I’m very chuffed to say that my Colour Cubes T-shirt has been included in Etsy’s Spring Lookbook for 2012.  I’ve had a good look through the whole book and there are some lovely fresh things to buy.

Here are some of my favourites:

• natural wood cufflinks by Stair Lodge Supplies on page 54
• I particularly love this little fox toddler dress by wildthingsdresses on page 65
• Get Kettle On postcard by Amy Walters page 91
• mauve leather feather chain by Pagan Poetry shop on page 124
• moss brush by Birribe page 128
• upcycled jumper floor cushion by little miss loolies on page 139

I also enjoyed reading the artist/maker interviews at the back to get an insight into how the artists started out and what their studio spaces look like.  The digital version of this book can be seen here: http://issuu.com/etsy/docs/etsyspring2012

Rainbow colour cubes T-shirts can be found in my Etsy shop here

This year I made the largest amount of festive cards that I have ever made (over 70).  My handmade cards were created using either acrylic ink and fluorescent paint or drawing with glue and glitter.  I also designed and printed a series of cards with a geometric tree pattern on.  These were posted out to friends and family and some of the remainder were sold at a market and to friends.  I have a small stash of some Bah Humbug cards and a few printed ones left for next year.  Somehow I couldn’t bring myself to send the Bah Humbugs out to anyone (although the MerryFC was fine!)  Once you open the pot, glitter really does get everywhere.

Before Christmas I had the opportunity of volunteering at the Cultural choice HUB workshop festival for a charity called Arcadia who work with Learning Disabled People.  These workshops were based at the Welford Centre in Gosforth and I got to meet and work with the wonderful Yve Ngoo.  I had bumped into Yve a couple of times before at Make and Mend markets and in the Made in Newcastle shop (Yve is an artist/maker and a member of MiN).  Yve was the artist leading the workshops and with the group we made snow globes with glitter, coloured water and miniature animal ornaments.  The other workshop was Christmas card making and Yve kindly allowed me to lead this session.  I had a thoroughly enjoyable day and the group seemed to enjoy themselves and were proud of their creations.  I was able to take home my cat snow globe and it became a gift for a cat loving friend.

Photos from my market stall…

It was an unusually warm day on Saturday and the market was rather bright and felt a bit like a greenhouse at times, much better than being out in the wind and rain like some previous markets I’ve done (playing the game of chasing my postcards down the street with the wind). My new tote bags with hand painted and drawn Blue footed booby design ‘I’d rather be a booby than a tit’ received some laughs from market shoppers. I ran out of business cards with my MHTPA Wonderbands image so I’ll be getting some postcards printed and shall put aside some time to make some more head wear in the future. I was able to get some sewing done during the day and finished a rabbit in a hat brooch, with three more on their way.

In other news I have created a bigcartel shop to sell my prints from and later this month BALTIC shop will be displaying and stocking two of my prints.  Also I’m off to London on a research trip this weekend to see Mike Kelley’s ‘Exploded Fortress of Solitude’ at the Gagosian. I hope to squeeze in a peek of the UK’s first Renegade Craft Fair whilst I’m in London.

There are so many interesting cultural events happening in and around Newcastle over the next few months that I feel very lucky to live here more than ever.  There’s Design Event, International Print Biennale, Wunderbar festival and Lumiere to name a few.  Check out my Calendar page for my recommended events.

Here is my latest brooch collection, a set of 8 rainbows made from felt.  Intended to add a bit of extra colour to your outfit.  Available to buy from my Folksy shop, Etsy shop and soon from BALTIC shop in Gateshead.

EDIT:  To buy click on the colour: Mauve / Red / Orange / Yellow / Grass Green / Forest Green / Kingfisher Blue / Royal Blue

I’m excited to announce Make & Mend markets have returned after a summer break.  They are vibrant markets full of original art works and craft goodies with lots of friendly stall holders to meet.  I’m going to be selling my work at the Grainger market on Saturday 1st October.  I have lots of new stock to sell including greetings cards, tote bags and new rainbow brooches.

I’ll also be selling on Sunday 11th December at Star & Shadow at the Make & Mend’s Christmas themed market.

Click on Calendar for more market dates

Mixes list

Snow topped mountain brooches: one each for sale in my Etsy and Folksy shops. When my friend told me she was going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro a while back I wanted to make something with this in mind.

Commissioned black and yellow cat brooches. Get in touch if you want to commission a brooch in any colour.

I’ve also added my new colour cubes cards to both of my shops.

In other news I’ve just been told that I have been accepted into an exhibition in August.  More details to follow about this.  I’m going to get some Giclée prints of my exhibited work to sell and I’ve not done this before so I’m quite excited.

I have been experimenting with using wool and threads to embroider cardboard with circular record designs.  I’ve also finished 2 new cat brooch commissions and one rabbit in a hat brooch.

