Acer Campestre Burr
Burr before Turning
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STICK MAKER AND
CHRIS AND JENNI BURTON
We are based in the village of Braunston, Northants. Visitors are always welcome to view our products in Braunston. We prefer to adjust the length of walking sticksto suit the end user,a job that only takes a few minutes.All our stick shanks are collected within a few miles of home and much of our hardwood is locally sourced..
As you see below our sticks are now at Serendipity Arts and Crafts. Bottom Lock, Braunston |
Local wild cherry Bowl
Antler with Mahogany Tips
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AUGUST 2021
After all the doubts and difficulties we hope we are moving out of some of the restrictions we have endured durring thre past 2 years or so. We are pleased to have found a display and sales point for our sticks.
SERENDIPITY ARTS AND CRAFTS
Is owned and run by Heather HIndle who is an Artist, Heather is providing space for Local Crafts People to display and sell their products in a very pleasant and attractive environment.
Heathers studio used to be a local chandlers on the Grand Union Canal adjacent to Braunston Bottom Lock. It looks out onto the canal and provides a lovely setting for a n increasing collection of local Crafts.
Easily accesible either by boat, car or on foot.
Open 12.00noon til 6.00pm (closed Sundays)
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November 2020
As the end of what has been a fairly horrendous year for most people approaches, it is still not easy to forecast the future. Even prior to Covid. We knew that we would have to make changes, as mentioned below, but I think now we have decided what we can and cannot manage in the future. I will continue to make sticks of all types as previously, I will maintain a stock in Braunston at 20, Cross Lane as we have always done and visitors will always be made welcome to view them without any obligation to purchase. We prefer selling direct to the user so that advice can be given on the best length for the individual. We always try to adjust the length at the time of sale. We can however get them delivered to you at cost (Approx £14.00) although the length is restricted to 1.5 Metres. I will continue to turn wood but only to order, assuming I dont have suitable stock available Everything we sell will continue to be made by us in Braunston, visitors are always welcome even just for a chat. Our thanks to all the friends and customers we have made over the years. We hope many of these contacts will continue in the future Its a long time since I updated this Website for which I apologise, last year, whilst having many positives seemed to move from one problem to the next. My shoulder operation was a great success, whilst still lacking some strength, the mobility is near normal. Most other health issues seemed to take all of 2019 and even early 2020. to reach conclusions and some are still ongoing. This all, now being followed by the Conovirus concerns, has made us consider our future options, the effect of the virus on the events we love to trade at has been disasterous for everybody, hopefully 2021 will see a new year and a return to normality. In essence this gives us longer to sort out our future, although current restrictions do not make things easier. We love all the events we do, and even a slow day trading is mitigated by the people we meet and the conservations and banter that continues through the day. However the work pre and post event, sorting and loading, unloading and setting everything up, all to be reversed at the end of the day is becoming too much for us to manage. In reality we are both now at an age when we should expect these problems, recent times have confirmed to us that we are considered as ""At Risk Older People" and should probably get used to it. The current plan is to restrict the wood turning to odd larger items and commissions, I still intend making walking sticks of various types. My regular sticks are available from stock and I continue to make progress with the hand carved and painted sticks. Its is certain that there will not be any shows in the near future, and I think it is unlikely that we will book places at any in the future. I will continue with the website for now, but basically anything I have is available from Braunston and visitors will always be welcome. Items can be posted or couriered at cost although full length sticks can be a problem with virtually all carriers having strict lengh limits. I am also happy to consider commissions. I shall hopefully keep people aware of what we are doing via the website and other media such as Facebook. As with all our shows we find the interaction with visitors very rewarding, this regardless of whether or not anything is actually purchased. Any visitors will be made welcome at Braunston. |
The event at Braunston Marina was our first proper event of the year, serious preparation and attention to detail. As usual, I can always see ways of improving things on the day, but it turned into an exhausting but very enjoyable and successful weekend. The weather was almost too good on the Saturday, the heat affecting both us and our customers, slightly cooler on the Sunday. It is always good to meet up with old friends and customers, Braunston is a well known and well supported event. Whilst a new event for Foscote Crafts, it is one we have visited each year for the past 12 or 13 years, it was great to be part of the 2019 event.
