Edinburgh Festival Scottish Crafts

Taking part in the Edinburgh Festival Scottish Crafts scene blends Scottish culture, fun, handmade crafts, warm sunny days and a bit of rain. Also, lots of hard work, laughter with locals and visitors from around the world.

Edinburgh Festival & The Fringe Origins

The story of the Edinburgh Festival began after World War II, with the launch of the Edinburgh International Festival in 1947. The aim was to bring people together through art and to help post-war recovery. 

Simultaneously, a parallel and "fringing" event, the ‘Edinburgh Fringe’ emerged when eight theatre groups, who has been excluded from the official festival, staged their own shows on the city's periphery. 

This artist-led movement, driven by a belief in the power of art and creativity, has grown to become the world’s largest performing arts festival. 

In 2025, it ran for 25 days, selling over 2.6 million tickets. Featured 53,942 performances of 3,893 shows across 301 venues. With participants from 68 countries. Including of course, the Edinburgh Festival Scottish Craft Fair at the west end of Princes Street, which included my wee business ‘Baigali Designs’.

My Experience

This was my 6th year of being part of this crafting family. My first year was in one of the small huts, I moved to an 'Arch' three years ago where my cushions and throws are better protected from the rain.

It is organised chaos when we all set up on the weekend before open-day. My son and his fiancé were a great help putting up shelves and the lights, etc. It takes us almost 15 hours to complete.
I like having a wee chat and a laugh with all the tourists that visit the Craft Fair. I sold my first cushion to Korea this year and love the idea of my cushions and throws being in homes all over the world. Tourists are interesting to talk to, from Sydney to New York, they all love Scotland and are excited to be here.

I broke my record this year by selling to tourists from thirty-three different countries.

Many of my local customers make a point of coming to see me for a catch up and to check out my new designs. It may sound crazy, but I often associate them with either a cushion or a throw design that they bought previously!

This year the weather was fantastic, a bit warm for some of the crafters, you could see a few red faces peering out of the huts on very warm days.


My tips for meeting the Challenges of Crafting are:

  1. You need to create an eye-catching display that showcases your products and attracts customers. Not always easy when every venue is different and there is so much competition.
  2. Engage with customers, explain your products and how you make them.
  3. There’s no guarantee of sales; meaning you could invest time and money without covering your costs. 
  4. Although you are competing with other vendors for customers’ attention and pounds they are a significant source of support and encouragement.
Scottish Cushion ST144

The Rewards of Crafting for me are:

  1. Meeting potential and existing customers, talking to them, and getting direct feedback on my work. 
  2. Craft Fairs provide an opportunity to connect with other makers and grow my network. 
  3. I can sell my products directly to the public without giving up huge discounts to 3rd party sellers.
  4. It’s a powerful way to market my brand, grow my customer base, and find repeat buyers.
  5. I also learn valuable skills in sales, marketing, and customer service in a hands-on environment.
  6. Plus I have a lot of fun, if it is not enjoyable, I think you should stop doing it.
    Packing up is a wee bit of madness, all of us are tired and exhausted after weeks of non-stop selling. We are ready to go home, put our feet up and enjoy a well-deserved glass of wine!

    I will be back next year to do it all over again. I love being part of the crafting family and still get a lot of pleasure with every sale, knowing that my specific craft is appreciated.


    Lesley Pugsley

    Baigali Designs