Sun shines at Afonwen Craft & Antique centre

Wow how beautiful the weather is this week, after all our rain and cooler days I think we are all ready for some sun shine. We have been waiting and waiting for the warmer times to get all our plants in for summer - its so pretty here when the flowers grow and sun shines.

some of the plants arriving, can't wait till they all get planted.

Dave has such a great way with the plants, he is in charge of all the planting and care for these. They always look so beautiful in the summer. In fact I think we are looking pretty good already.

We have been doing a little extra work in the Vintage & Antiques department, some painting, a little rearranging - here is stage 1. Really pleased with this, this room is magnificent, bright and airy and has some huge windows. This was a dark wall and a little hidden - we love the changes.

I just love these, they remind me of a real cosy home, where things are care free and quite simple.

As things progress I will keep you up to date with all our changes, it may just take a little while so please be patient, I will post pictures.

Lots of our lovely customers have been enjoying this gorgeous weather and making the most of it eating outside.

We are so proud to be located in an Area of Natural Outstanding Beauty, with the river in front and the Clwydian Ranges behind it is so peaceful and relaxing sitting outside.

 Ice cream Sundae, one of Adrian's favourite things, with fabulous Cheshire farm ice cream, whipped cream, sauce, flake and homemade biscuit to finish...... pure heaven on a hot day.

Last of all we are open all over the Jubilee, our bunting will be up and flags flying in honour of the celebrations. We have something going everyday throughout the week and will be serving a special Jubilee Afternoon Tea with Coronation Chicken sandwiches, delicious scones with whipped cream, Victoria sponge and a Delicious fresh strawberry and cream tartlet, or even come and join us for a glass of Pimms and sit outside - hopefully  in the sun . What ever you do, have fun, rest and relax and spend time with loved ones.

Thank you for reading, until next time.
Love  Janet, Adrian and All the Team XXX

Cupcake workshop at Afonwen Craft & Antique centre

Back at the beginning of the year I had the idea of running a cupcake workshop here in the centre. It should be simple, fun and hopefully encourage people of all ages to have a go.  We set the date for the Easter Bank holiday weekend, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Not knowing how this would work, would people come? would they even like it! it  was all a bit little scary; but the idea was a good one and really just needed some thought to make it a success.

We were very proud to have two of our children helping on the days. As a child growing up I was very lucky to live on a farm and work in the family business. This gave me many skills from simply talking to people, to serving, and as I got older dealing with the till. Mainly it gave me a sense of responsibility that I was being relied upon to do a job - and do it properly. Of course we never got the best jobs, my older brother and I got the muckiest, the dirtiest and the most repetitive jobs on many occasions!!.   For Ethan and Phoebe there were no mucky jobs, no dirty jobs just good old fashioned serving and some cake decorating to be done. 

The children did extremely well. They helped with greeting people, getting the cake toppings and cake boxes and serving on the till. This was a wonderful experience and in short spells they both enjoyed it very much.  In fact it was a delight to spend this time with them - completely different to anything else they have done before, it let them see us at work, and us see them behaving so fantastically. We were very proud of them both for being so fabulous. 

Table set with cutters, boards and rolling pins. Ready to go.

 we baked extra cakes for customers to buy and take home. They looked so good and the samples went down fantastically.

The cake topping were displayed in jars for all to see and select from. From silver ball, to green and blue ones, chocolate buttons, sprinkles, glitter and marshmallows, mini eggs and sugar glitter.... so much to choose from. We cut our butterflies and flowers, adding glitter for the finishing touches. All ready for the workshop to begin.

Our very first customer made these three beautiful cakes. It amazed me how different every one was throughout the whole three days.

concentration ! this cake decorating is serious work......

Adding fairy dust glitter to the finished cake......

"Wow just look at my fabulous cakes" - these truly were so pretty.

We had boys and girls having a go and even a few big ones came.  Hopefully we showed them its not difficult, its all about having some fun. With a little bit of spending you can get all  the basic equipment and ingredients to play for hours and hours.

Ethan busy at work making monsters! in between helping with the workshop

The work shop was a great success, in fact due to so many people asking us to do it again we are busy trying to schedule in another day. Adrian and I were so pleased - it was something different for the centre, something we have never done before and it made new people come into the centre and see what we are all about. The weekend was full of happy smiling faces.

Spring is in the air at Afonwen Craft & Antique centre

Last time I blogged snow lay lightly on the ground with a definite chill in the air. Since then we have had some gorgeous weather, some beautiful sun shine, some duller days and some pretty days - all telling us spring is definitely here.....

Daffodils, so bight and cheerful, such a beautiful flower.

Our entrance has been given a bit of  a lift with these lovely flowers, brave things through the warm and chilly weathers, they make such a difference when you arrive.


The Gift shop has had a major change around and we are delighted with the results. The shop looks brighter, lighter and bigger.  See what you think....

Thrilled with the response to our changes, our lovely customers have been very kind by telling us they love it.

Some really lovely toys for the children....

Now all our cards are in one area, this is great, easier to look and it creates a really nice space .

Luckily things never stop for us, more stock is arriving all the time. With a new delivery of Kate Hamilton Hunter expected any day. Kate and her small team make the most gorgeous tin jewellery. We have lots of hearts, butterflies and flowers coming in - perfect for the spring and summer. 

