from Winter Wonderland….. Hyde Park London. The colours and lights are so pretty….London is so Romantic at this time of the year, it is just the best place to be. Enjoy your Festivities !
Rasta Mouse and me!
This was taken for the grandchildren…honest! Rasta Mouse gathered a good crowd and it was good to see him come down and support the Maker’s Market.
I will be there on Christmas Eve selling my originally recycled plastic bag and cloth oyster card holder’s, tote and handbags. Plus, on sale will be gift Vouchers
for a workshop at sewin studio in the new year. An ideal gift for some-one new to sewing and wanting to try out their creativity. More details to be posted later this week.
well lets try t…
well lets try this for size, a quick press entry with big bold type in the lovely colour orange. Which makes the font seem smaller.
Radio Presenting and a Festive Invitation…
Generation Radio became neighbours this summer and it is proving to be a positive relationship. They are a community radio station, broadcasting over the internet they deliver a wide range of shows and radio training, so to great surprise I find myself in the radio studio operating mixing decks, monitoring levels, learning how to present! It is a new and fun experience, hopefully when I have completed my training the Recycle Radio show will emerge….with news, views , creative ways to re-use from artists, life coaches and some great music! If you would like your own radio show or radio related work Generation Radio will be pleased to meet you .
Sewin Studio will be open too with original gift ideas from guests and me, with something to suit all budgets. There will be stylish fashion accessories,oyster card holders and jewellery created from fabric remnants, textile art and traditional hand carvings from Ivory Coast.
On January 10th I will host a textile/quilt evening, to share creative interests and to meet like minded people. Please join us to say hello on Sunday 11th December to find out more. Look forward to meeting you.
Make It, Sell It ! day at the Business and IP Centre at The British Library
In preparation for the Make It, Sell It! day at theBusiness and IP Centre at the British Library today I discovered ‘flow‘, making postcard flyers , tweaking my website info and adapting finishing touches to a bag to take to the event.
Moving from one action to the next, knowing the next action to take, to build up the desired effects is based on practised techniques, focus and a routine. It all came together well, it flowed. This is exactly the experience I am looking for in my art making in future.
Practising techniques: to become familiar with process, the more disciplined and skilled you become the more creative freedom you gain.
Routine : the order in which you do something repeatedly
Focus: bringing attention, intention and action into play on one thing. I think focus was key here. Deciding which task to tackle and sticking with just this and this only, until the end.
Also, practice allows you to know more or less how long something might take, enabling you to plan , then you can try a different order of completing tasks eg to see if you get better results.☆
THE MAKE IT! SELL IT! Networking Event at Business and IP Centre was well
worthwhile. We speed networked for half an hour at a time in groups of about 7plus the ‘table’ expert who introduced their area of interest and expertise, sharing valuable information. We also introduced ourselves and throughout the morning learnt more about each other’s businesses. It seems that online networking ..(.facebook, Etsy, Twitter ) and planning (time, strategy and business) are the key areas in which to concentrate and apparently having a blog is more likely to bring in ‘25% more traffic ‘ than a website.
I have to say that embracing online technology is one thing, but you can’t beat meeting and talking with real people as we did today. Sometimes the most simple, practical, advice for action makes an impression. ‘Forgo the TV and your usual soap opera and just ‘do it’,’ take a risk towards your dream.
I recommend the Business and IP Centre in London , it is a great resource. They offer free events, use of library for market research etc . Check out their website for more info.
See you next time.
Original Oyster Card holders at Brixton Makers Market
There was such a great atmosphere at the Makers Market in Brixton yesterday. Everybody is so friendly, you get to meet such interesting people and with support from the family, it was a good day.
All stall holders at the Makers Market are from Brixton, making it a unique local market. There is such a wealth and variety of creativity here in this town – it is wonderful to see and to be part of it. Ceramics, painting, knitwear,jewellery, Indian head massage, accessories, home made cakes, preserves…original, individually home made produce. The music sellers provided a cool soundtrack of soul and reggae grooves and there was plenty too when it came to grabbing some lunch. A savoury feast of international flavours to entice and a selection of sweets and cakes to melt anyone’s resolve.
My new, improved display attracted attention, compliments and sales. Although there is room for improvement still more signage and information etc. This time I had postcard style flyers to give people, so they know where to find me next time. Also you will notice from the above photo,I abandoned the bag idea in favour of stretching ‘No Title’ over a frame. I like the finish of the textile in this way, it gives a painterly presence to the work. I plan to finish more textile art this way in the future. And below is a detail of my patchwork and quilted oyster card holders…these one’s are using repurposed cloth, lovely strong colours with contrasting stitching.
Some shots of market neighbours Eva and Donna and Mare from Natty Peep’s 
and the ‘Bunting for Brixton’, 250 metres….yes , dedicated stitching by the hands of Stuart’s (one of the organisers) daughter , Harriet Horwood, who holds workshops 
where people can add their words and images of their Brixton to personalise the Bunting, and later……
an abstract …(yes, a creative interpretation!) shot at the close of day’s trading.
The next market is on the 10th December and will feature a visit from Rasta Mouse, one for the grandchildren I think !
One of a kind purse..in the making
A little experiment with cloth, paper and scissors to see how the purse might look with red or green handle.Hmm……
do I have then nerve to slice all my stitching ……..?
Purse in the making_part one
In the spirit of finishing pieces, this bag which was part of a collection
from which this bag 
has been taken ,to be revamped into a purse style handbag. I dismantled the tote, cut the top to fit the frame, added stiff interfacing, a pocket in the lining and the final flourish… was to sew the bag onto the frame and add the handle.
This is another piece that I
have been working on. Adding some batting under the red border(the green central panel was already quilted) and quilted it. a red thread adds to the vividness.I really like the grid of stitches,the square shape and shadows.It reminds me of chocolate bar shapes …….
Am thinking I might add a purse frame to this..we’ll see.
Come to the makers market at Brixton Station Road on saturday 12th November
to see this work and have a chat.
Makers Market Brixton
Yesterday I went to the Makers Market meeting down in Brixton. The organisers Stuart, John and Lisa invited current and new makers to give them feed back on the last market and update us on developments. Stuart and John have been traders in Brixton Market for some time, have set up the Makers Market as a not for profit community enterprise, to give the project a community feel which was evident from last nights meeting. We will have lights on the 12th November which should add jolly feel. We had helpful hints and tips on display techniques and are encouraged to sell our wares at the other shops within the area. The local shop traders are happy with the new market as it has increased revenue for them and footfall is up by 6000 according to Lambeth’s monitoring system. so things are looking promising . The Makers Market is also linked in to another local initiative called Makerhood which is an online trading site for makers, where the maker agrees to deliver the produce and meet the buyer.
A good book for reference is ‘The Handmade Market Place” by Keri Chapin which covers online and market ideas and advice, especially useful is the chapter on taking photo’s of your work . I have been working on this…..
Some of my plastic bag patchwork/quilted oyster card holders on display
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