Our next event will be one of our most regular events, the weekend of 10th and 11th of Aug. will see us at Blisworth. This event involves all the village, and we are greeted as old friends by many of them. There are no entry or parking charges and continues to be a well organised family event. It could be that this is not the final event poster, but it is official and we hope gets your attention
Our next event will be one of our most regular events, the weekend of 10th and 11th of Aug. will see us at Blisworth. This event involves all the village, and we are greeted as old friends by many of them. There are no entry or parking charges and continues to be a well organised family event. It could be that this is not the final event poster, but it is official and we hope gets your attention
Well the start to this season seems to be following a pattern of problems, really since the beginning of this year. Health wise things continue to improve, but Craft Fair wise has been a complete failure. Pawprints event was great as previously and the people involved are great, however trade was virtually non existent and then we got caught in one of the regular rain storms. We misjudged the amount of rain and suffered some surface damage to some of our polished items, Nothing that couldnt be cured, but as usual it is the time that you run out of. The following weekend we should have been at the Braunston Church Fete, the weather up to and on the Saturday morning was disgusting, whilst there was an option to move to the village hall, the weather meant everybody was trying to get in there and space was at a premium. We made the choice to miss the event, we have no regrets but it is always sad to let people down.
The good news is that after years of trying we have got a pitch at The Braunston Historic Narrowboat Festival.It is a very popular annual event that is held at the end of June each year. There are usually 70+ Ex and currently still working Narrowboats, Some will be loaded and almost without exception their owners are glad to talk about them at length. Daily parades, Trade stalls, food available, beer tent, live music all day and many things to see and watch including the inevitable traffic jams on the canal. It is based around the Grand Union Canal at Braunston Marina on the A45 Daventry to Rugby road. It always is a good, interesting weekend, and It is often the only time each year that you see so many of our boating friends, including many of the old working boat people reminising about days gone by.. This all takes place on the weekend 28th/29th/30th June , boats will be arriving during the week prior to the event.
In anticipation of my complete recovery from my operation and other things I did forward book events for this year. Although I am not completely sorted our First show will be this Sunday 2nd June at Dunchurch. It is for a good cause and we enjoyed our day there last year. All being well we will have all our usual products plus a couple of new additions.
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Improvements continue with my fitness to work and I have used the lathe for the first time this week. During my enforced rest period I took the opportunity to look at ways to improve / develop my wood working efforts. Carved and painted walking sticks are things I have never attempted but it appeared to be a good time to try. I have always used the 8mm threaded rod on 2 piece sticks but again for the first time I have used a peg joint, no metal got hurt joining these stick parts. The Badger is carved from Lime and is mounted on a locally collected Hazel shank.
Hopefully I will soon be back to normal and able to plan properly and to get some stock made.
At least things are moving forward
Hopefully I will soon be back to normal and able to plan properly and to get some stock made.
At least things are moving forward
If we ignore the current weather we are now into the Spring and Summer approaches, my operation was 12 weeks ago and appears to have been a great success. I no longer need a sling and my mobility improves daily, there is however still a problem that is stopping me doing any useful work. I still have little or no strength in my right arm, and work on this cannot start properly until the mobility has returned to a satisfactory level. Whilst this is frustrating it is exactly how it was explained to me before the operation. The problem is that because everything feels fine, it is easy to just attempt to do something, you quickly realise that you are exceeding your limits.
We have not committed to any events prior to June, and although some from June onwards
are now booked and paid for we need to be sure nearer the time that we are both fit to complete them.
Even if the shows are seen as a problem I hope to be able to return to my stickmaking and wood turning as soon as possible.
Hopefully updates and progress will be be available soon.
We are now well and truly into the New Year, and we hope all our friends, customers and fellow traders are busy planning the future and looking forward to what is coming.
Whilst I look forward to the future, the more imminent future is of slightly more concern. On Thursday 24th Jan I have to be at Rugby Hospital, early in the morning, to prepare for an operation to replace my rt.hand shoulder. It is not before time and hopefully the result will see less pain and and making it easier working etc. The period following the operation is less clear, quite how long it will be before I can get back into my workshop, and then manage any productive work is unclear. Similarly, the shows we do will not be possible until I am back able to use both arms.
We do have stock of many items and any inquiries will be welcome. Phone / email / facebook / or visit. The sitting about waiting to get back to normal service will not come easily, Jenni will probably need all the sympathy she can get.