Of course the Vintage and Antique stock keeps coming in as we make a  new find. With each piece being individually selected, then cleaned, restored if needed and put out for sale - it is definitely a side to the centre that is always changing and cared for. I love Antiques and Vintage stock, its like buying something with a bit of character, something that's once been loved and giving it a new home again. Of course its also a  very green thing to do... and that is always good.

Lastly I will leave you with our final picture of cakes... another passion of mine and Adrian's.

For the very first time over the Easter Saturday, Sunday and Monday we will be holding a drop in cup cake decorating workshop. The idea is you choose your cake, choose your topping and then the decorations and away you go. You could roll out and cut butterflies and flowers out, decorate with chocolate bits, or mini eggs, a selection from our many toppings..... just have fun and have a go. This will be great for the little ones to have a go and the big ones. What ever the age it should be a bit of fun and you get to take home your cake to eat. (Yum )  We are very busy getting all our toppings ready, planning the room and will be baking much closer to the time.

 I hope you enjoyed all our pictures and finding out what we are up to in the centre, until next time .
                               Bye for now                Janet, Adrian and the whole team xxxxx

February News at Afonwen Craft & Antique centre

When we woke this morning there was a light dusting of snow everywhere, and it was my day in work. So armed with wellies, gloves hat and my winter coat I left home ready to clear the snow from the doors and spread the grit on the car park... What a relief when I got here the snow was just slush and the car park clear.

Spring cant come fast enough now, I long for some warmer weathers, some flowers in the tubs and buds on the trees. I couldn't help but smile at these brave little daffodils peeping through to show me spring is on its way.

This picture taken by our son Josh ( about 12 at the time ) is one of my favourites so beautiful and elegant is the butterfly. This makes me feel warmer and reminds me of the summer months ahead.

In the centre we have had a lovely few weeks. Off to trade shows in Birmingham to find new stock and some new suppliers and now we are starting to see things arriving. Some cute handbags, some gorgeous reproduction pine furniture a few home accesories and so much more.

                        A really stunning wall hanging. This looks lovey with the light reflecting on it.

                   This corner chair is just so sweet and really unusual. I love the eggshell blue colour

This really is a stunning piece of furniture. A Victorian Mahogany desk  with some gorgeous colours in the wood.

We have had some of our wonderful craft people in again this month, from Murry who carves love spoons to Melissa with her jewellery and crafts, Julia with her amazing semi precious gem stone jewellery and Susie with her hand knitted goods. Just look at these gloves and hat - how beautiful are these. So very special.

As ever we have been baking lots and the restaurant has been busy. Right now we are preparing for St Davids Day, planning our menu, making sure every dish has a link to Wales and of course using lots of wonderful local produce. As always our specials menu runs for at least a week before we alter it again. The St Davids Day menu will start on Tuesday 28th February and continue throughout the whole week. We are proud to be in Wales and always love to support the area. Our eggs are from a local farmer where the chickens run free in a field, the cream comes from Buckley and bread from Denbigh (Henllan Bread) . The meat comes from Llachwedd meats in Anglesy and Caerwys from Morgans Powri Gwych. Of course the Trout is just down the road in Bodfari, which is wonderful. Having all of these local connections and excellent suppliers makes a positive difference to us. 

             A Birthday cake for a special 50th - we openend for the evening to help celebrate this birthday of                                           a customer who has been visiting us for 20 years now..  

Another birthday cake for a man who likes rabbits.

I love this picture, it makes me feel homely and cosy. The simple life.

Well I think thats all for now - as always I hope you enjoyed seeing all of our pictures and finding out what we have been up to. Until next time have fun and take care.

Janet Adrian and All the team xxx

January is nearly gone.

January is nearly gone and actually in a bit of a blur. This month has been a lovely month for us. It is when we reflect and plan ahead - it allows us time to freshen up and rethink.....  

The girls have been really busy in the Antiques cleaning some beautiful pieces of silver and treasures.

Gail and Sharon here are busy with detailed silver cleaning. Its good to have a giggle while working ! especially when  you need to concentrate so much. We have such lovely customers who are always complimenting us on how clean and shiny everything is.  

Just as work has begun on these pieces, each one takes a lot of time and patience to get them looking their best, below shows one of them all sparkly.

We have worked hard  to buy some very quirky pieces for you, this is one of the best things about vintage and antique, you never really know what you will find .... each piece is then so special and has a little story to go with it.

Look at this wonderful 19th century sewing stand with original silks, its a real collectors piece and very lucky to find.

Art Deco Bureau, I just love the wonderful shape and colours of the wood.

Another treasure.... a very sweet Heart mirror.  I love it.

All of these are so individual  and now one off finds. This chandelier is such a wonderful shape and twinkles beautifully.

Things have been pretty hectic round here over the few weeks with the interiors show and spring fair just round the corner. These are such busy shows and our poor feet are worn out by the end, but they are very exciting. Its wonderful to see so much variety of stock and  we get to choose new things for us in the centre. Its like Christmas shopping all over again......

               Kate Hamilton Hunter locally handmade jewellery, Kate has a real delicate and beautiful style, we have sold her jewellery for a few years now, she is wonderful at creating new styles and her use of colour.

And don't forget Valentines day, if your looking for ideas  come and have a look at our gifts  from the traditional hearts to the unusual. The chefs are also busy planning a special menu for the week of Valentines. This worked really well last year  with lots of people  coming out to celebrate and enjoy themselves with us throughout the week. Any way more to follow on this once we have choosen our menu... 

As always thank you for reading and we hope you you a little of what we have been up to here.  Until next time - take care.

Janet, Adrian and all the team xxx