Period Features

Salvo Fair 27 - 28 June

Salvo Fair is an exhibition of architectural salvage, garden antiques and reclaimed building materials. Everything is for sale. Salvo Fair is an outdoor event with marquees in the grounds of Knebworth House.

Knebworth House is an early Victorian gothic fantasy, with ornamental gardens, adventure playground, dinosaurs and a deer park, and is the seat of lord and Lady Cobbold whose family have lived there since 1490 shortly after fighting for Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth Field. It makes a beautiful backdrop for the Salvo Fair. Admission to the fair includes admission to Knebworth Park. The House is £2 extra.

For more details visit www.salvo-fair.com/2009

Period Features – making wooden vegetable brushes come to life!

Our wooden vegetable brush appears in the animation story on the Aardman Animations YouTube website and you can view it by clicking this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBZfohVXwcc

We would like to thank David Hart the animator for purchasing and using our wonderfully versatile vegetable brush and wish him the best of luck in the  competition with his fantastic short film.

Tissington Well Dressings 21st -27th May

Tissington is known as the mother place of well dressing and visitors come from all over the world to witness the annual well dressing ceremony. This takes place on Ascension Day, when large crowds gather to see the wells blessed.For centuries five wells have been dressed in the village, Yew Tree Well, Hall Well, Hands Well, Coffin Well and Town Well, but in 1982 a sixth well, a Children's Well was introduced.

Dressing consists of erecting boards covered in clay, into which thousands of flower petals are pressed to create an elaborate tableaux of some biblical or topographical scene. It is probable that well dressing took place here in 1348, in thanksgiving for the village’s escape from the Black Death, which the villagers attributed to the purity of its water. Tissington having escaped the plague, while other local villages had been ravaged.

 

The precise origins of well dressing are unknown but probably date back to primitive man giving thanks to water gods for maintaining an adequate supply of water. Tissington is considered to have been the first place to dress wells in the county and wells have been dressed here for over 650 years. But not in unbroken succession, due to interruptions for two World Wars and the outbreak of the  Foot and Mouth Disease in 2001.

 

 Tissington is an estate village and Lords of the Manor, the FitzHerbert's, who have lived here for centuries have always taken considerable interest in the well dressings. This is maintained to the present day by Sir Richard FitzHerbert who takes an active role in the preparation work.

 

Visit www.derbyshire-peakdistrict.co.uk/tissingtonwelldressings.htm

 

St Jude’s

St Jude’s makes and sells unique fabrics. They work with an eclectic range of artists to produce their printed designs. Their products are screen-printed in short runs in Britain.

Collaboration is at the heart of what they do, and has been since they set up in 2005. They showcase the work of these artists at our gallery/showroom in North Norfolk.

They prefer to print the fabrics in Britain. This enables them to develop ongoing relationships with great printers - people who really care about every inch of the work they produce.

Similarly, they involve each of their artist-designers in the entire making process. This spirit of collaboration is reflected in the way they do business too, with their designers sharing the success of our endeavours. Visit stjudes.co.uk for more details.

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 19–23 May 2009

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is the ultimate event in the gardening year.

It sets the latest gardening trends, features the newest and most desirable gardening products and creates an explosion of colours and scents.

Cutting-edge garden design and thousands of perfect blooms; top growers and world class designers; scents and sights and shopping galore. Chelsea will be crammed with leading lights, big name designers and the spectacle you'd expect at the world’s greatest gardening event.

Don’t miss out on the gardening event of the year visit www.rhs.org.uk/whatson/shows/chelsea2009/ for more details.

Historic Building Advisory Service

• The Historic Building Advisory Service is an invaluable resource for anyone involved with the acquisition, conversion, restoration, and renovation of any man made structure or landscape dating generally from before 1945
• Expert & independent advice, assistance & information on historic buildings from Iron Age forts to Art Deco flats including Pubs, Churches, Mills, Barns, Houses, Factories, Castles, Estates etc, whether listed building, scheduled monument or just an old building
• The Historic Building Advisory Service (HBAS) is for anyone who owns, lives in, works with or has a general interest in historic buildings - from the general public through tradesmen and investors, to professionals and conservation groups
• HBAS is run by professionals with vast experience of old buildings, structures and landscapes who have a passion for the conservation of our everyday as well as the more spectacular built heritage
• It is a subscription based service that provides each member with access to specialist consultants and a wide range of expert advice and assistance that can be tailored to meet your specific requirements
• If you need to know how to go about something, what materials to use, who are the best people to do the work, or even how to pay for it, then turn to HBAS 
• Visit www.historicbuilding.co.uk for more details

 

 

Homebuilding & Renovating Shows

The successful Homebuilding & Renovating Shows was first established in 1992 and has developed into unquestionably the UK’s leading show for self-build, renovation, conversion or home improvement. Whatever stage you are at - whether you are just thinking of undertaking a bespoke self-build or renovation project, looking for land or you already have house plans drafted, you’ll find all the products, services, advice and expertise you need at the shows. Visit www.homebuildingshow.co.uk for this years dates plus tips and articles.

Each event creates an exciting and stimulating place where you can meet hundreds of exhibitors specialising in self-build and renovation, gain free one to one advice from the Homebuilding & Renovating Magazine, attend free in-depth seminars and specialist masterclasses, learn about the best financial and design packages and find your dream plot of land. It doesn’t matter if you are undertaking all the work, managing the project yourself, leaving it to specialists or simply signing the cheques there is something for everyone at the UK’s leading self-build & renovation shows. Make sure you visit a venue near you!

Leek Arts Festival 2nd May - 20th June

THIRTY years ago, back in the dim and distant past of 1977, a group of like-minded people got together and decided that it was time the market town of Leek did something to show off the wealth and range of its artistic talent.

Thus was born Leek Arts Festival, which began as a single week of events featuring mainly local artists with just a smattering of outsiders invited to take part.

Within a few short years the ad hoc committee of organisers realised that one week was not enough and that to do real justice to Leeks cultural heritage required a much more intense approach to the idea of an arts festival.

So, one week became two and, eventually, two weeks became a whole month.

There can be few market towns the size of Leek that can boast such an achievement 30 years of high quality arts festivals featuring national and international artists alongside home-grown talent.

Phil Edmeades - Festival Chairman

Visit their website for a list of events www.leekartsfestival.org

National Compost Awareness Week - 3rd May- 9th May 2009

Compost Awareness Week is all about learning how to make a difference with compost. We can do that by composting our own household kitchen and garden waste or making the ‘Greener Choice’ of peat-free composts containing recycled materials. This year Recycle Now is working with top chef Arthur Potts Dawson, to promote Compost Awareness Week, and to encourage people to put their compost to good use by trying their hand at growing their own fruit and vegetables.

Find out more by visiting www.compostawarenessweek.org.uk

Who will provide tips and advice on:

• how to make and use compost
• where to buy peat-free compost that contains recycled materials
• downloadable leaflets on how to be greener in the garden
• an events locator which will help you find your nearest compost event