We have not committed to any events prior to June, and although some from June onwards
are now booked and paid for we need to be sure nearer the time that we are both fit to complete them.
Even if the shows are seen as a problem I hope to be able to return to my stickmaking and wood turning as soon as possible.
Hopefully updates and progress will be be available soon.
We are now well and truly into the New Year, and we hope all our friends, customers and fellow traders are busy planning the future and looking forward to what is coming.
Whilst I look forward to the future, the more imminent future is of slightly more concern. On Thursday 24th Jan I have to be at Rugby Hospital, early in the morning, to prepare for an operation to replace my rt.hand shoulder. It is not before time and hopefully the result will see less pain and and making it easier working etc. The period following the operation is less clear, quite how long it will be before I can get back into my workshop, and then manage any productive work is unclear. Similarly, the shows we do will not be possible until I am back able to use both arms.
We do have stock of many items and any inquiries will be welcome. Phone / email / facebook / or visit. The sitting about waiting to get back to normal service will not come easily, Jenni will probably need all the sympathy she can get.
Please Refer to "Commissions and Projects Page" to see new products and ideas, through the winter
Well, we have reached the end of another show season, this weekend was the Braunston Church Bienial Arts and Crafts Show. Whilst we had an element of signage/guidance problems, they did improve and trading got better. As are most of these events, the visitors provide a fund of knowledge, interesting conversations, entertainment from the children, all contributing to and enjoyable weekend. Whilst we will not be doing anymore shows this year, all the items we make will be available from our address in Braunston. Visitors are always welcome. We have had a great year, it does take a great deal of work to produce and market our items but we also gain a massive boost from the feedback and repeat business that we get from our customers. So thankyou to everyone for your support and encouragement. The picture is of our very successful promotion and sales manager, our VIP team leader
Well, yesterday turned out to be wet. Luckily the Air Ambulance day started quite early so by the time the weather got worse we were packing up. To be fair this was by far the worst weather we have had to contend with this year, we therefore should not complain.
From the organisers point of view it is not as simple, there one day in the year has been affected by the weather and this does result in less people and consequently less income.
Trade for us was poor, but only to be expected. We still enjoyed ourselves, met friends old and new but our contribution was a bit less than we would have hoped.
It was really good to hear from Pam, Kim and George yesterday evening to say that they had raised £2200+ for such a good cause.
We look forward to next year.
The pic (courtesy of Jo Wareing) shows Jen working hard with her sales patter, you can just see Bramble`s head as she looks on.
From the organisers point of view it is not as simple, there one day in the year has been affected by the weather and this does result in less people and consequently less income.
Trade for us was poor, but only to be expected. We still enjoyed ourselves, met friends old and new but our contribution was a bit less than we would have hoped.
It was really good to hear from Pam, Kim and George yesterday evening to say that they had raised £2200+ for such a good cause.
We look forward to next year.
The pic (courtesy of Jo Wareing) shows Jen working hard with her sales patter, you can just see Bramble`s head as she looks on.
This Saturday, 22nd Sept, will see the Annual Braunston Support the Air Ambulance day. This will be on the village green and commences at 9.00 am. Foscote Crafts will be there supporting this worthy cause. Everybody is welcome and we look forward to seeing you there
Last weekend was the Coombe Abbey event, we were aware that changes within the organising team had taken place, we didnt know how this might effect ourselves. The new team had been very short of time to set up the event, and some potential traders had received mixed messages. This resulted in a somewhat reduced number of traders etc on the day.
Happily this didnt seem to affect our trading and we ended up having a very satisfying and enjoyable weekend. It gives Jenni and me so much pleasure to chat with people, quite a few of whom saw us last year. Our thanks to the organisers, you managed to deal with the problems on the day and help to give us a great weekend. We hope to be invited again next year.
We now have about 10 days until the Air Ambulance Fund Raising Day on the Green at Braunston.
Happily this didnt seem to affect our trading and we ended up having a very satisfying and enjoyable weekend. It gives Jenni and me so much pleasure to chat with people, quite a few of whom saw us last year. Our thanks to the organisers, you managed to deal with the problems on the day and help to give us a great weekend. We hope to be invited again next year.
We now have about 10 days until the Air Ambulance Fund Raising Day on the Green at Braunston.
