Japanese Craft Exhibition

Just a quick note to say - Londoners should go and see this, it looks great!
I used to occasionally work with Japanese traditional craftspeople and British makers inspired by Japanese techniques. *Passing moment of wistfulness for my old job*

Basketry by Joanna Gilmour.

Via @Rosiejam

The chair has a new dress!

Or at least the chair has a new cover, let us not get too surreal.

And I made a new set of pictures on Flickr of the felt pebble fixation which has lead to this chair being decorated thus.

It got loads of compliments at the Eco Design Show in Liverpool over the weekend. A pound for every enthusiastic comment would have made me a rich woman! I do love to make people happy simply at the sight of some fabric sewn to some other fabric. Hopefully it will one day make someone SO happy that they have to buy it. Or at least commission their own. In the meantime it will make my studio happier and brighter and bring joy to all the work experience students who will be coming to work for me over the next few months*. And you guys too, I hope. The chair of happiness.

* they will need it, poor loves mostly get to do ironing and cutting out circles. Sometimes pebbles, but mostly circles.

Staring blankly into the distance.

I have:

• taught a workshop in Birmingham
• had a rather pointless trip to West Bromwich
• driven to Wales & had dinner & wine & walked the dog (not all the same time)
• driven to Ormskirk to deliver work to the Chapel Gallery
• seen the Gormleys
• set up my stand for the Eco Design Show, Liverpool
• been delighted that my hosts have wifi
  
• collapsed on the sofa but sans wine and chocolate. A mistake.
  

Not bad for 2 days. I am a little tired. Now I shall sleep.

More on scissors

As I hoped, Scrapiana came up trumps with scissor-related question from the other day. I thought I would copy it here for all to enjoy! Thanks!


"I don't think there's an official collective noun for scissors (a startling oversight) though "a snip of scissors" can't really be bettered. Well done. I'd offer "an indecision of scissors" to cover those of us who experience cutting-anxiety over precious items from our stash. Hopefully none of us will experience the inferior grouping of "a bluntness of scissors", or "a shred of scissors". An obvious scissor subset might be "a zigzag of pinking shears".

A couple of dictionary factlets, c/o the Shorter OED. The word seems to come from the late Latin word for a cutting instrument: cisorium, which sounds to me like a great name for a scissor shop. In C19th slang, "Scissors!" was an interjection expressing disgust or impatience. You may also wish to revive a late C19th adverb: scissorwise, meaning in the form or manner of a pair of scissors."

Liverpool Design Festival, Eco Show.

One of the reasons (among a list so long and frankly tedious, I won't bore you with it (which is something coming from the woman who just a few days ago posted a long blog about putting up shelves)) I am so unbloggy and otherwise occupied is that I am preparing to exhibit at Liverpool Design Festival's Eco Design Show. Anyone around that way who wants to get in free in exchange for helping me out should get in touch. I will be running a hands-on session making Suffolk Puffs and working on a giant one of these.


Please come and play!




I've been working like mad getting ready for this show, and also to preparing workshops for Craftspace which start tomorrow, and I'm delivering work to Chapel Gallery while I'm up in the North West. Plus keeping the day job ticking over and working on some exciting new things. Phew. I hope I'll get some time to blog about the exhibitions I've seen and a few other bits and pieces while I'm away, wifi willing. If not, I apologise and I will be back as soon as I have something to say.

Here's all the details about the whole Design Festival:

Liverpool Design Festival 30 October – 8 November

A celebration of design and fashion that confirms Liverpool as a hub of creative talent. There truly is something for everyone – come along and shop for a unique design gem, walk the Design Trail around the city, pimp your own clothes or bags with the help of top fashion professionals, learn how to make your own fashion business work or enter a schools competition to start your design career off on the right foot.

Eco Design Show
Sat 31 Oct & Sun 1 Nov – Crypt Hall at The Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
In keeping with the City’s Year of the Environment the Eco Design Show will feature tables, chairs, ceramics, furniture, lighting, jewellery, bags and fashion accessories that prove there is no need to compromise beautiful and stylish design when recycling, reusing or reducing consumption of resources.

As Sarah Elderkin, Liverpool Design Festival director explained; “The Eco Design Show is all about showing off the best in high quality design to challenge the common misconceptions that exist about eco design. All our exhibitors have placed eco-design practices at the heart of their work and visitors to the show will be amazed to see what can be recycled and reused.

“The show also gives a unique shopping opportunity for everyone who loves to be fashionable by bringing together the work of over 30 British based designers in one place.”

