Win Tickets to the Good Life Experience and We Chat about Festivals, Craft and stuff
Written: 15 April 2019
We chatted to the lovely folk behind The Good Life Experience and they have given us 4 Weekend Tickets worth over £129 each to giveaway. We chatted to them about TGLE and how it came about......
Craft Festival: I love visiting Festivals, especially when the arts and making are given centre stage. I’m very excited to be making my first visit to The Good Life Experience in September. What should I expect to find when I get there?
Wow, where to start?! Beer guzzling, feet stomping, dog loving, lake diving, axe lobbing, dough kneading, fire crackling, spoon licking and so much more. The Good Life Experience festival carefully curates a line-up of the best music, food and drink, workshops, talks, craft and making all with a key focus on creating experiences that make you happy. You’re right - craft and making are very much central to the event. By day you can learn new skills, build on existing ones or take part in communal projects throughout the weekend. There will be opportunity to meet makers, ask questions, share ideas and learn from and work alongside some of the best craftspeople in the UK.
And between those workshops there will be axe throwing, archery, fire walking, wild swimming, leather-working, bushcraft, great food and drink, dancing, world famous chefs cooking over campfires, raucous music, poetry and inspirational speakers.
Craft Festival: What inspired the first TGLE?
The first TGLE was created by four friends; Steve Abbott, Cerys Matthews, Charlie and Caroline Gladstone back in 2014 and was simply their way of searching for The Good Life. A conscious decision was made to focus on more than just music, or food, or craft. Instead the four poured energy into creating a festival full of powerful, memorable and -most importantly- fun experiences. Inspiration came from what the four friends valued as The Good Life; family, friends, a real connection with The Great Outdoors, books, proper food and drink, discovery, music that comes from the soul, great books, craft. All the things that don’t cost a great deal but that make life richer, more rewarding and better fun. From this search came the first festival and ever since, the festival has grown - not so much in size or scale - but in quality and experience.
Why do you think making is important?
A key part of why the Good Life Experience began was to reconnect people with making, to fight back against mindless consumption, a retreat to values and fashions that seem to encapsulate simpler times; the good old days.Making is at the core of everything we do, we use and we experience. It’s about stripping back to basics, recognising history and respecting hundreds of years of craftsmanship that has shaped the way we live today.We value the authenticity of making, whether making craft, food, writing or experiences and we genuinely believe making makes you happy. In ways small and large, our focus is to give you the tools to a richer, more fulfilled, happier life.
What is your favourite aspect of TGLE?
Now that’s a tough one! I think my favourite aspect has to be the feeling and the atmosphere throughout the festival. Everyone, of all ages and backgrounds is there for the same reason; to experience a good time and to learn. And no matter how hard you partied the night before, you can’t wait to get up and go again. There are endless amounts of things to do and people to chat to, the only problem is that is ends on the Sunday evening!
What’s new at TGLE this year?
So much! For starters, we have completely re-located the festival site. This year, the festival will take place in and around two castles set in historic listed parkland and gardens, private nature reserve and lake, in the keep of a 1400s castle and a 1700s drawing room. It is the only weekend of the year that this site is open to the public. And, although we’re biased, we think the location is amongst the most beautiful anywhere in Britain!
We have lots of returning makers, chefs, speakers and adventurers each year but also an exciting line-up of new names on the bill, too. New to the craft areas this year we have florists, printmakers, blacksmiths, chair makers, boat builders, carpenters and themed areas dedicated to textiles, and to crafts to enhance wellbeing. We’re excited to have some communal projects this year, too, meaning that you can sit, learn, laugh and experience making with new and old friends.
At Craft Festival we really focus on encouraging young people and families to engage with craft. How do you do this at TGLE?
We aim to create a line-up that caters to all ages. We firmly believe that if adults can play with axes and knives, then children should be able to, too - with a little more supervision of course. We don’t believe in having specific children’s areas so you will find activities and workshops for all ages and abilities integrated within the craft areas. We believe in learning by doing and creating together and learning from one another; a team effort. This year we have some really exciting group projects which you will be able to participate in whether you are 6 or 60, after all, we’re all in this together, right?
The Good Life Experience is at Hawarden Estate, Flintshire, North Wales and takes place from 12-15th September. We have 4 adult weekend tickets to giveaway. Please Click Here to enter our competition. Competition Closes Midnight April 26th