UK Handmade Magazine Winter 2013

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ukhandmade

a showcase for the work of talented UK designer-makers

WINTER: 2013

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WHY BUY HANDMADE? 1. Many designers, artists and makers produce items that are bespoke.

This means that you will receive an uniquely personal item at surprisingly affordable prices, as many do not have the same overhead expenses as shops.

2. Buying locally reduces your carbon footprint because the products haven’t been shipped from the other side of the world.

3. Buying locally means that the money you spend, stays in your area and boosts the local economy.

4. Independent designers, artists and makers care about the things they make so, by building a relationship with a local designer, artist or maker, you are guaranteed outstanding customer care and quality.

Add your name to the Buy Handmade campaign by signing the pledge on our website and show your support for British designers, artists and makers.

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www.buyhandmadecampaign.co.uk

Contents...

4

contributors: Winter 2013

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finds: Editor’s Picks Winter is a time for recuperation, relaxation

and

reflection.

It

gives us space to consider the year ahead so, if you are looking to learn, improve or just be downright inspired, we have exclusive

interviews,

articles,

tips and hints to encourage and motivate you. From the story of

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meet: Katrin Moye

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meet: Gladys Paulus

an incredible felt artist through to amazing English interiors, our Winter issue has something for everyone. Goodies, reviews, seasonal recipes and a bumper events round-up will help you celebrate the season in style!

Season’s

Greetings

to

you

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meet: Jane Adam

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meet: mineheart

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86

make: Snowball Cookies

lifestyle: Robins

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lifestyle: Sweet Treats

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scene: Winter Events For Your Diary

make: Simple Pop-up Cards

review: Low-Tech Print

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review: Knitwear Design

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lifestyle: From Tower Block to 4 Acres

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94

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business: Upgrading Your Skills

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business: Brand Identity

and yours from everyone at UKHandmade.

Bebe. x Editor & Designer/Maker

www.passerine.co.uk

FRONT COVER: Crayfish Headdress by Gladys Paulus; BACK COVER: www.proboscis.org.uk

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WINTER 2013 Contributors...

Lisa Margreet Payne Craft Educator & Writer www.lisamargreet.com

Hannah Marshall

Designer & Creative Events Organiser www.beachshackproject.co.uk

Larissa Joice

Photographer www.giggleicious-photography.com

Chrissie Freeth

Handloom Weaver www.chrissiefreeth.wix.com/weaver

Teresa Verney Brookes

Education Officer for the RSPB and Forest School Teacher

Mandy Knapp

Printmaker www.mandyknapp.co.uk

UK Handmade Magazine, info@ukhandmade.co.uk, www.ukhandmade.co.uk • Copyright © UK Handmade LTD 2013. All rights reserved.

Reproduction or redistribution in whole or in parts without written permission is strictly prohibited. The editor’s decision on all printed material is final. Unsolicited work is accepted but does not guarantee inclusion into the final edition. The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of UK Handmade or the editor.

Creative Director: Karen Jinks info@ukhandmade.co.uk • Editor: Bebe Bradley editor@ukhandmade.co.uk • Design: Jo Askey design@ukhandmade.co.uk Deputy Editor: Dawn Bevins dawn@ukhandmade.co.uk • Advertising: advertising@ukhandmade.co.uk • PR: pr@ukhandmade.co.uk Events: events@ukhandmade.co.uk 4 | ukhandmade | Winter 2013

Karen Jinks

Creative Director & Artist/Designer www.karenjinks.co.uk

Jo Askey

Graphic Designer & Illustrator www.askeyillustration.co.uk

Dawn Bevins

Deputy Editor & Designer/Maker www.dawnbevins.co.uk

26 Meet:Katrin Moye

page

Mich Yasue

Finance Director & Maker www.myfuroshiki.com

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Winter finds:

by Bebe Bradley

LEIGH MASON: Sterling Silver, Citrine & Yellow Sapphire Ring ÂŁ155.90 (including P&P) from www.madebyhandonline.com

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DAVID ASHBY: ‘Word’ jugs, £36 each from www.thecourtyardpottery.com

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ANNE DAVIES: ‘Boat Lines’, acrylic on board, (6 inches x 10 inches), all enquiries at www.annedavies.co.uk

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SU TRINDLE: Textured Sterling Silver Cufflinks, ÂŁ67 (plus P&P) from www.quercussilver.etsy.com

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MARIE CANNING: Textured porcelain and sterling silver pendant, ÂŁ120 from www.madebyhandonline.com

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DAVID CASS: ‘In Two Places’, gouache and watercolour on found antique postcards, £250 each from www.davidcass.co.uk 12 | ukhandmade | Winter 2013

SOPHIE WOODROW: Ceramic Sculpture, all enquiries at www.sophiewoodrow.co.uk Winter 2013 | ukhandmade |

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ESTE MCLEOD: ‘Snow Landscape’, acrylic on board, £895 from www.redraggallery.co.uk

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MEET:

Katrin Moye by Bebe Bradley

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Katrin Moye produces highly decorative and colourful ceramic tableware.

Wheel thrown or hand cast in white earthenware clay, decorations are hand-applied with coloured slips and under-glazes, and she employs a variety of techniques including paper cut resists, trailing, sponging and painting.

Designed to be used in the everyday domestic setting, she loves the thought that the people who use her tableware won’t feel precious or anxious about handling it. She knows that, with repeated use, a special and intimate relationship can develop between an object and its owner, in a way that never happens with a purely decorative piece.

Pattern and colour is pivotal to her work.

Katrin focuses on surface decoration, with her designs referencing personal memories, literature, family history and folk art. Influenced by everyday items that featured in her childhood home - the dotty, stripy shirt her father wore, the red Thermos taken on family picnics and the cushion her mother, a textile artist, embroidered for their sofa - some of her patterns are even named after members of her family and the items she associates them with.

Jemima Lumley Winter 2013 | ukhandmade |

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Who is Katrin Moye?

Uhm, I don’t really know how to answer this better than the introduction! But I’m also a mother of 2 boys and a member of a lovely community choir.

What is the inspiration behind your work?

My need to reinforce for myself a place in my family’s history; I am becoming more and more interested in this as I am half German and half English. My East German roots are something I feel I especially need to hold on to and look into further, particularly since one of my favourite German relatives passed away a few months ago. I have a long-held fascination for repeating patterns found everywhere inside and outside of the home and, as I’ve always been a big reader, I also like to include elements of narrative in my work.

What kind of training or experience do you have and how were your ceramics borne out of this?

I feel that everything I have done in the past has led me down the path I am on, really. Formally, I studied English Literature and History of Art at Nottingham University, which helped me to read and look at things in an analytical and considered way. I also did a BTEC in Ceramics at Hornsey College, which gave me a good introduction to the techniques and technical knowledge I needed to start up my own ceramics studio.

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Your work has a highly distinctive, decorative style. Who or what influences and motivates you?

My grandparents in Germany had a beautiful midcentury flat in Wiesbaden, where I spent a lot of time when I was very young. My grandfather had a really good eye for the mid-century style, and the furniture and décor there could now be featured in Elle Deco! I really, really love Scandinavian design from this period, and other influences include folk art from Germany, Northern Europe and the UK. I like to combine these two strong influences with my own observations of patterns found in nature such as leaf and branch shapes on trees, etc. A couple of years ago, I discovered and fell in love with the work of Robert Tavener, a printmaker who lived in my home town of Eastbourne. My interest in him led me to discover other 20th century printmakers and painters, such as Eric Ravilious, John and Paul Nash, and Enid Marx. I felt a special connection to Tavener and Ravilious because the landscapes they depict are so familiar to me, having grown up at the foot of the South Downs. I began reading literature from around this period, particularly books written by women and now being republished by Persephone Books. I’m also a bit obsessed World War 2, but that’s another story!

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Have you seen a shift in the perception of craft in the UK, and what it means to own a handmade object?

I think that this shift was already happening when I started out in 2006. I have certainly noticed a big move since then towards people making things themselves, knitting and crochet or things you can make at home that you don’t need special equipment for. This seems to be a growing phenomenon, I think, maybe in part reflected and reinforced by the media with TV programmes like ‘The Great British Bake Off’ and ‘Wartime Farm’, and features on Women’s Hour, etc.

What does ‘handmade’ mean to Katrin Moye?

Handmade is something that has been made with care, thought about during the making process, is special to the maker and subsequently the owner, for those reasons. It has a charm that mass produced or mechanically made things do not have. It’s like a fragment of an autobiography of the maker.

What makes your products unique?

All of the above! Everybody, being a unique individual, experiences similar things in different ways. I think this is reflected in my work, my own responses to family lore and nature, etc. Have you heard of critical theory, the ‘reader response’ theory?

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of text in the same way, because everyone brings their own unique response, based on their own experiences and personality, and I think that it is something that shouldn’t be overlooked. I love the connections that people make to my work; hearing people’s own stories and memories that have been triggered by something I’ve made, makes me very happy.

Who are your favourite artists, designers and makers?

Aside from the artists I’ve already mentioned, I want to say Robert Tavener again because I absolutely love him; and there’s also Emily Sutton, Ed Kluz,

Angie Lewin, Mark Hearld, Su Blackwell, Tom Gallant, Peter Doig, Elaine Pamphilon, Edmund de Waal, Samantha Bryan, Teresa Green, Andrew Wicks, Mette Poulsen, Stig Lindberg, David Weidman … I could go on!

What advice would you give to someone starting their own creative business?

I’d suggest you find out what makes you really excited about making, pinpoint exactly what it is that you love doing and then just go for it. Overcome obstacles along the way, rather than allow them to put you off right from the start. If you want to do it enough, you will.

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If you had the opportunity to learn or employ a new creative skill, what would it be?

Oh god, well, I have bought all the equipment, been on a course at the Curwen print school, had personal tuition from the lovely Sarah Young but I still have not given lino cut printmaking a proper go! One day!

What’s next for Katrin Moye?