Next weekend, 8th and 9th Sept, will see us at Coombe Valley Country Park. This event is organised by the Coombe Valley Wood Turners and is set in the country park. The park is a glorious setting for this event which focuses on craft workers and their products. A well organised and friendly event that is well worth a visit. As always we are keen to welcome friends old and new, no pressure selling, you are welcome to just view and chat.
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The Festival at Blisworth enjoyed surprisingly good weather, the threat of rain showers not really effecting us. Much as I love the sun, the slightly lower temperatures did make the physical part of our weekend more bearable. We saw great crowds, many of whom were keen to discuss our crafts and we completed a good number of sales. It is pleasing to see how much interest our stall generates at these events, varying between knowlegable experts and keen to understand visitors and a good number of interested younger people. The exchange of knowledge and experiance is very satisfying and makes for enjoyable days. It is not that long until our next event at Coombe Valley, Coventry, that should keep us busy trying to boost our stock.
The Festival at Blisworth enjoyed surprisingly good weather, the threat of rain showers not really effecting us. Much as I love the sun, the slightly lower temperatures did make the physical part of our weekend more bearable. We saw great crowds, many of whom were keen to discuss our crafts and we completed a good number of sales. It is pleasing to see how much interest our stall generates at these events, varying between knowlegable experts and keen to understand visitors and a good number of interested younger people. The exchange of knowledge and experiance is very satisfying and makes for enjoyable days. It is not that long until our next event at Coombe Valley, Coventry, that should keep us busy trying to boost our stock.
Our next event will be Blisworth Festival on the 18th and 19th Aug. in Northants. Over the years this has turned into one of the biggest shows we attend, it does however seem able to retain its "friendly village image" that continues to attract us. We are always made welcome and the whole village seems to be involved. We shall be in the Blisworth House Gardens just up the hill from the canal. We are pleased to say that the organisers have designated this as an "Artisan Area" and everything for sale will have been produced by the stall holder. We would like to see this practice taken up by other organisers and the rules applied diligentley. The event covers the Canal and various venues arround the village, it usually attracts big crowds and plenty of parking is available. As usual all are welcome and we love to meet friends old and new
Fenny Stratford proved to be all it was suggested it should be, the selection of trading boats was extensive, and along with the land based traders provided a wonderful choice of almost anything you could have wanted. The organisation was great, even extending to several people to help you to set up, if required. There was a good attendance on both days and our sales were very satisfying. Walking sticks were the best sellers, helped considerably by a lovely gentleman who visited us several times over the 2 days and ended up taking 3 of our walking sticks ----- thankyou Rob. This proved to be a very worthy addition to our list of proven events. Thankyou to everyone involved in making this event possible.
Our next event will be this coming weekend the 4th / 5th Aug at Fenny Stratford starting at 11.00am until 5.00pm. There will be a good selection of trading boats along with stalls as well, so there will be plenty to see. The event is run by the Residents Association. Entrance is free and visitors to our stall are welcome.
Our next event will be at Watford Village on Saturday 30th June between 11.0am and 4.00pm.. The addition of classic cars should provide interest for many people
The Church Fete was yesterday and we were pleased to not have the near gale force winds we endured 12 months ago. There was a good crowd that turned out to this well organised event. We met and talked with many lovely people and were sucessful with our sales. It was also good this weekend to confirm that we will be trading at Blisworth Canal Festival in August
Our next event will be the Annual Braunston Church Fete, This will be on the village green on Saturday 9th June and will include a fun dog show. We hope to see as many peple as possible on the day
Our first event this year saw us at a Paw Prints Dog Show in Rugby. We are dog lovers ourselves, but we are coming to realise how great the people are who visit these type of events. Whilst it is always good to sell some of our work, it is also important and very satisfying to talk about our work with all visitors regardless of whether or not they actually buy anything. Yesterday proved to be very hot in glorious weather and a very enjoyable but exhausting day. Our thanks to everyone involved, you achieved ,to us, a great event. We would love to be with you again next year.
Next Sunday 20th May will see our first show for this year, - see para below, Starting time is 9.30 - mainly for the dog show, but we hope to be set up and ready by then. That assumes we can find everything we need and get it into the car. Luckily it is not too far away for us, so very worst scenario one of us will be rushing back to Braunston. We always hope for dry weather, preferably warm and Sunny, but all we can do is hope. We are happy to meet everybody, there is no compulsion to buy, and we do like talking.
