Keeping it local!

Well after my blogfest the other week I thought I would give you all a bit of a rest from my mutterings!!!!!!!

So what have I been upto? Well last Sunday I was at a lovely little craft shop hidden away in Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey called Poppy Crafts run by the lovely Denise. 

It is shops like Poppy Crafts and my local craft shop, Pantiles Crafts, Games & Books that, in my opinion offer the best one to one customer service for crafters as they are often run by crafters, for crafters. A lot of people think that if you have a shop, you must be raking it in! In some circumstances, that may be the case, but with the current economic climate, online shops, large chains, TV etc it has a massive knock on affect on the small independent shops. So, next time you are out and about and come across an independent craft shop, why not pop in and show them your support!

If you are local to Kent or looking for a day out, both the Isle of Sheppey and Tunbridge Wells have lots to offer for a family day out - so whilst your are browsing the craft shop, your other half or family will have stuff to keep them occupied

The details for Poppy Crafts are as follows:

 33 Victoria Street, Sheerness, ME12 1YA - 01795-666976

The details for Pantiles Papertole are as follows:

13 The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells, TN2 5TD - 01892-618191

Right, okay I will get off my soap box now!

So this week is the start of the 4 day Hobbycrafts Show at the NEC in Birmingham from Thursday through to Sunday and for the first time in about 10 years I will not be working the show. 

It was a really hard decision to make, but some of you will know that I have a "day job" Monday to Friday, so in order to do the NEC and other retail shows, it means that I have to use my "holiday" to "work" the shows. Now don't get me wrong, I love doing the retail shows, playing with crafty materials and getting to meet so many lovely crafty friends, new and old but this year I want a proper holiday and I am going all out and having 2! A week in France with some very talented crafty friends and a week (or at the rate things are going!) a long weekend in Spain visiting friends. On top of that I have the lovely Clarity Retreat with my very good friend Barbara Gray. So I will be thinking of you all as you head off to the NEC over the 4 days! But saying all of that, I will be popping up to the NEC on Saturday as I have some stuff that I need to collect for some upcoming demo/workshops and it will be nice to be able to walk around the show and catch up and a crafty gossip with friends.

Right, I think that is enough for tonight, the next stash of Clarity Stamps & Stencils have arrived to make samples for the next Clarity TV show and I want/need to play!

Happy Crafting

Paul x