I’m excited at the prospect of making a new body of work that reflects and extends my recent time of research and development, which was funded by the Arts Council. It has been central to a big shift in my attitude and ambitions for my work. I’m planning on making a large piece of work based on the life of my Uncle Werner, who was born in East Germany in 1935 and died last March. It will be a sort of a family biography in ceramic form. And, since I will need to have an income whilst I’m doing this, I have just launched the first patterns in a new collection of bone china mugs that were designed by me and manufactured in Scotland by McLaggan Smith mugs. I’m planning to add to this collection so that there will eventually be a big range of patterns and colours to choose from.

to the interior décor of the house, and working with Waddesdon Manor, the National Trust owned property in Oxfordshire, to design a range of tableware based on my response to the collection housed in the property. I will also be one of the featured makers at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park this November, alongside their exhibition of Angie Lewin’s work.

Where can we purchase and find out more about your work?

Pieces can be purchased directly from me, and please do have a look on my blog for forthcoming events, exhibitions, images and lots of information about me and my work.

For more information on Katrin Moye, visit: www.katrinmoye.com Images courtesy of Katrin Moye and Iwan Essery, with styling by Holly Bruce

For 2014, I have been commissioned by Belton House (National Trust) in Grantham to make a large scale ceramic piece based on my response Winter 2013 | ukhandmade |

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BUSINESS:

Upgrading Your Skills by Mich Yasue So where to begin? An online search for a screen-printing course reveals over three million results, whilst another search for a course on ‘how to set up a business’ brings 840 million. Obviously, not all of these results are relevant but there’s clearly a wealth of choice, from courses lasting a couple of hours to degree length qualifications. So how do you find the best way of enhancing your skills? Here are a few thoughts.

What do you want to achieve?

It’s helpful to have a clear view of your current level of skill and what you would like it to be.

• Are you looking for a ‘taster’ that will give you an introduction to particular skills and help you in deciding whether to take them further?

• Do you already have some knowledge of the subject but are looking to refresh or upgrade your skills?

• Are you aiming to take your skills to a higher or more specialist level?

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Kath Bonson: ‘Mills & Villages’ Series

What do you want to gain?

Theoretical knowledge? Practical skills? Sometimes, it can be more tangential. As ceramicist Kath Bonson notes, “For me, the main advantage of having done a full length BA (Hons) in Fine Art is the confidence that it gives me when approaching galleries or art shows; while there are many superb artists and crafters out there without degrees, somehow a good degree seems to give an added ‘cachet’ to the work. We were also taught to use the ‘art speak’ that helps with applications and to be more analytical about our work.”

What works best for you?

How do you learn best? Would it suit you better to work through the material in your own time at your own speed or would you prefer a more structured or face-to-face, tutor-led approach?

Kate Dew-Martin, of www.craftcourses.com observes, “Though online and distance learning has its place, I think a great deal of the pleasure in learning craft skills comes through spending time with an experienced tutor, trying out techniques together, experimenting and repeating, and often with a group.” For Kath Bonson, the most effective way of learning is “to research and then experiment.

I browse all sorts of random sites on the internet and read magazines and books with technical

information and, with that information tucked away at the back of my brain, I go into the studio and ‘play’! Sometimes an idea will work, other times not - or at least, not quite as I hoped – but, each time I try something, I will analyse it and try to learn from it, bearing in mind the technical information.”

• How much time do you have to learn? For example, not only for the course itself, but for any pre-study or homework?

• Is the learning somewhere convenient for you and at a time that suits you? After a long day at work, for example, it can be difficult to arrive on a course on time and fully focused, particularly if the course runs for a number of weeks.

Finding ways to upgrade your skills As noted, the internet offers an amazing choice.

Sites such as www.craftcourses.com have hundreds of courses from which to choose from, and online reviews give you an idea of what to expect. There are relatively new crafts such as up-cycling and metal clay jewellery, and those that rely on tools and techniques that have been in use for centuries, such as bodging and forging. Other useful sources of learning about heritage crafts are the relevant craft guilds and associations.

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Before

After

Kath Bonson: ‘Mills & Villages’ Series 26 | ukhandmade | Winter 2013

If you are looking for ways to develop skills to start, run and grow your own business, the British Library Business and IP Centre is valuable resource, offering a range of tools from workshops to webinars, alongside useful articles. Similarly, The Design Trust offers ‘a wide range of practical and expert business development information, training, books, products and tools for designers and craftspeople’.

Sometimes, a one-to-one approach such as the marketing training offered by Handmade Horizons may be most effective. Handmade Horizons provide coaching and mentoring as well as ‘Shop SOS’ and ‘Borrow our Brains’ sessions. These have the advantage of providing not only targeted recommendations but also follow up support.

Putting it into practice Building skills is a lifelong process and different approaches will work well for different people at different times. Regardless of what form the learning takes, one of the most useful pieces of advice I’ve received (and one which I sometimes find hardest to follow) is to actually apply what I’ve learnt. Practice does make perfect!

Images courtesy of Kath Bonson. For more information, visit: www.bon-art.co.uk Useful links: www.craftcourses.com www.bl.uk www.thedesigntrust.co.uk www.handmadehorizons.com

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MEET:

Gladys Paulus by Karen Jinks

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Gladys Paulus made her first piece of felt in 2005 and fell in love with the simple, humble materials and the physicality of the making process.

She is fascinated by the patterns, fractals and systems of nature, and looks to the natural world for inspiration. Gladys chooses to work with wool because of its low impact, sustainable nature and buys her raw materials directly from local smallholders and farmers.

Through her paternal grandparents, she grew up around the magical and highly symbolic world of Indonesian puppetry, dance and imagery. With her other foot firmly embedded in Dutch pragmatism, practicality and Northern European folklore, feltmaking has enabled her to bring together these influences into a language of her own. Dating back to the Neolithic period and pre-dating woven fabric, felt is the oldest form of man-made textile and Gladys feels that there is great significance in maintaining this tradition.

Felt’s rich history, cultural practices and visual imagery are undoubtedly influential upon her work.

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Who is Gladys Paulus?

I am an artist feltmaker, interested in the transformational qualities of felt and at the moment, this expresses itself in the creation of headdresses and masks. Originally from Holland, I have been living and working in the UK since 1996 and am currently based in Somerset.

How did you become a felt maker, and what were you doing before this?

My felt journey began when I purchased a fleece whilst visiting a sheep farm with my daughter. I was working in environmental education and had become interested in natural fibres and crafts, such as willow basketry and cordage making. After acquiring the fleece, I found out how to prepare it for spinning, how to dye it using natural dyes and then taught myself to use a drop spindle. My plan was to knit a hat but it was such a disaster, I had to think of other ways to use the remaining fleece, so I turned to feltmaking. Way before all this, in the early 1990’s, I attended Utrecht’s College for Art and Design in the Netherlands where I studied painting and drawing. There’s a painterly element to feltmaking too, as different coloured wool fibres can be blended in a similar way to mixing paint. You could say that feltmaking has combined the painter in me with my desire to use low impact, natural materials.

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Do you have any formal training?

No. When it comes to feltmaking, I’m mostly selftaught. From the start I have learned from books, through trial and error, and working things out on my own. After the birth of my second child, I had a bit of a ‘felt break’ but as he grew older, I was able to continue with my experiments bit by bit. I’ve always known that I wanted to work ‘bigger’, but was content to bide my time and in some ways, I still feel like that now! Being in my own little world like that, the whole vibrant feltmaking scene both in the UK and internationally - bypassed me completely until last year.

I’ve since started making up for lost time and have sought out international teachers who have opened up my world. Learning new methods, techniques and adapting them for my own purposes, has deepened my understanding of the technical possibilities tremendously. This in turn has enabled the development of my own work and style. I’ve been fortunate to attend workshops with feltmakers Judit Pócs (Hungary), Vilte Kazlauskaite (Lithuania), Pam de Groot (Australia), Ruth Walker (USA), Chris Lines (UK) and Sheila Smith (UK), amongst others.

I am also a member of the International Feltmakers Association and go to as many regional group meetings as possible.

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It’s incredibly uplifting to spend a day in the company of (mostly) women from all walks of life, united by a shared interest. We make felt together, eat cake, swap tips and techniques and occasionally, benefit from outside tutors coming in too.

Who or what inspires your work?

Often my starting point is the natural world, although the majority of my current work is informed almost entirely by my subconscious. I think that growing up in a culturally mixed family has had a deep impact on how I see the world (my father is Indonesian and my mother is Dutch). I am instinctively drawn to traditional costume, ritual and theatricality which must have its roots in the images and artefacts that my grandparents exposed me to. At the same time, I grew up with a healthy dose of Northern European practicality, and the work I make is a kind of mix of both influences.

To a large extent, the feltmaking process itself also informs my output; it’s such a meditative and transformative process. The end result is not always predictable so it’s worth going into it with an open attitude and seeing what comes out. Often it’s the little ‘mistakes’ that are the most interesting and give rise to new ideas so hopefully, this way my work will continue to evolve and change.

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Where do you get your wool from?

I prefer to use British and locally produced fleece for my work, wherever possible. Since moving to Somerset in 2007, I have built up a network of smallholder and farmers in the area, and I can buy in a wide variety of breeds from within a few miles radius of my front door. Nowadays, wool is generally viewed as a farming industry by-product rather than a valuable resource. It fetches very little in monetary terms and often it won’t even cover the cost of sheep shearing. Aside from this being an absolute scandal in my eyes, it means that many farmers are only too happy to sell their fleece directly to crafts people. (This situation is a far cry from the 15th century when wool merchants made huge fortunes and British wool was renowned throughout Europe for its superb quality and range).

However, since preparing raw fleece can take a lot of time, I do occasionally buy in ready-prepared and dyed fleece for the workshops I run and for my own work. Certain techniques such as nuno-felt (a fusion of wool and woven fabric to form a lightweight felt typically used for garments) requires very fine wool such as Merino, which usually comes from S. Africa or Australia. I have been trying out replacing Merino with locally grown Alpaca, but Alpaca wool behaves quite differently to Merino so the experiment is ongoing.

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Your pieces are very sculptural. Is it a difficult process to create 3D forms in felt?

