 November 2019

NEW bigger venue for the super-cool Christmas fair

On the 15th-17th November, 70 talented makers, designers and illustrators will be gathering in the sports hall on the Penryn University campus, presenting stalls heavy with handmade treasure, ready to be discovered by discerning shoppers looking for cool, original Christmas presents.

After 3 busy years in St Ives, the Etsy Makers Cornwall group have decided to spread their wings and move to a bigger, better venue for their eagerly awaited Christmas Fair. The Etsy fair has almost doubled in size meaning the team can invite 30 more exhibitors to take part, creating a more inclusive event that promises to showcase the best craft talent our county has to offer. As well as the extra room, the new venue also offers better facilities, loads of free parking and close links with students studying there.

It looks set to be a really exciting weekend, kicking off with the customary cocktail and live-music evening shopping night on Friday, where singer/guitarist Tom Dale creates a happy, laid-back atmosphere which is perfect to browse by. The fair will be open from 10-5pm on Saturday and 10-4pm on Sunday, allowing everyone plenty of time to discover beautiful, well-made pieces, talk directly to makers and learn about the processes, stories and love that go into making contemporary craft. We’re lucky to have some really well-respected makers, artists and designers living in Cornwall, so it’s a great chance to meet in person prize-winning, Instagram-storming, book-writing, highly acclaimed creative people and see their beautiful work first-hand. 

This year as well as the Foodbank donation area where everyone is encouraged to bring a bit of extra food and gifts for Penryn Foodbank, there’ll be a raffle to win the fruit and Christmas trees from the fair’s oasis area, with the proceeds going to Tree Sisters, an international charity that not only aims to accelerate tropical reforestation through the planting of trees to combat climate change, but also to enable female leadership and ownership to make this happen around the world.

Buy less but buy well: slow fashion, slow food, handmade things that will last, modern heirlooms that haven’t be made by modern slaves. Join us for a chilled day out: it’s a shared experience with people on a similar wavelength; an appreciation of another person’s skills and ideas, chance to have discussions about influences and processes; it’s slow time to be taken with live music, delicious food and friends. And chance to take a little bit of it home to give to your friends and family for Christmas, for them to keep and enjoy.

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