Gift solutions

 

Clockwise from top left:

• jade statement necklace by armcandii

• lampwork lentil beads by Pandanimal

• green amazon necklace by Kankou

• resin and silver earrings by Quercus Silver

Craft Fair Alert!

Just wanted to post a quick note about an event I'll be attending tomorrow: it's the Summer Craft Fair being held in the Village Hall at Crantock near Newquay, Cornwall from 10am to 4pm.

If you're in the area, drop in - it'd be great to see you! Hopefully pictures will follow soon.

If you have a local arts and crafts event in the South West to promote, let me know!

Mary Portas: Handmade needs you!

Social networks are buzzing with excitement as designer/makers get behind UK Handmade's campaign to enlist the help of Mary Portas (Mary Queen of Shops) in our quest to bring our handmade goods to the masses.

She is the 'Chosen One'... a modern day 'Jim'll Fix It' if you like, but with considerably better hair and far more style! Will she help us? We're counting on it!

For more information on the campaign and how you can help spread the word on Facebook, Twitter and on the Mary Portas forum, see the UK Handmade blog.

Mary Portas replies...

headbands for vintage goodwood

second headband so far so good ...

armcandii are busy making headbands for vintage goodwood. one complete and one in progress. they will be worn by shaz and amy, the cocktail waitresses at the silver rocketeer trailer bar!

the bar is a converted american airstream trailor restored to its former speldour and will be a sure 'must visit' location at vintage goodwood.

of course armcandii hope that their headbands will also make an impact. we'll let you know ....

Member Mosaic: Amy and Pia

At least a focus on Amy and Pia's shop, without much of a mosaic as I get to grips with this!

Amy is based in Somerset and makes a wide range of beautiful items which you can see in her shop. She is currently offering free shipping within Europe!

From her shop profile:

"Pia and Amy are a cheerful pair, who while away their days doing sundry creative things - gardening, cooking, drawing, writing, sticking, knitting, making dinosaurs out of lentils, and so on. Amy is the larger of the two, with a correspondingly greater concentration span. Pia is small in size, but very large in energetic output and troublemaking ability."

One of my favourite items from Amy's shop is this beautiful lace shrug, handknitted in soft pink angora:

Looking at the work that went into this item and the luxury yarn used, I think this is a snip at $70.

At the other end of the budget scale is this gorgeous little felted gift bag for just $8:

 

Perfect for filling with hair accessories, sweets, toys, jewellery, etc - a lovely gift for a big or little girl!

Check out Amy and Pia's shop for more lovely handcrafted items.

Member mosaic: Nonsuch

I freely admit that I chose today's member's shop because I am a big fan of her work; in fact one of the first things I did on my Birthday was to treat myself to one of her daisy brooches! Bebe Bradley does lovely things with fabric and thread - fact. I have made several purchases from her Etsy shop, Nonsuch, and been genuinely delighted with all of them. Bebe has a great eye for choosing and matching pretty fabrics, and adding just the right amount of embellishment. Her adorable gifts and accessories range is not only tasteful, stylish, and fun but items are accessibly priced. You will find budget-friendly indulgences; lovely gifts for friends, and great little stocking fillers come the festive season. These are a few examples: 

Clockwise from top left:

• linen mini pin
• daisy daisy pin
• circus pin
• dot heart purse

From Bebe's Etsy shop profile...

"I am a Scottish designer/maker based on the south coast of England. I love paper, print, cloth, colour, buttons and beads; and I use them to create original textile and jewellery pieces... and other stuff when I feel like it! I incorporate a variety of techniques: knit, crochet, embroidery, layering and felting to name but a few. Everything is lovingly made by me in small or singular quantities. The result is a range of unique and handcrafted gifts and accessories."


Visit Nonsuch on Etsy to stalk Bebe's latest creations - you will need to 'stalk' because they tend to get snapped up quickly! You will also find more of Bebe's work in her notonthehighstreet shop, meninafeliz.

My creative space: Kankou

Not all of us are lucky enough to have a dedicated workroom, so we make do with the space we have and long-suffering family members have a lesson in 'how to be accommodating'...

This is a snapshot of our SWAC team founder, Kankou's creative space:

Kankou says:

There it is: my space. I took the photograph as I walked in from work - no preliminary tidying! This is just as it genuinely is... on the dining room table - which means that dinner time is a bit of a squeeze for the four of us to eat around. There are more things in boxes under the chairs. My next project: buying a corner shelf :D

You can check out Kankou's very beautiful [and very tidy!] jewellery shop here.