Behind the scenes of The Fantastical Factory Curious Craft
Harriet Vine, 17 May 2020
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.
Wearing: Big Price Ticket Brooch
During the show we are ‘employed’ by the co-hosts and ‘factory owners’, Keith Lemon and Anna Richardson. Keith’s craft skills are brilliant, he is very talented and his energy is infectious, whilst Anna brings such warmth and is utterly compelling.
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.
Having my hair and make-up done every day was such a TREAT!
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.
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!
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!!
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.
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.
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
