Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair ’11

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.

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

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.

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.

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

…and we loved her new seed pod window hangings.

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

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

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

…such as these gorgeous cushions & cosies.

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

…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.

Second was Louise Hibbert.

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

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.

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!

Vintage Fabric Redux

We’ve just received another consignment of vintage fabrics from our long-time friend Shaun. They’re in pristine condition, but a bit musty – here’s a selection airing in the garden.

As with the last lot of vintage fabric, they’ve laid untouched in a warehouse for about 50 years. This batch includes short lengths, remnants, single curtains, cushion covers etc etc. Again they date from the 1950s/60s and are a mixture of abstract, atomic and florals.

We’ve done a little slideshow of favourites for all you vintage fabric fans – in addition to an airing they’ll obviously need a good iron!

They’re a myriad of sizes, so we’ll list them individually over the coming weeks & months – they’ll be perfect for all manner of crafty projects.

Bookmarks – 1950s Fashion Print

Today’s Bookmarks book review is 1950s Fashion Print….

…one in a series written by Marnie Fogg and published by Anova Books.

The book’s arrival was perfectly timed as it appeared hot on the heels of our vintage fabric haul which we blogged about recently.

It’s very attractive visually.

Holding the book, with its tactile, textured cover is almost like handling a piece of barkcloth.

An initial flick through the enticing photos contained within persuades you to delve deeper.

There are endless examples of superb, period fabric designs to drool over…

…full-colour, detailed images of vintage prints on every page.

Some very recognisable patterns as well as ones you’ll probably not seen before.

It isn’t however, just a collection of pretty pictures…

…it’s extremely well researched – Fogg really knows her subject.

She used to be a lecturer in Visual Studies and the Culture of Fashion at the University of Nottingham.

In addition to details about the actual fabric designs, the book encompasses related topics such as interior design and social & historical influences.

Another strong point of the book is the photo captions – they’re full of additional information and incisive comments.

It’s a wonderful leisure read, but also a great resource…

… an inspiration for design projects or for identifying fabrics that you may be lucky enough to find!

There’s also a useful bibliography of where to go next if your appetite for 50s patterns has been whetted.

It’s a must for devotees of textile designers such as Lucienne Day, Marian Mahler, Robert Stewart, Jaqueline Groag, Sylvia Chambers & Tom Mellor to name but a few – along with manufacturers such as Heals, David Whitehead Ltd and Edinburgh Weavers…

…and for fans of Mid-century Modern design in general.

This book is going to be a permanent fixture on our shelves.

1950s Fashion Print can also be bought from Amazon, Abe Books and Hive.

We’ll be following up in the very near future with a review of Fogg’s 1960s Fashion Fabrics…

…we’re very much looking forward to it!

[Many thanks to Anova Books for supplying this review copy.]

Friday Folks – Heather Moore

Here’s the second instalment in our new series of Friday Folks. The introductory post about was really well received and like us, many people found Dee amazing. We’re certain that Heather Moore of Skinny laMinx will be equally inspirational! We stocked Heather’s products in our H is for Home shop When we launched – and they’ve always proved really popular.

Who are you & what do you do?
I’m Heather Moore and I’m an illustrator and surface designer. I have a label called Skinny laMinx, for which I design and produce fabrics, make things with my fabrics, and also do other bits and bobs.

How did you get into the business?
As with most things, I kind of fell into it by chance. I was tired of all the illustration work I’d been doing, so started doing some screenprinting and showing what I’d done on my blog, and I got a good reaction, so I made more. There’s been very little planning along the way, I have to admit.

Who or what inspires you?
I’m inspired by people who do things properly, with energy, integrity and pride. Barry, the guy who recently renovated the back of our apartment building, was a total inspiration in the way he worked hard, used the best materials, and stood by his work with pride. Love that! I’m also inspired by the way things were made and the way they looked in the 50s and 60s, and especially the things that came out of Scandinavia. I love textiles from that era, and the colours that were popular. Somehow, it just works for me.

What has been your greatest success?
Well, I think the question should be more along the lines of “what’s the biggest dose of luck you’ve had?”, as I’ve just been incredibly fortunate with all the wonderful opportunities that have fallen into my lap. I’m very thrilled to have Heath Ceramics stocking my things, and I’m thrilled at all the wonderful media coverage Skinny laMinx has got. Right now though, I think my biggest dose of luck is to have found the perfect person to help me run Skinny laMinx, as it was starting to become too much for me to handle.

Have you got any advice for someone wanting to break into the business?
Really, as I’ve just stumbled my way along with no planning, foresight or vision, I’m not sure I’d be a good dispenser of advice. However, I do think that hard work, friendliness and generosity counts for a lot. Keeping a blog on which you record your work, inspiration and thoughts is also a valuable thing to do. It’s useful on a personal level, as it’s a great discipline and way of keeping track of what you’re up to, and it’s also a good insight for anyone interested in supporting your business, as it’ll give them some insight into who you are and where you’re going.

If you’re the owner of any of Skinny laMinx‘s beautiful things, there’s a Flickr group where you can share your love!

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: textiles

Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair ’11

Vintage Fabric Redux

Bookmarks – 1950s Fashion Print

Friday Folks – Heather Moore