A Grand Afternoon - Little Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

A lovely afternoon in the Spring sunshine at Altrincham Boys Grammar School in Bowden, the Little Northern Contemporary Craft Fair was delightful.  Around forty five designer makers working in ceramic, jewellery, textiles, leather and print.  Some amazing pieces on show with the LNCCF's typically high standard.

A mischief of mice waiting to be dressed

 As always however, one stall really caught my eye. This was Peach Plot, a mother and daughter team from North Yorkshire, with mum, Beverley Peach, making these amazing mice.

There are little girls and little boys all dressed exquisitely and each one different. The little girls are in antique lace and recycled dainty fabrics and the little boys have waistcoats or little jackets some with cravats.  There are even specially dressed wedding mice for the happy couple. I would imagine that their creator would make bespoke to suit colours and styles of your own wedding.

My mouse, Fiona, is in the middle

Becca and I, who had both vowed not to buy just to look at the fair, couldn't resist these delightful companions.  Each mouse is named and they come in their own neat little box with a hand sewn linen cushion to sit on.  With so many to chose from it took a little while to pick but I settled on Fiona, in antique lace and pearls, whilst Becca just couldn't make up her mind but finally settled on Robin in a smoking jacket and cravat.

Took them to show my Mum and my Aunty Irene this afternoon and I think I will be contacting Peach Plot for two more.  If you would like to take a look at this wonderful little shop visit http://peachplot.com.  If, as with this weekend, they are at a craft fair the shop is shut but the gallery has lots of pictures and you can always check back when they are back home  in Yorkshire.  They make me think of Bagpuss's mice from the television show.

If you are up in the north west later on in the year there will be the annual Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair in October in Manchester - always worth a trip to see the brightest and best of the new makers but for a more intimate collection try the Little Northern for Christmas usually in November/early December.  Great crafts on display, great atmosphere and usually a great selection of home made cake at the Vintage Tea Room!

Friday Folksy Finds - Spring Tide

Formby Beach by Joe Cornish

We had the most wonderful walk on Formby Beach yesterday. For those who don't know it, it is a little piece of heaven on the Lancashire coast to the south of Southport.  It has dunes, miles of sand and red squirrels in the pine trees - an amazing spot. You would have thought it was the middle of summer yesterday it was so warm and even the Irish Sea managed to look inviting enough to maybe chance a paddle, but we kept our wellies on - such cowards.  We almost had the beach to ourselves, had a long languid amble and left as the sun had the makings of a stunning sunset. So, naturally my mind was all spring tides and sand dunes this morning and I went looking for finds that took a seaside turn.  Please enjoy.

Ruth Lyne

These tiny studs by Ruth Lyne are fused glass and then sandblasted to give a unique frosty finish.  They just reminded me of the tide line, white water and the horizon, very delicate.  I particularly liked Ruth's shop because there are all kinds of glass studs, in a range of colours.  I can admire dangly earrings on others but being built like a bear I have no neck and it is pleasing to find earrings that would suite, are pretty and a little bit different.

Fiona Carver

I love everything about beach huts, the colours, the style and the location.  We don't get them up here but I have seen them on the southern coast lines and in magazines.  Some interiors are little works of art.  Fiona's linocuts are all hand done, with very lovely seaside themes and designs.  This one is Suffolk Beach Huts and is so evocative of the east coast. Have a peep at the shop, the colours are amazing and the prints so incisive and clear.

Julia's Driftwood Furniture

This shop is an absolute treasure trove, there are mirrors and lamps and quirky shelves, just have a look.  Everything is so well made and so suggestive of the Cornish Coast where Julia Horburry lives and works.  I love driftwood as much as I love sea glass and this lady makes the most of her finds.  They look sturdy and well made with a real shabby chic twist, a very happy find.

Little Stick Creations

I found this wonderful delicate wrap just browsing colour combinations and discovered that Sarah had been inspired by a stormy sea painting by Constable.  This is a hand woven piece in the most beautiful and subtle sea and sand dune colours.  I just love it.  The shop is run by Sarah Cross in Wales and she has made some truly inspiring pieces with delicate colour combinations suggesting natural dyes and with interesting yarn mixes. Have a peep.