The basic techniques of felt making have remained virtually un-changed since Neolithic times, when it is thought to have originated. It’s pure alchemy and I love it that I practice such an ancient craft. At its most basic, feltmaking involves laying out layers of wool fibres, which are wetted out with soapy water and then rubbed, rolled, thrown, stretched and steamed into a final piece of felt. It’s simple but very physical. Yes, some feltmakers use electric sanders and bubble wrap but the essential ingredients are still wool, water, friction, heat and soap, and even the latter two are optional.

My headdresses are just a complex version of what is known as the ‘seamless 3-D felt making’ technique.

To make seamless 3-D felt, the wool fibres are first wrapped around a flat resist. The resist is removed when the felt is stable enough not to fall apart, but still soft enough to be malleable and enable stretching and sculpting into a 3-dimensional shape. This is fairly straightforward with a simple shape like a sphere, but gets much trickier with more complex shapes. I put a lot of time into preparing the resist and trying to get that right before I even reach for the wool. The level of complexity in the method is compounded by trying to predict factors such as wool shrinkage, the position of the ears and 36 | ukhandmade | Winter 2013

eye holes, and achieving facial symmetry. I’ve tried felting around a 3-D resist such as a ball, but it didn’t really work for me with what I was trying to achieve.

It is fair to say I’ve had some real disasters, but I see each piece as an opportunity to try out different methods and to learn from the ones that came before. My first experiments with headdresses literally took weeks but now I’ve got it down to about 4 days, depending on complexity. To some people that still may sound like a long time, but the whole process is done entirely by hand and there is no machinery involved.

Tell us about your workspace.

My workspace consists of my large, second hand dining table, bought for the purpose and situated in my dining room. I would love to have a studio space to call my own one day but, for the time being, I work from home. I have lots of wool and equipment stashed all over the house and in the garden shed.

It’s not uncommon for our family meal to be eaten around a work in progress, surrounded by piles of fleece. Luckily, I have a very understanding, supportive partner and children, although they do complain about ‘hairs’ in their dinner from time to time. At the moment, the size of my work is pretty much dictated by the size of my table, which I do find frustrating sometimes as I like to think big.

I have been known to clear the living room of furniture and work on the floor for larger pieces but this method of working is very hard on the back.

However, there are many benefits to working from home too, so for now it’s fine.

If you could learn a new skill, what would it be?

A few years ago I started a dye allotment, which recently has been largely neglected due to lack of time. But I want to learn more about dyeing with plants as it’s a natural partner to making felt, and also links in nicely with my background in painting and enjoyment of gardening. There are some amazing natural dyers out there doing some incredibly exciting things. I recently attended a master class in a technique called ‘Eco Printing’ with Fabienne Dorsman-Rey and I’m looking forward to continuing the experimentation at home. I am interested in a lot of other mediums too and, one day, I would love to learn about woodwork, perhaps with a view to incorporating it into felt.

What advice would you give to someone starting their own creative business?

I’m not sure if I’m the best person to give advice because it’s still early days for me, but I have learned the importance of following your heart. If you’re passionate about what you do, it will shine through and people will remember you for it.

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Of course, you have to be able to back it up with talent and ability. The early years are hard but keep at it and let people know what you’re doing at every available opportunity. It’s amazing how supportive it is to have a network of people around you who know what you’re about. Often, the right contacts and possibilities for work come out of such networks. We live in an age of self-promotion and social networks so make the most of these if you can.

Your photographs really show your work at its best. Do you take these photo’s yourself or employ a photographer?

The photographs are taken by the very talented photographer Bella West who is based in Dorset.

We have collaborated on two shoots now and will probably continue to do so in the future. We started working together as the result of a chance meeting in OWL, the artist collective gallery in Frome, of which I’m a member and where my work is permanently on display. She wandered in off the street one day, drawn in by the headdresses and was interested in shooting them. I happened to be looking for a photographer and a happy collaboration was born. We work together really well and intuitively. I’ll have an idea, she’ll suggest a location and somehow it comes together; we are beginning to understand how we both work.

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Our second shoot was very laid back, unplanned and kind of evolved as we went. I’m very grateful for Bella’s involvement as it has made me ‘up my game’ in a relatively short time. In terms of attracting interest and commissions, the way your work is presented is not to be underestimated, so good photography is incredibly important. I’m pretty sure a lot of my recent commissions are due to this.

All those amazing photos deserved a new website and it just so happened that the friend Bella was with when we first met, was a web designer who has since done a wonderful job on my site. It was definitely a case of being in the right place at the right time!

Do you have any new projects coming up?

I recently completed a commission for a Mexican commercial, and there’s a possibility they’ll want me to make some more headdresses. There are a few workshops to run until the end of the year and I’ve started thinking about 2014’s workshop programme already (details of new courses will be announced on my website and sent to my e-mailing list). I’ve been invited to guest tutor at various arts centres so I’ll be preparing for those and in Spring 2014, Bella and I are hoping to hold an exhibition of our collaborative work together. I’ve also been approached by a performance arts company about a possible collaboration.

I don’t want to say too much about it at this stage as nothing is guaranteed, but I’m really excited about the possibility. Other than that, I have lots of ideas for new work, time permitting.

What are your goals for the future?

I would really like to collaborate with performance arts and theatre groups as I think my work lends itself well to that. I also have a lot of ideas for installation pieces more suited to gallery settings, so I’m slowly working up the techniques and experience to put something like that together.

Somehow I will have to find the time to fit in some extended travel as well. There are two regions I would love to explore. One is Indonesia, for obvious reasons, but also because I think I can find a lot of inspiration there and I’m particularly interested in batik fabrics. The other region is the area known as the Silk Route, stretching from Turkey and Syria in the West, along Iran and Afghanistan and into Mongolia and China in the East. There is a rich and ancient tradition of feltmaking there and I would love to travel along its length, immersing myself in it and learning from the people who have been doing this for millennia. Due to the current political instability in parts of the region, this may have to wait a while.

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What does handmade mean to you?

Genuine handmade means originality, talent, skill and craftsmanship.

It means the maker has taken time, care and attention to create the item. Handmade means celebrating slow in an increasingly fast world.

It means durability and quality, uniqueness and character. It means saying no to mass produced consumer items. Often, it means a nod to the past and the craftsmen and women that went before; years of collective and personal gathered knowledge, keeping the skills base alive. Sometimes, it means a celebration of very particular and local materials. When you buy handmade, you are buying more than a product. You’re buying a story, a work of art, something that somebody has put their heart into creating.

Where can we buy your work?

My work is permanently on display in the OWL Gallery (33 Catherine Hill, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BY), along with the work of 5 other local artists: Mel Day (wirework), Steven Jenkins (Pottery & prints), Phaedra Politis (glass work), Anny Colgan (paintings & lino cuts) and Hans Bourgonjon (ceramics). I also sell on-line through Etsy and I welcome enquiries about commissions.

For more information on Gladys Paulus, visit: www.gladyspaulus.co.uk Images courtesy of Gladys Paulus and photography by Bella West.

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BUSINESS: Brand Identity by Hannah Marshall

‘Brand Identity’ is an often vague term which can sometimes add to an artist’s confusion when dealing with it in their handmade business. It’s used to identify one product from another by using names, logos, design, style, fonts or any other distinguishable feature that separates you from the competition and communicates your image to your customers.

When a customer sees your product in any format, they should be able to quickly identify it as your business.

Why use brand identity?

Branding your work shows that you are professional and take your work seriously as a business. Once you have a brand identity, you will find that other business elements just slot into place afterwards; where you should advertise, keywords for your website, what price to charge and where your work will sell best. Most artists like to think their work is aimed at anyone who is interested, which is a common misconception. It is often hard to pinpoint your customer if you have never considered it, and when you design and make from the heart.

Who is your customer?

The first thing you need to think about when developing a brand identity is who your product 44 | ukhandmade | Winter 2013

is aimed at and how you can converse with them.

Usually income, style, age, interests, demographics and ethics are of most interest. Branding works on many levels; it can be eco-friendly, sporty, bohemian, affordable, custom made or quirky, to name but a few. Once you have distinguished who your customer is, you can develop your brand identity around them. Envisage the person buying your products and the keywords that define them.

For example, if you make classic, high-end sterling silver jewellery then your brand identity should reflect this. Your customer is likely to be affluent, probably aged 30 upwards and have traditional tastes. There would be no point having a futuristic font because it has no relevance to your core customers unless you are aiming at a niche market.

This might sound obvious but you will be surprised at how many people misinterpret their work through bad brand identity and alienate customers.

Design Think about what makes the design of your products special or unique and try to make sure that each piece you produce echoes this sentiment. Take wellknown brands within the art & fashion industry e.g.

Cath Kidston, Rob Ryan and Emma Bridgewater.

What do you think of? The key to a brand identity lies predominately in the product itself. Rather than having lots of unrelated disjointed products, think about developing a range where everything ties in, or separating pieces into collections. You want a customer to recognize your work as unique to you. Think of ways to brand the product itself, a signature pattern, motif, profile, theme or element that ties your work together. Can you put your logo on a small tag if you make jewellery, stamp your ceramics or develop an autograph on your artwork that can become your logo?

Fonts and Logos The humble font is an easy and cheap way to create a brand, but beware! The wrong font can sully a customer’s first impression while the right one can speak a thousand words!

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Before Look at well-known brands and observe what fonts they use to evoke their brand. Fonts are suggestive; handwriting implies the personal touch and a typewriter font is classic. There are many databases online that have free font banks for inspiration or use. Your font should be your business fingerprint so use it everywhere!

Logos are vast and can range from just text (known as ‘word marks’) to complicated monograms or graphic images. Whatever you choose, it should be synonymous with your brand. If it doubt, keep it simple and fresh, because something over complicated may date very quickly.

Context After Customers like to see a product being used in the intended environment or merchandised aesthetically so that they can relate to it. Consider how your brand identity can be translated into all fields of your business. You could put feedback from customers outlining the quality of your products on your website, or consider little touches like the paper you choose for your business cards or use an unusual tablecloth & props at a craft fair to convey your style.

