The Summer Craft Fair at the sea front in the port of Jávea is rapidly becoming fairly well known as an interesting meeting point between people looking for original craft work and the people who produce it.
Last Friday some twenty or so craftsmen and women set up their stalls for the first time this summer along the promenade, and even the participants who had been there last year were surprised at the way that the people walking past the stalls welcomed them back: there was a lot more interest shown than last year or the year before!
This particular craft fair is more than a little special, a set of stalls that is not the usual "craft" fair you will find on most promenades along the coast: only hand made goods made by the people on the stall are allowed.
Here you will not find cheap imports from Third World countries, mass produced toys or "genuine souvenirs" made in Bangladesh. The Shopkeeper’s Association of Jávea port particularly wanted a quality fair on their sea front and for the third year running has asked the craft association Amata to select the particpants, to be sure that each and every item is hand made by the person in the stall.
Amata will also be checking the quality of what is on the stalls at frequent intervals all summer – nothing is left to chance.
The participants are carefully chosen to guarantee not just good quality but also variety: leather bags, belts and children’s shoes; decorative lamps of wood or metal wire that look like giant insects: design jewelry in silver, copper, silk, macramé, wrought iron or ceramics, sculptures and paintings, cuddly crochet animals and opera bags.
Most participants bring their tools along so that a chosen item that is not quite what you wanted, can be adapted or personalised. You can even order something special and probably pick it up a few days later!
Some of the participants live in the area and are there for the whole summer; others, who live further away, come only for a week or two, to combine a holiday on the beach with the chance to sell their work. This way the fair changes from week to week, and sometimes from day to day.
For the first ten days (and perhaps the whole summer) there is a caricaturist and like last year a local potter comes every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday with his wheel, to teach young and old how to make a bowl or cup.
The fair is set up in the Paseo Marítimo in the port of Jávea, and opens every evening (till 13 September) from 7 pm til midnight. More information about the fair and its participants on 639 979 678 or have a look on the web site of Amata www.amata.es (in Spanish and English).
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