Winter Wovenland- more than just a marketplace



Jess from SUPU woven wraps having a cuddle in Ziferblat with her daughter and Nina, the youngest member of the Firespiral team!
Last week, Jess from SUPU woven wraps and I went for our final visit to the Winter Wovenland venue before our event on the 4th November. We’ve got all the plans for the marketplace sorted (and we’ll be telling you all about that very soon), but we needed to have a think about how the ‘party’ side of things would work…
This year it will be held at Ziferblat in Media City, Salford. This Ziferblat cafe is larger and airier than the one in Manchester City Centre, and we’ll have the entire venue to ourselves! The Ziferblat way of working is unique and pretty special- you pay for your time in the building, but once you’re in there, you are free to do whatever you like! They’ve invited us to treat the place like our home so that we can throw the best party possible! Winter Wovenland- more than just a marketplaceWe’ve planned to clear the tables from one area and fill it with blankets to make a child-friendly space, and there are two beach huts in the downstairs cafe area (beach huts! It is such a weird and lovely place…) that the children will love playing in. 

Aunt Sponge and her sister, Jen from Firespiral, setting up the cafe


We’ll  set up some free, fun and not-too-messy crafts to keep everyone entertained, including something very special from Chicago based designer Amar & Riley. We’ll also be running a drop in wrap mending workshop in the craft area, called “Weave it back in!”, where you’ll get the chance to learn some new skills and increase your wrap mending confidence.

Winter Wovenland- more than just a marketplace
The Ziferblat kitchen is fully stocked and you simply help yourself to whatever you want! The only proviso is that you are asked to wash your own cups and plates up when you’re done with them, but this becomes quite a social thing in itself. They have all manner of teas, coffees and juices, plus a handsomely stocked ‘hot chocolate bar’. You can help yourself to cakes and biscuits, toast bread, crumpets or waffles, make toasties with your choice of fillings. We’ll be putting on some extra savoury food at lunch time, and of course, Aunt Sponge will have baked an impressive array of cakes, slices available in exchange for a small donation to The Flying Seagull Project.


Ziferblat do their best to offer gluten-free and non-dairy alternatives, and many of Aunt Sponge’s creations are gluten free (but delicious nevertheless).

outside Ziferblat media cityOutside there is a small area with picnic tables for getting some fresh air if the weather is pleasant, and a minute’s walk down into the heart of  Media City will offer you lots of safe space for children to run around, climbing on sculptures by the side of the Manchester Ship Canal, or exploring the CBBC Blue Peter Garden.

When you arrive you’ll be given a badge to wear, so that you can enter and leave the venue as often as you like throughout the afternoon. You’ll also be given a blank sticker for you to write your name on if you wish- we know how odd it can feel to be surrounded by people who seem so familiar from online groups, yet you may never have met in real life! Winter Wovenland- more than just a marketplace

We’ll have lots of wraps for you to try on, and Katrina Shepherd- a very talented professional photographer- will be around to take photos. 

A full price ticket will give you entry to both the cafe area and the marketplace upstairs, and costs £12. For that you get access to some pretty impressive discounts and exclusive items, unlimited food and drink for the full 4 hours of the event plus some exclusive winter wovenland goodies.Winter Wovenland- more than just a marketplace
Winter Wovenland- more than just a marketplace
The ‘cafe only’ ticket is £6 and allows you to spend 4 hours in the venue, with unlimited food and drink. Standard Ziferblat pricing is 8p per minute, so this is still a bargain way to pass the afternoon! Children aged 2 and under are free, regardless of how many custard creams and bananas they can consume…

We think that this will be a fun and memorable day, and the marketplace will have something for everyone, even if your carrying days are coming to an end. It is essentially our ‘work’ Christmas party, so we’d love to see you there!

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