A Tea-Light-Ful afternoon...

Tealightful Candles will be popping up at the Crafty Christmas Market on Sunday 29 November. Yay!

If you're looking for a beautiful and ethical gift for someone this Christmas, then a Tealightful teacup candle could be just the ticket! Homemade locally using the very best Eco soy and natural fragrances these gorgeous teacups get a new lease of life and make a wonderful gift.

Come and visit the Tealightful Stall on Sunday 29. Don't forget we'll be in our usual venue of the warm and welcoming hall of the Beckenham Methodist Church. From around 1.15 onwards. With real cups of tea too!

Creative Yogi joins the Teapot

Mary, a local creative and yoga teacher will  be joining us at the Crafty Christmas Market on Sunday 29 November and brings her handmade wellness products for us to enjoy. The range includes practical yoga mat bags, fabric covered notebooks and eye pillows made using fresh lavender from her garden.

Mary says she started making out of necessity after having searched a long while for good quality eye pillows to use in her yoga classes and finding nothing, so she set about making her own. 

She uses pre-loved, up-cycled fabrics as well as ethnic prints, in particular Japanese and Egyptian prints to make all her products so her range is ethical as well as beautiful. There really is something for everyone at the forthcoming market! 

Join us from 1.30pm onwards as we throw open the doors of the Beckenham Methodist Church hall doors and welcome you to our 4th Crafty Market. Come and browse, buy and MAKE gifts, enjoy a cup of tea and a slice of cake and be entertained by the wonderful Harriet Eaves as she performs again for us this year. Admission is Free.

See you there! 

Miss SoS x x

Why Not Send It?

One of our contributors to fast approaching Crafty Christmas Market is Claire Westall, purveyor of beautiful, handmade cards and the designer-maker behind 'Why Not Send It'.

A regular at Handmade Palace, Claire has a loyal client base who love her stylish & effective greetings cards. Come and find Claire on her stall at the Crafty Christmas Market – Sunday 29 November, from 1.30 onwards... See you there! (We'll be at the Beckenham Methodist Church Hall, Bromley Road, just up from Chom-Chom). Don't forget, entry is FREE!

I made that!

At this years Crafty Market there will be a Maker Table.... an area for adults to make their own craft-inspired gifts.

The children's craft table will also be present but we wanted to be able to offer the opportunity for everyone to make something! The projects will not require a degree in art but when complete will look smashing none the less!

Come along on Sunday 29 November to try your hand at making. Entry to the event is free and charges will apply for the maker projects. We'll be in our usual venue in the hall at Beckenham Methodist Church which is positioned diagonally to St. Georges church.

See you there x x

We Love Trees!

If you're out and about in Beckenham you may find our posters on trees in and around the area. Daddy Teapot and I have been out and about today spreading the word of the teapot! We have found this method of advertising our event to be the most effective.

But please be reassured, we hate litter and we love trees so as soon as the event is over, we'll return to the trees we have borrowed and remove the posters!

Zoe Hodgson coming to BR3!

Zoe Hodgson is a Handmade Palace favourite and is well known for her iconic prints of local landmarks. She'll be at the Crafty Market in just over 3 weeks with a fantastic range of prints, cards and homeware.

Entry is free so come and join us on November 29. They'll be a host of talented local artisans along with the pop-up tea room and we'll be joined by Harriet Eaves who'll be performing some festive favourites for us! Whoohoo!

Hold em high, Cowgal!

The Alexandra Nurseries in Penge, SE20, http://www.alexandranurseries.co.uk proved the perfect location to take some snaps of the Fabulous Fripperies new range of retro-inspired clutch bags.

Rosa with the Barbara & Lori clutch on the left and the Peggy and Rita clutch on the right

Rosa looked beautiful on the day with her modern day Victory Rolls and vintage-style outfit. She wore a genuine vintage coat by Boo to a Goose, drank tea and ensured the FabFrip range of products looked even more amazing!

The range will be available at The Crafty Christmas market, coming soon on November 29 in Beckenham. Yee-haa!

