At the Fair foot of Marble Mountain

Marble Mountain is a beautiful site for a Craft Fair, as glass blowers and cranberry loaf bakers and fashion designers took over the three floors of the lodge, set out their arrays within the wood-framed, blue-draped areas, and worked the Craft Fair crowds for the past weekend. The NQ was present (and many thanks to Boulder Publications for the lifts from Corner Brook and back!). And, did you know that there is a whole world of ideas behind craft booth display? 'Cause I sure didn't, showing up with one string of Christmas lights, two boxes of magazines, no extension cords, no tablecloths, and in short no clue as to how to pull things together. But, no fear, Craftspeople being so, well, crafty I suppose, and also completely kind, they found extras of this and spares of that and rearranged their own lighting to brighten my space, so in jig time I had a reasonable-looking display. But, lesson learned. Thumbtacks, spotlights and a dish of pretty, foil-wrapped candies truly help make that Craft Fair "go".

(Image: rhs.org.uk.)

Artisans & Fairs

Working practices at the Craft Fair often embody the aesthetics and methods of Medieval guilds. The craftsperson or artisan displays their wares, and, often, sits beside their handiwork, working away at producing more of the same, knitting socks, beading jewelry, enrobing chocolates. The customer comes, studies the inventory, makes their selections, and after some discussion and negotiation, currency changes hands. It is very straightforward, very social. Amongst themselves, they work exchanges - a tryptych photo montage for an oilskin coat, say. And they shift camps, from site to site - now heading to Corner Brook, setting up on Marble Mountain, the NQ moving with them, Jean Claude Roy painting in tow (or cargo hold).

(Image: employees.oneonta.edu.)

Notes from the Craft Fair

The first half of our first Craft Fair is a wrap, and what a treat to meet so many NQ readers - and so many fans of Jean Claude Roy. Grand Bruit shines like an hypnotic jewel from the centre of the West Gallery, drawing all eyes. We're back again next week, and then off to Corner Brook, following the NLCDA Craft Fair trail. Which is heavily traveled, by the way. All manner of artisans make the trek - jewelers, chocolatiers, photographers, screenprinters, publishers, knitters, bakers (the fruitcake on offer was said to be unparalleled). You become part of a - not quite a tribe, but a distinct crowd - a crowd that clusters together, watches each other's back/booths, yarns through the quiet times, cheers on the busy spurts. Your turf is marked by coloured lights and sparkly decorations and a constant serenade of Silver Bells. And then, after several intense 10- or 12-hours days, the Fair is over, and you break your display down, and depart, possibly to meet again the next year.

(Image: naturehills.com.)

Mag design on the go

And NQ headed for the Craft Fairs - a coincidence of deadlines, and a busy time. You'll be seeing the magazine in about three weeks - so far, so good with our fact checking and design ideas and pretty close to most of our material in. (Waiting on just one columnist - you know who you are.) We should be scanning and finessing our first proof in a couple of days, Lord willing and the creek don't rise, or whatever. And at some point we'll gather our stock for the first Fair, opening Thursday, and we will have a painting and calendars and nice candies for treats, which you can even have if you don't buy a subscription, but remember we do make a very good Christmas gift. Truly.

(Image: nifteeseat.com.)

2011 calendars on the drawing board

We're shifting into Craft Fair mode (St. John's, Corner Brook, and then St. John's again), and that means we have to a) figure out exactly what are the regulations for taking beautiful Jean Claude Roy artworks on planes, and b) design our calendar. The latter has become a popular gift item, being a handy-dandy year-at-a-glace-type of thing, and a way we can all take home at least a small part of that subscription prize. We've got a little bit more than a week to bring this together, and then you can count on seeing Team NQ flanking this gorgeous image - you won't really notice us, though, the landscape is so hypnotic. It really is - people get entranced, they can hardly take their eyes of it as they buy, renew or give a subscription*. If you care to test your own powers of resistance, you know where to find us.

(Image: Jean Claude Roy, Grand Bruit.)

*Deft embedding of subliminal message.