Celtic Shore

Scottish sea glass and pebbles together make up this wonderful necklace by Laura at Celtic Shore.  I have visited this lady's pages so many times, she lives in Ayrshire and collects her finds on the beaches along the Scottish Coast.  This cairn pebble necklace is so pretty and sings of the sea side, pebbles and sea glass are such a charming combination.  Love this lady's work, have a peep at Celtic Shore for a taste of the Scottish Coast.

This has been a very satisfying Friday Finds post, it will always remind me of a lovely afternoon all three of us together at a magical place.  I love my cats but at moments like yesterday I miss having my dogs, Spider my Jack Russell would have loved the sea side treat. Memories of her naughtiness and character still make me smile after twenty years, she was a great friend and I miss her still.  Good Days.

Heads up to anyone in my neck of the woods, The Northern Contemporary Craft Fair people are having a Spring Fair this Sunday, 26th April at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys in Bowden Cheshire, the satnav for the car park is WA14 2UJ and is on Heath Road.  It is open 10am to 5pm and as always the Vintage Tea Room will be there.  I am really looking forward to it and would recommend anyone interested in contemporary craft to visit.  Have a great weekend and my warmest wishes.

Friday Folksy Finds - Silks

This finds post was inspired by a conversation with one of my daughters friends who is interested in embroidery.  She was confused by the fact that her embroidery group refer to stranded cotton as silks, it made me wonder if this is just our part of the world or does everyone call stranded cottons 'silks'. So I went looking for silks on Folksy and found some really interesting items.

Lorna Bateman Embroidery

Lorna Bateman makes the most exquisite pieces, if you have never looked at her shop take a moment to enjoy her delicate touch.  She features heavily in this post because there is so much to see.  Silk ribbon embroidery, crazy patchwork and every combination in between, they are all kits but so lovely.

Yarn Yarn

Hand dyed recycled sari silk ribbon, this is wild orchid and the palette is just so pretty.  I can think of so many ways you could use this in a more contemporary embroidery.  The shop is a must for all colours of recycled ribbon - have a peep you will really enjoy.

Lorna Bateman Embroidery

It is number 12 perle cotton that has been hand dyed by Chameleon threads and presented for sale by Lorna Bateman.  These gentle garden colours would be wonderful on a soft linen or worked into a garden sampler, very, very tempted and with such gorgeous colour combinations they are hard to resist.

London Button Company

Silk or velvet covered buttons with a Swarovski crystal  in the centre.  I think they look fantastic together but you can request whatever colour or colours you want.  I have said before I have an unhealthy relationship with buttons and I just cannot resist unusual combinations.  I buy them and never want to use them, just keep and admire them.  I am working hard to overcome this, Becca says I need counselling - haha,  and I have been using buttons of all kinds on my recent cards.  The London Button Company run by Louise Coote has only a few styles to choose from but if you want colour coordinated buttons give them a try.

Lorna Bateman Embroidery

This is my last find from Lorna Bateman, silk ribbons for use in silk ribbon embroidery.  I went on a course last year for an introduction to silk ribbon embroidery and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I find it hard to source silk ribbons and these are a great thickness (4mm) to work and such pretty garden colours. There are ten colours of five metres each, a great addition to any stash.

Very tempted by the Chameleon perle threads, can think of all kinds of sampler uses for them and will probably succumb to temptation before the weekend is out.  Have spent a very pleasant week in the conservatory working on samplers because Becca has completely taken over the cabin.  She is in her last few weeks of her degree and has completely lost the ability to tidy up any area of our tiny house.  The cabin looks like someone has dropped a sack of flour over it there is so much dust and she has migrated into the house and taken over my work table in there so I am working in the conservatory on a cushion.

So proud of her, working so hard and has just been given an unconditional offer to begin her MA starting in October.  For anyone out there thinking of a Contemporary Craft degree, UClan is wonderful and from being a bit sniffy about Preston to start off with they have been utterly fantastic with my girl and she has learnt so much.  Best lecturers in the world and wonderful technicians - a course in a million and the best of luck to them relaunching the degree, they deserve to do so well.

Friday Folksy Finds - Spring Flowers

I couldn't help myself this week, my Friday Finds are all inspired by spring flowers, daffodil, primrose, bluebell, celandine and violet.  Using these flowers to start my search I found so many lovely finds it was hard to pick just five, well here they are.