New mugs and magnets are adding to my range of designed items and can be found and bought in my shop.  On their way will be some new stickers, magnets and postcard designs which are in the making.  I made a stamp with a new logo to use on the back of my greetings cards and on packaging.  All stocked up and ready to go with recycled packaging, bags, stickers, tissue paper and colourful twine.

A few years back I did some workshops making fabric toys with Folksy at Innocent Village Fete and Lovebox festival both in London.  Folksy celebrates and showcases talented makers and crafters in the UK and there are lots of wonderful creations to be found on their website.  Yesterday I set up a Folksy shop with some of my products.  I also created two new shop banners for my etsy and folksy shops…

I have had a number of requests to make more Mad Hatters Alice Wonderbands in different colours.  I am very excited and have been searching on the internet for some more small plastic teapots to wrap.  I’ll be checking out all of my local charity shops too.  I now have a polystyrene head for future head accessory pieces to display.

My friend who was studio sharing with me is moving out and a new artist is moving in at the start of July.  This means that for June I’ll have the whole studio space to myself.  I plan to spread out and do some large painting and sculpture to make the most of the extra space for the month.

Markets

Last month I did two new markets. I had a stall at Venus in Furs market on 15th May during Newcastle fashion week. Venus in Furs is held outside Settle Down cafe every Sunday. The cafe serves lots of tasty treats and hot drinks and is located just around the corner from Tilley’s bar. There was a photography exhibition inside the space and lots of craft and vinatge stalls inside and out. I had a stall outside and at times the wind made for quite an amusing challenge chasing postcards down the street. Note to self: get some paperweights for any future outdoor markets! I met lots of lovely sellers including Hannah of Hannah Purna Arts and saw Laura Cartwright again who sells prints and cards.

Venus in Furs, The Settle Down Cafe, 62 Thornton Street, Newcastle, NE1 4AW, every Sunday 12-6 pm

I also has a stall at West Jesmond Mixer Market on 29th May. This market is held at Jesmond’s Royal British Legion club and when the weather allows the stalls can be found in the carpark outside. The decor inside is very unique and it has a family friendly social club atmosphere. There is a great range of stalls including fair trade goods, tasty homemade baked foods, candles, hand carved wooden furniture, crafts, bags and more.

Royal British Legion club, 3 West Jesmond Avenue, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE2 3EX, last Sunday of every month 11am-4pm

I have been updating my Dates page with new markets and events when I hear about them. If you want to stay up to date with the markets and events happening in Newcastle keep checking back to this page.

Etsy Treasuries

Treasuries are a curated selection of products on Etsy chosen by an individual in their invented theme.  Some treasuries become so popular that they make the front page of Etsy, like the rainbow mix treasury just below. Thanks to everyone who has included me in their treasuries I truly appreciate it and love seeing all of the items together.

Here are some treasuries that my items have been featured in…

rainbow mix by GeorgieUK

SHAPE it up treasury by loriii

Zig and Zag by itsmemary

How does your garden grow? by violetq

A Geometric Rainbow by ByTheBookPaper

rainbow white by bentzbaby

Links

I’m going to share with you my recent discoveries on the internet

• I Love Handmade blog run by Kev of Dig the Earth who makes lovely colourful greeting cards and giclee prints
• greenartheart makes braided rugs from upcycled T-shirts, my favourite is the rainbow one
• Heakon Helga makes bags with upcycled leather jackets, I love the ones with the added Navajo pattern fabric
• Pollaz makes cute fabric brooches, oven mitts and big face pillows
• Yokoo makes chunky crocheted scarves and accessories, my favourites are her chain link scarves
• The colourful posters of Japanese artist/designer Kiwoshi Awazu
• The collages and paintings of Clark Goolsby
• Swirling experimental work by Pery Burge

New felt whale finished with a triangle pattern, squirting blow hole and embroidered nose and smile. With a mini oil spill on the road background. I’m thinking of making some more but with an elephant head on the reverse to unite the largest land and sea mammals in one plush.  This was my first generation whale from way back.

This was a commission to make a head accessory for a special Mad Hatter’s tea party. I used two Alice bands, a teapot and cup, saucer and spoon from a children’s plastic tea set (second hand, thanks Ruth!) and these were wrapped in wool and covered and stitched with felt.  To accompany these head pieces, I sewed a rabbit in a top hat that can be worn as a brooch or happily sit inside the teapot to watch the continuous stream of tea.

I’m booked up for my next Make & Mend Market at Grainger Market on Saturday 7th May 9am until 5pm .  I hope to make lots of plush toys and some new T-shirts to sell on my stall, to add to the colourful whales I’ve been making.

My stash of used envelopes has come in handy as I’ve been turning them inside out and sewing them to make bags for postcards.  Being a big hoarding geek has some benefits!

I’m currently happily busy working on a couple of commissions including more stretching cat brooches and a Mad Hatters Alice Wonder-band. Photos coming soon.

Experiment on paper with squares