Photography should set the scene and convey the emotions behind your brand. Can you create a 46 | ukhandmade | Winter 2013

lifestyle your customer can relate to? Are you using a particular style or filter on your images? Try using props to express yourself and watermark your images with your logo so that even when your images are shared, your brand identity and name travels with it.

The Internet Social networking sites, blogs, websites and e-commerce should link together to create continuity across all your online platforms.

Customize these as much as you can too by adding your logo and supporting images. If you can create personalized buttons, use this feature. When describing your company in the ‘About’ section, tell your customer who the product is aimed at and why so that they can relate.

Other Elements to Consider Taglines are short snappy phrases that sum up your brand and can be a catchy way to help people remember you. Colour can also be a powerful reminder; take the popular brand Tiffany who use an iconic blue. How your product is received and defined can be encapsulated by, for example, your personal style via a blog, your values or principles set out as a brand goal or how you define customer service.

And Finally ...

Branding can be applied across all platforms of your business. The important thing to consider is continuity throughout, because there’s no point branding one aspect whilst neglecting others. If your customer picks up a newly designed business card and then approaches your out-of-date website to be greeted with a completely different brand identity, they may think they have come to the wrong site! Brand identity isn’t scary or complicated, it’s a way of professionally articulating and translating the style of your work through subtle methods, and generating customers who will appreciate, value and connect with your business.

WWW.KATEROWLAND.CO.UK Winter 2013 | ukhandmade |

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MEET:

Jane Adam by Chrissie Freeth Jane Adam’s unique dyed and anodised aluminium jewellery has earned her an international reputation and multiple awards. Her work can be found in collections across the globe including the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, and has been featured in numerous publications. Regularly taking part in group and solo exhibitions, Jane is also co-deputy chair of the Crafts Council.

Tell us about yourself and how you got started.

I come from a design conscious home; my father was a graphic designer. I remember him bringing home Design Magazine every month, and the first copies of ‘Crafts’ which I found very exciting. When I left school, I went into retailing, initially at Heal’s and then as a department manager at Liberty’s before I went to art college. My first degree was in Wood, Metal and Ceramics in Manchester. I knew I wanted to make small, potent objects, but wasn’t sure what they were made of or what they were for. It took me time to realise what interested me most was how people presented themselves. This was during the new jewellery movement of the late Seventies. I was drawn to the expression of ideas through nonprecious materials. I set up my first studio in 1981 for a year before doing an MA at the RCA. 48 | ukhandmade | Winter 2013

Who or what inspires you most in your work?

No one thing, but a constant assimilation of visual and tactile experiences. In the past, museum visits: ancient objects such as stone hand tools, the Sutton Hoo treasure, Egyptian sculpture; Central Asian textiles; Sixties fashion and graphics; my childhood shell collection; the experience of travel: Indian textiles and artefacts or Japanese temples.

These days, I am more drawn to nature, albeit mitigated by my urban environment.

Trees, birds, gardens, plants, even the stone pavements I see as I walk to work.

What creative steps do you take to develop a new body of work?

Usually it’s a real muddle, starting with a feeling about what matters to me most at a certain time. I surround myself with visual stimuli, postcards, shells and fossils, bits of bark or seeds. I might listen to some music.

I draw a bit and play with some materials, and then put them to one side. Quite often, inspiration strikes apparently fully formed out of the blue and it takes me time to recognise that there has been a slow process, possibly over several months, leading up to that moment of realisation.

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What processes and techniques do you use to make your jewellery? Is there a piece of equipment you couldn’t live without?

I work in two different kinds of metals.

I have been using anodised aluminium to make jewellery for thirty years now. It offers wonderful possibilities for making permanently coloured surfaces, but is more limited in how it can be formed. It needs a firm but gentle hand. These days, I also work in precious metals, which offer much greater subtlety, generosity in handling and versatility of form. Each material has to be worked with in a certain way, though I take techniques and ideas from one to the other.

In my workshop, I have a combination of traditional jewellers’ hand tools - a vast selection of files, saws, pliers etc. - as well as light industrial machinery such as a big treadle guillotine, a belt sander, manual and electric rolling mills, a fume cupboard for anodising and a few things I have cobbled together myself. My most favourite piece of equipment is my old and very solid fly press, which I use all the time with various punches for forming and sometimes for cutting out shapes. It cost me £15.00 from a scrap metal dealer in the Lee Valley when I first started out.

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Can you tell us a bit about your creative work space and studio?

I have a space at Cockpit Arts in Holborn, London, where I have worked for longer than I care to remember. I enjoy having my own space, but in a community of other makers, designers and artists in a fascinating area. It’s a ten minute walk from Hatton Garden or the British Museum, but is somehow still off the beaten track. My studio has been described as ‘elegantly cluttered’. It is certainly full of stuff; tools, materials, catalogues, bits of things which might come in useful or which capture something which interests me, or test pieces and bits of jewellery that went wrong in an interesting way.

What do you love most about what you do, and what do you find the most frustrating?

I love that sense of being in the zone, at my bench, lost in time, absorbed in making and thinking out something new. The frustrating thing is that this most valuable of experiences becomes overridden by the day to day round of emails, paperwork and other necessary distractions.

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Do you ever have creative slumps? What do you do then?

Yes, I do indeed; every January, for a start, when I am usually shattered after the maelstrom of Christmas orders and exhibitions. What I would like to do then, is go off somewhere hot and look at something inspiring until I feel better.

However, what I usually do is the paperwork.

If you had time to learn a new craft, what would it be?

I’d love to learn how to fly, but I don’t think that’s quite what you mean. It would probably have something to do with colour, and with handling and feeling a material. I have dallied with textile printing, but only got so far with it because I found myself wanting more of a form. Ceramics attracts me, though perhaps more in the finished objects than the making of them. Before I went to college, I used to do embroidery and I like the idea of creating something by adding colour and texture physically to a surface. Or is there such a thing as radical lacemaking?

What do you do to relax?

I go to art galleries or museums, travel when I get chance, or go for long rides on my bicycle. I am also a demon quizzer.

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What advice would you give to someone just starting out?

Be true to yourself. Talent matters, as does hard work.

But it is also important to be ruthlessly objective about what you are doing, and to see how it fits into the wider market or cultural context. Ask yourself why you are doing it, what it means to you and how others might see it. Your choices about what you make are inextricably linked with the kind of life you make for yourself. Take a look around and see what the options are, and work out what matters to you. Then go for it. But if and when it doesn’t work 54 | ukhandmade | Winter 2013

anymore - or it stops interesting you like it used to be willing to move on to the next thing.

What are your main goals for the next year?

Well, my partner and I have bought a house which is a real project (in that it needs everything done to it), and we are just emerging from the labyrinth of planning conditions and consents. It’s a lovely Victorian stonemason’s house and there is space there to build me a new studio, so I am hoping to spend some time working on making our plans a reality.

You exhibit internationally, take part in major contemporary events, and your work is in museum collections and galleries across the UK and beyond.

What would you say has been the highlight of your career so far?

I’ve been very lucky and there have been a lot of highlights. It’s really good to have things in museums and collections; it’s affirming and ensures one’s immortality. There was an amazing lecture tour of India in 1990 when, as a guest of the British Council, I was able to meet and get to know craftspeople and artists from all over the country and all walks of life, and there has since been inspiring teaching trips to Japan, Portugal, Taiwan and the USA.

But I still remember, soon after I’d left college in 1981, the first time I saw my work being worn by someone who I didn’t know, who had actually gone to a shop and bought it. That made what I was doing seem very real. I am flattered that people take my jewellery seriously enough to buy and wear it. After all this time, I am still rather surprised that I can get away with it.

For more information on Jane Adam, visit: www.janeadam.com All images by Joel Degen

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REV IEW:

Low-Tech Print by Dawn Bevins Low-Tech Print is a highly visual book and focuses on the current global movement rejuvenating the craft of traditional printing. It explores various methods of printing by hand and introduces you to a wide selection of practitioners that use these methods to produce contemporary work.

The book is divided into four main chapters, each focusing on a particular printing method: Screen Printing, Letterpress, Relief Printing, and Further Printing Methods (encapsulating stamps, collaborations, experimentations and Gocco). Each chapter supplies you with a brief history of that particular technique, the general process of how the technique works, and introduces you to the work of a variety of artists and designers.

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In some cases, you are given no more than the designer’s name and the images of their work.

Although these are a delight to browse through, I personally prefer the projects that come with some background information. It’s nice to be told the idea behind a design and be given a little context. Some pages include mini interviews with the designers, which is a wonderful way to see how they think and understand why they are so passionate about their craft.

I adore the examples of letterpress (they’re just so strokable), a few of my favourite works featured being the colourful Howler Business Cards, Buzzed and Fuzzed Prints by Studio On Fire, the fun birth announcement card by Mattson Creative (and Studio On Fire) and the delicate prints of Essie Letterpress. However, as much as I love looking through the Letterpress designs, it’s the relief printing that really appeals to me. I think that the rise in popularity of traditional print has evolved due to people craving textures and imperfections in a world governed by slick technology. Technology is wonderful, but I often want to escape from it; it’s so darn smooth and glossy. I’ve found I rely on ‘ctrl-z’ so much now that, when I draw or paint, I’m quite hesitant as I don’t want to make a mistake.

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It makes me sad to think that I’ve lost some of my fearlessness, so I’m drawn to relief printing because it takes time to hand carve something - whether it be wood or lino - and that is permanent and brave.

The people in this book are my heroes. Some of my favourite examples of relief printing featured are the Big Bad Wolf Print by Tugboat Printshop, the Record Player print by Helen Peyton, and Snug, a print by Laura Seaby. What is also great about this chapter is that you are able to see images of work in progress, as the carving is done in stages.

It’s interesting to see how low-tech printing covers such a range of styles and jobs. There is obviously a huge connection with the arts and culture, due to the mutual support between creative communities, but the projects included also illustrate the growing number of commercial clients that they produce for, as companies try to appear more personable and a little less, well, ‘commercial’.

