MK Curated Winter Fair

MK Curated Winter Fair takes over Middleton Hall at Centre:MK from Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November, the latest in a quarterly series of seasonal events at the shopping centre. It marks 16 years of events there, so it's a bit of a local institution by now. For the weekend, Middleton Hall transforms into a substantial indoor pop-up bazaar with more than 130 stalls run by hand-picked exhibitors, each individually invited to take part.

The rule here is that every item is a one-off, and no retail goods are permitted. That's what sets it apart from a usual market: you won't find anything mass-produced. It's billed as a home for original and affordable pieces by the region's designer-makers, artists, artisans and specialist dealers, and a place to find vintage collectables that don't turn up on the high street. Over the years it's built a reputation as one of the best markets in the country, and that's largely because of the curation — the organisers bring together a wide range of makers under one roof rather than leaving it to chance.

Because it's an indoor fair, it's a good shout for a rainy autumn weekend when you'd rather stay under cover. With over 130 stalls to get through, you can easily spend a few hours just drifting from one to the next, and since everything is a one-off, what you see on Friday won't be there on Sunday. It's as much about the browsing as it is about the buying.

Entry is free, so you can just turn up whenever suits you. It runs from 9:30am to 6pm on Friday, 9am to 6pm on Saturday, and 10:30am to 5pm on Sunday. Middleton Hall is inside Centre:MK, Milton Keynes, MK9 3ES.