I’m someone who struggles to switch off and make time to just unwind. I always like to have plans and stuff to keep me busy, but more often than not, that ends up in me getting burned out and a bit mentally tired. But one thing that I like to schedule in for myself that actually does help me relax is craft time. I love to indulge in a touch of making and watching something new sprout from different materials. And while I love doing this at home, it’s also lots of fun to do it in a group setting, just like at the fabulous Make & Mend Festival.
I was lucky enough to go along to Make & Mend for its glorious return in September 2021 at the beaut Ormesby Hall, accompanied by my fellow crafty fans, my mum and sister! Find out what we got up to in this blog post.
If you caught up with my recent post about this festival, you’ll know a whole lot about what the day was to have in store, but if not, Make & Mend was started by Rachel and Lyndsey, two wonderful Stockton-based ladies, who wanted to spread their love for crafting. They found strength and happiness through crafts and wanted to spread the message of wellbeing through creating across the North East (and eventually, the world). Not only this, but they also started the festival in the hopes that it would inspire attendees to try something new, which is exactly what happened when we visited!
Linoprint workshop – 11:30AM*
When we went along to Make & Mend Festival 2019, my mum had said she wished we’d done the linoprint workshop. So for 2021, I made a point to book us all on to the linoprint workshop in the stables, taught by Northern Print. The class was fairly small, which meant there was no waiting for access to our favourite ink colours and there were plenty of tools to go around. I’ve always loved the way linoprints look and the amount of details artists can get in their designs is just astounding.
Now, while I did enjoy the workshop, I feel like I need a little more practise. My sister was absolutely ace and achieved really smooth, neat lines. But for me, I was more gouging out the Grand Canyon, and couldn’t quite get to grips with the delicacy of it. You can see my print above, which isn’t as detailed and exciting as I would have liked it to be, but I enjoyed giving it a good go! It’s definitely something I would try again if I had a little bit longer to work and perfect the technique.
While I didn’t quite get the hang of the gauging motion, I did enjoy seeing the whole inking and pressing process coming to life. I liked the whole rolling on of the colour, then turning the handle on the press to squish the colour and design into the base. It’s just so satisfying! And peeling off the newly carved stamp… ugh, there are no words!
Macrame plant hanger workshop – 1:30PM*
Again, at the 2019 festival, we had spotted groups doing huge macrame projects on big hangers, and we were chomping at the bit to give it a go. We decided to start small and have a go at the 1 hour macrame plant hanger class with GeeArte Makes, rather than the wall hanging class, and we all absolutely loved it. The workshop was buzzing with atmosphere and everyone was super chatty and friendly, and Gee was the most wonderful, patient teacher. She spent time with everyone to make sure they understood the knot, and made sure that we all finished our hangers before we left.
I think what I liked about this workshop was that once you had the motion down and you could make knots speedily, you just sort of got lost in it. It was like you could switch off and just work through each knot with ease. It was so calming! And before I knew it, I had all the rows finished and a fully formed plant hanger that I absolutely love. Mine is in a gorgeous tealy-blue shade, and my sister and I swapped basket ties, so my base has a little touch of green.
This truly is something I’d try again and I actually have a kit somewhere in the house to make a wall hanging, so stay tuned and see how I get on with that!
What else was lovely about Make & Mend 2021?
While the main attraction for most attending was probably the workshops, there was so much more to see and do. Let’s kick things off with the food that was on offer. During the last event, there had only been one food vendor on the site, so I was pleased to see there were a few more this year. With woodfired pizzas, Mexican cuisine, and gorgeous vegan bakes on offer, we were spoiled for choice! In the end, we were enticed by the gorgeous smells from El Kantina, and enjoyed scrumptious cowgirl boxes. These were filled with rice, beans, pulled pork, nachos, and all the trimmings that you could possibly want. I was positively stuffed!
My sister and I also treated ourselves to some goodies from Ellephant Vegan Bakery – a red velvet cookie’wich for her and a Bad Boy cookie for me. If you’re someone that has doubts about vegan food, let me tell you this. My sister didn’t even realise that everything on the menu was vegan, so she was floored when I told her. Both of our treats tasted exactly the same as they would if they were non-vegan – just bloomin’ delicious and sweet! I highly recommend a Bad Boy!
What was also fabulous about Make & Mend was all of the free workshops and demos that were taking place all over the site. One of our top favourites was the water marbling from Studio Paperie, which my sister fully got into. The whole mixing the paint, sprinkling it into the water and swirling it around to make the most beautiful custom paper was just so much fun. And what made it even better was that Catherine of Studio Paperie was so enthusiastic and excited about her craft. It made the whole process so much more electric.
The Maker’s Marketplace was populated with all of the crafters hosting the workshops, displaying everything they had made for sale. And my gosh, there was so much to look at and choose from! I tried to be strict with myself, but once I spotted Katie’s Design House, it was hard to pry myself away. I took one of her business cards, telling myself that I’d buy a print once we were in a new home and I had more picture frames, but of course, I ended up back at her stall at the end of the day. I picked up her stunning The North print in cornflower blue, which will look so pretty once it’s up on the wall.
And finally, the exhibitions in the main building were great to look around to bring the day to a close. The Friendship Project by Erin Fong (as seen in the first image on this post) absolutely dominated the room with colour and messages of friendship. It was lovely to read and the rainbow colours just made my soul happy. There were also the most delicate, intricate and dainty dried flower embroidery hoops by Olga Prinku exhibited, and my gosh, they were jaw-dropping. I wish I had the patience to be able to make things like that!
All together, it was a really fabulous day out and it was lovely to get to spend time with my mum and sister in such a fun way. We’re all hands-on gals, so this was an ideal way for us to get out of the house together. We all got to try out new crafts, make things to take home, and switch off from real life for just a bit. It truly was a great time and I’m so grateful that I got to go along.
I’m looking forward to seeing what Make & Mend has up its sleeves for next year, but for now, are there any crafts that you’d like to try?