This isn’t a ‘how to’ book, it’s a visual celebration of handmade print and the people who practice it for a living. It’s a great book for anyone with a keen interest in traditional printing, but who have little knowledge, as detailed or practical information is limited but easily digestible. You can still learn the odd thing, such as ‘split fountain printing’ being where two or three different colour inks are 58 | ukhandmade | Winter 2013

combined during the actual printing, demonstrated beautifully in the calendar cards by Fabien Barrel.

I feel as though this book has rejuvenated my interest in printing. There is plenty of visual inspiration and just enough information for me to focus on which technique appeals the most. It has provided me with lots of starting points that I can go away and research further in greater detail, such as the different types of papers and inks used in each project or the artists themselves. Mostly, it has inspired me and taken away any mystery that may have made printing seem unapproachable, and I’ve even been looking up local workshops so I can hopefully get involved.

Low-Tech Print by Caspar Williamson, is published

by Laurence King at £19.95 ISBN-10: 1780672977 ISBN-13: 978-1780672977 Previous page: ‘Record Player’ by Helen Peyton Left: ‘You, Me & the Sea’ (detail) by Essie Letterpress

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MEET:

mineheart by Mandy Knapp

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Vanessa Battaglia and Brendan Young are the talented product designers behind the mineheart brand. Passionate about what they do and with fantastic energy, they bring together their design skills to create wonderfully creative items for the home, and all are made in the UK. Mandy Knapp has been a fan of their work for years and though they say you should never meet the people that you admire, they did not disappoint!

You are both trained in product design; where did you study?

I (Brendan) studied at Plymouth University and Vanessa studied at ISIA in Rome.

What different skills have you brought to your business, and how influential is your training?

At the end of the day, our training was quite similar. However, we have very different personalities and sensibilities, enabling both of us to work in a very different but Winter 2013 | ukhandmade |

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complementary way. It allows us to do what neither of us could achieve alone. Vanessa has a strong interest in fashion and is very conscious of colour, style, and the feeling of a design. I, on the other hand, am much more focused with the technical aspects, quality, and details. I love to simplify problems and try to come up with solutions. We both work on new concepts and we have a wall of ideas in the office which we discuss and refine over a period of months, only choosing to produce designs that we both like. If one of us isn’t sure, it’s out!

What are the processes you go through, from the initial idea through to the product going to market?

The development process of any product is never a simple or smooth journey. Ideas often get modified or can be dropped at any point, especially when we are trying something new which may not be possible. A design may be put on hold until we come across a good solution, which could be months or years later, or maybe never! Fortunately, we are never short of ideas so there are always many more to fall back on. Once a chosen design has proved possible to make in the UK - for a reasonable price that allows us to realistically sell it - we order a prototype. If we are pleased with it, we simply add it to our website and send out a launch newsletter, and then it’s on to the next one!

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Where do you get your inspiration from when you are initially designing your products?

Our inspiration comes from our everyday life, travel and interests, and we try to find our own path. We do not follow trends. Our aim is to create things that excite us and that we have never seen before.

Our interests and styles change and evolve over time but, at the moment, we are embracing our common love for renaissance art and we’re having a lot of fun with it. We always try to add a twist of something unexpected or poetic to our designs.

As part of the creative process, you collaborate with makers to realise your products. How important is it that they are UK based?

It is very important that our products are all made in the UK. Apart from the fact that it is nice to support UK industry and be able to easily talk or meet the people who are making items for us, UK manufacturing gives us a few other great advantages including low minimum orders and fast development time. Producing in the UK does cost a lot more that in many other countries but, the advantages it gives in other ways, is worth it for us. The UK has lost a lot of its manufacturing over the past decade or so, but I’m glad we have proved that it is still possible!

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What do you look for when you are collaborating with the artisans who will make your designs?

When selecting a new producer, we often talk to a few before choosing which one to work with. There is a combination of factors that helps us decide, including knowledge, attitude, workmanship and cost. Quite often our ideas use non-standard processes or techniques, so the most important thing is that they have to be willing to adapt their standard process and not be against trying something slightly different. Often, we will still be working on the design whilst talking to the manufacturer. This dialogue is extremely important in order to get the design right and make it produceable.

Tell us about some of the artists and designers you have been working with on recent projects.

We have been working on some exciting new collaborations with some very talented artists including Himitsuhana, Angela Rossi, Chad Wys. They each work in very different fields; Himitsuhana in photography, Rossi in ceramics and Wys is more conceptual. By re-applying their artistic talents to help us create rugs, cushions or wallpaper, we are really blurring the boundaries between art and design. They are always really thrilled to see their work expressed in a new ‘media’, and we really consider the mineheart range as a collection of ‘pieces’ rather than ‘products’. We like to think each one has a soul.

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Your collection has recently grown to incorporate larger pieces, like seating and cupboards. Tell us about that.

Yes, we have been working on quite a few larger pieces including sofas, chairs, coffee tables, and cabinets. We began our range with smaller products like wallpaper, lighting and accessories but the dream has always been to design a whole interior concept including furniture.

These designs have been in the pipeline for quite a while, so we are very pleased that they are finally here!

We always enjoy finding new ways of doing things and experimenting.

Whenever new samples or prototypes arrive in the studio, we can’t help but feel a little bit like excited children, tearing off the packaging impatiently to have a look.

What sort of products can we look forward to seeing from you in the future?

We have so many ideas floating around, some more lights for sure, and we are currently working on the interior for a new cafe, but in the long term, who knows? We would love to design a range of bathroom products for example, or a restaurant, and one day maybe even a hotel!

Where can people see and buy your work?

You can view our full range at www.mineheartstore.com and selected pieces can be seen in London at Liberty, Heals and Holly’s House.

Other locations are listed on the stores page on our website.

For more information, visit: www.youngbattaglia.com Winter 2013 | ukhandmade |

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REV IEW:

Knitwear Design by Lisa Margreet Payne I had high hopes for Knitwear Design, looking to expand on my knowledge of designing knitting patterns and learn some new techniques.

Having written a few knitting and crochet patterns with no formal training to speak of, I was hoping to pick up some tips and perhaps learn the “proper” way of doing it. Knitwear Design is a very professional book aimed, according to the blurb, at being a “practical guide to the dynamic revival of contemporary knitting” and “a source of inspiration and advice on the latest techniques and practices”.

It sounded like it would be right up my street.

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Knitwear Design certainly wouldn’t be out of place as a course textbook on a Fashion Knitwear Design course. It is divided into five chapters, with an introductory chapter charting the development of knitting and covering the recent resurgence in knitting including the DIY scene, as well as the contemporary fashion and art side of the craft. The other chapters cover the ‘Knitting Industry’, ‘Research and Design’, ‘Working with Colour and Texture’, ‘Innovative Techniques’ and ‘From Design to Production’.

The book is full of colour images of fashion models wearing the latest from contemporary knitwear designers (and I was chuffed to see the work of my friend Rosalind Price-Cousins in there). However, I personally found the layout very distracting. The fashion images are large and prolific; they draw you away from the text and dominate the page, especially as the font size seems particularly small. It’s easy to get lost in looking at images of scowling models and not focus on the information in the text.

The tone of book is very academic, flat and dry with none of the author’s voice present. I like to feel the personality of the author in the books I read, because that’s what makes them engaging and interesting.

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This page: Red and white striped expressionist knit dress, using industrial barrier tape by Craig Lawrence, Spring/Summer 2010 collection (page 136).

Opposite: ‘Knit Knot Tree’, Yellow Springs, Ohio; yarn-bombed tree

by Jafagirls (page 9).

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It felt like the scope of the book was too wide-ranging, covering too much information in not enough depth. It may have been better to decrease the scope and go into more depth on the subjects, perhaps turning it into two books. The sections at the end that I found most useful were on Pattern Calculations and Pattern Writing, but they only took up two pages out of two hundred. Lots of different techniques for both hand and machine knitting were discussed but, again, not in enough depth to be useful to the home knitter. These were more overviews of the techniques rather than a breakdown of how to do them. There was also an inclination towards machine knitting in the technique descriptions which I’m sure the majority of home knitters don’t have access to.

It is this that makes me think it would be good as a fashion course text book. In order to use the book as a practical guide, you need further instruction or, for example, a tutor to guide you through each of the techniques. For me, I like a craft book to teach me something new and I didn’t feel that I gained that from this book.

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If you are about to embark on a fashion knitwear design course, have a keen interest in contemporary knitwear and love looking at fashion images, or are just looking for an overview to knitwear design and an introduction to the industry, then I think you will find a lot to enjoy in this book. However, if you’re more of a DIY knitter and looking for a book to help you take your first tentative steps into creating your own hand knitted designs, then I would suggest looking elsewhere to get you started in designing knitwear.

Knitwear Design by Carol Brown, is published by Laurence King and available in paperback at ÂŁ22.50.

ISBN-10: 1780670583 ISBN-13: 978-1-78067-058-4

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Knit instillation ‘Anyway’, 2002, by textile artist Freddie Robins.

A series of large-scale, tubular, ‘interconnected four-limbed sweaters’ exploring seamless knitting technology (page 20).

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MAKE: Snowball Cookies

by Larissa Joice

This simple recipe uses measuring cups and is perfect for keeping little hands busy on cold, wintery days. The sugar-coated, bite size snowballs make gorgeous gifts for Christmas and a lovely ‘take along’ for Christmas parties.

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INGREDIENTS: 1 cup softened, unsalted butter 2/3 cup icing sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 tablespoons cornflour 2 cups plain flour 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds, pecans or desiccated coconut.

2 cups icing sugar, for coating

METHOD: 1. Grease and line a large baking sheet, and preheat the oven to 350째f/180째c/gas 4.

2. Cream the butter till light and fluffy, and then sift in 2/3rd cup icing sugar along with the salt.

Mix well to combine.

3. Add the vanilla essence and sprinkle over the cornflour.

Combine gently and gradually rub in the flour, a tablespoon at a time.

4. Stir the chopped nuts or coconut into the floury rubble.

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5.

