I love craft fairs, I love the variety of crafts and creativity that you find when you visit them. I enjoy chatting with the makers and designers and understanding the passion and commitment many of them put into their work. Plus it’s usually a nice day out especially when the sun is shining.

This small/medium fair of about 30 stalls hit all the right notes for me. It was nicely laid out with plenty of room to circulate. The tents were all decorated with bunting which gave it a festive feel.  I liked that the organisers limited the number of “same” crafts so you didn’t have “overload” of any one product. It felt well curated with good quality and variety. 

What I really liked about this fair is that they focused on 100% handmade items, nothing bought in and best of all, no tat! This fair featured wonderful and whimsical pottery, lovely landscapes, fun fabric cushions, hand made glass, beautiful jewellery and lots more. Unfortunately, I was too interested in looking and forgot to take photos, oops!

The summer show was hosted outside on a lawn in the Cooling’s grounds next to their restaurant. So when we were tired of shopping and browsing, it was the perfect opportunity to sit down for a cup of tea and a gorgeous piece of cake. The show also benefited from a beautiful sunny day.

There was a steady flow of people during the time we were there which made for a nice atmosphere and the stallholders were all lovely and helpful in describing their products. It was certainly one of the nicest shows of this size that we have visited. The visitors were of all ages – couples, families and friends.

My only bugbear with this show was finding it. If you aren’t familiar with Coolings Garden Centre, finding this show is a little tricky as it’s slightly off the beaten path. It was signposted, but it was easy to miss the banner on the main roundabout leading to it.  I knew about it because I’ve been before. That said, a quick look on googlemaps shows you exactly where it is.

Overall we had a really nice visit to this show, it featured high quality hand crafted items in a nice atmosphere. This is definitely one to visit in the future.

Where: Coolings Garden Centre, Knockholt Kent 

Organisers: Keep It Local Craft Shows

Other Dates: Here

Admission: Free to public