Gorgeous Glass from Rona

Hello. With Christmas nearly upon us, I want to tell you a little about one of Acorn's talented crafters, Rona Tait. Her glass work is stunning, beautifully crafted and painted and her stall is a delight to visit. I asked Rona a few questions.

How did you get into your craft?

I had to take (slightly) early retirement due to injury, and started painting glass and making bead and wire creatures to keep myself busy.

What do you like about Acorn Craft Fairs?

Acorn craft fairs have everything - a lovely setting, great group of friendly, talented crafters and plenty of humour.

Tell us a little about yourself

I belong to another Craft Group - E.D.C.F., based in Kirkintilloch, and attend 50 - 60 fairs and fetes throughout the year, from Callander to Portpatrick.

Personal interests are gardening, the natural world, writing, puzzles of any kind, thinking up new crafty ideas and having fun with my grandweans - not necessarily in that order.

A big thank you to Rona for taking the time to respond to my questions (and her patience with me and my terrible memory). Rona will be at our fairs at Christmas at Culzean on Dec 3rd and 4th and 10th and 11th. Please do come along and say hello xx

August's Craft Fair

Our August craft fair was a great event at Culzean Castle

We had nice weather and lots of lovely customers, local and from further afield. We could have done without the little wasps that annoyed us every now and then but they didn't spoil a great weekend.

We had beautiful Vintage style bags from Sherrie Stewart Designs, natural soaps and skincare from Miss Polly, gorgeous jams from Wendy, brilliant wood carvings from Chainsaw Art (yes, Ross really craves them with a chainsaw, they are amazing), Louise Nelson and her lovely glass beads, Rona and her glass work, jewellery from Susan and Marie, the cutest knitted baby hats and jackets from Janette (cute enough to make me broody again, but thankfully it was just a passing notion), handmade cards from Susan H and soaps and Toiletries from The Hidden Garden. All beautiful and all handmade.

We also had a visit from a former long standing Acorn crafter Pat, from Pat's Paraphernalia. It was lovely to see her again and she spent a lot of time chatting to her old friends.

Our next craft weekend in October 15th and 16th - it would be lovely to see you there.

Our Next Fair - August 13th & 14th

With our craft fair only a few days away, i though I would tell you about one of our long-standing member, Pearl.

Pearl McGibbon has owned a company called 'The Hidden Garden' since the 1980s. As often happens when people start making soaps and skincare for themselves, they soon find that they have many willing testers, and then requests for orders and this leads to selling at craft fairs, which is what happened to Pearl. As well as selling at craft fairs, Pearl also supplies various hotels and guest houses with toiletries for their guests - a lovely local handmade touch which guests love.

She also makes and sells Jams, Preserves and Chutneys, and they are delish!

Pearl told me:

My products are now on sale at various locations throughout Sothwest Scotland. EG Craigiemains Garden Centre Ballantrae..Kirkland farm shop Leswalt. I also have a stall at the weekly market in Wigtown, and myself and two partners have recently taken a lease on shop(Called Curiosity) In main street Wigtown. The shop sells my products as well as Antiques and hand made Jewllery. I also have a regular stall at the Portpatrick and Stoneykirk farmer's markets.

I like selling at Acorn fairs - they  are always well organised, the people are extremely friendly and helpful and the venues are always excellent.

I enjoy the making of products as well as the meeting of people at the various locations where I sell and promote my products. Hope that this gives you a small insight into my business.

Thank you Pearl for taking the time to tell us about your business.

Versatile Blogger Award

I have been given a Versatile Blogger Award by Lois Bartley - Thank you Lois

The idea is to follow a few requests and then pass the award on.

1. Make a post linking back to the person who gave you the reward

2. Share seven random things about yourself..... 7 why not 2!

3. Award seven recently discovered bloggers with this award and contact them to let them know they have won.

7 Random things about me...

1. I have seen The Barenaked Ladies 4 times in Glasgow

2. I have Coeliac Disease so follow a Gluten free diet

3. I'm addicted to crisps

4. I love Thomas Hardy books but have recently discovered that I like crime fiction

5. I got engaged to my hubby 11 weeks after meeting him -

our 6th wedding anniversary is in September

6. I love love love musicals

7. I can play the harmonica, but not in cool blues music, just very basic tunes

I would like to nominate the following..

