One gorgeous Sunday morning at the end of April, I headed off to take some photographs of a brand new event called ‘A Gorgeous Affair’. Held at the historic and rather lovely Market Hall in Botely in Hampshire, twenty plus local businesses gathered together to bring a selection of hand crafted products and unique gift ideas to the public.
Katy, who was organising the event, had approached Truly Madly Kids and a meeting was duly arranged. As I only live 10 minutes from Botley, it made sense for me to meet up with Katy and her co-organiser, Penny.
After a long chat over a good latte (an absolute ‘meeting must have’ in my opinion!), and learning all about ‘A Gorgeous Affair’s’ history, it was decided that I would attend the fair on behalf of Truly Madly Kids and take a few shots of the event.
Personally, I love a good story, so I was delighted to hear that there was one to be told about ‘A Gorgeous Affair’; and for me, this is what made the event even more special. Now, I know that finding out that all the exhibitors at the event knew each other may not seem too out of the ordinary, as many local businesses are familiar with each other through networking events etc, but these lovely lot have known each other since they were all at school together …. more than fifteen years ago!
Determined to help each other and support small and fledgling businesses, Katy and Penny decided that organising a boutique craft fair was the perfect way to showcase their talents and that of their friends. And so, ‘A Gorgeous Affair’ was created.
I just love the fact that we have a story here of friends helping friends, and it illustrates brilliantly that women are fantastic at nurturing and maintaining friendships (especially over a long period of time). But is also shows that women in business can support each other and that collaboration, not competition is the way forward for small, independent businesses.
The day was a roaring success and another date has already been set for the next ‘A Gorgeous Affair’ event – 8th September 2013, again at Botley Market Hall.
Ably assisted by Mr BlueCloud, here are a few images of the day – from individual exhibitors to the fair in full swing. Enjoy …
[stextbox id=”tmk-box”]You can find out who exhibited and all about future events, by heading on over to “A Gorgeous Affair’s’ Facebook page here [/stextbox]
Love & blue skies
L x
Words: Louise Bowditch
Photography: BlueCloud Photography
