A Day at the Stoffenspektakel in Groningen – Fabric, Fun & a Very Full Suitcase
Yesterday I went to the Stoffenspektakel at Martiniplaza in Groningen.
And yes… it really was a spectacle.
I have never had such a messy, chaotic and wonderfully cosy day at a fabric fair before.
The plan was simple. A friend and I would drive together for most of the journey. We live in different villages, so we chose a large garden centre as our meeting point.
Easy, right?
Well… no.
On my way there, just before arriving, I found a road diversion. And then I discovered that the entrance to the motorway we were supposed to use was closed as well.
Of course it was.
So there was some calling, some WhatsApp messages, a few misunderstandings and quite a bit of: “Where are you?”
Eventually, we both ended up at the same petrol station.
There were, apparently, exactly two petrol stations there. Both next to a roundabout.
Naturally.
But we found each other, I climbed into her car, and finally we could continue our journey. Luckily, when you have a lot to talk about, a long car ride suddenly becomes much shorter.
Until…
Another road diversion.
This time traffic controllers sent us to a car park about fifteen minutes away from Martiniplaza.
“Oh dear,” we thought. “How on earth are we going to walk all that way with our bags?”
Luckily, it turned out to be much closer than we expected.
In the end, we had spent about an hour longer travelling than planned. And by the time we arrived, the fabric fair was already quite busy.
But never mind.
We were there! That is what matters.
One of the great things about the Stoffenspektakel is that many of the sellers are in roughly the same place as during previous editions. If you have been there before, you quickly remember where your favourite fabrics are hiding.
I had made a shopping list.
I had brought my trolley suitcase.
I was ready.
I was going to shop properly. But I could not find half of what I was looking for.
Typical.
After a coffee break, we continued. And I have to say something about that coffee.
Oh dear.
Coffee and sandwiches have become rather expensive!
We noticed that hardly anyone seemed to be eating the sandwiches. Instead, we saw many handbags opening to reveal little bags of homemade sandwiches, biscuits and snacks.
Honestly, I cannot blame them.
Dear Stoffenspektakel organisers: perhaps next time you could offer a small, reasonably priced creative sandwich or snack?
It does not have to be fancy. Just something affordable to eat with an expensive cup of coffee would be wonderful.
Yes, I know the entrance is free. And that is a very nice thing.
But I am fairly certain that hardly anyone leaves a fabric fair without a serious amount of fabric.
One hundred percent guaranteed.
Friends at a fabric fair
Shopping together is not always the best idea.
There are simply too many people, too many fabrics and too many different fabric wishes.
So we split up and agreed to meet later “under the clock”.
That worked much better.
At one point, I found myself standing in front of a fabric stall where you practically had to lie across the fabrics to see and speak to the seller.
So there I was, half lying on a pile of fabric, but suddenly I saw it.
Exactly what I needed.
Of course it was right at the bottom of the pile.
Luckily, the gentleman at the stall was extremely helpful and cheerful. He dug it out for me, and I happily paid him a little extra.
Thank you, lovely fabric man!
Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about my next fabric experience.
I patiently waited for my turn.
When the lady finally looked at me, she said:
“I am going on my break.”
Oh.
My courage disappeared completely.
I had already been waiting for quite some time, and my friend was waiting for me under the clock.
Luckily, the lady's husband had noticed what was happening. He helped me instead and sold me four pieces of fabric, each two metres long.
A serious amount of fabric!
Perfect for cosplay capes and, even better, he gave me considerably more fabric than I had actually paid for.
So, sometimes you simply do not click with one person…
…and you get along perfectly with another.
That is one of the funny things about buying fabric at a fair. You are a little dependent on the person standing behind the stall.
Online, you simply click “buy”.
At a fabric fair, there is a human being on the other side of the table.
Sometimes that is wonderful.
Sometimes… not so much.
Why I still love fabric fairs
Despite all the chaos, I absolutely love fabric fairs.
The choice is enormous.
You can touch the fabrics. You can compare colours properly. You can see how they drape and feel the difference between materials. And, of course, you can smell them. Just kidding.
Although I suppose serious fabric people probably do that too.
For me, seeing the colours in real life is especially important. A beautiful burgundy on a computer screen can suddenly be a completely different burgundy when you see it under proper light, and then there are the fabrics you never knew you needed until you saw them.
Those are dangerous.
Very dangerous.
After a few hours, we finally made our way back to the car.
I had my trolley suitcase.
It was extremely heavy and completely full.
My friend had about three handbags hanging from her shoulders.
It was warm.
Very warm.
October?
Apparently.
Last October certainly felt very different!
On the way home, we stopped at McDonald's for coffee and a vegan burger and let me tell you: when you are hungry, tired and carrying what feels like half a fabric shop, that burger tastes absolutely wonderful. By the way, it was about half the price of the sandwiches at Martiniplaza.
Sometimes happiness is very simple.
A little tip for interior lovers
If you are looking for fabrics for your home, I have one little tip.
Look at the stalls that are less busy.
These are often the sellers with curtain fabrics, upholstery fabrics and other interior textiles.
And what beautiful fabrics you can find there!
Real little treasures.
There was also a stall with Gobelin fabrics, and they were absolutely gorgeous.
The kind of fabrics that make you suddenly think:
“Perhaps my sofa needs cushion number 36.”
It probably does not.
But it could.
I bought some beautiful interior fabrics myself, and I cannot wait to start working with them.
There is only one small problem.
Which fabric should I start with?
That, dear reader, is a much more difficult question than finding the Stoffenspektakel itself.
And perhaps the most dangerous question of all.
Because once you start working with one fabric…
you have already started thinking about what to make with the next one.
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