Independent Interiors Show

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Overhead projection of designer/makers at the Independent Interiors Show, 2022NQ, Manchester

We went along to the inaugural Independent Interiors Show this Saturday and judging by this event, it certainly won’t be the last. Rachel and Victoria of The Social Butterfly who organised the event will be very pleased with the huge success of the day.

Entranceway to 2022NQ, Manchester

It was held at 2022NQ in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. The choice of venue and quality of exhibitors were excellent.

view of the Independent Interiors Show, 2022NQ, Manchester

A wide variety of independent designer/makers & shops were present. Their stands looked great set against the industrial fabric of the building and Justin really enjoyed photographing them. Here’s a run-down of those present.

Eclectic Chair at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Eclectic Chair – upholstery & cushions using vintage fabrics.

Scandi Nord at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

ScandiNord – Scandinavian lighting and neon installations.

Jamie B Edwards at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Jamie B. Edwards – distinctive contemporary artwork.

Caslon & Co at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Caslon & Co – vintage inspired textiles using antique wooden printing blocks.

Jorja Wilkinson at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Jorja Wilkinson Design – contemporary and quirky fabrics and interior products.

Elisabeth Jane Winstanley at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Elizabeth Jane Winstanley – acrylic, wood and metal sculpture & design.

Liz Foster at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Liz Foster Design – handmade appliqué cushions.

Helaina Sharpley at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Helaina Sharpley – exquisite sculptural wire work.

Northern Letters at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Northern Letters – prints, posters & tiles using vintage fonts sourced from Northern quarter signage.

Lisa Watson at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Lisa Watson – sumptuous quilts & throws.

Hannah Nunn at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Hannah Nunn – paper cut lighting and a brand new wallpaper range.

Amanda McCrann at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Amanda McCrann – contemporary mosaicist & artist.

Annabel Perrin at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Annabel Perrin – surface pattern design & homewares.

Lisa Southern at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Lisa Southern – contemporary furniture.

Flitty Bird at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Flitty Bird – decorative homewares & furniture.

Memo Illustration at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Memo – hand printed products including stationery, coasters, tote bags etc.

Claire Murray at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Claire Murray Designs – hand crafted surface pattern for wallpaper & textiles.

Lomas and Lomas at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Lomas & Lomas – handmade light shades, cushions & artwork.

May Wild at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

May Wild – ceramics.

Inspirit at the Independent Interiors Show, Manchester

Inspirit – bespoke industrial furniture & shelving.

Demonstration by Sian Astley of Morgeous

There was also an up-cycling demo run by Sian Astley of Morgeous and a big screen situated in the atmospheric café/bar area showcasing each of the exhibitors. Nice coffee there too!

We highly recommend this show – it’s already in our diary for next year! Justin took tons of photographs, so here’s a slide show of further shots if you fancy a leisurely browse.

Bookmarks: Illuminate – Contemporary Craft Lighting

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cover of Hannah Nunn's Illuminate: Contemporary Craft Lighting book beside one of her Allium paper cut lamps

Today’s Bookmarks review, of Illuminate – Contemporary Craft Lighting, is the debut publication by someone we’ve blogged about in the past.

dandelion lamp handmade by Hannah Nunn

The book’s author, Hannah Nunn, is a designer/maker – specialising in beautiful & delicate paper-cut lamps.

cylindrical, handmade paper cut lamp by Hannah Nunn

She also owns and runs Radiance – a lighting & craft boutique – in Hebden Bridge where she’s based. All in all, a very busy lady!

glass feather chandelier

Illuminate’s chapters are broken down via materials – paper, glass, ceramics, wood etc…

large, rectangular ceiling light with multi-coloured glass drops in the shapes of leaves

…with sections within those chapters given over to individual designer/makers – a summary of their background & practice accompanied by lush photographs of their creations.

handmade floor lamps and floor-standing wooden cube lamps by Jane Blease

Creations that are fun, colourful, wacky, delicate, whimsical and works of art – you’ll never make do with a bare bulb ever again!

sewing paper hanging wall lightshade above a vintage wooden chair

It’s lovely to see makers we know personally and admire including people like Manchester-based Jane Blease.

drum lampshades handmade by Helen Rawlinson from her silk-screened designs

And others who we’ve not had the pleasure of meeting in person, but with whose work we’re already familiar, such as Helen Rawlinson and Greypants.

trio of cardboard ceiling lampshades by Greypants

Equally, it’s great to be introduced by this book to talents such as Scabetti, Penelope Batley and Aline Johnson.

long pendant ceiling light with four different coloured glass shades

The lighting showcased represents an international pool of artistry. As well as the UK, makers hail from as far afield as Japan, the USA, New Zealand, Serbia and The Netherlands.

