On Saturday, I met up with my mother and (albeit, reluctant) little sister to attend the Craft Alive Expo in Wagga Wagga. If you've never heard of Craft Alive, it's a three-day fair full of supplies, handmade goodies and workshops held in various parts of regional Victoria and NSW (click the link for upcoming dates).
We had a lovely day, browsing stalls of fabric, marveling at beautiful quilts, lusting after handmade jewellery and we stopped to enjoy a cuppa and some cake. We also attempted to join in two of the free quilting workshops, however since the hosts weren't miked up and there wasn't a lot of space, we didn't stick around for long.
For an expo that totes itself as hosting "craft of all ranges", the overwhelming majority of the expo - at least the one we attended - was quilting related. Sure, there was some papercraft/scrapbooking, woodwork, candles, jewellery, teddy bears and, oddly, aromatherapy, but mostly there were quilts. Did I mention that there weren't any yarn crafts?
Given that there are two other expos - Stitch! and Pages! - I expected Craft Alive to be more well-rounded. While the quilts were beautiful to look at (and touch) and there were lots of gorgeous materials to peruse and ponder over, as somebody who mostly knits, crochets, and might occasionally dabble in dressmaking, I was a little disappointed. Still, it was a fun day with the girls!
Sadly the day was a slightly marred by one stall owner (who I've chosen not to name). While taking photos, as I and many others had been doing all day, a woman abruptly and rudely said that while she didn't mind if we took photos, she'd prefer if we asked first. I cannot stress in text just how rude she was. I was so taken aback that I quietly slipped my camera away.
There are better ways to deal with this situation - if you aren't capable of being polite, perhaps post a sign. It's a shame that this woman felt the need to verbally assault me at what should've been a thoroughly enjoyable event. In the social media age, as a business owner you should be nice to everybody! That said, the majority of people were friendly and helpful.
I did make one little purchase - a pair of bee-shaped silver studs from a store called Hunter and Jade. Michelle has some lovely products so if you're into animal earrings or beautiful wooden necklaces, definitely give her website browse!
The next Craft Alive expo is in Morwell, Victoria on 14-16th August, then in Orange, NSW on 11-13th September.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for concession and $5 for children 6-15yrs (under 5s are free!) with workshops ranging from free to $20pp.
The expo runs from 10am to 5pm daily.
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