1 http://allneighnoknackers.blogspot.com/

2 http://allneighnoknackers.blogspot.com/

3. http://naturallymadesoaps.blogspot.com

4. http://owllovespanda.blogspot.com/

5. http://notjusthandbags.blogspot.com/

6. http://itsmyjovilife.blogspot.com/

7. http://scent-trail.blogspot.com/2011/06/arrival.html

John McDonald

This is a small blog post this time, to highlight the work of talented artist John McDonald (husband of the equally talented Margaret, whose work I featured in my last post).

A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, John has followed on from a successful career in graphic design by painting. His work is mostly influenced by the light and landscapes of Scotland. John paints in watercolours, acrylics and oils. Prints and cards of his work are available as well as original paintings.

Examples of work can be found at - www.johnmacdonaldartist.co.uk. The above picture is of Culzean Castle, where John often displays his work.

Margaret MacDonald Ceramics‏

I want to show you some of the lovely work of Margaret McDonald, one of our crafters at Acorn. Her stall is a beautiful display of her ceramics and her jewellery, all of which are handmade to the highest standard.



Margaret MacDonald DA. is a graduate in ceramic design from Edinburgh College of Art and is a long established potter in Scotland. Margaret's work encompasses a wide range of decorative ceramics including jewellery, vases, clocks, plates and montages, all of which are produced exclusively in fine porcelain.



As well as Acorn Craft fairs (Culzean Castle), Margaret also sells via her website Margaret's work can be viewed on www.margaretmacdonaldceramics.co.uk



My mum is 60 next week and I bought one of Margaret's beautiful glass pendants as part of her present, and I'm sure she will be as thrilled with it as I am.

Thank you Margaret for sharing your work with our Blog xx

Louise Nelson is Glass Daft

With our first fair of the year only a couple of weeks away, I thought it was about time you got to see some of the beautiful handmade and handcrafted goods that Acorn fairs display. Today, I want to show you some of Louise Nelson's stunning glass work.


Who are you and what is your craft?

I'm Louise Nelson and my craft is glass, specifically lampwork and copperfoil stained glass with infused glass and copper wire structures.

How did you get into your craft?
1995 I took a part time job at a stained glass studio and from that moment I was hooked on glass, previously my work was solely textiles with strong emphasis on embroidery but my first child was born in 1994 and it proved impossible to continue this work.

What do you like about ACORN craft fairs?
Acorn is a local craft group and it has a lovely venue to exhibit crafters work at.




Tell us more about yourself

I am a maker as well as an artist, and making is essential to my being. Glass has captivated most of my waking thoughts as it is so versatile and for ever changing. I think what I enjoy most is that I will never get to the end of this craft and it is a pleasure to go into my studio and experiment with a host of never ending techniques.



As well as ACORN fairs, where else can we find your work?

My website is http://www.louisenelson.co.uk and my work can also be found for sale at the Initiative Shop in West Kilbride. My flickr is http://www.flickr.com/photos/louisenelson

Thank you to Louise for sharing her work and background with us.

Welcome to Acorn

Hello. As some of you may know, Acorn is a wonderful craft organisation whose base is set in the lovely stone barn within Culzean Castle, Maybole, Ayrshire. Our crafters are lovely and talented people who are all passionate about their craft, and who all take pride in using their skill and knowledge to create beautiful products.

This blog is to allow you all to see the wonderful goods that Acorn has to offer, to let you get to know the crafters and their work.

The blog will also allow you to keep up to date with any important Acorn news and the dates of the fairs for the coming year.

So, some dates for your diary:

April 23rd, 24th and 25th (11am to 5pm)
May 28th. 29th and 30th (11am to 5pm)
July 9th and 10th (11am to 5pm)
August 13th and 14th (11am to 5pm)
October 15th and 16th (11am to 4pm)
December 3rd and 4th; 10th and 11th (both dates 11am to 4pm)

Hope to see you there xx