Taking approximately 1 tablespoon of mix, gently squeeze and roll into a ball. Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining mixture.

6. Bake on the middle shelf for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Remove the cookies from the oven. Allow them to cool for a few minutes, and then roll them in the extra icing sugar. Set aside to cool completely.

8. When they have completely cooled, gently press and roll the cookies in the remaining icing sugar again so that they are fully coated.

9. Store in an air tight container and enjoy with a nice cup of tea; or present in a pretty glass jar, tied with ribbon and labelled.

Images courtesy of Larissa Joice.

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MAKE: Pop-Up Christmas Cards

by Karen Jinks

Make this easy pop up Christmas card to impress your friends and family without spending your hard-earned cash on premade ones.

You will need: Decorative card, A4 sized (or a large sheet of scrapbooking card, cut to A4) Craft knife Cutting mat Pencil Ruler Scraps of paper /sequins etc. for decoration

1. Turn the A4 piece of paper so that it’s landscape (with the pattern face down) and measure 15cm along the two shorter sides. Trim the paper so that you have a long thin strip.

2. Measure this strip into 3 equal sections (approx 10cm each) and fold into 3.

3. Open it out flat and, in the middle section, mark the centre point across the top and bottom and draw a vertical line down the middle.

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4. Place your ruler along this line and mark a point 2cm from the top and again at 12cm; this marks the height of the triangle that will form the shape of your tree. Draw a 8cm horizontal line across the bottom point, then join the ends of this line to the top point to make the triangle.

5. On the central line of the triangle, mark a point at each centimetre, then draw horizontal lines to the edge of the triangle to form the branches of your tree.

6. This is the tricky part, cutting out the tree. You need to start at the top point of the triangle and cut down one side as far as the first line, turn the card round and cut along the first branch to the other end and stop.

Next, cut down the side to the next branch and so on. Continue to follow the lines of the branches so that it snakes around to the bottom of the tree. (It may be best to draw the line you are about to cut first so it stands out and you are less likely to make a mistake.)

7. When you reach the bottom branch, you can then gently fold this centre section in half, allowing the branches to pop forward and form the tree shape.

8. Have fun with it and decorate the front of the card as you please. You could even colour in the tree and add little baubles to the ends of the branches!

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LIVE: From Tower Block to 4 Acres

by Lisa Margreet Payne

The seasons have turned, the nights have drawn in and I no longer have the luxury of long evenings to complete garden tasks after my day job is finished. On my three freelance days, I work 9am till 5pm and then from 5pm till 9pm in the garden (8am-9pm or 6am- 7pm on the other four days). Daylight vanishes before I finish harvesting and packing my produce for market. I now have to plan ahead and finish off in the packing shed under an electric light.

I’ve learnt a lot this year. Athough it’s not yet a full year since my arrival at Oakcroft, it has been a full growing season. The freezing, snowy, tail end of winter in February when I arrived, was chased out by the strong, clearing spring winds of March and April. Then the sun came and warmed the ground for my seedlings, enjoying itself so much that it lazed around in the sky for weeks on end whilst everything in the garden grew fat. I would spend three hours every day watering it all, not to mention the lunchtime trips into the greenhouses to spray tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers with water to keep them cool and humid. It felt like a summer from childhood, with long hot days, sunburn, wasp stings and ant bites. My work in the garden (or on the computer) was punctuated by strawberries 80 | ukhandmade | Winter 2013

eaten straight from the field, and tomatoes eaten from the vine, wrapped in basil leaves picked from the plant below. It was luxurious to have so much natural abundance.

But now the wind has picked up, rain is blowing in and winter proper will be here before we know it. I’ve put the garden to sleep, some of it mulched under cardboard to smother weeds and feed the soil, and I’ve fed other parts of the ground with a “green manure”, a crop planted to restore nutrients to the soil. The outside areas of the moveable greenhouses are planted with crops for winter and next spring, and I’m already planning for next year.

A culinary and medicinal herb garden is going to be a new part of the garden design.

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The larger of my rare, fifty year old, horticultural heritage glasshouses is being renovated and restored now before the worst of the weather hits.

Mehr and I don’t think it will last another winter without the work being done. We’re also dreaming of building an eco-house at the top of the field (maybe next year, maybe the one after) and I’ll begin its design over the winter months too. It will be a place for volunteers to stay in, in exchange for working in the garden.

My plans for next year also include crops for all seasons, so that I won’t need to break for winter like this year; I want to be able to provide food all year round for both myself and my customers. After years of living in London, I’m finally learning to drive so that, next year, I can do more farmers markets.

Although hibernation is a tempting option, I want to offer craft and permaculture workshops at Oakcroft during the garden’s quieter months and I may even begin workshops this winter. Permaculture is about living lightly on the planet and is a combination of ethics, principles and design, focused on creating sustainable, healthy and productive systems. The three ethics at the heart of permaculture are earth care, people care and fair shares. In permaculture design, we focus on using nature as our teacher, looking at her complex and sustainable ecosystems, and then try to replicate them.

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This design approach can be applied to everything; from land-based design to lifestyle changes and business plans, and even designing craft projects.

Believe me, I’ve tried them all.

The garden has taught me a great deal this year.

I’ve learned about the tenacity of nature and of my own nature. It has shown me true abundance and I’m amazed at how much produce has been grown when I’m using just a small amount of the land. I still find it incredible that tiny seeds grow into plants that have leaves or fruit which we can then eat. Beautiful apple blossom, which emerged around the time of my birthday in the spring, transformed into gorgeous, shiny red and dusky, russet green apples in the orchard. If we’re careful about the picking and storing, we’ll have apples until February. As a lifelong city dweller, it makes my heart sing to be able to just “pop down to the orchard” and pick an apple when I fancy, rather than pop to the corner shop or supermarket to buy one.

It’s the subversiveness of this system of food production that appeals to me. Using organic growing methods and sustainable designs for future growth in the garden, is an experiment in post-industrial agriculture. Small-scale, chemicalfree, good, healthy, locally-produced food is a sustainable model for the future.

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A move away from the dominance of supermarkets and heavily industrialised food production, it’s the same as buying from the independent designer/maker selling her goods directly to you at craft markets, instead of buying mass-produced items from the high street. I’m growing my own food and food for the people around me.

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Being able to provide a wide range of crops - even at my beginner stage - shows that it can be done.

I like knowing how to do things myself in the same way that I like to knit my own jumpers and sew my own clothes. Rather than just being a passive consumer, I can now grow my own food!

It’s empowering, liberating and, most importantly, it’s attainable.

So grab that pot, that soil, those seeds. Plant them, care for them with water, warmth and light. See what grows.

Images courtesy of Lisa Margreet Payne

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Robin Redbreast

by Teresa Verney Brookes

As the days get shorter and colder, my daughter once again moans that she hates this time of year as “the trees have taken all of their clothes off and everywhere looks so bare!� The advantage is, I reassure her, that without foliage, it is much easier to see wildlife and birds in the trees. Indeed, look out for winter visitors such as Redwings, Fieldfares and Waxwings.

During the winter months, there is also an influx of Robins from Europe and even from as far away as Scandinavia and Russia.

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However, the continental Robin is much more shy and retiring than our native Robin. Native Robins have benefited hugely from the UK’s long standing interest in gardening and they will often perch on the handles of garden tools, swooping on insects and worms as we dig.

which my children call ‘Steve’ (don’t ask!). Steve is currently enjoying a bespoke winter menu which includes cheese, fat, cake and biscuit crumbs, fruit, berries, seeds and crushed peanuts; all of which are left on the ground beneath our bird feeding station.

Whilst it is important to put out fresh water and food for Every Christmas, I seem to receive garden birds all year round, it is a disproportionate amount of particularly important during the cards or presents wrapped in colder months when their natural paper, embellished with images food sources become scarcer and of Robins. The association of this it freezes or snows. little bird with Christmas dates back to Victorian times when Although most other birds will sending cards at Christmas first stop singing over the winter, became popular. In those days, Robins continue to sing to defend our postmen wore bright red their territory. You may even hear coats and were nicknamed ‘Robin them singing at night, especially Redbreast’. Subsequently, Robins by street light. Despite their cute were portrayed with envelopes image on Christmas cards and in their beaks or dressed as a the like, Robins can actually be postmen delivering the Christmas very aggressive when protecting mail. their territory. Their famous red breast really does signal danger, We have a ‘Robin-in-residence’ as they will readily attack other here in our garden in Reading, males entering their patch, and

sometimes to the death. It has been reported that Robins will also attack red feather dusters and even their own reflections, mistaking them for another bird.

Winter is a great time to put up a variety of bird (and bat) boxes, ready for the nesting season in Spring. Boxes can be bought or made very easily - and cheaply from untreated recycled wood, and Robins particularly like open fronted boxes. Unless the ground is waterlogged or frozen, this time of year is also ideal for planting native shrubs. Crab Apple, Holly, Elder, Birch and Hawthorn will create natural food supplies for birds throughout future winters, and will make your garden a haven for winter wildlife.

For further information on bird boxes and bat boxes, please visit: www.rspb.org.uk www.bats.org.uk Winter 2013 | ukhandmade |

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sweets & Treats

by Bebe Bradley

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You don’t have to be a skilled cook to make these simple and stunning treats. Add some clever wrapping and you have festive gifts almost too good to give away.

Chocolate Truffles Simple to make and very, very indulgent.

Ingredients: 225g of good quality, dark or white chocolate 175ml of double cream Sifted icing sugar or cocoa, to dust You will also need a large baking tray lined with greaseproof paper or cling film.

METHOD:

1. Break the chocolate into a large, clean bowl. In a small pan, bring the cream to the boil and pour immediately over the chocolate.

2. Stir well, until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate has melted. Allow the mixture to cool completely and then chill until set.

3. When the mixture has set, use a teaspoon to scoop out small pieces. Dust your hands with cocoa or icing sugar, roll the pieces into balls and toss the balls in the sifted cocoa powder or icing sugar. Place on the prepared baking tray and chill.

Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, these truffles should keep for up to a week. Dust with extra cocoa (or icing sugar for white chocolate truffles) before serving or presenting as a gift.

