Made by Hand . . .

Here are a few snaps from earlier this month at Made by Hand in Newport.  After months of handweaving I launched my first scarf collection at the show.  Inspired by the Festival of Britain, each scarf  is named after a British city.  What's your favourite? Glasgow, London, Swansea or Brighton . . .

Tredegar House, Newport

Stand 100

Glasgow

Swansea

London

Brighton

busy, busy, busy . . .

Lots of juggling going on in the studio at the moment what with Hothouse, teaching, curating and making.  I've been in production mode for the last couple of months now and the deadlines are nearly upon me.  Lots of cushions have been sent to London for the Designers / Makers pop-up shop which opens in Exmouth market tomorrow and new ones are being sewn ready for Made By Hand in just under two weeks.  I finished weaving all my new scarf collection earlier today, so this week will be all about braiding, washing and labelling.

Last warp on the loom.

COLLABORATE is also opening next Wednesday so the team are busy getting all the work ready for hanging.  Look out for the posters . . .

COMING SOON . . . .

30th Nov 2011 - 20th Jan 2012. The Hive Gallery, Shrewsbury, SY1 1TE

'Collaborate is an exhibition showcasing the crème de la crème of Shrewsburys creative talent, who by sharing their skills with each other have enhanced their commercial design practice. From a mixture of creative backgrounds; photography, fine art, fashion, textiles, digital media, and illustration, collaborate looks to document the creative process behind these exchanges. The result is a story of interdisciplinary projects.'


This is an exhibition I am curating. You can read more about the exhibition on the new blog.

in the studio . . . .

It has been a busy month in the studio for me.  I have been making warps and getting the loom set up for scarf production.  I also have new cushions in production.  All these new products will be available to purchase at the Designers / Makers shop in London (25th November-23rd December) and at Made by Hand in Newport, South Wales (2nd-4th December).  But if you cannot make these dates, fear not because there is a new online shop coming to my website very soon. 
.

A sneaky preview of one of the colour ways, hot off the loom.

Here are my new tags, business cards and labels.

house of beasts . . . .

On Friday afternoon I escaped the stuffy hot studio for a research trip with tailor Kate Millbank.  Kate and I are gathering inspiration galore for a collaborative project we are embarking on and I shall be talking more about this over the coming months.  We headed out to Attingham Park, a National Trust property just outside Shrewsbury.      The house and grounds are currently hosting a contemporary art exhibition called House of Beasts, which has been organised by Meadow Arts.  Seamlessly integrated into the rooms are wonderful macabre installations, illustrations and animations.  I'm slightly in love with the whole exhibition but my favourite piece was by Alastair Mackie. 

"The owl, having swallowed its prey whole, slowly digests the nourishing, softer parts.  It then regurgitates the indigestible bones, feathers and fur in the form of a pellet.  To create his sculpture Alastair Mackie extracts mouse skulls from the pellets. with meticulous craftsmanship turns this natural product into an object of fascination, beauty and scientific curiosity.  A hint of the initial violence lingers in the fragility of his work."

words from exhibition catalogue

Alastair Mackie - Untitled (Sphere)

image from here

thoroughly modern wool . . . .

One of the highlights of my London visit was the Wool Modern exhibition on Pall Mall.  The show displayed a really interesting mix of fashion and interior products from designers such as Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood.  I was also really pleased to see the stunning work of Claire-Anne O'Brien who graduated from the RCA last year with me.  The show is up for another couple of days so catch it if you can.

Alexander McQueen

Giles Deacon

Claire-Anne O'Brien

Images from google and Claire-Annes website.

Origin highlights . . . .

On Friday I was down in London to check out all the delights of the design festival.  First stop was Origin, The Contemporary Craft Fair, where I got to catch up with familiar faces and make some new discoveries as well.  My favourite stand in the show was definitely Abigail Browns, who creates beautiful stitched birds.  Here are a few examples of her work, but take a look at her website for her full range of feathered friends.

Abigail Brown

Abigail Brown

I also really loved the retro look of James & Tilla Walters ceramics.

James & Tilla Walters

James & Tilla Walters

Also great to see the work of fellow Hothousers Emma Bradbury and Jasmin Giles, as well as my old bosses Wallace Sewell and Margo Selby.

experiments in flax . . .

Here's some images of the three leno panels that I made on the collaborative warp with Zoe Acketts Textiles.  The pieces were on show at the fantastic old flax mill in Shrewsbury a couple of weeks ago.

Hotstuff . . .

I am delighted to officially be able to announce that I am part of the Crafts Council UKs Hothouse 2011.  Hothouse provides emerging makers (those defined as being within two years of setting up a practice) with a programme of focussed, intensive business skills and creative development, complimented with 1:1 support over a six month period.  I met everyone last week at the Design Council in London.  It looks like its going to be an exciting few months ahead.  We now have a facebook page so please 'like' us to see what we are up to. Check out the rest of the makers: Amy Bear, Aimee Betts, Eleanor Bolton, Emma Bradbury, Kevin Brook, Hannah Felicity Dennis, Jane Dzisiewski, Amelia Fever, Lucy Jane Foakes, Helen Foot, Jasmin Giles, Anna Glasbrook, Mahtab Hanna, Zehava Hashai-Spellman, Tortie Hoare, Anna Collette Hunt, Zoe Lloyd, Hanna Nielsen, Elizabeth Peers, Carly Petit-Taylor, Helen Smith, Rhian Solomon, Thorody, Ellen Thomas, Victoria Walker, Sarah Warsop andJanice Zethraeus.

two become one . . . .

What happens when two weavers make two warps to make one cloth? . . .

This warp was a collaboration between Zoe Acketts and myself.  I shall post images of the woven cloth next week.

be there or be . . .

Tuesday night saw the opening of a new exhibition at Birmingham's Fotofilia Gallery.  The images have all been featured in Square Magazine, the only magazine which is dedicated entirely to the promotion of square format photography.  Some of my favourite images in the show where by Phil Bebbington, so here is a selection of his work for you . .

The exhibition runs until the 1st October.  The magazine is published on-line and comes out quarterly, click here to read latest issue of square. Images from http://philbebbington.com

colour work . . .

Sonia Delaunay is primarily known as an abstract painter and colourist, as well as for her fashion illustrations. She co-founded the Orphism art movement which is based on abstraction and bright colours. Along with her husband, she pioneered the movement and re-launched the use of colour during the monochromatic Cubist movement. Her colour palette and simple geometric shapes are what really draws the eye and makes them unique, while having a contemporary feel. 

images taken from here