Craft Fair

We have had an annual Craft Fair since the 1990’s.

How did it all begin? – it began with a conversation between Diane Smith and Shirley Coghill – they were discussing the possibility of holding an Antiques Fair when Diane said:

‘No - I don’t think an Antiques Fair would work but maybe we could try a ‘Craft Fair’

And so Nailsea Methodist Craft Fair was born. Initially it was run by two couples – Diane and Dave Smith and Shirley and Don Coghill. It was much smaller then - stalls in the Worship Hall, Bric-a-brac (organised by Miriam Rowse) was in Room 2, with refreshments (led by Joy Richards) in Room 1.

Move on 30 years or more and this year we had 54 stalls in the Worship Hall and Wesley Hall. Stalls included lots of different Christmas crafts, jewellery, fused glass, felted pictures, ‘whimsical scenes’ using driftwood, scarves, knitted toys and clothes, Bristol merchandise, honey, soaps, cards, cakes, table decorations, fairtrade clothes, candles, wooden items, bags from recycled materials ….

We also had our Bric-a-brac, Jewellery and Books in Room 1 and Girls’ Brigade in Room 2.

Refreshments in the Wesley – including the ever popular bacon butties and homemade cakes.

There was a lovely atmosphere all day – many of the stall holders commented on our friendliness and helpfulness.

Over 1000 people were counted through the doors - amazing.

They made lots of purchases – the stall holders were very pleased with their day.

We made a fantastic total of £3,087.49 – which was up on last year’s total.  A wonderful result – due to lots of hard work from so many Church members. From this sum we continue to support mission and outreach activities both locally and overseas.

It is a real community event – the community of our church and the community of Nailsea – we could not run our Craft Fair without the extra tables we borrow from United Reform Church, Christchurch, Holy Trinity & Backwell West Town or without the loyal support of local people. In total we used 98 tables!

So - many thanks to everyone who helped make the day such a success. A special thanks goes to those who have run the bric-a-brac stall over all these years. 

Sadly we had our last bric-a-brac stall this year. Many thanks to Miriam Rowse, Liz Rose, Val Trounce and their teams who have given so much of their time over the years.

Roll on next year – Saturday 14 November 2026 – we already have 42 bookings for next year!