Calling vintage cowgirls!

Hey y'all! Love vintage? Then you'll love the new range of clutch bags designed and made by Fabulous Fripperies and available on the www.sos15.co.uk webstore.

There's not tons of PR re these beauties as stock on them is low. The range is still under development but they'll be ready in time for Christmas and will be showcased at Beckenham's Crafty Christmas Market, November 29. These will make amazing gifts!!

The Peggy & Rita Clutch

The Barbara & Lori clutch

All the gals together

Plush black velvet backs the clutches super-cute fringing abounds

Tomorrow, Miss SoS will be on-site for their first photo shoot. Yeehaa! Our model, Rosa, is set to look va-va-voom in vintage and red lipstick as she totally rocks these retro-tastic clutches!!

Come back soon to see how it went! x x x

It's all going on....

Yikes, Miss SoS hates to wait! But even she must wait as the cogs of the making-machine turn in preparation for the marvellous maker-tables at the forthcoming Crafty Christmas Market.

But here's a heads-up – our jewellery maker-table is going to be every (big) girls dream! Jam-packed with all you'll need to create your own, uber-cool, acrylic jewellery pieces. We'll be catching-up with the designer behind these gorgeous pieces real soon so you won't have to wait too long.... If you really can't wait to make your own then head on over to Etsy where you can buy these lush designs: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/VictoriaMariaS?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Harriet is Back in Town!

Ah, the glamorous and ever-so-talented Ms Harriet Eaves, will be back in town this Novemer. BR3 can revel in retro once more as the jazz vocalist visits the Crafty Christmas Market for a second year.

It is quite the coup and we can't wait to hear some of our festive favourites performed in Ms Eaves inimitable style... A finalist in Miss Vintage UK, H is rushed off her kitten heels but has popped the Hidden Teapot in her diary as she had so much fun with us last year. We can't wait for November 29th to arrive!

Hey, we're back!

Has it really been a year since the Hidden Teapot was live? It would seem so, where has the time gone?

Well, it is fair to say that Miss SoS has been super busy and has had little time to blog here, on the Teapot. But it's that time of year once more... the leaves are falling and the temperature is dropping  so Christmas can't be too far away. And the Hidden Teapot is back! This years 'Crafty Christmas Market' will be held on Sunday November 29 at our usual venue in BR3.

Not only will you be able to browse and buy beautiful gifts and Christmassy items, this year, you will have the chance to make your own!

We will have a host of 'maker tables'  where artists and makers will be on-hand to assist you in making your own gorgeous gifts. Confirmed are a ceramicist and jewellery designer with more to follow. If you have always fancied trying your hand at a craft project then come along to our Crafty Market. The tables will be available throughout the day. There will be no need to book, you can just drop-in.

As you can imagine, excitement levels are HIGH! Keep an eye on the blog for up-to-date info about the day and our creative artisans and makers.

These old things?

Say "Vintage" and some may say "You mean 'Old'". But these beautiful product samples that arrived this morning at Teapot HQ can be described as nothing short of amazing!

They are so 'New' that they are as yet unavailable to buy. These hand crafted make-up bags are made entirely by hand in London, to a unique pattern, using the most gorgeous of Vintage fabrics. Swoon. Laura Ashely, c.1975 fabric? Check. Roomy design that self-stands? Check. Need one now? Check!

These make-up bags along with other products, will make their debut at the Beckenham Crafty Christmas Market, on November 23 and will be available to buy from the SoS15 stall.

Pimp My Stroller at the Crafty Market!

The Hidden Teapot can't wait for the Crafty Christmas Market where we'll be welcoming the talents of Pimp My Stroller who'll be making their Teapot debut! They make hip, handmade toy strollers for kids with style. Their collection includes eye popping fabrics and every one is unique, which is what the Teapot events are all about!

Can't wait 'til the 23rd? Understandable, check their page pimpmystroller.co.uk for a sneak peek of what will be available on the day.

