Winter Designer Maker Fair – 24th-26th November
The Winter Designer Maker Fair is Kingsgate Workshops’ annual festive craft and design sale.
This year a selection of contemporary craft makers and designers, producing everything from high-end ceramics to paper sculpture, will be selling their work from a new outdoor market and in curated indoor shop spaces in our Victorian warehouse building. Unique and precious gifts, decorations, and wrapping paper will all nestle together on our fairy-lit market stalls. We’ll also have festive food and a chance to peek inside the building and its beautiful yard, which are both usually closed to the public.
“When you buy these pieces directly from the makers, not only do you get to take home something beautiful, you are buying the designer makers more time to spend on doing what they love. Using your Christmas shopping to do good can’t fail to give you a warm glow, and even if it does, there’s the mulled wine. For a donation to our studios, of course!” - Dan Howard Birt, Director of Kingsgate Workshops Trust.
PLUS:
Beautiful new outdoor space
Celebrate the launch of our new revamped yard space – our beautiful garden is now twice the size, covered in twinkling lights, warmed by roaring fires in our patio heaters, and scented with wood-smoke and gingerbread spice.
Enjoy festive gourmet treats
The gingerbread scent we mentioned will be emanating from The Lounge Cafe's beautiful pop up kitchen, overflowing with lebkuchen and mulled wine. If you fancy something to take home to save for later, we'll have stalls full of festive treats ready wrapped for presents too!
Explore the historic Victorian warehouse
Visitors can head inside the building for a Christmas grotto for grownups, showcasing the objects made by studio holders in festive displays, and to see inside a selection of studios to get more insight into the making of the ceramics, jewellery and painting on display.
Christmas Light and Paper Installations
Chisato Tamabayashi's beautiful paper installations will cast enchanting shadows on the pavements outside. Free canvas bag designed by a Kingsgate artist with every purchase Our exclusive artist designed goody bags will be available for the first 20 visitors – after that, a donation of £5 will secure you one, plus a selection of limited edition badges designed by our studio holders.
Who are Kingsgate Workshops?
Kingsgate Workshops started life as an artists’ squat in the 70’s, and has blossomed into a charity which celebrates and supports the creative work of over 75 artists designers and makers who work in the building, and many more who take part in our artist residencies and shows.
For most of the year, the main building is closed to the public, and only our corrugated shed Project Space in the yard runs regular exhibitions, talks and screenings.
Just twice a year we showcase the beautiful pieces made by our studio holders, giving you a glimpse into our somewhat rickety, higgledy piggledy 3 floor warehouse.
