Craft exhibition success delights organisers.

By Dorothy Preece.

The ‘Made By Hand’ crafts exhibition held at St Andrew’s Church Hall proved to be a far bigger event than organisers had dared to hope. Held over the weekend of 24- 26 June, the displays showcased an amazing variety of hand-made items, all skilfully produced in Mercury Bay.

Around 25 individuals and interest groups took part, representing a similar number of different handcrafts, from woodwork and blacksmithing through macramé, soap making and exquisite knitting and needlework.

Team-leader Annie Lynch said the event had been by way of an experiment. “We had never tried anything like this before,” Annie said. “We invited everyone to display their work, whether they were individuals working for charitable causes, craft groups working together, or people making items to sell commercially. We didn’t want it to be a craft market, it was more about networking in the community, letting everyone know what’s out there and available in the local area.”

Annie Lynch says the level of interest shown, and the numbers of people coming to view, have led the team to decide this will definitely be an annual mid-winter event. “It lifted everyone’s spirits, and we need that in winter,” she said. “Next year we would like to include more items made by children. Now is a good time for everyone to start working on their ideas.”

Caption: Team organiser Annie Lynch (left) examines an item with Ruth Wells and Brenda Duncan.