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Coconut Ice Purists might insist on the traditional pink and white version but I prefer white for the festive season.

Ingredients: 275g desiccated coconut 200ml water 200ml coconut milk 1kg of granulated sugar 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract You will also need a lightly oiled, decent sized, deep baking tin.

Method:

1. Place the sugar and the water in a large, heavy based pan over a low heat; the sugar needs to dissolve slowly so do not stir.

2. When the sugar has dissolved completely, add the coconut milk and bring to the boil. Boil for approximately 10 minutes or until the mixture reaches the ‘soft ball’ stage (where a small amount dropped into a cup of cold water forms a soft, malleable ball).

3. Remove the pan from the heat, set aside for a couple minutes and then stir in the vanilla extract and desiccated coconut. The mixture will start to thicken so quickly pour into the prepared tin.

4. Leave at room temperature until the coconut ice has cooled and is firm. Turn out onto a clean surface and cut into cubes.

Store in an airtight container in a cool place till required.

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Hokey Pokey Otherwise known as Honeycomb, this version is dipped in dark chocolate for an extra special treat.

Ingredients: 3 tablespoons of clear honey 5 tablespoons of granulated or caster sugar 4 tablespoons water 15g butter 1 teaspoon cider vinegar 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 150g of good quality, dark chocolate You will also need a lightly oiled, deep baking tin and a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and quickly Method:

1. Place the honey, sugar, water, butter and vinegar in a large, heavy based saucepan. Heat slowly and stir until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted.

2. Bring to the boil, cover the pan and boil gently for 2 minutes. Uncover and continue to boil, without stirring, for approximately 15 minutes or until the mixture reaches the hard crack stage (where a small amount dropped into a glass of cold water becomes hard and brittle).

stir in the bicarbonate of soda. The mixture will immediately expand and rise in the pan. Pour into the tin to cool and then break into large shards.

4. Gently melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or use a double boiler or microwave). Dip the shards into the melted chocolate and et aside on the prepared baking tray to set.

Store in an airtight container in a cool place till required. Hokey Pokey is best eaten within a couple of days of making.

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Candy Cane Bark This chocolate bark is easy enough for little hands to help with and makes a great seasonal gift for teachers.

Ingredients: 1kg of white chocolate (or dark or milk, if preferred) 4 peppermint candy canes Peppermint flavouring (optional) You will also need a baking tray lined with cling film.

Method:

1. Place the canes in a small plastic bag and using the end of a rolling pin, crush and break into small chunks or fragments.

2. Gently melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or use a double boiler or microwave). Combine some of the candy cane with the chocolate. Add the peppermint flavouring at this point, if desired.

3. Pour the chocolate mixture onto the prepared baking tray, top with the remaining candy cane and place in the refrigerator until set or firm. Remove from the baking sheet and break into pieces.

Store in an airtight container in a cool place till required.

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Candy cane cookie pops Wrapped in cellophane and ribbon, these cookie pops make a great little stocking stuffer.

Ingredients: 1 pack of ‘double-stuffed’ cookie sandwich creams 500g of good quality white chocolate 4 peppermint candy canes 10 white paper lollipop sticks (11.5cm long) You will also need a baking tray lined with cling film.

Method:

1. Very carefully insert the lolly sticks into the cream centre of the cookies and set aside. Place the canes in a small plastic bag and, using the end of a rolling pin, crush and break into small fragments.

2. Gently melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or use a double boiler or microwave).

3. This is the fiddly bit. Carefully spoon the melted chocolate over the cookies, making sure that they are well coated and that the stick is sealed in place.

Place on the prepared baking tray, sprinkle with the candy cane and chill till set.

Store in an airtight container in a cool place till required.

Images courtesy of Bebe Bradley.

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SCENE: Winter Events For Your Diary An abundance of wonderful handmade events will be taking place this winter around the UK. Here’s a taster selection of events to help get you started. Buy handmade this Christmas!

LONDON Made in Clerkenwell Date: 28th, 29th, 30th November & 1st December Time: 5pm-8pm Thursday, 12 - 8pm Friday, 12-5pm Saturday and Sunday Venues: 21 Clerkenwell Green, EC1R 0DX & 33-35 St John’s Square, EC1M 4DS Also at the Goldsmiths’ Centre, London, EC1M 5AD (closed Sunday) Entry: £3.00 (under 16s free)

made in clerkenwell

Open studios at Craft Central; the ultimate shopping treat 28th Nov—1st Dec 2013 www.craftcentral.org.uk

Two Victorian studio buildings and the neighbouring Goldsmiths Centre open their doors to bring you 150 selected designer/makers across three venues. Everything you need for Christmas is here, including ceramics, prints, interior products, fashion and jewellery. See the makers in situ, find unique gifts, have a browse or even discuss a For more information, visit: commission. Refreshments will be available. www.craftcentral.org.uk/winter2013

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Handmade Christmas Date: 13th, 14th & 15th December Time: 1pm-8.30pm (opens 12.00 on Saturday) Venue: The O2, Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX Entry: £6.50 Hundreds of the UK’s best designers, crafters and food merchants will be showcasing their talents at the O2 this Christmas, during this three day event that is sure to become a regular on the crafting calendar. Avoid the hegemony of the high street; find original and beautiful handmade gifts and seasonal home-grown food and drink this Christmas. Besides one-of-a-kind gifts, there will be workshops and demonstrations too.

Easily accessible by road and the underground.

A ONE OF A KIND CRAFT FAIR IN A ONE OF A KIND VENUE

13th, 14th & 15th December 2013 the O2, London www.handmadechristmas.co.uk

For more information, visit: www.handmadechristmas.co.uk Sponsored by

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BUST Magazine - Christmas Craftacular London Date: 8th December Time: 12pm-6pm Venue: York Hall, 5-15 Old Ford Road, London E2 9PJ Entry: £2 The BUST Magazine Christmas Craftacular is a shopping bonanza featuring over 60 crafters, DJs, drinks and dancing. There’ll be DIY crafting activities going on throughout the day alongside the stalls laden with hundreds of the best handmade gifts and indie wares: from handbags and clothing to jewellery and cards. Shoppers will also have the chance to win in the Craftacular Raffle, chock-full of a BUST-load of booty!

Highlights include: • Rob Ryan coming back to sell his coveted signed wrapping paper for a fiver!

• Join in with Art Macabre’s Murder Mystery Death Drawing Room (£3) • Craft workshops on all day in the Craft Den, with upcycled bowties, festive fascinators and more.

• Goodie bags for the first 100 guests chock full of gifts including Tatty Devine jewellery, magazines and other DIY crafty items!

For more information, visit: www.bust.com 96 | ukhandmade | Winter 2013

Cockpit Arts Open Studios Date: 29th-1st December (Holborn) and 6-8th December (Deptford) Time: 11am-9pm (Friday) 11am-6pm (Saturday and Sunday) Venue: Cockpit Yard, Northington Street, London, WC1N 2NP (Holborn) & 18-22 Creekside, London, SE8 3DZ (Deptford) Entry: £5 both venues, £3 Deptford only (Free Friday 6th December). Under 15s free.

Cockpit Arts supports extraordinary craftspeople, creating exquisite work. An award winning Social Enterprise and creative-business incubator, all proceeds from their Open Studios fundraising event helps support designer-makers.

For more information, visit: www.cockpitarts.com

SOUTH EAST Guildford Christmas Craftacular Date: 7th & 14th December Time: 10am-5pm Venue: St Mary’s Church, Quarry Street, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 3UA Entry: FREE

Now in its third year, the popular Guildford Christmas Craftacular will once again fill St Mary’s with the beautiful work of over 25 local designer/makers and artists. This is a great chance to buy contemporary hand-crafted and locally made gifts. With jewellery, ceramics, textiles, collectables, clothing, arts, homewares and accessories you’ll be sure to make quite a dent in your Christmas shopping list. There’s a pop up café too!

For more information, visit: www.facebook.com/GuildfordCraftacular Made Brighton Date: 21st-24th November Time: 11am-7.30pm Friday, 10am-6pm Saturday, 10am-5pm Sunday Venue: Brighton Dome–Corn Exchange, Church Street, Brighton, NN1 1UG Entry: £6.00 in advance, £7.50 at the door. Under 14s free. Entry includes catalogue and goody bag.

Limited tickets for the Private View on Thursday evening available at £12.

In the heart of Brighton and just around the corner from the Royal Pavilion, over 120 innovative and original designer/makers will be selling their work directly to the public in the annual Brighton Made event.

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Just in time for Christmas, you’ll find unique and beautiful jewellery, textiles, glass, ceramics and furniture, and there’ll be something for everyone’s tastes and budget. There is a private view on Thursday evening but some tickets are available to the public, a great chance to get your hands on some fabulous gifts before it is opened up to everyone else!

For more information, visit: www.brighton-made.co.uk Makers Boutique Date: 1st November-21st December Time: 12-5pm Friday, 10am-5.pm Saturday & 10am5pm Sunday Venue: Fishing Quarter Gallery, Kings Rod Arches, Brighton Seafront, BN1 1NB Entry: FREE Makers Boutique are back for their 6th exhibition at Brighton Fishing Quarter, with a fabulous selection of handmade contemporary arts and crafts by local artists at this popular seafront destination. This carefully curated exhibition showcases only the very best of Sussex creative talent.

your dog! With 19 different artists exhibiting, you are sure to find the perfect handmade present. A card machine is available and well behaved dogs are welcome on leads.

For more information, visit: www.makersboutique.co.uk With Christmas in mind there are many unique and www.brightonfishingmuseum.org.uk affordable gift ideas for family, friends and even 98 | ukhandmade | Winter 2013

EAST

We Are Handmade is organising two events this Christmas. Great Dunmow and Long Melford will The Made-It-Market each showcase a wide range of handmade gifts Date: 7th December perfect for Christmas. This is the ideal place to find Time: 10am–4pm unique, well designed handmade gifts. If you are Venue: Queens Hall, Chipping Hill, Halstead, Essex, looking for something a bit different this Christmas, CO9 2BY you will be spoiled for choice. Don’t forget to pop Entry: TBC along to Plum Fairy’s vintage tearoom where you’ll find sumptuous cakes and tea too.