See you soon Teapots xxx

Bake-off Update

Hello teapots

If you are thinking of entering the Beckenham Bake-off then now is the time to get yourself an entry form. If you would like to be sent a PDF that you can print off and return then email Miss SoS and she will send you an application (thehiddenteapot@gmail.com). With just under a month to go, why not get into the kitchen and start practising! Yum. Remember, we will be supporting Breast Cancer Care so there's never been a better time to eat cake.

Crafty Profile – Sew Cushty

‘Sew Cushty’ was born from the desire for something a bit different. The designs evolved from a gift I made for a musician, creating a guitar shaped cushion and the ideas grew from there.

Cushty Guitar Cushion – who knew!

After studying art at university, I continued my creative interest by sewing interiors for personal use as well as for friends and family until I was encouraged to share my designs with a wider audience. My creations continue to be inspired by music and art, coupled with the use of salvaged materials.

The Hidden Teapot loves these! Too cute cosies

Super Cushions, available this Sunday! Come and meet the designer 

I am more than happy to help with any requests if you see something that you would like personalised or created to specification.

sewcushty@hotmail.co.uk

sewcushty.com

Crafty Profile – Celia Reid

A range of  luxury handmade cards and gifts made by Surface Pattern Designer, Celia Reid. 

Celia's signature-style gift tags

Beautiful Cards

Using vintage and new wallpaper that has been hand and machine stitched into layers that become 3-dimensional. Each design is then embellished with beads, buttons and fine glitter to add that touch of sparkle. My range of paper products includes cards, gift cards and tags, bunting, gift bags, brooches, badges and wall decor.  I also have a small selection of digitally printed cushions using my wallpaper designs.

Sitting comfortably? You could be with this lovely cushion 

I am happy to personalise items and commissions can also be made specifying which wallpapers you would like to use from a selection of my own vintage and new designs.

Hand-made brooches

Crafty Profile – Tess Hines

Tess Hines is a Beckenham-based linoprint artist who has been producing handmade prints and greeting cards for just over a year. Her inspiration comes from many things: natural forms including flowers, leaves, shells, fossils and wildlife, as well as Art Nouveau designs and beautiful silhouette illustrations and papercuts. 

Tess is passionate about printmaking and relishes the entire process, from sketching designs and carving the lino, to printing the image itself and lifting the paper to reveal the final image.  She is very excited to be attending the Beckenham Crafty Market and will have many of her beautiful card designs and prints on sale there. 

A selection of hand-printed, original cards

Crafty Christmas Update

hello teapots

Exciting news! The Beckenham Crafty Christmas Hand-Made Market is bursting at the seams with the best designer-made talent there is! The response of sellers has been so great that we have had to reschedule the date of the event to accommodate all of the loveliness.

The Beckenham Crafty Christmas Hand-Made Market will now be on Sunday 20 November and will start at midday until 6pm. Don't forget, this is a market with a difference.... it is held in a domestic setting not in a boring car park or windy field. You will be able to browse and buy hand-made items that can't be found anywhere else. This promises to be a fun afternoon in a really friendly atmosphere with Christmas carols and much merriment.

Over the next few weeks we will take a peek at the designers, makers, illustrators and artists confirmed to be at the event. We will showcase their work and let you know a bit about them. Our aim is to offer affordable, quality gifts and trinkets.

We are planning to have some hot food stalls so if you're peckish pop along!

If you would like more info please get in touch. Miss SoS will be happy to answer your enquiries. Email: thehiddenteapot@gmail.com

bye-bye summer

thank you to everyone who braved the British weather and came to the Hidden Teapot today!

At 1pm it started to rain... then it rained some more and then a little more. It was too wet for the garden so we all squeezed indoors. The brilliant Avriella provided the music throughout the afternoon and brightened up the day. She was so fantastic!

So, a big thank you to everyone who was here, it was lovely to see familiar teapot faces and to meet new teapots!

We're now planning some Christmas events.... we will keep you posted.

Bye for now, teapots x x