Country Living’s Scotland Christmas Fair, November 20-23 2008

Enjoy a day out at the Country Living Magazine Christmas Fair in Glasgow, and gather a wealth of inspiring ideas for a classic country celebration.

Book your tickets now and save up to 30%

Call 0870 126 1796 or click here to book online

 

To whet your appetite, read about just a few of the British designers, producers and small businesses who will be exhibiting. Words by Jennie Buist Brown.

 

Inspired by the success of the CL Christmas Fair in London, this year we are delighted to be staging our first Country Living Magazine Christmas Fair in Scotland. From 20-23 November 2008, we will be bringing the magic of the event to Glasgow's Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC). For four days it will be home to more than 200 exhibitors from Scotland and throughout the UK, showcasing an array of high-quality products and crafts.

At the largest Christmas show of its kind in Scotland, visitors will have the opportunity to shop for a wide selection of original gifts, from beautifully made wooden toys and stocking fillers for all ages to rustic tree decorations, striking artwork and classic outdoor clothing.
There will also be plenty of fresh ideas for the home and garden as well as a range of regional fare, such as cheeses and gourmet sausages - you can even meet some of the producers to hear the stories behind the foods on sale.

Not only does the Fair offer visitors the chance to do all their Christmas
shopping under one roof - leaving the crowds of the high street far behind - but it is also an ideal opportunity to support artisans and small cottage. So join us at the Country Living Christmas Fair
Scotland, from 20-23 November 2008 industries from all over the country. For those who regularly visit the London Fair, there will be some familiar faces among the exhibitors, as well as many new talents to discover.

Glasgow's SECC is in the perfect location for the Country Living Magazine
Christmas Fair Scotland, with excellent transport links to the international airport of Glasgow (from which it takes just 15 minutes to drive to the SECC), and a network of rail links to the rest of the UK.
So, to see the pages of Country Living come to life and to rediscover the true spirit of the festive season, come along to Scotland's most spectacular Christmas Fair from 20-23 November at the SECC. 

 

Meet some of the exhibitors

Isle of Skye Soap Company

When her children were small and suffering from eczema, Fiona Meiklejohn struggled in vain to find soaps natural enough to use on their skin. Armed with pans and wooden spoons, she began creating her own gentle soaps in her Isle of Skye kitchen. "I then heard about a craft fair in Portree and decided to take a batch along," she says. "I sold out in minutes and so for the next event I took a larger quantity and, when that, too, sold out, I knew I was on to something." Her new business had soon outgrown her kitchen, so in 2003 she moved it into a shop in the town where customers can now watch the soaps being hand-cut and tied, and she can make her range of products upstairs. Look out for cinnamon and orange and cedarwood soaps as well as festive bath bombs. Isle of Skye Soap Company (01478 611350; www.skye-soap.co.uk) will be exhibiting at the CL Fair Scotland.

 

Michael Lythgoe

While working as an engineer in Canada, Michael Lythgoe was able to study and photograph the many types of birds that visited Lake Ontario, but it was not until he discovered an antique decoy duck in a junk shop in Cape Cod that his passion for carving really took shape - the original duck still has pride of place in his workshop.
"I loved the idea that they had been made by someone living off the land, simply with what they had to hand," Michael says. Soon he was spending all his spare time carving, and a move back to the UK and another job helped him realise that woodcarving had become more than just a hobby, so after 18 months, following a sell-out exhibition of his work in Cirencester, Michael took the plunge and became a full-time woodcarver. Each of his beautiful birds is carefully crafted using hand
tools, then sanded, painted and sealed with wax. Michael Lythgoe (01452 71208; www.michael lythgoe.co.uk) will be exhibiting at the
CL Fairs London and Scotland.

 

Inverawe Smokehouses

Robert and Rosie Campbell-Preston have been smoking fish on the banks of Loch Awe since they moved into Robert's family home in Argyll in 1980 - the perfect place to start a business and bring up their four children. It was here, while growing up, that Robert was trained in the art of traditional smoking - a method that the company still uses today. Sourcing fish from small farms, where good husbandry is practised, Inverawe uses the very best raw materials, which, combined with authentic brick-kiln smoking for 24-48 hours, results in products with a robust flavour and delicate texture. Rosie's book, The Inverawe Smoked Fish Cookbook (Quiller, £14.95) will be available at the Fairs along with Inverawe's Christmas hampers. Inverawe Smokehouses (0844 847 5490; www.smokedsalmon.co.uk) will be exhibiting at the CL Fairs London and Scotland.

 

Click here for details of more Country Living fairs