Broomhead Designs

This delicate scarf is hand painted on silk by Broomhead Designs, this shop is a collection of hand painted silk scarves by Valerie Broomhead.  I just love this spring combination of white and yellow daffodils with primroses, a real spring treat, but if you a looking to coordinate with any colour of outfit I am sure you will find this at Broomhead Designs, the colours are just lovely.

Danni Saw This

Danielle Stoker is a photographer that takes interesting and quirky photographs, they are not always what you expect.  I particularly liked this double daffodil for its intense line with such subtle colour.  There is a lot going on but it doesn't tire the viewer, really pretty and so full of spring's energy.

Abstract Cat Craft

This baby alpaca hand dyed yarn is so yummy, it is called Luxe and is a laceweight yarn. I use laceweight yarn and crochet cotton in my samplers and am always on the lookout for beautiful colours and different thicknesses.  This shop, by Laura MacDonald has some wonderful colours in different weights and for different uses - have a peep, Laura has a sale on at the moment!

Wychbury Design

I cannot resist Wychbury Designs pieces they are all so quirky and individual, this celandine finger pin cushion is typical of the unusual wares.  I am not so sure whether I could use such a pincushion but would just enjoy owning it as part of my every growing collection of needlecraft wares and memorabilia. Do take a peek at the shop, the work is by Paula Perrins and is delightful

Hidden Gem Prints

These wonderful prints are by Fran Graham at Hidden Gem Prints, each is an individual lino print made using hand burnishing tools on to quality hot pressed paper.  This little gem is Bluebell Woods in May and I just love it.  This lady is so talented and there are some wonderful prints on her page, aside ftom the Bluebell Woods there is Gryke Ferns with Juniper in many colourways and Kettlewell Meadows which I particularly enjoy in the grey colourway.  I confess I buy prints over any other form of picture and this lady's pieces are lovely.

Talking of  prints, just to let you know that Printfest is coming up again this year as usual at the Coronation Hall in Ulverston on May 2nd and 3rd.  If  you have any interest in modern print then this weekend is a must.  There is always a wonderful collections of artists, all present and all happy to talk to you about their work.  The pieces on show are nearly always very affordable and come both framed and unframed to suit your budget and your taste.

There is a pop up tea room serving homemade cakes and tea, which is always a must for us - my capacity for tea and cakes is growing in geometric progression with my waist line!  It's usually only a couple of pounds to get in and make for a very entertaining afternoon.  Just is case you need directions the satnav postcode is LA12 7LZ.  

A Silver Wedding Card

Again, I just thought I would share, this is a twenty fifth wedding card for my Aunty Irene to send to her goddaughter, Julie and her husband Paul.  They have seven lovely boys all with the most wonderful Irish christian names, Fintan, Pearce and Lorcan are the only ones I can spell!

The terrible photo is my fault, Becca did her best but it looks like its in monochrome - everything on it is black, silver or white. Aunty Irene was very happy with the card and has written a little verse to go inside.

The Happiness and Achievements

of the past 25 years

The Excitement and Anticipation

of the next 25 years

Can there be anything better

than a loving marriage.

I thought that was a lovely sentiment and I am sure that Julie will be touched.  I have to say I loved making this over the top piece, the stick on diamante and pearls where a fun find and the buttons I got from a vintage fair at Cedar Farm Gallery.

A note for your diary, if you are anywhere near Mawdesley then Cedar Farm are having another Vintage Fair this Sunday 12th April 10am to 4pm - we will definitely be there.

Topiary Tree Greeting Cards

Still trying out new designs for a greeting card collection.  I am really starting to enjoy making these delightfully fiddly sampler style cards.  The idea is to mimic the band samplers that I have been making for a very long time.  I have always had a steady request for samplers and I want to make some for the shop but I am going to have a new shop page on Folksy just dedicated to these sampler and allied products - thinking of calling it Pook's Samplers.

The people at Folksy are really helpful and they suggested that a shop needs persistence of vision to be successful which I can understand. So it looks like my dolls and doll craft should be on one page and the samplers and sampler craft should have their own page. I am still working on the it but hopefully I will resolve the idea soon.  I would love to hear of anyone else's experience of this.

Back to the cards, the thought behind these designs is to suggest topiary tree shapes in a multitude of colours, an on sale pack of coral beads sent me down this colourway and I kind of like it.