Visitors to the show can also meet Liverpool designer Ilsa Parry winner of BBC2’s Design For Life. Ilsa was chosen by design guru Phillipe Starck to join his Paris team for 6 months. Come and find out what life as part of his ‘tribe’ was like and see some of Ilsa’s own designs like the Kaspa lamp that glows in the dark after the power has been switched off.

There will also be workshops at the show run by garment illustrator Emily Lansley and bag-makers to the stars Nook and Willow. Bring your old handbags, belts and clothes with you and leave with unique creations made by you!

1.Eco Design and Fashion Show
Opening Hours: (Fri 30 Oct 12-6pm Trade Only) Sat 31 Oct & Sun 1 Nov 10am to 6 pm
Tickets from £5 online contact www.liverpooldesignfestival.com £7 on the door, under 16’s free with adults
Venue - The Crypt is the only fully realised section of the original Sir Edward Lutyens design for the Catholic Cathedral. The entrance to the crypt is on Brownlow Hill.


Finishing School
Monday 2 – Friday 6 November

A comprehensive programme of fashion masterclasses designed for recent graduates and more experienced professionals alike. Your opportunity to get advice from successful professionals such as Joanne Watkinson from MyWardrobe.com and Justine Mills from Liverpool’s very own fashion store, Cricket. If you want to work in the world of fashion these are for you with topics including; Presentation to Buyers, Intellectual Property, Styling, Pricing, Fashion Marketing and Brand Image.

Design Stars – launching at the Eco Design and Fashion Show

To encourage the next generation of designers this competition will get 11 to 16 year olds competing to win either a graphic design, fashion or video games brief. There are workshops available from professional designers for the first schools to sign up and the winners get a masterclass from designers in the field they chose from locally based nonconform, Nook and Willow or Sony. Supported by Echo in the Community and in association with the Bluecoat’s Shine project.


Liverpool Design Symposium
Wednesday 4th November 10am-9pm

Following last year’s inaugural success the Symposium will once again present an insightful and inspirational programme based on the theme of ‘Branding the City’. With speeches, presentations, workshops and exhibition all at JMU’s new Art and Design academy.

Design Trail – throughout the festival

The whole city’s gone design crazy! Follow the map or go on the website and visit any or all of the 12 venues across Liverpool city centre that are celebrating design, from HOST on Hope Street to Coffee Union on Bold Street, from the Met Quarter to the Empire.

Liverpool Design Festival is run by industry support body Design Initiative with the support of the City of Liverpool and the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

A snip of scissors

Hmmm. I'm not sure what the collective noun is (or ought to be) for scissors. I throw this question open to you readers (and hope dearly for an answer from Scrapiana & her dictionary of everything).

I went to the haberdashery wholesalers this afternoon, which I realised was a mere 15 minutes walk from the studio, mainly along the canal. The canal is charming in the sun and pretty grim the rest of the time. Today was sunny which always helps to catch the sparkle of the shopping trolleys lurking at the bottom of the water. Ahh. City living at it's finest.

Anyway, I was talking of another type of metal ware, that of scissors. The 24 pairs of scissors I bought (14 large, 9 small/medium, one pinking) are not very interesting at all, they merely allow me to run textile classes without having to risk my own sharps in the fray.

So instead I show you printed scissors, from the studio of my friend Teresa of Teresa Green, just a few miles further up that same stretch of canal.

This could easily be the epitome of the sewing themed accessories. Although I could do with scissors on a skirt. Hmm. I sense a Clothkits collaboration... could I persuade them?

Oh, they aren't on the website. I bought it at Origin the other week. Must be new. Never fear, she is at shows all over the place in the next few weeks, have a look at the list here, including the Great Northern this weekend and Lustre in a couple of weeks. Hurrah!

In which I give a long list of things and promises

Firstly the list of things, most of which happened some time ago and I am majorly tardy in sharing them:

1. I was featured in the September issue of Get Creative magazine which is a very charming Australian magazine about, well, crafts. The feature is about my work and about Sew It Up. Despite having a book published and another one in the pipeline, I'm still really excited about having an article published about me, in Australia. Wow.





2. Talking of books, I mentioned that Sew It Up is being published in the US under the title of The Sewing Bible. Well, it's available for pre-order now! Out November 10th. Woo hoo! Just in time for Christmas people! That version is also available in Canada, but the rest of the world has the English version with all those centimetres. Save of course the Finnish who have their own version, called Kotiompelijan Kasikirja. Whatever that means.... (excuse lack of accent there, I can't muster the energy to find accents as well as remembering all the stuff I haven't yet told you).


3. My new book is still in proof-reading stage (expecting to have a fun weekend in with it) but it is already on Amazon for pre-order, although it's not out for quite a while (July next year, fingers crossed!). And the text needs a spot of updating... new info will be supplied shortly!

