A Sprinkle of Sparkle at the Festive Artisan Market

Henfield was immersed in festive sparkle on Sunday 10 December as visitors enjoyed a pre-Christmas browse and discovered some truly local produce and unique Christmas gifts at the Henfield Festive Artisan Market.

Organisers Henfield Community Partnership achieved a licence to almost double the number of stalls attending, with around 50 diverse and interesting local suppliers attending, as well as the brilliant Riverboat Shuffle Jazz Band who provided some wonderful Christmas tunes to add to the atmosphere.

Foodies were in heaven, because stallholders brought some great gift ideas and specialist Christmas food ready for festive tables. For lovers of Christmas spirits (of the alcoholic rather than Scrooge variety!) there was the delicious Lemon Gino and Chocolate Chilli Vodka from maker Georgie & Henners, and Goldstone Rum, who showcased the very special (and always welcomed gifts) of five different rum flavours direct from their Henfield distillery. For wine experts there was Dillion’s Vineyard, with white and rosé wines.

For more immediate consumption, Krishna Cuisine’s mouth-watering (and very authentic) range of Indian delicacies kept visitors happy, Himali is a stunning cook and a firm Artisan Market favourite. Open Bakery  tempted with beautiful viennoiserie, as well as their artisan breads and sourdoughs. Libbee’s Coffee Co provided warming drinks and snacks to keep shoppers fuelled. Some beautiful and authentic delicacies from Italy were on the Sitalia Deli stall, including their very own Panettone from the family bakery - which sold out within the first hour! Stonepit Nursery had a fine display of Christmas wreaths and Henfield-grown festive plants.

Organisers invited lots of very skilled artists and craftspeople, who had been working hard to produce some stunning and totally individual gift ideas. Each piece has a story to tell, and there’s nothing better than meeting the maker themselves to appreciate how much love and attention goes into the process. 

EcoOctopus sold jewellery and textiles, some cleverly made from repurposed electrical cables, sea glass and recycled silver. Alison Crowe displayed her stunningly beautiful contemporary silver gemstone jewellery to her very local following in her home village. Shallow Pottery make wheel-thrown practical and beautiful stoneware, and Coastal Yard sell wax melt burners, candles, soaps and natural fragrances which made perfect gifts.

There were handmade leather products from Leatherwork Lair, and woodcrafts from Twisted Designs. Inky Kat Studio displayed unusual and fun screen-print clothing, High Tree Makes sold silver polymer jewellery and Be Natural Candles sell vegan diffusers and room sprays. Dave the BN5 Dog’s absolute favourite stall is Trumbles; Vicky provided a range of natural dog-treats to tempt even the fussiest pooch (and according to Dave, if you look super cute with big eyes she’s got a whole bunch of samples to give away!)

The stallholders namechecked above were just the tip of the frosted Christmas tree of the stalls who came along and braved the winter showers, we hope the Community Partnership will be holding another Festive Artisan Market next year!

Emma Cole