I cannot believe how fast this year is going, it is now only about 5 weeks until our first event. This is to be at The Old Laurentians R F C, 31 Lime Tree Ave. Rugby CV22 7QT, and is a Fun Dog Show held by the Rugby Pawsprint Dog Rescue. It should be a fun day for everyone and all dogs are welcome whether you enter them into the show or not. Looking forward to meeting old friends and new.
Working on several new ideas and also improvements to existing designs we have. It is also the time that I realise how near the new season is, I am suddenly aware of the ideas we had that should by now be ready for use that are not. Repairs to equipment also still not finished. I do wonder where the time goes. New pictures have been added, hopefully more to follow.
Dates for this coming year now beginning to reach our comfortable limit (age and energy permitting) We now start in Rugby in May. Any further updates will be added. This year although our stock is similar there are new elements. Walking sticks as usual feature heavily and now include more antler and a new laminated wooden handle (see pages) there will also be hopefully rather more ambitious items .
As usual, I seem to be leaving it as late as I normally do, to collect walking stick shanks. Last Monday we spend several hours at Daventry Country Park, who are kind enough to let me collect hazel which forms the bulk of the shanks I use. Before they can either be straightened or used they need to be seasoned, between 12 and 18 months is usually adequate for Hazel. They are stored, hanging vertically, in a sheltered lean to at the back of our house. We need to plan ahead for shanks, its no good running out mid season, or, at the moment, forgetting to collect those I will need in 2019 / 20. Once the buds break on the trees it is too late really to collect them, the sap by then is rising strongly. I really need another 20 - 30 to be on the safe side, so a visit to a couple of other sites I use regularly will be needed.
The New Year is now with us and our thoughts should be of the better weather and what shows we hope to be at this year. It is always difficult to make firm plans, we hate letting people down, but as we get older everything seems to require more effort. I am still happy and able to do the creative work and long may this continue, the travelling and setting up etc seems to take its toll on both Jen and me. The ongoing commission work I find very interesting, and would welcome any enquiries for future projects. We will publish the show dates as they become available. We are also operating a page on Facebook ( Just enter "Foscote Crafts"), I am no expert on this but hopefully it will contribute to find some more prospective customers.
To all our existing and prospective customers and our friends (as we hope our customers become) we wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year and we look forward to meeting you all in 2018.
Well Christmas is here again and the end of another year approaches. We have had a great year and welcomed many new people to view our efforts, it is also very satisfying to see people return to see us again after previous visits. Some venues were not available to us but we found new ones and were pleased with the welcome we recieved.
A tremendous part of our pleasure is gained from meeting and talking to people, there is always something to pass on to visitors or to learn from them. The number of places we visit is limited a bit by our age, the ammount of crafts made is also slowing ---- but the enjoyment and satisfaction continues. We look forward to the future and hope to develop new ideas.
To everyone we have met and to those who have viewed our this website, we wish you all a very Happy Christmas
My apologies to anyone who has visited this website recently, it has all the signs of no one caring. I do care and I should have updated it sooner. I have been very busy with commisions since our last event in September but my main problem has been with my computer. When they are working they are marvelous but any small problem seems to escalate making any consistent work impossible and my attempts to rectify things do little but waste my time and leave me frustrated. At last, after the usual cash injections, we appear to be up and running again, hopefully this will take us forward to the New Year without further expense.
The first thing will be to show some of the commisions that have been completed. I like to be challenged but not put under pressure, I feel very satisfied that all the work I have done and the resulting feedback from customers. Whilst I dont make things that are not up to my standard, it is always great to see the satisfied customer, confirming their satisfaction and pleasure.
As the middle of October passes into history, I find it hard to believe how fast the time goes by. Although we have no more shows this year there still seems to be work to be done. I still have orders to complete and plans to finalise as to what we concentrate on for next year. We have a few different ideas we are considering, but we will continue with the Heritage Wood from the Old Working Narrow Boats, that is creating a lot of interest, most of our regular stock items are now available in either Elm or Oak from this source of reclaimed material. It is also fast approaching the time when collecting walking stick shanks becomes a priority, as always, my plan is to start early this year,
We are always ready to discuss your requirements, adapt our designs to meet your person, or bring to life something you would really love to see crafted in wood. Contact us at any time, visits to Braunston are also welcome.
