Kirstie Allsopp starts the festive season in style at Living Crafts for Christmas, Blenheim Palace

Kirstie Allsopp to film at Living Crafts

Queen of all things handmade Kirstie Allsopp will be spoilt for choice when she films at Living Crafts for Christmas on 21 November. This event is a unique Christmas shopping experience with so many contemporary crafters, jewellers, ceramicists, milliners, artists and toymakers who travel from across the UK to Blenheim Palace. Over 150 specially selected designer-makers will be showcasing British handmade art and craft in floored and heated pavilions and the Orangery, and the Campaign Rooms will feature a Jewellery Quarter.

Kirstie Allsopp to film at Living Crafts

This four day craft extravaganza is the perfect place to find presents for all the family from special commissions and original gifts to quirky stocking fillers.  The pavilions will be brimming with high quality art, craft and Christmas cheer and remember to enjoy the Christmas entertainment, roasting hot chestnuts, mulled cider or steaming hot chocolate. Be inspired by the handcrafted decorations, wreaths, candles and garlands, perfect for decorating your festive home. Specialist food and drink producers in ‘Tastes of Christmas’ will tempt you with traditional treats and perfect foodie gifts: everything from handmade chocolates, wines, connoisseur preserves, oils and marinades to Christmas cakes and puddings. Blenheim Palace will be dressed for the season with sumptuous gold and glitter. The Great Court will be adorned with twinkling Christmas trees, creating a magical ambience, while the beautiful parkland, lakeside walks and formal gardens are majestic in the winter light, just waiting to be explored. A feast of winter warming food is available in the Water Terrace Café and the Oxfordshire Pantry, featuring local produce, and don’t forget to drop into the Champagne Bar!

This is a perfect pre-Christmas day out for all the family.

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An extra special 40th Anniversary Living Crafts at Hatfield House

Visitors will be treated to an extra special event in May when Living Crafts celebrates four decades of promoting British crafting excellence. Hundreds of designer-makers will be hosted at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, from Thursday 8th to Sunday 11th May, and Monty Don, a great admirer of our nation’s craft heritage, will be visiting the event to mark the anniversary on Friday 9th May.

Showcasing the passion of specially selected designer-makers and artists, Living Crafts gives you the opportunity to buy or commission unique, contemporary art and craft direct from the makers.  As one of the largest events of its kind in Europe, visitors will have an inspiring and creative experience, full of fantastic demonstrations, workshops and masterclasses.

Monty Don

Robin Younger, the show’s organiser says “To celebrate our 40th Anniversary we are planning a craft extravaganza with both contemporary and heritage craft of the highest quality and will welcome highly-skilled designer-makers from across the UK.  There will be plenty of new features and this year we are delighted to welcome the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, who further British craftsmanship through grants and education and The Prince’s Trust, which has inspired and changed the lives of budding craftsmen and women across the country”.

The show will be buzzing with activity and visitors will have the opportunity to get involved in the many workshops for adults and children. Why not have some hands on experience and create your own masterpiece in oils, fuse your own glass jewellery or try textile block printing, papermaking, pyrography, decoupage and origami, just some of the many workshops available. Specialist demonstrations will be taking place featuring wildlife artists, glassblowers, sculptors and watercolour artists, all leaders in their fields, who will be demonstrating their skills in pavilions around the showground.

Living Crafts takes place in matted marquees in the beautiful parkland at Hatfield House and has a lively atmosphere with entertainment, including steel and jazz bands and traditional dancing. There is a specialist food and drink tent where you can buy those tasty treats, quality refreshments and free car parking next to the showground.  Visitors will have the added bonus of complimentary admission to stunning West Gardens and ‘The Great British Sculpture Show’, featuring twenty-four leading British figurative sculptors.

Living Crafts

Living Crafts is much more than just a craft show, a perfect destination whether you are a craft connoisseur or looking for a great family day out.

Please visit www.livingcrafts.co.uk or call 02392 863 871 for further details.

Living Crafts 2013 A craft experience not to be missed!

Living Crafts is a great opportunity to buy direct from specially selected British designer-makers and is taking place at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire from 9th – 12th May. Visitors to the show will also be able to enjoy an exhibition of contemporary sculptures from the Royal Academy, staged in the award-winning West Garden. From innovative studio glass, textiles and cutting edge jewellery design to bodging, stickdressing and weaving, Living Crafts is the largest consumer craft event of its kind in Europe.

