We started off in the lower hall which was full of stands selling everything you could possibly think of for stamping, card making and paper crafting in general and we managed to spend a good few hours browsing at some fantastic products and ideas.
We were particularly inspired by two different stamping companies, the first was Lavinia's Stamps - a collection of magical, woodland themed products by Tracey Dutton. Tracey thanks the environment in which she lives for much of the inspiration for her scenic stamps and says 'we live in a beautiful part of the world; the Vale of Clwyd which is abundant with exquisite landscapes, scenery, flora and fauna”. Her stamps really reflect a wonderful mythical twist on nature producing some stunning artwork.
We also really like the cards and stamps by Cardio. Such simple but beautiful designs.
After a coffee and a croissant we then headed up to the upper floor to the textile part of the exhibition. Again there were plenty of stalls but also a small fashion show and a lecture theatre. We sat in on two lectures, one by Helen Deighan called 'Dyeing needn't be complicated or messy' which caused some hilarity and another by Isobel Hall, a mixed media textile artist, on making vessels and other textile items from gauze/scrimmy paper and bubble wrap. These were both great lectures, extremely informative and enjoyable.
As well as lots of stands selling tempting fabrics, buttons, beads, ribbons etc there were a number of displays which gave plenty of inspiration for forthcoming projects.
We also saw the costumes from Downton Abbey which were on display
and the best part is the show is back in September (5th-8th)
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