Last Saturday was the last event we have booked for 2017. We were in Braunston for the Air Ambulance Annual Fund Raising day which we have now been supporting for some 7 years. It is always a pleasure to support this cause and as normally many of our friends and previous customers called to see us. We had an enjoyable day and a good day for sales, but unusually there were no walking sticks sold.
We have in the past tried several Christmas fairs, but we have yet to successfully trade at this type of event. We do however welcome visitors at home or via email etc for specific items or commissions. We are keen to extend this side of our trade.
We have also attracted some interest from other crafters who want items to compliment their products. This has included honey dippers for a local beekeeper, Pestles to go with mortars made by a local potter and stands for a lady who teaches Fused Glass Techniques
Saturday and Sunday has seen us at the Coombe Abbey Craft Festival . The weather could have been better, equally it could have been far worse. We still achieved good sales at what was a very well organised show in a beautiful setting. It is also satisfying to talk with both visitors and traders, the exchange of knowledge and information is a great virtue of these events. we hope to be back there again next year.
Sunday was the Annual Northants Greyhound Gala event held at Crick. A new event for us but as longtime Lurcher owners we were looking forward to the day for more reasons than usual. We were not to be disappointed in any way. We had a great days trading, we met some really nice people and there were so many gorgeous dogs there that it was difficult to drag Jen away. Our compliments to the organisers, the event was well set up and managed, the sort of event that makes life easier for us. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2018.
Saturday and Sunday we were at the Annual Blisworth Festival, Saturday didnt seem to get going for us but Sunday made up for that to make for a good weekend. Again we were lucky enough to meet up with other traders and visitors, there is usually something to be learnt or passed on and even potential work for people. We were very lucky with the weather and had a busy but very enjoyable time. We now look forward to our next event at the beginning of Sept.
Sunday 6th Aug saw us at Granborough for the Rare Breeds Day. Having been before we knew what to expect, all the people are very friendly and love to chat. It becomes a day where you learn just as much as you teach others. We didnt make massive numbers of sales, but we did make some money, more importantly we enjoyed the day and look forward to seeing everyone again next year.
Next weekend we will be at Blisworth for the weekend and look forward to seeing friends old and new.
June has seen our first event in 2017, Braunston Churches Annual Fete on the Village Green was on Saturday, although it was dry and quite warm the wind was about as bad as I have ever tried to manage a Gazeebo in. Difficult to erect and then continually adjusting and strengthening all day. However no damage was done and its always good to get it packed away in the dry.
The event was a great success for us, no one thing stood out, we sold from across our range. Our display on re-claimed elm from Historic working Narroboats created interest, many people didnt realise how long elm continued to be used for the floors, and that floor means one side of the timber is dragging along the canal bottom. We enjoy showing history to people and to be able to utilise material that would possibly have been burnt.
Next Sunday 20th May will see our first show for this year, - see para below, Starting time is 9.30 - mainly for the dog show, but we hope to be set up and ready by then. That assumes we can find everything we need and get it into the car. Luckily it is not too far away for us, so very worst scenario one of us will be rushing back to Braunston. We always hope for dry weather, preferably warm and Sunny, but all we can do is hope. We are happy to meet everybody, there is no compulsion to buy, and we do like talking.
I cannot believe how fast this year is going, it is now only about 5 weeks until our first event. This is to be at The Old Laurentians R F C, 31 Lime Tree Ave. Rugby CV22 7QT, and is a Fun Dog Show held by the Rugby Pawsprint Dog Rescue. It should be a fun day for everyone and all dogs are welcome whether you enter them into the show or not. Looking forward to meeting old friends and new.
Working on several new ideas and also improvements to existing designs we have. It is also the time that I realise how near the new season is, I am suddenly aware of the ideas we had that should by now be ready for use that are not. Repairs to equipment also still not finished. I do wonder where the time goes. New pictures have been added, hopefully more to follow.
Dates for this coming year now beginning to reach our comfortable limit (age and energy permitting) We now start in Rugby in May. Any further updates will be added. This year although our stock is similar there are new elements. Walking sticks as usual feature heavily and now include more antler and a new laminated wooden handle (see pages) there will also be hopefully rather more ambitious items .