Living Crafts is well established with an enviable reputation for the quality and originality of work, attracting hundreds of designer-makers and thousands of visitors from across the country. Celebrating and promoting a wide range of handmade, contemporary and traditional British craft, the show continues to evolve. The Craft&Design Month Tent will be hosting established makers, including a textile artist, enameller, weaver and an historical jewellery maker, who will all be demonstrating their skills, while fresh talent will be showcasing contemporary design in the Emerging Designers Pavilion. Local and national craft organisations will also be sharing their expertise with informative displays and demonstrations.

Event highlights include The Print Centre, The Sculpture School, a Sculpture Park, and an Art Centre with art materials and lectures, together with host of demonstrations and popular masterclasses led by specialist makers. There are plenty of opportunities for visitors to ‘have a go’ and new workshops feature willow weaving, faux woodgrain and marbling, textile block printing and acrylic painting. Enjoy the vibrant and creative atmosphere with daily entertainment provided by jazz and brass bands and traditional dancing displays.

Entry to the world famous gardens and Old Palace, childhood home of Queen Elizabeth 1, is included in the ticket cost and Hatfield House itself may be visited for a small additional charge. These are only a stroll away through the magnificent parkland.

Be inspired by the passion and skill on show at Living Crafts.

Tuck in to a Burghley Christmas

England’s greatest Elizabethan house will play host to a seasonal spectacle featuring festive favourites including country crafts, Christmas floral arranging and fine food.

Burghley House in Lincolnshire provides the spectacular backdrop for a festive celebration including a stately food market, crafts pavilion and Christmas parties in an historic location.

While the House closed at the end of October, Burghley at Christmas offers visitors a chance to experience traditional seasonal treats in a striking heritage setting. 

There are winter walks through the Capability Brown-designed parkland, home to a herd of fallow deer, and seasonal shopping at Burghley’s own gift shop.

And Burghley’s ever-popular Orangery Restaurant - run by prestigious caterers Absolute Taste - is also open Wednesday through to Sunday in December serving tasty treats as well as traditional Christmas lunches.

Launching Burghley’s festive season will be the popular Crafts for Christmas from the Rural Crafts Association, which returns to Burghley 29th November - 2nd December 2012.

A marquee in the picturesque parkland provides a festive space for talented makers and designers from all over the UK producing top quality products all under one roof. (For ticket prices, visit www.ruralcraftsassociation.co.uk or call 01428 684494).

While over the weekend, Saturday 1st December and Sunday 2nd December, join in a celebration of local produce at the free-to-enter Christmas Fine Food Market.

Within the cobbled courtyard against the backdrop of the Elizabethan house, stall holders will be selling everything from local cheese and meats to cupcakes and Burghley venison.

Special Festive Floral Workshops, will also be staged on both days with Burghley's head gardener John Burrows. He will reveal how to make either a beautiful table centre or festive garland that visitors can take home with them, with all materials and refreshments provided (booking is essential for the workshops).

But there is plenty more Christmas cheer on offer throughout December at the historic house, which has been the home of the Cecil family for more than 400 years.

Unusually for such a historic house, you can park and visit the restaurant or walk through the parkland with no charge throughout the year. Offering sweeping vistas down to the spires of the Georgian stone town of Stamford, Burghley’s parkland creates the perfect canvas for a winter stroll. 

Christmas also brings a truly seasonal flavour to the menu at the recently refurbished Orangery restaurant. Boasting huge windows flooding the area with natural light, the Orangery – also designed by Capability Brown – will be serving homemade food right through the day as well as Christmas lunch in December.

And as well as the elegant Orangery restaurant, Burghley’s awe inspiring Great Hall offers a chance for a Christmas Party with a difference, whether choosing one of the special festive packages or creating your own special event.

Caterers Absolute Taste offer a selection of delicious mains to choose from, including truffle-basted ballotine of turkey with a chestnut and wild mushroom stuffing and classic beef Wellington, followed by mouthwatering desserts such as a trio of Christmas treats.

The gift shop and the restaurant are both are open during the winter period, from Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 4pm (shop 11am to 4pm). 

For details of Christmas Lunch menus and bespoke dinner parties at The Orangery at Burghley, visit www.burghley.co.uk/venue/christmas

For full details of all events at Burghley, visit www.burghley.co.uk or telephone 01780 752451.