Getting to the venue
Craft Central, 397-411 Westferry Road, London, E14 3AE
My phone number: 07774 255134 / Craig 07909 977695 (Craig is my husband and will be helping us set up and with logistics)
Car park address – Forge Square, Harbinger Road. If facing Craft Central, Harbinger Road is on the left of the building. There is a large iron gate. If you wait there and call me or Craig and we will come and let you in and show you where to park.
There is a car park at the back of Craft Central that you can use if you have lots to unload etc. and can park up there for the day. For those of you with less things, if you are driving then it is free parking on the road on a Saturday. There is lots of space for parking, it gets busy about lunch time because there is a mosque opposite but otherwise plenty of room on roads all around the building.
UPDATE the Marathon is on Sunday and we are on the route so there might be a few road blockages.There are two ways to enter the Isle of Dogs and I recommend going via the A12 / A13 Cotton Street which brings you onto Manchester Road at the start of the Island. There is a Majestic wine to your left as you turn off the roundabout. Follow Manchester Road and it turns into Westferry Road. The other entrance is via Westferry and is more likely to be blocked due to the Marathon. Most visitors will come via public transport so they won’t be affected by the preparations.
If you are getting public transport, you can find directions here.
Friday 21 April, From 3 to 6pm
If any of you are local then it would be great if you could help me set up the tables and you can set up your things the day before. The building is not open to the general public but I wouldn’t leave any valuables out over night. We often have craft fairs and art events at the venue and people leave their items out overnight with no problems.
Saturday 22 April
8am to 10am set up / Event is open 10am to 4pm / clear up from 4pm
Layout and fixtures
Please head to this page for an example of the layout and fixtures. I’ve only planned this by looking at the space so I might need to make changes when I put the tables out. Have a look at the details and let me know if there are any particular fixtures you would like.
UPDATE: Please note that we will all be placed around the outer brick wall, so that will be behind us. I have stuck some things on the wall with blue tack but it won’t take a big banner. I recommend wrapping larger banners around the front of the table. Smaller banners (Yvette, like your one) we can put a plynth by your stand and blue tack these on.
Hotels
If you want to stay over there is a new Premier Inn in Westferry, a 15 min bus ride away (although Melissa said it was already full?). The hotels at City Airport tend to have the best deals and that is a DLR train ride away (change at Poplar), about 40 mins away. It is the London Marathon on the Sunday so the hotels will be busy on the Saturday night as I think Westferry Road is on the route or certainly very close to it.
Food
We have a pop up cafe on site with ‘For the Good of the People’ making posh coffees and hot drinks. Yumiko from Gu Choki Pan is bringing along lots of delicious Japanese baked goods and cold drinks. There is drinking water from the kitchen sink but we won’t have full access to the kitchen as that is where the cafe will be. (Reece, we need to give studio holders access to the kettle, microwave, fridge and water tap. It is usually quiet at the weekend so there shouldn’t be too much disruption, we will just make sure your table doesn’t go right across the kitchen area.)
If you want something more substantial, there is a kebab shop opposite that does a decent falafel wrap, burgers and meat kebabs. They are cash only. The Ship pub are a short walk away and do good pizzas. The Fire station restaurant is about a 15 minute walkaway towards Island Gardens DLR and does a good selection of food. There are lots of delivery options too as Canary Wharf isn’t too far.
Insurance
You will need to have Public Liability insurance for the fair. It can be a one day insurance if you don’t already have it. Craft Central recommend this place for insurance.
Wifi
The wifi is good at Craft Central. I’ll give you the log in details when you arrive.
Zoe’s talk, 2 to 3pm
Please note that it will be difficult to trade during this time as the talk is in the main gallery. If people do want to buy things then please take them to the area by the main door so it doesn’t disturb the talk. I know this isn’t ideal but it was the best use of the space and acoustics. (Should be OK to carry on in the kitchen but also a good time for you to take a break)
Reception / arrival
We are paying Rebecca to be on reception on the day of the event. She will manage the door, give out the free goody bags, manage the workshop bookings and queries. Plus help us out on Instagram. Rebecca helped me out at the fabric Swap so knows the venue fairly well. I’ve already mentioned that Craig will also be on hand to help. Craft Central have told me that only 200 people are allowed in the gallery area at one time but I think this will be OK with people coming and going throughout the day. Rebecca and Craig can manage numbers if we get too busy.
Goody bags
The first 50 people through the door will get a goody bag. Thanks to Maven and Kleins for the stuff plus Hip chocolate. We are also going to give goody bags to everyone who has paid for a workshop. I’ll put a QR code on the wall for everyone to download free patterns that I have and Sharon from Maven has given me. If anyone wants to add a free pattern download then please let me know.
Fashion Revolution Week
22nd April is Earth Day and the start of Fashion Revolution Week. I’ve put it all together on a blog post on my own website as we don’t have a blog section on the SSF website (it was just another thing to manage otherwise). I’m going to create a wall by the side of the steps for people to pledge against the points raised. Along with banners they can use for photos saying #Imademyclothes – here is the blog post, let me know if you have anything you want to add. I’ve tried to mention as many of you as possible.