They work really well with stripped papers and I have been collecting KaiserCraft stripey papers like crazy so that I can have a real variety of colours.  This collection of papers is called Rustic Harmony, they have the most wonderful lace and roses scattered across them. The different patterns and colours available in paper is amazing, there seems to be a never ending range of harmonies and contrasts - these have proven another reason for a little retail therapy.  Becca discovered Merly Impressions for me, it is an online shop and they are a treasure trove of beautiful papers and accessories, well worth a look.

Well I hope you like my new style of cards and it is a joy to share them with you all. Warmest wishes.

Friday Folksy Finds - All About Eggs

Well, Happy Easter to all,  I hope you are having a peaceful Easter weekend  As it is Good Friday it had to be about eggs didn't it and I have had such fun looking a so many egg cosies.  There are some very imaginative designer out there in Folksy land.  Looking at 'egg' led to some beautiful  pieces and gorgeous Duck Egg and Robin Egg colourways, here are my favourites.

Skydancer Jewellery and Glass

This delightful piece of glass is described as a Robin's Egg Globe and it really does have the colour of a robin's egg.  Thought these globes were very pretty and would make interesting light catchers in the right place.  They have all kinds, colours and sizes of blown glass globes, even large alchemy globes - be dazzled by their colourful collection at their shop.

Bluebell Woodturning

A pretty twist on a classic egg subject, I really liked the combination of wooden egg cup and wooden egg. The woods chosen complement each other so well, I would like a series of these in different combinations of wood on my bookshelf in the kitchen.  They have a range of wood turned bowls and vessels in the shop, I particularly like the spalted beech bowl.

Kirsti B Ceramics

I really like this lady's buttons but loved this ceramic egg when investigating this post.  This is a hollow porcelain egg with stamped decorations and then high fired before having copper and manganese oxide applied to bring out the details in the decoration.  Really different.

Selvage

Rachel Collins makes the most amazing Fairisle cushions, scarves, blankets and cosy hot waterbottle covers.  This gorgeous Fairisle blanket really caught my eye because it is Duck Egg Blue and fits very neatly I thought, in my All About Eggs finds.  Check out this lady's shop, her Thistledown pieces are to die for and really worth a look.

woodturnedconcepts

Fred Selman makes these egg cup goblets, I think they are the most intriguing shape.  Kind of the Holy Grail of egg cups.  He makes all things egg related and his kitchen egg stand is great, many of his pieces are the classic wood turned wares you see everywhere but some of his work is really original and worth a look. His stained, lidded ash bowl is lovely, but I do so like the egg cup goblet.

Well that is All About Eggs and hope you enjoyed them, Becca and I are settled in now for the weekend.  I have a couple of orders to sort out for next week and Becca is so busy with her degree show that the Easter break is over for her and she has to work straight through.  David is not settled, he is off up to Penrith to walk a hill that is usually a MOD rifle range but he assures me it is safe this weekend - daft or what. Whatever your plan for Easter I hope it is a happy one.

Yet Another Grand Day Out - Pamela Rawnsley at Ruthin Craft Centre

 It was with a heavy heart that we went along to Ruthin to see a retrospective of the brilliant work of the silversmith and jeweller Pamela Rawnsley.  I have loved this lady's work for many years, the line, the style and the consummate execution of all her work.  Her pieces are so beautifully constructed and finished that you wonder at her skill.  Sadly Pamela died in 2014 quite suddenly and she is much missed.

If you get a chance to visit Ruthin Craft Centre before the 12th of April it is well worth it.  The exhibition is quite extensive covering her silversmithing, jewellery and prints.  It was good to see so much of her work together.

Along side Pamela Rawnsley is work by the ceramist Simon Carroll, an expressionist potter.  The scale of some of his pieces was mind blowing, very free and wonderful colours but it was the gallery showing Southern Lines and Northern Lights, a view of design practice in Wales that was a real surprise.  It was a selection of talented Welsh designers showing meticulous prototypes of production pieces and one off creations.

Sian O'Doherty

The artist who I really reacted to was Sian O'Doherty and her stitch pieces.  These delicate modern embroidered works are amazing.  Tight and neat they had a professional polish. If you visit her website she makes lovely scarves and cushions all with this fantastic finish.

Hannah Wardle's laser cut lighting pieces were also very good as was Sian Ellin's wonderful surface pattern pieces. We had a great couple of hours and really enjoyed a homemade cake and coffee in the little cafe on site.  A grand day out for Easter and highly recommended.