the beginning of the Paper chapter showing organic pottery vases with poppy heads inside next to a paper cut lamp by Hannah Nunn

In all, there are 43 individual lighting designers featured in the book – but owing to space restrictions Hannah has included an additional image gallery of work by other makers that she recommends you seek out.

selection of drum lampshades by House of Chintz on an antique Windsor chair

Perhaps this is a sign that there’s a demand for Illuminate II!

selection of lights

Illuminate is available from Bloomsbury the publishers, Amazon and Hive.

long neck light resembling a huge string of silver beads on a necklace hung over the back of a white chair

[Many thanks to Bloomsbury for the review copy]

Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair ’11

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Ken Eardley ceramic jugs and spoons on display

The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2011 is being held this weekend in Manchester city centre – we went to the preview night on Thursday.

a selection of Ken Eardley ceramics on display shelves

It was great to see designer-makers whose work we’ve long admired – there was also the thrill of seeing fresh, new exhibitors.

a selection of Ken Eardley ceramics on display shelves with a recent article about him in BBC Homes & Antiques magazine open on a table

We featured Ken Eardley, whose ceramics are shown above in last year’s GNCCF blog post – once again, his stand had real impact. Things are going really well for him with magazine features such as this recent one in BBC Homes & Antiques.

a display of Jane Blease's handcrafted wooden artworks, lampshades and jewellery

Another striking space belonged to Jane Blease who works primarily with bentwood & reclaimed plastic often with her characteristic hand worked thread detailing. A recent artist residency in India has clearly inspired some of Jane’s new pieces. It’s interesting charting artists’ new developments & influences.

a display of Jane Blease's handcrafted wooden jewellery

The Radiance stand belonging to Hannah Nunn always delivers the goods – her hand cut paper light shades look great when displayed en masse…

a display of Hannah Nunn's Radiance mini lamps

…and we loved her new seed pod window hangings.

detail of the display of Hannah Nunn's Radiance newly designed seedpod window/wall hanging a display of Hannah Nunn's Radiance newly designed seedpod window/wall hanging

Ruth Green, who we’ve seen at GNCCF in previous years, also had some lovely new works…

display of Ruth Green's limited edition framed prints

…and she’s also branched out into illustrated books, notebooks & note cards.

display of Ruth Green's limited edition prints, posters and illustrated books & notebooks

With autumn setting in, Andrea Lord’s &made display offered some warm seasonal comforts…

display of &Made's cream coloured hand knitted mug cosy with grey felt cushion in the background

…such as these gorgeous cushions & cosies.

display of &Made's yellow ochre hand knitted tea cosies

As we mentioned earlier, it’s really exciting to discover new makers and their work…

Gemma Truman's seagrass & glass works inspired by weaverbirds' nests

…we’ll highlight just a couple who made an impact on us.

The first was Gemma Truman, whose hand-blown glass & seagrass hangings and vases are absolutely exquisite – they’re inspired by South African weaverbird nests. We also thought they were very reminiscent of those old fashioned glass fishing net floats.

detail from Gemma Truman's seagrass & glass works inspired by weaverbirds' nests

Second was Louise Hibbert.

display of Louise Hibbert's wooden salt & pepper mills

Her pieces have a natural feel and use subtle, earthy, yet striking colours.

display of Louise Hibbert's wooden salt & pepper mills

As you can see from her salt & pepper mills, they’re organic, tactile and oh so beautiful – they just cry out to be picked up, handled and caressed.

display of Louise Hibbert's coloured wooden salt & pepper mills

The show runs till this Sunday, so visit if you can! We’ve only featured homewares in this post, but there’s also lots of jewellery and fashion on display… and all of it’s for sale… so go on, get your Christmas shopping done early!

Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

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collection of postcards and business cards from artists & craftspeople exhibiting at Great Norther Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

We spent Friday evening at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair in Spinningfields, Manchester city centre…

handmade enamelled copper nature-inspired figures by Janine Partington who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

…and a very pleasant evening it was too.

colourful handbuilt functional ceramics with hand cut stencil decoration by Ken Eardley who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

The fair expanded into two pavilions for its second year.

colourful handmade screen prints, etchings and lino cuts by Ruth Green who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

A great mix of ceramics, glass, metal, paper and textiles… from both new exhibitors and favourites from last year.

collection of slipware pottery by Hannah McAndrew who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

There were so many great stalls – we’ve just selected a few that caught our eye.

We’ll start with Jane Blease Design.

handmade bent plywood and threaded cotton lamps and artwork by Jane Blease Design who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

She uses plywood and threaded cotton to produce artworks, light shades and jewellery.

detail from a handmade bent plywood and threaded cotton lampshade by Jane Blease Design who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

It’s striking from a distance, then fascinating in the detail.

handmade bent plywood and threaded cotton jewellery by Jane Blease Design who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

A piece of Jane’s work was temptation number one and we’d only been in the marquee for a few seconds!

