Edinburgh Retrospective and a look at the West End Craft Fair

As the Edinburgh Festival draws to a close, the performers pack up and the theatres go back to running one show a day (not ten) it almost feels like I wasn’t there at all. The whole world of theatre is such an illusion that you do sometimes wonder if the festival is some kind of mirage or mass hallucination. No doubt the organisers are already starting to think about 2011 and how to make it better and brighter than 2010.

Entrance to the West End Fair and St Johns Church

Another highlight of the Fringe is something else that isn’t technically theatre – but that I love nonetheless. It’s the West End Craft Fair that hugs the side of St Johns church on the western end of Princes Street and sprawls through the old Victorian graveyard. It seems to go from strength to strength each year with new sections being added forming a tempting maze of tents to venture through. Hung with colourful bunting it’s the perfect place to stroll on a sunny day:

Shopping at the West End Craft Fair

And (of course) it’s a brilliant spot to find some new makers:

Dazed by Dorothy

It’s always dangerous to take me near a  bag stall and these beauties were simply stunning. All individually handmade with gorgeous combinations of leather, suede, buttons and embroidery Dazed by Dorothy had a beautiful stand and, fortunately, has an equally lovely website.

Ring and Necklace from Genna Design

Also on show was Genna Delaney with her Geometric Colllections which are totally stunning and exhibit a lovely balance between metal and stone. The range gives you a tangible sense of that kind of harsh, organic landscape you find in Northern Scotland and Wales and makes me long for misty mornings in Cardigan Bay.

Copper and Silver Leaf Earrings from Ali Bali

After having a good look ’round I brought home a pair of these lovelies, made by Ali Bali Jewellery – just to prove that the whole thing did happen after all.

Dazzling Jewellery in and around the Edinburgh Festival

One of the less theatrical treats of the Edinburgh Fesitval is a trip to Dazzle. The Dazzle selling exhibitions are a bit of an institution in the world of designer – maker jewellery and take place in Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow annually.

The Edinburgh exhibition was one of the first contemporary jewellery shows that I ever attended, having stumbled upon it by accident while visiting the Traverse Theatre. I hadn’t really made up my mind about studying Jewellery back then, I was still awaiting my A Level results, and it really helped me to see art as a valuable career. So it’s got a bit of a special place in my heart and I always look forward to it and end up regretting that I don’t have more spending money!

Some of my favourites from the Dazzle shows are:

Hannah Louise Lamb

and the wonderful Becky Crow:

But there was nothing that I really, really wanted to take home this time. Hm. That’s good for my bank balance but not so great for the show. I think the problem was that the exhibitors hadn’t changed much from those I saw in Dazzle London over Christmas and, while I bemoan the industries demand for constant innovation, I found myself wanting it here.

I felt like I’d seen most of the work before and some of the exhibitors were indistinguishable from each other, which I guess shows that even designer jewellers bend to the trends of what’s fashionable. Don’t get me wrong, the work was beautiful, and as immaculately presented as usual but it just lacked a spark for me …

That’s why I was so pleased to find such a wonderful little gallery not to far away in the form of Hannah Zakari.

It’s just off the Grassmarket (for those of you who know Edinburgh) on Candlemaker Row and it’s so new the paint was still fresh. It stocks jewellery, textiles and paper work mostly but you get the feeling that it could lend it’s hand to anything. There’s work there from:

Mary Mary Handmade

and the lovely Joanna Rutter

and I got quite excited because it was so thoughtfully put together. Work was sourced from all over the place-  Mary Mary Handmade is from New York while Joanna Rutter works in Devon and you really get the impression that Hannah Zakari has hunted far and wide for beautiful things that tickled her fancy. Edinburgh has a lot of galleries that seem to exclusively support local talent, which is a great way to work, but, put too many galleries in any one area and the work is going to overlap – this gallery has avoided that brilliantly and the result is a charming shop full of things I would have cheerfully taken home – though my favourite was this Fortune Cookie Necklace from Mary Mary:

So, if you find yourself with a spare half an hour in Edinburgh I recommend that  pop in to see Hannah Zakari and marvel.