About Us
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​Joanna Hall, the founder of Bazaar, is a Textile and Fashion Designer from Hildenborough in Kent. She has been working alongside crafts people in India for more than 20 years.
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She works mainly in Rajasthan with weavers, block printers, tailors, jewellers and women who do embroidery, beading and fringing. She manufactures her designs of clothing, jewellery and gifts through a web of trusted craftspeople she has befriended during this time. She also buys and collects from the items they have already designed and are making themselves.
"Everywhere you go in India, people are making things. Handmade paper sheets dry out across the fields and river banks. Dyed fabric is stretched out in the sun. Inside busy workshops, men forge jewellery whilst we sit on the floor sifting through piles of semi-precious stones looking for just the right colour. Rajasthan is a hive of activity.”
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The culmination of all these efforts is a beautiful range of clothing, textiles, jewellery, sarongs, rugs, gifts and exotic home furnishings which Joanna sells at her extraordinary shows throughout the year. Each event is at a stunning location in the South East of England, and visitors are inspired to return again and again. More recently she has invited a limited number of specially chosen retailers throughout the UK to showcase her range as well as taking her designs direct to the public at select events and festivals.
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Joanna is keen to ensure that not only does Bazaar embrace rigorous Fairtrade principles but also that a part of everything she does should go back into local communities. She has directly supported the Sandy Gall Afghanistan Appeal, Hope and Homes for Children and Hospice in the Weald as well as indirectly contributing to numerous other charities both in the UK and abroad.
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A Bazaar show is a real spectacle and not to be missed. For further details of where to find Bazaar take a look at the show dates page or Contact page. You can now also follow us on our Bazaar Facebook page for more up to date news.
Alex's Kesari Dhaba
Alex, Jo's partner in crime, who can usually be found doing all of the backbreaking legwork that Bazaar entails, or taking care of their two kids, Saffron and Daniel, makes and serves 3 delicious homemade vegetarian Indian curry's on a traditional Thali plate at some of our summer shows. This dish is served, as it is in India, with a chapati, rice, a small side salad and a helping of yogurt, mango chutney and lime pickle. Alex was a head chef before he met Jo and took on helping the Bazaar team, he has been to India many times with Jo and the kids and has taken his cooking knowledge to create an awesome authentic Indian dish that compliments Bazaar beautifully.
For more information on when and where you can get Alex's awesome Thali please visit our show dates page.
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Our Free Arts and Crafts Workshops
At some of our summer shows we put on a free block printing and scrap creations workshop. Jo hires a member of staff to explain how to use the blocks and scraps so that you guys can create a fabulous masterpiece. It is great fun for kids and adults alike, and beautifully displays the way in which a high quantity of our fabric is made.
Every year we have a competition for our scrap creations workshop, the winner of which wins a large elephant wall hanging (take a look the Textiles page to see some examples). You create a piece at one of our shows then post a picture of your masterpiece on our Facebook page. Then, at the end of the year Jo and the Bazaar team votes on a winner.
For more information on when and where you can take part in our workshops please visit our show dates page
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One of the reason's Jo puts on this workshop, apart from it being great fun, is to help raise money for two charities which are very close to her heart. The first is for the Knitting ladies of Bhaktapur in Nepal, whom make Bazaar's woollen and felt products, and were heavily hit in the 2015 earthquake, some of whom are still struggling today. Secondly, is for the Forget Me Not Café in Hildenborough, which provides a social space for those suffering with dementia, and, is where Jo's dad Cyril spent some of his time in his last years.
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We Won!
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We were incredibly proud winners of our first award in 2019 at the Cambridge Folk Festival for being the most sustainable traders.
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We have a large amount of recycled products and Jo is always thinking of new and creative alternatives to beat her nemesis, plastic. We are currently trying very hard to become plastic free. However, it is a process so please bare with us.