4. What was 4? Oh yes. I've had work featured in a couple of Etsy Treasuries recently. Always nice to be in these alongside some really amazing stuff.






5. I'm getting ready to exhibit at Liverpool Design Festival's Eco Design Show. More anon

6. I have some work going on display at the Chapel Gallery in a couple of weeks too.



Plus some links to stuff which has been entertaining and enthusing me recently:

International Wear A Dress Day, which I wholeheartedly support. If you are inclined to wear dresses at all. If not then clearly it is a bad idea and I do not suggest it. Terrible things may happen. However, if you are a fan of swooshing about with skirts then go dressy next Thursday. I have to set up at Liverpool that day which is not the best dress-wearing activity so I am pondering how to deal with this one. But I will do my best. Maybe wearing an apron in public will do instead? Why don't I start a wearing an apron in public day too? I wore one last Friday and got even more funny looks in the pub than I would normally get. Interesting....

This is a great article about sewing, feminism and the 18th Century. Three of my favourite things.

I am reading The Culture of Knitting by Joanne Turney. It's good. More of this anon too.

Got all fired up about Craft Club the other week, having been reading up about crafts and education. Kids need to do crafts at school. It does matter.

And I'm just starting some work for Craftspace which is really exciting, even though it will involve getting up at 6am for several days and going to Birmingham. Oh well.

and finally, the list of promises (as much to remind myself as to tantalize you. Perhaps rather more to remind myself, although feel free to be tantalized if you wish).

1. I have been sewing and I have even got the odd photo here and there.
2. I have TWO exhibitions to review AND a catch up on TWO weeks' worth of Origin AND the Knitting and Stitching Show. Phew.
3. I will not blog about shelves for a long time.

There were probably more but it's now well past my bedtime and having been up a bit too early to run a rather manic workshop this morning, I'm off.

Shelving the studio

Three years. Three years I've been in this studio. [And the same house. That's more than twice as long as I've lived anywhere in the last 16 years.]
But the studio - really this is my second studio, but the first was only a 6-month sublet so I never really got to fill it to the ceiling with fabric and sewing machines and fluff of all kinds. I didn't quite expect to be here 3+ years [life tends to be like that] so I didn't do a lot of work when I moved in, save for some vital extra shelves.

But just lately I have been a tad less busy and my mind has turned to the mess that is my studio. It's almost a kind of procrastination. Having had a real job for most of this year, I've not actually made much at all. Which is awful and I am remedying it forthwith, do no fear. But I have got a bit of creative drought. Or an impetus shortage. Or something. But with me, a little sorting out, shuffling fabrics around, making new workspaces where there was mess, really helps my creativity. So I am sorting. A kind of Autumn-cleaning. Hibernation nesting maybe? I fully intend to spend winter buried in fabric in my studio!
So anyway, the shelves. About a year ago I had a major shelf collapse - the rubbish wobbly shelves that were there when I moved in. I've put up a lot of shelves in my time and believe me, I can put up solid shelves. I come from a family of book owners. Serious book owners. And because of this shelf-training, I have only ever had one collapse. And that wasn't my fault. Stupid crumbly walls.

In contrast the studio has incredibly solid walls that are sooooooo hard that even my entire weight behind the hammer drill is not always quite enough to get the screw holes deep enough. Which is presumably why the previous tenant left shelves that were kind of stuck on the wall with paint and willpower.

So off the came, taking a fair chunk of the wall with them.
They certainly weren't designed to take this.

I dread to think of the weight of fabric I have. The two guys who loaded the van when i moved might hazard a guess at about 15 gazillion tonnes. This is only the stuff on the inherited shelves - the newer shelves I put up a couple of years ago are still fully dressed in their array of textiley goodness.

Look. All tidy. It's like that all the time, you know. Really.

So anyway, much drilling and swearing later I got the shelves up on the right hand side of that wall and with much less swearing I got the left hand side up. I've no idea why the second lot was easier, but it was. Phew.

So here they are. Looking oh so stylish huh, with the old holes and unpainted bits where the brackets came off. Never mind. Soon covered with fabric.

That was taken on Saturday and things have since been re-arranged again. A lot more sorting needs to be done, but it's a whole lot easier to sort when you have somewhere to put it.

I'm now planning an ENTIRE redesign of my whole studio (except this wall of course) to make the place more useable and efficient. I haven't done it before because I didn't think I was going to stay. But I am. Try getting me out of there now. Not a good plan.

So yeah, I've written a blog about putting up shelves. I will do some sewing again. Soon. Honest.