The Made-It-Market specialises in high quality handmade and home-designed products and has For more information, visit: now grown to a family of 100 designer/makers www.wearehandmade.co.uk who share a passion for creativity, tactility and food design. At the Queens Hall, you’ll be sure to find SOUTH WEST one-off handmade gifts and fill those Christmas stockings.

Salisbury Christmas Market Date: 28th November-21st December For more information, visit: Time: 10am-6pm except 10am–7pm Friday & www.madeitmarket.co.uk Saturday, 10am-8pm Thursdays Venue: Guildhall Square, Salisbury, Wilts, SP1 1JH We Are Handmade Contemporary Craft and Entry: FREE Design Fairs Date: 2nd November (Great Dunmow), 16th A German-inspired Christmas market with handNovember (Long Melford) picked exhibitors including many British designers, Time: 10am - 4pm makers, artists and crafts people. Inspiring gifts, Venue: Foakes Hall, Great Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1DG gourmet food, a spectacular lantern procession &The Old School, Long Melford, Suffolk, CO10 9AA and traditional music from choirs and schools Entry: FREE 8 – 18 Theguaranteed Typographic Circle’s Circular Magazine to get you into the Christmas spirit.

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Father Christmas himself will be there and Salisbury Christmas Market has been rated as one of the top ten in the UK by the Daily Telegraph.

For more information, visit: www.salisburychristmasmarket.co.uk

Made in Bristol Gift Fair Date: 30th November & 14th December Time: 10am–4pm Venue: Colston Hall, Colston Street, Bristol, BS1 5AR Entry: TBC This year, four floors of Colston Hall’s impressive foyer will be transformed into a Christmas shopping extravaganza. Featuring over 100 carefully selected designer/makers from across the region, Made in Bristol Gift Fair will give you a unique opportunity to find affordable and original handmade gifts for Christmas.

For more information, visit: www.madeinbristol.blogspot.co.uk

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Lustre

EAST MIDLANDS Lustre Contemporary Craft Market Date: 8th-10th November Time: TBC Venue: Lakeside Arts Centre, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD Entry: ÂŁ5 for a weekend pass, Under 16s free

unique pieces of jewellery, textiles, ceramics, glass, wood and metalwork. It is also the perfect buying opportunity for festive shoppers and finding something really special for the people you love.

True to Life For more information, visit: www.lakesidearts.org.uk/Crafts/LUSTRE.html

WEST MIDLANDS The Lustre Contemporary Craft Market is one of the most prestigious events in the contemporary craft calendar and will feature work by 55 selected UK designer/makers. This is a key event for discovering

Hereford Contemporary Craft Fair Date: 15th-17th November Time: 10am-6pm (closing at 5pm on Sunday) Winter 2013 | ukhandmade |

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Venue: The Courtyard Centre for the Arts, Edgar Street, Hereford HR4 9JR Entry: £4 The Hereford Contemporary Craft Fair will feature 60 selected makers of contemporary craft. You’ll be able to choose from a stunning range of jewellery, textiles, furniture, homewares, ceramics, porcelain, glass, stone carving, basketry, leather bags, fashion accessories, metalwork and sculpture. Find unique Christmas gifts and buy direct from the makers, commission a piece of original work or just enjoy the ambience at this spectacular show which will inspire and delight.

For more information, visit: www.h-craftfair.co.uk

NORTH EAST Living North Essence of Christmas Fair Date: 7th-10th November Time: TBC Venue: Newcastle Racecourse, High Gosforth Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 5HP Entry: TBC Now in its ninth year, the Essence of Christmas Fair will showcase over 250 handpicked exhibitors, offering an unprecedented shopping experience consisting of artisan producers, designers, gift retailers, health and beauty products, fashion, toys 102 | ukhandmade | Winter 2013

and much more.

A food and drink hall and chefs’ demonstration kitchen will add to the attractions, and bar and dining options allow visitors to enjoy a relaxing day out with friends. All you need for Christmas beneath one roof!

For more information, visit: www.livingnorthfair.co.uk Rival Arts Christmas Fair Date: 9th and 10th November Time: 10am–4pm Venue: New College, Durham, DH1 5ES Entry: FREE For their third Christmas Gift Fair in Durham, Rival Arts are hosting an exciting festive shopping experience with 120 stands of gifts, crafts, art and food, all to be found meandering through the main college buildings. Exhibitors include confectionary, homewares, hampers, accessories, jewellery, and lots, lots more, making fun and easy work of your Christmas shopping.

For more information, visit: www.rivalarts.co.uk

NORTH WEST Christmas at Capesthorne Date: 22nd – 24th November Time: 5pm–8.30pm (Friday), 12.00-5pm (Saturday & Sunday) Venue: Capesthorne Hall, Siddington, Cheshire East Entry: Advanced tickets - £8 adults, £4.50 over 4s.

Tickets on the gate - £9 adults, £5 over 4s. Family tickets and group discounts available.

A winter visit to Capesthorne Hall allows a glimpse through the doors of a family-owned stately home decorated for Christmas. Explore the house and be entertained by local musicians, school choirs, along with an extra special visit from Santa. After pausing to listen to the music, the tour moves upstairs through the house then out to the marquee where there is an opportunity to visit the craft stalls.

Christmas treats including mulled wine and mince pies will be on sale in the Butler’s Pantry.

For more information, visit: www.capesthorne.com/events

Time: 11am–5pm Venue: Grassington Town, North Yorkshire Entry: Free For three Saturdays before Christmas, the town of Grassington in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, travels back in time for the annual Dickensian Festival. Visitors are treated to a glorious array of sights, tastes and smells from a bygone era. The village is adorned in Christmas lights, and the square and streets come alive with a traditional market with shopkeepers and villagers dressed in Victorian costume. Visitors can revel in delight at the musicians, dancers, street entertainers and exhibitions of traditional country crafts.

For more information, visit: www.grassington.uk.com The Art Market Date: 9th and 10th, 23rd and 24th November Time: 8pm-10pm Saturday, 10am–4pm Sunday Venue: Holmfirth Indoor Market, 38 Huddersfield Road, Holmfirth, HD9 3JH Entry: TBC

YORKSHIRE AND HUMBERSIDE Dickensian Festival Date: 30th November, 8th & 14th December

An established destination point for the Yorkshire region and beyond, The Art Market boasts over 100 selected, unique and talented artists, across a wide Winter 2013 | ukhandmade |

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range of disciplines. An exciting event for locals and visitors alike, it’s an entertaining, family-friendly celebration of some of the best and most eclectic art the UK has to offer. It offers a great chance to meet the makers and artists, and speak directly to them about their work and inspiration. A wide range of work from glass and ceramics to painting and drawing, jewellery and textiles, sculpture and stonework and much more, will be on show.

For more information, visit: www.artmarkets.co.uk Country Living Christmas Fair Date: 28th November – 1st December Time: 10am–5pm (4pm Sunday) Venue: Harrogate International Centre, Kings Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG1, 5LA Entry: Advance £10.00 (adult), £7 (ages 5-16); at the door £12.00 (adult), £7.50 (ages 5-16) Concessions are available.

At Harrogate’s Country Living Christmas Fair, soak up the magic of the festive season, enjoy a great day’s shopping and leave with a hoard of heavenly gifts. The Fair brings together hundreds of exhibitors from all over the UK in a fabulous extravaganza of quality and craftsmanship.

With nearly 400 exhibitors, you’ll find something 104 | ukhandmade | Winter 2013

for everyone including delicious regional food and drink and unique, handmade decorations, and there’s a great programme of free workshops too!

For more information, visit: www.countrylivingfair.com/harrogate

SCOTLAND Selected Date: 30th November–21st December Time: 10am–5.30pm Venue: 10 Infirmary Street, Edinburgh EH 1 1LT Entry: FREE Over 30 of the most celebrated and talented makers in Scotland, working across a range of disciplines including ceramics, glass, jewellery, silver furniture textiles and wood, will be displaying their work alongside the Dovecot Studio’s own tapestry and rug collection. This selling exhibition is a great chance to see and buy high quality Scottish contemporary craft.

For more information, visit: www.dovecotstudios.com/whats-on

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WALES Celtic Winter Fayre Date: 14th -17th November Time: 9.30am–5.30pm (Sunday 9.30-4pm) TBC Venue: Colwyn Bay Town Centre Entry: FREE Amidst the cheerful hustle and bustle of the Winter Fayre, you’ll be able to choose from a festive selection of seasonal specialties and there will be something to suit all tastes and pockets. There will be craft stalls offering a wide choice, from jewellery to handbags, gift collections to interior accessories and designer fashions to inspired art, alongside craft demonstrations too.

For more information, visit: www.celticfayres.co.uk Llandudno Christmas Fayre Date: 21st-24th November Time: 10am-6pm Thursday, 9.30am-5.30pm FridaySaturday, 9.30am-4.30pm Sunday Venue: Madoc Street, Llandudno, LL30 2TW Entry: FREE The Christmas Fayre is once again held in Madoc Street, the heart of Victorian Llandudno.

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It offers everything you need for festive cheer; quality local produce, tastings and samples, craft demonstrations, and handmade and unique crafts and gifts.

For more information, visit: www.llandudnochristmasfayre.co.uk

NORTHERN IRELAND Georgian Market Date: 30th November Time: 10am–6pm Venue: Armagh City Centre Entry: FREE The most exciting and unique day of the Christmas Calendar in the region, Georgian Day sees the city transformed with market stalls offering stunning indigenous crafts and food to excite the Christmas shopper seeking that special gift. The scent of warm mince pies and mulled wine combined with the sound of local musicians ensures a truly unique atmosphere the whole family can enjoy.

For more information, visit: www.armagh.co.uk/event/georgian-day

www.soapytoes.co.uk

Mandy Knapp

if you wish to advertise in the next issue email advertising@ukhandmade.co.uk

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innovate spring 2014

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