Not just doilies: The Tassie craft celebration that's a lot more than your traditional idea of craft

This is sponsored content for the Tasmanian Craft Fair.

If you've ever needed an extra reason to start planning a spring time trip exploring northern Tasmania and all it has to offer then this is it.

Spring is when thousands of people flock to the picturesque town of Deloraine, at the foothills of Tasmania's spectacular Great Western Tiers mountain range, to attend the largest display of art and crafts in the Southern Hemisphere, this year celebrating its 39^th birthday.

Held in November, the Tasmanian Craft Fair is an annual celebration of 'makers' and their work in all its many forms, from more traditional crafts through to the art and skill that goes into crafting other wonderful creations like a sublime cheese, a beer or a beautiful guitar. It's also become a celebration of the town and the local region.

The four-day event was started by the Deloraine Rotary Club as a way to bring together the regions' traditional farming community and the increasing number of young artisans making the town home.

"Going back 38 years ago there were a lot of young people who were into the arts who were moving into the district, and Deloraine was really just a farming community then," said Lesley Dare, the event's director and long-time member of the Deloraine Rotary Club, which continues to operate the annual fair.

"The two groups really didn't understand one another, and the President at the Rotary Club said, 'We should all be working together, and supporting each other. We should have a craft fair'.

"We started with 17 stalls, all in one building, and it's just continued to grow from there."

Grow it has. This year's fair is expected to attract around 20,000 people and will feature more than 250 exhibitors, spread across eight venues and five galleries - with shuttle buses ferrying fair goers between them.

It's evolved into a festival encompassing many forms of art, craft and design but also the skill and passion of 'makers' from diverse industries, from award-winning local food and wine, to fly fishing, garden design, furniture making, and music.

"We are definitely not just doilies and crochet," Dare said. "There are so many skilled people doing such a diverse range of things, there's really a craft for everyone."

Today, the fair attracts some of the best and emerging artists from Tasmania and around Australia, as well as featuring fascinating international artists.

This year it welcomes contemporary visual artist Maline Yim from Cambodia, who has had solo exhibitions in Paris and New York. She will arrive in Deloraine fresh from an exhibition in Singapore.

Dare sees the international component as an essential element of the fair and key to the vision behind it.

"I think it shows our artists what's happening overseas and what you can do, what level you can achieve, to inspire them," she said.

"That's a big part of what the Rotary Club set off to do, to support and inspire our young people and our new artists. We support a lot of artists who use this as a platform and go on to promote themselves overseas.

"And we also want to offer an in depth experience where thoughts and perspectives are challenged. Maline Yim's work is very thought provoking."

There's also a strong focus on interactivity. One of last year's most popular features was the community project The Blue Farmer, the brainchild of Bruny Island artist Grietje van Randen aimed at raising awareness about the issue of depression in farming communities like Deloraine.

More than 260 fair visitors got involved using recycled blue hay bale twine to knit clothes for a giant wooden farmer who was later erected on the outskirts of Deloraine. Discussions are now underway with the artist about ideas for a similar hands-on project for this year.

Almost 40 years after it first began, Dare said the fair has had a major impact on Deloraine, achieving many times over what was hoped it would; helping to bring together, support and promote the town as well as the work of local makers.

"It's always great to think that it's done so well," Dare said. "And the whole town has just evolved with it and has become a place that really celebrates creativity. We're very proud of it."

Located in the Meander Valley, Deloraine is just a 40 minute drive from Launceston Airport with regular daily flights to and from Melbourne.

As well as being the home of the Tasmanian Craft Fair, Deloraine is a great base from which to explore Cradle Mountain, the Great Western Tiers, Mole Creek, and the Central Highlands. See Tasmanian Devils being fed at Trowunna Wildlife Park and try not to get addicted to chocolate coated raspberries at Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm Café.

This is sponsored content for the Tasmanian Craft Fair.

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