Moving along to &made,

cushions and cacti-shaped pin cushion from &made who exhibited at Great Norther Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

Andrea Lord produces lovely hand-sewn pieces…

cushions and cacti-shaped pin cushion from &made who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

…her items simply & beautifully displayed.

cushions and cacti-shaped pin cushion from &made who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010cushions and cacti-shaped pin cushion from &made who exhibited at Great Norther Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

Cushions, wall hangings and rows of gorgeous cacti pin cushions in their little terracotta pots!

cushion and cacti-shaped pin cushions in terra cotta pots from &made who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

We mentioned Derek Wilson Ceramics in our post from last year’s fair.

handthrown functional porcelain tableware by Derek Wilson who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

His stand, filled with his beautiful and delicate porcelain, stopped us in our tracks again…

handthrown porcelain jug by Derek Wilson who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

….elegant, understated simplicity.

Ruth Green Design has proved another favourite with our blog readers – and a shot of her prints always rides high in our Flickr photo viewings.

colourful handmade screen prints, etchings and lino cuts by Ruth Green who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

We lingered at her stall for a good while.

colourful handmade screen prints, etchings and lino cuts by Ruth Green who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

Her prints, sold in limited edition runs, look fabulous hanging all together.

colourful handmade screen prints, etchings and lino cuts by Ruth Green who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

The Pear Tree, one of her  new designs, was another strong temptation!

You can always guarantee a striking display from Hannah Nunn’s Radiance Lighting

handmade laminated papercut lampshades by Hannah Nunn who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

…the warm cosy glow of her beautiful, nature-inspired shades…

handmade laminated papercut lampshades by Hannah Nunn who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

…the designs hand cut from paper and then laminated.

Adelle having a pit stop in the bar area at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

Phew… time for a pit stop… a sit down with a glass of wine!!

First-time exhibitor Ken Eardley made the long drive up from Brighton where he has his studio.

colourful handbuilt functional ceramics with hand cut stencil decoration by Ken Eardley who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

His range of striking pottery with stylised trees, flowers & leaves was a real show stopper.

colourful handbuilt functional ceramics with hand cut stencil decoration by Ken Eardley who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

Functional and beautiful – always a winning combination.

colourful handbuilt functional ceramics with hand cut stencil decoration by Ken Eardley who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

No doubt his work will be starring in lots of interiors magazines in the future!

The natural landscape strongly inspires & influences the work of enameller Janine Partington.

handmade enamelled copper nature-inspired figures by Janine Partington who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

Trees, flowers, seed heads, birds and animals.

handmade enamelled copper nature-inspired figures by Janine Partington who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

She produces enamel panels, small sculptures and jewellery.

handmade enamelled copper nature-inspired jewellery by Janine Partington who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

We’d love to stroll through a magical forest of her making.

Kent-based Maxine Sutton plays with imagery of familiar everyday domestic objects and the natural world.

hand-embroidered and printed textiles by Maxine Sutton who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

Incorporating them into embroidered and printed textiles to produce a range of interior products.

hand-embroidered and printed textiles by Maxine Sutton who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

There were lots of eye-catching items on her stand.

hand-embroidered and printed textiles by Maxine Sutton who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

We’ve got a standard lamp that would happily accommodate one of her large shades… and we just loved the coffee pot/cafetiere cosies with their Scandinavian feel.

The work of Sarra Kate is bright and effervescent – just like Sarra Kate herself!

colourful textile banners, cushions and greetings cards made from original collages by Sarra Kate who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

Her stand called out to us from a long way away.

detail from a colourful textile banner made from original collage by Sarra Kate who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

She starts her pieces by making colourful collages which are then laser printed onto textiles and paper…

colourful  greeting cards made from original collages by Sarra Kate who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

…which go into making wall hangings, cushions and cards.

Last, but certainly not least, we have Hannah McAndrew, another of our favourites from last year.

collection of slipware pottery by Hannah McAndrew who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

This is where we finally gave into temptation.

collection of slipware pottery by Hannah McAndrew who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

We admired her stand last year, filled with its mediæval-inspired slipware pottery.

collection of slipware pottery by Hannah McAndrew who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

This year we just had to take a few of her pieces home!

detail from slipware pottery jug by Hannah McAndrew who exhibited at Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2010

We’ve concentrated on featuring homes and interiors products, but there was also lots & lots of fantastic fashion & jewellery – and if we featured any more this post would turn into a novel!

All the makers will be packing up and making their way home as we write this… so be sure to put the fair in your diary for next year!