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Behind the scenes of The Fantastical Factory Curious Craft

May 14, 2020 - Harriet Vine
Behind the scenes of The Fantastical Factory Curious Craft
Hi fantastical crafters!

What did you think of the first episode of Channel 4's The Fantastical Factory of Curious Craft? For the second blog, I thought I’d take you through some more gossip from behind the scenes, including my co-judge, the presenters and Gary the Gobbler…

First up, meet my co-judge Zak Khchai, a fantastic Parisian, an artist-entrepreneur but also the king of crochet and dance. We had never met before the show and immediately became inseparable.

The Fantastic Factory of Curious Craft Harriet and Zak
Wearing: Big Price Ticket Brooch

During the show we are ‘employed’ by the co-hosts and ‘factory owners’, Keith Lemon and Anna RichardsonKeith’s craft skills are brilliant, he is very talented and his energy is infectious, whilst Anna brings such warmth and is utterly compelling.

Keith Lemon The Fantastical Factory of Curious Crafts Harriet

The whole crew became a crafting family very quickly, and quite rightly so, Pat, the ‘tea lady’ who dishes out tea and biscuits (Rooibos for me!) is Keith Lemon's actual mum. A lot of people have asked me if she really did this, or was it for ‘show’ but as you may know, every great crafter is fuelled by tea and biscuits.

The Fantastical Factory of Curious Crafts

Having my hair and make-up done every day was such a TREAT!

Harriet Vine Make Up and Hair TFFOCC

Both Zak and I got to get the wardrobe treatment from uber stylist Faye Sawyer and it was one of my favourite parts of the show - working out what outfits and matching them with the right Tatty Devine jewellery

Harriet Vine wardrobe The Fantastical Factory of Curious Craft

Now onto the contestants... Each show sees four super talented makers bring to life their creations based on a pretty bonkers brief set by Keith. Contestants have access to a proper wood-workshop, a spray booth and a materials room, craft heaven!

Materials Room - The Fantastical Factory of Curious Craft

The contestants have to make their creations within a strict time slot, so seeing that TFFOCC is not like anywhere else in the world, there couldn’t be an ordinary clock - we have a walking clock!!

Walking Clock The Fantastical Factory of Curious Craft
Wearing: Dental Bling Brooch - Mirror Red

Drawing live on set, Keith used his boundless illustrative skills to draw what was being furiously crafted on set while Zac and I kept a close eye on the crafters' skills and techniques.

Keith Lemon Harriet Vine The Fantastical Factory of Curious Crafts
Wearing: Ooohhh Statement Necklace

Faced with so many talented people the judging process was pretty tough, so our criteria was based on creativity, craftsmanship and originality. I hope you think we picked the right winners!

Then comes the twist (which I’m pretty sure has never been done before) the craft that didn't go through to the next round got eaten by Gary the Gobbler!! An industrial shredder, like no other. The whole team had to don protective gear incase of flying bits of craft! Obvs I matched my hard hat to my outfit each episode.

Gary the Gobbler The Fantastical Factory of Curious Crafts

But don’t worry, I can’t let any craft go to waste, so at the end of the series, I turn all the shredded goodness into something magical, watch this space…

Love Harriet x
HV
Harriet Vine