A Trip To Salon Du Chocolat's Chocolate Fashion Show

Chocolate...an entire hall filled with the yummy stuff in every shape and form imaginable; naturally I had to be there. Salon Du Chocolat is a travelling international exhibition which pulled into London on Friday for the weekend. I managed to attended the Gala Evening during which time I ate so much free chocolate I entered a cocoa coma...(thankfully it was short-lived).

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The sweet cocoa aroma hit you as soon as you stepped inside the shrine to the brown stuff. All around were stands selling chocolate; most from indie companies I'd never heard of selling varieties I'd never tried. I particularly liked the look of the chocolate conkers above.

This lucky lady got to lie in a bath of melted chocolate; sadly this option wasn't open to the public : (

On closer inspection it reminded me of school dinner chocolate custard. It certainly seemed as gloopy.

The benefit of attending on the Friday night was this was when 'The Chocolate Fashion Show' was scheduled, the one all the press have been raving about for the last few days.

I was very intrigued about why the dresses didn't melt under hot lights but it turned they weren't completely constructed of cocoa.

Watch highlights from the show in this rather fine video by Farrah from Implausible Blog. 

After the catwalk, the individual couture chocolate creations were put on display.

This English rose themed number was the most impressive, though it had more than a few similarities to a wedding cake.

Not entirely sure about the chocolate on this one, but apparently it's a dress made of chocolate hmmm.

And as for this choc bikini, it was clearly made for being nibbled off...

 I had to check out the chocolate outfits for myself to check their authenticity so I grabbed onto the end of this fabulous Lindt fan and I can confirm it was definatly chocolate!

Back in the exhibition space my radar led me to the craftiest chocolate I could find; chocolate scissors. Yes I'm pretty sure my craft stash needs a pair...

Hot chocolate wasn't forgotten either. In fact there were various culinary treats including posher versions of Nutella and to my utter disgust chocolate Foie Gras....seriously. There is no need : (

Here's one to entertain the yoof. Grafitti chocolate, the brand changes the designs on their chocolate every month, which are sprayed on with edible paints.

Speaking of which there were a lot of decorative artisan chocolates. The flavour of the moment however sold on most stands seemed to be Matcha Tea which was mint green in appearance. Quality varied. My two personal faves were by Prestat and Henri Le Roux.

When you see a giant eclair, you have to lie on it right?

Salon Du Chocolat may have now left the UK but they've already planned out the next year of events (most are in Europe) so if you fancy going to a show where you get to taste test loads of varieties of chocolate, the sort you can't find normally, or need to buy some chocolate gifts it's worth a visit.

If you dislike chocolate then steer clear!

Stitch & Craft London 2012 : Highlights

There is a definite theme running through this years Stitch & Crafts Show. From London 2012 to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee  - it's all very British.

There are regal cross stitch cushions (this one was designed by Emma Bridgewater for CrossStitcher magazine)...

Capital themed tapestry...

Londonium inspired printed cotton & ...

...Jubilee themes from Fabrics Galore and

Patriotic ribbon from Crafty Ribbons.

I even tried my hand at some Jubilee Cross Stitch - well two royal guards anyway!

Speaking of Cross Stitch, Mr X Stitch has his own gallery space at the show. As well as his own stitch finery, there's another gentleman of stitchery exhibiting...

Lord Libidan who here is demonstrating one of his XStitched moveable Transformers and standing beside the most magnificent XStitch I've ever seen - 3D - which you wear with glasses to appreciate. Genius!

On the Olympics front Quilts 4 London was set up three years ago - a campaign to make 15,000 hand-stitched pennants (individual flags). They have been donated by stitchers from all over the world and will be placed inside the goody bags so EVERY single competitor will get one. Before that, some of them are on display - infact this is the only place you'll get to see them as the deadline to fill Paralympic goodie bags is only two weeks away. The good news is they have met their targets and they'll be a few spares for Olympic organisers too.

The flags were exhibited along with Olympic quilts .......so many of them I didn't know where to look! There really is some amazing handiwork to appreciate (but far too much to photograph.) Luckily a book is available featuring all the designs which you can buy at the show.

A big crowd puller was the miniature knitted village exhibit. You can still contribute to it, by knitting village themed goodies. The entire village (possibly a town by then) will be on display at the Knitting & Stitching show in October.

 

My favourite buy of the day was a hand-carved Indian Block for printing, £6 from Colouricious. They had so many gorgeous Indian themed designs, I wish I could afford to buy more so I could have printed my own saris!

Finally here is Linzi Upton with the patchwork yurt she made, used as the HQ for the Mollie Makes magazine team.

There are lots and lots of stalls throughout the show where you can stock up on supplies and an excellent choice of workshops where you can learn new skills. All in all; a good day trip for a craft fan. I think the only downside is the venue. It's not Olympia's fault, they are currently celebrating 125 years, it's just that so many of these exhibition halls are dark and dingy with no natural light. I wish someone would build a nice exhibition centre that didn't feel so clinical where the true colour and creativity of a craft show could be represented. Hopefully one day I will be reporting from such an event on this very blog, fingers and stitching crossed!

The show continues until Sunday 18th March. Tickets are £12 on the door for adults. If you're thinking of going down, I hope these highlights were useful - enjoy the event and happy shopping : )