Made and Found: a sale of handmade goods, Saturday 7th December

Sometimes a seemingly throwaway comment or suggestion can give birth to an idea. This one stemmed from a chat with Tracy. I was sitting in her kitchen eating cake one summer afternoon and we were talking about the things we made. I commented that her house would make a very lovely venue for a sale of our handmade things. She agreed. Five or six weeks ago we spoke on the phone. 'What about that sale then?' she said. The idea had simmered and rumbled in my head for some months. It was decided and the name popped into my head immediately: Made and Found.

Within a day or two I nipped round to Celia's house. She had made a little house from simple stitches, some embroidered trim and a wisp of wool. I was so thrilled to see it - of course - our sale was to be held in a house. We found some dried seedheads in the garden and stamped some letters onto paper. Then Celia made our flyer by combining the images we had made using some mind boggling Photoshop wizardry. I was agog.

Next I contacted some friends and within a few weeks we had a team of ten designer-makers, and one purveyor of very lovely cut flower seeds.

Then came the very important matter of cake and tea. Thankfully I remembered the delicious cakes that had been served up on the stage of St Augustine's church hall during the Selvedge Fairs that were held there. I took a deep breath and rang High Tea of Highgate. To my delight High Tea's director, Georgina Worthington, agreed to provide delicious baked treats and warming cuppas. The only dilemma was whether she should bring her collection of vintage china teacups.

I love the idea of beautiful things displayed in a real home. Celia's prints will be on the mantelpiece, Linda's bowls will be on the kitchen shelves, Lilli's mittens will be pegged to a curtainrail and Karen's sleeping bags will be draped on a sofa (for snuggling in if you fancy). I plan to convert a vintage sideboard into a tiny jewellery shop. Several of our designers will be making on the day so that you can see how their work is created.

If you're free on 7th December and would like to come along to our little sale then we'd be THRILLED to see you. We're a small, independent group of makers so every single mention on blogs, Facebook or Twitter is a huge help. We have our own Twitter feed, here. Here's the logo that Celia and I made if you fancy grabbing it.

Our makers are:

Linda Bloomfield: Her hand-thrown cake stands and mugs were featured on this season's Great British Bakeoff.

Celia Hart: Her nature-inspired prints are featured in the current issue of Country Living magazine

Karen Boatwright: a handknitted menagerie, handmade linen & floral sleeping bags and subtly beautiful paintings

Lilli Wicks: Contemporary knitwear with geometric and Fairisle designs (including a wonderful fox)

Claire Knight: Intricate paper cut designs depicting small moments

Val Curwen: Baskets and garden structures woven from hedgerow materials

Tracy Dowling: Homewares made using traditional quilting technques with a modern twist

HatchetandBear (EJ Osbourne): beautiful bowls & utensils for everyday adventures, made from foraged wood. She was recently featured in the Observer

SkeinQueen (Debora Orr): Maker and purveyor of luxury hand-dyed yarn, specialising in cashmere.
Higgledy Garden Cut flower seed collections, beautifully packaged and ready to pop in a stocking
Me

Hope to see you there!