If you want to feel the Christmas spirit, really feel it in your bones...make your way to Blackthorpe Barn at Rougham where you can immerse yourself in festive cheer.
The site has, for decades, brought joy to shoppers, who return year upon year in droves.
So, what is it about Blackthorpe that’s so alluring?
Let’s start with the Country Christmas Shop. Free to enter, and carrying the scent of winter, no part of the multi-roomed store has been left untouched. Every single little nook and cranny shimmers and gleams with decorations.
Themed and colour-schemed sections include a woodland area thriving with cute creatures and wildlife-inspired garlands. There’s a Nutcracker display showcasing twirling ballerinas and toy soldiers. Icy blues, crystals and angels adorn another part of the shop. There are ceramic gingerbread houses, candy canes, candles and tea light holders, stocking fillers. A real treat for the senses.
Next door, The Courtyard Café is open daily for hearty, warming homemade food. The team bakes daily from the onsite kitchen, whipping up soup and scones, tarts, bacon rolls, cakes, and frothy hot chocolates.
Head outside and you can choose your own freshly cut or pot-grown Christmas tree from Blackthorpe’s renowned plantation. Available at a range of price points, each one comes complete with a care guide to help you keep it in tip-top condition until the big day.
Finally, you simply cannot miss the Arts and Crafts Weekends, which have been hosted on site for 30 years.
Entry is £3 per person (with season entry and advance tickets available online) giving you access to a huge market packed with traders making everything from ceramics and jewellery to glassware.
We spoke to a few of them to find out what they’re bringing to the event this year.
Jasmin Rowlandson
The sculptural ceramicist, jeweller and painter creates one-of-a-kind pieces that celebrate the natural world. “My work is inspired by my relationship with the land, water and environment,” she says. “I predominantly hand-build my sculptural work using a porcelain paper clay which allows me to create delicate and fronded forms, full of movement and energy.”
This technique is inherent to how she creates her jewellery, using precious silver clay that’s 100% recycled from old film stock and photographic negatives.
“I love that the material is imbued with past memory. The romance that a piece of jewellery could have once been a scene from Breakfast at Tiffany’s or Casablanca.”
Jasmin takes her cue from reefs, fields and woodlands – corals, lichens, mosses and funghi. “I love exploring the rare, the everyday, the endangered, the ordinary and the spectacular.”
Large-scale commissions have included creating bespoke light sculptures for Candy & Candy’s No.1 Hyde Park, and for P&O’s flagship vessel, Britannia.
Wendy Theobald
The wildlife artist and illustrator, based near Bury St Edmunds, works in watercolour, watercolour pencils and pastels, largely spending her time depicting the flora and fauna of the East Anglian countryside.
She will have original artwork, prints and cards at the event, and will be taking commissions.
Beverley Neeves
Beverley is the face behind Flossy Felts, crafting pictures, wall hangings, cards and decorative objects using the wet felting process.
She will be at the barn with a wide selection of her work, from countryside scenes, to cute little festive gonks and little wreaths hiding woodland animals. Everything is 100% wool, much of it sourced from native breeds. Where possible Beverley also likes to incorporate silks and plant fibres.
“I find inspiration in everything around me,” she says. “Plants, animals and landscapes. Colours too. Dramatic skies or the sunsets that I see driving home. No two pieces are ever the same.”
Danielle Hopkinson
Working from The Stained Glass Studio in Ipswich, Danielle designs and crafts fused glass and ceramic sculptures full of vibrancy.
She predominantly makes architectural pieces for clients, but will be at Blackthorpe with some of her more personal fused pieces, expressing her flair for design.
Kev Colbear
Based in East Bergholt and working from a barn at the farm he grew up on, Kev is known in the region for his organic, whimsical formed ironwork. Each piece is sculptural, but serves a purpose.
Most recently he produced three sculptures for Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s greenspaces.
He will be at Blackthorpe with smaller pieces, and taking commissions.
“I think I’ve attended Blackthorpe Barn for eight years now,” Kev says. “Time has flown. They’ve looked after me so well and I’ve been able to grow my brand safely with their help. It’s like a family. Makers spend most of their time solitary, working for days and weeks alone. Getting to events is where we get to see people!”
Find out more at blackthorpebarn.com
The café is open daily from 10am to 4pm, the shop from 9.30am to 5pm, and art and craft weekends on Saturdays and Sundays until December 18.
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