As usual, I seem to be leaving it as late as I normally do, to collect walking stick shanks. Last Monday we spend several hours at Daventry Country Park, who are kind enough to let me collect hazel which forms the bulk of the shanks I use. Before they can either be straightened or used they need to be seasoned, between 12 and 18 months is usually adequate for Hazel. They are stored, hanging vertically, in a sheltered lean to at the back of our house. We need to plan ahead for shanks, its no good running out mid season, or, at the moment, forgetting to collect those I will need in 2019 / 20. Once the buds break on the trees it is too late really to collect them, the sap by then is rising strongly. I really need another 20 - 30 to be on the safe side, so a visit to a couple of other sites I use regularly will be needed.
The New Year is now with us and our thoughts should be of the better weather and what shows we hope to be at this year. It is always difficult to make firm plans, we hate letting people down, but as we get older everything seems to require more effort. I am still happy and able to do the creative work and long may this continue, the travelling and setting up etc seems to take its toll on both Jen and me. The ongoing commission work I find very interesting, and would welcome any enquiries for future projects. We will publish the show dates as they become available. We are also operating a page on Facebook ( Just enter "Foscote Crafts"), I am no expert on this but hopefully it will contribute to find some more prospective customers.
To all our existing and prospective customers and our friends (as we hope our customers become) we wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year and we look forward to meeting you all in 2018.
Well Christmas is here again and the end of another year approaches. We have had a great year and welcomed many new people to view our efforts, it is also very satisfying to see people return to see us again after previous visits. Some venues were not available to us but we found new ones and were pleased with the welcome we recieved.
A tremendous part of our pleasure is gained from meeting and talking to people, there is always something to pass on to visitors or to learn from them. The number of places we visit is limited a bit by our age, the ammount of crafts made is also slowing ---- but the enjoyment and satisfaction continues. We look forward to the future and hope to develop new ideas.
To everyone we have met and to those who have viewed our this website, we wish you all a very Happy Christmas
My apologies to anyone who has visited this website recently, it has all the signs of no one caring. I do care and I should have updated it sooner. I have been very busy with commisions since our last event in September but my main problem has been with my computer. When they are working they are marvelous but any small problem seems to escalate making any consistent work impossible and my attempts to rectify things do little but waste my time and leave me frustrated. At last, after the usual cash injections, we appear to be up and running again, hopefully this will take us forward to the New Year without further expense.
The first thing will be to show some of the commisions that have been completed. I like to be challenged but not put under pressure, I feel very satisfied that all the work I have done and the resulting feedback from customers. Whilst I dont make things that are not up to my standard, it is always great to see the satisfied customer, confirming their satisfaction and pleasure.
As the middle of October passes into history, I find it hard to believe how fast the time goes by. Although we have no more shows this year there still seems to be work to be done. I still have orders to complete and plans to finalise as to what we concentrate on for next year. We have a few different ideas we are considering, but we will continue with the Heritage Wood from the Old Working Narrow Boats, that is creating a lot of interest, most of our regular stock items are now available in either Elm or Oak from this source of reclaimed material. It is also fast approaching the time when collecting walking stick shanks becomes a priority, as always, my plan is to start early this year,
We are always ready to discuss your requirements, adapt our designs to meet your person, or bring to life something you would really love to see crafted in wood. Contact us at any time, visits to Braunston are also welcome.
Last Saturday was the last event we have booked for 2017. We were in Braunston for the Air Ambulance Annual Fund Raising day which we have now been supporting for some 7 years. It is always a pleasure to support this cause and as normally many of our friends and previous customers called to see us. We had an enjoyable day and a good day for sales, but unusually there were no walking sticks sold.
We have in the past tried several Christmas fairs, but we have yet to successfully trade at this type of event. We do however welcome visitors at home or via email etc for specific items or commissions. We are keen to extend this side of our trade.
We have also attracted some interest from other crafters who want items to compliment their products. This has included honey dippers for a local beekeeper, Pestles to go with mortars made by a local potter and stands for a lady who teaches Fused Glass Techniques
Saturday and Sunday has seen us at the Coombe Abbey Craft Festival . The weather could have been better, equally it could have been far worse. We still achieved good sales at what was a very well organised show in a beautiful setting. It is also satisfying to talk with both visitors and traders, the exchange of knowledge and information is a great virtue of these events. we hope to be back there again next year.
Sunday was the Annual Northants Greyhound Gala event held at Crick. A new event for us but as longtime Lurcher owners we were looking forward to the day for more reasons than usual. We were not to be disappointed in any way. We had a great days trading, we met some really nice people and there were so many gorgeous dogs there that it was difficult to drag Jen away. Our compliments to the organisers, the event was well set up and managed, the sort of event that makes life easier for us. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2018.
Saturday and Sunday we were at the Annual Blisworth Festival, Saturday didnt seem to get going for us but Sunday made up for that to make for a good weekend. Again we were lucky enough to meet up with other traders and visitors, there is usually something to be learnt or passed on and even potential work for people. We were very lucky with the weather and had a busy but very enjoyable time. We now look forward to our next event at the beginning of Sept.
Sunday 6th Aug saw us at Granborough for the Rare Breeds Day. Having been before we knew what to expect, all the people are very friendly and love to chat. It becomes a day where you learn just as much as you teach others. We didnt make massive numbers of sales, but we did make some money, more importantly we enjoyed the day and look forward to seeing everyone again next year.
Next weekend we will be at Blisworth for the weekend and look forward to seeing friends old and new.
June has seen our first event in 2017, Braunston Churches Annual Fete on the Village Green was on Saturday, although it was dry and quite warm the wind was about as bad as I have ever tried to manage a Gazeebo in. Difficult to erect and then continually adjusting and strengthening all day. However no damage was done and its always good to get it packed away in the dry.
The event was a great success for us, no one thing stood out, we sold from across our range. Our display on re-claimed elm from Historic working Narroboats created interest, many people didnt realise how long elm continued to be used for the floors, and that floor means one side of the timber is dragging along the canal bottom. We enjoy showing history to people and to be able to utilise material that would possibly have been burnt.
May has seen a new source of customers. We now feature on Face Book Page - "Canal Market Place". this has resulted in orders for walking sticks. The newest of these features on "Stick Making"
April has seen some progress at last. At the end of 2016 I was able to obtain some new antler stock. This has needed quite a lot of preparation but some of it now features in my new sticks.If you refer to the "Stick Making" page there are some pictures of the new sticks.
Well, 2017 is already 3 months old and I have yet to start on my various crafts, I always commence decorating at home,since I cannot find the time through the season. This year it has snow balled and I have only just completed my tasks. I have quite a lot of craft stock so there is no need to panic yet.
We are also sad to report that Banbury Canal Day has been cancelled this year due to construction work on much of the site. Our regular programme has taken a real hit as several other events are not happening for various reasons.
The confirmed dates are on the events page, any others will be added as soon as they are confirmed.
Anybody who is in, or near Braunston, is very welcome to visit us and view and discuss our Craft Items. We are also happy to post them to you at cost. It is best to ring first but if you are near come and knock on the door. The kettle is usually on.
Tel. 01788891546 / 07889125319
April has seen some progress at last. At the end of 2016 I was able to obtain some new antler stock. This has needed quite a lot of preparation but some of it now features in my new sticks.If you refer to the "Stick Making" page there are some pictures of the new sticks.
Well, 2017 is already 3 months old and I have yet to start on my various crafts, I always commence decorating at home,since I cannot find the time through the season. This year it has snow balled and I have only just completed my tasks. I have quite a lot of craft stock so there is no need to panic yet.
We are also sad to report that Banbury Canal Day has been cancelled this year due to construction work on much of the site. Our regular programme has taken a real hit as several other events are not happening for various reasons.
The confirmed dates are on the events page, any others will be added as soon as they are confirmed.
Anybody who is in, or near Braunston, is very welcome to visit us and view and discuss our Craft Items. We are also happy to post them to you at cost. It is best to ring first but if you are near come and knock on the door. The kettle is usually on.
Tel. 01788891546 / 07889125319
STOP PRESS - The first 5 clocks made from the old Elm timber removed from NB Clent are now available. These are pictured on our page "Handles with History and Other Products"and further details can be obtained by contacting us in Braunston.
chris.burton7@btinternet.com 01788891546 / 07889125319