I love making these, ceramics is so therapeutic and what’s more, when I’m glazing, I get to spend some quality time with my amazing ceramics mentor Lesley McShea. Nothing like a nice cuppa, good company and a bit of ceramics to nourish the soul! (^_^)

Just enter coupon code SAKURA20 into the coupon code box at check out and it will automatically adjust the price (^_^)

Happy Christmas Shopping!

This year will be the first time this event graces Battersea Arts Centre, so it will be an exciting new experience. As always, UK Handmade will have a table displaying the latest issue of the magazine so do come and say hi…(^_^) we are a friendly, approachable bunch and will be in the foyer area.

In my experience, We Make events always go above and beyond the average and this year will be no different with fun workshops where you can learn to make different crafts, a free gift-wrapping service to make your Christmas gift-giving that much easier…hurray, a personal shopping guide explaining who everyone is and a full layout of the venue and a fantastic stage area which will be filled with decorations, cakes, preserves and other goodies to make your handmade Christmas perfect!

If you don’t already know We Make London is run by a hard-working, dedicated team headed up by the amazing Mary Mcdermott. They are all tireless advocates of the handmade cause providing designers with fabulous, affordable opportunities to present their wares to the public.

Hope to see you there!!

I’ve managed to squeeze in some making time myself with several commissions and some stock for fairs which is a good feeling as it means I feel “relatively” well prepared for my participation in Guildford Craftacular on Saturday 26th Nov and 3rd December which makes a change!

I reckon the fact that I am sharing a stall with my rather talented friend Laura of LAM Designs is keeping the sweat from my brow. I’ve always thought that stall-sharing is the way to go, not least because it means you’ve a mate there to chat to and someone to man the stall whilst you dash to the loo (^_-)

In other news, I was approached by the makers of a wonderful film called “Hafu” about the experiences of mixed-Japanese people living in Japan (I am half-japanese and half-english myself if you didn’t already know) to donate a few pieces of jewellery to help them raise the funds to complete post production on the film. It’s a REALLY exciting subject matter which has hardly ever been touched upon by the Japanese media, which is what makes this film so unique, special and NECESSARY! You can check out a little teaser video of it here: http://www.hafufilm.com/#!home

It seems that the pieces I donated (a cherry blossom necklace and bracelet) set a bit of a record and sold out within hours of being posted up on the fundraising website which is always a nice little bit of validation for a designer-maker! I feel really pleased to be able to support a film project so close to my heart. It is a strange experience growing up with a foot in 2 such different cultures, knowing that you might never be fully accepted in either….I hope this film examines issues like that and helps young mixed-Japanese people feel good about their mixed heritage.

One thing I have fallen woefully behind with is my hexi-puffing endeavours and my other knitting *cries*…I shall be contributing a couple of the little blighters to the Beekeeper’s Quilt Prize Competition so my total has fallen back down below 10 I hope to re-immerse myself in the knitty goodness over Christmas break though and will hopefully manage to finish the project I am working on with my Debbie Bliss Paloma stash (^_^) PLUS I bought myself a bundle of lovely vintage wooden knitting needles which I just couldn’t resist so even more excuse to get stuck in. All I want for Christmas is a bit of quiet time with my hexipuffs and wool stash is that too much to ask for? lol

Anyway, heyho back to the grind….no rest for the wicked (^_-) x

It started off just as a little idea in my mind when I first found myself in the warm knitted yarny embrace of the Beekeeper’s Quilt KAL (Knit Along) group on facebook…they are the best! I wanted to channel the amazing power, generosity and warmth of the knitting community into something that would be super fun and also benefit a really worthwhile cause.

After discussing the idea with my partner in crime, Suzanne of jelly, suddenly that little idea has become a reality and someone (sadly not me or Suzanne) WILL win a finished Beekeeper’s Quilt made up from hexipuffs which have winged their way from all corners of the planet! I can’t think of a more amazing prize can you?….better still…just to add that shiny, cherry on top, Stephanie Dosen of Tiny Owl Knits…yes the delectable lady responsible for all our hexipuff addictions herself, will be giving the winner one of her fab knitting patterns as well!

Find out how to enter the competition to win the fabulous quilt and pattern and sign up to donate 2 of your own hexipuffs towards the finished quilt by clicking the image below!

If you’re busy hexipuffing away why not join in and please spread the word! (^_^)

I won’t lie, there have been times when it’s been VERY stressful because working remotely isn’t a walk in the park and managing a large number of people remotely is even harder BUT UK Handmade is a labour of love (well it is for me anyway). It’s something we do because we believe in the handmade community and the design talent that exists in such vast abundance in this country. So, this Winter issue is a celebration of 3 years of ukhandmade goodness. We’ve come a long way and we hope to go a long way further!

Hope you enjoy it! (click the image). Support UK Handmade and purchase a download!

The terrific Old Truman Brewery in trendy Brick Lane, just a stones throw from Liverpool Street station, played host, with its cavernous warehouse feel it proved the perfect back drop for the slew of trendy, contemporary designer-makers that greeted visitors over the two-day event. Sarah Spies, one of the organisers, greeted me at the main entrance to the brewery with a smile (despite the obvious chill she must have been feeling having stood out there all morning…well done Sarah!) and a beautifully designed venue map featuring Kate Sutton‘s gorgeous owl design, the striking mascot of this inaugural London Renegade.

I headed upstairs to the fair where the atmosphere was chillaxed with tunes playing in the background, courtesy of Reckless Records. There was a substantial crowd of shoppers, which can only ever be a good thing when it comes to these events…not surprising given the impressive list of talented designer-makers. The stalls were all arranged neatly and the numbered location map made it easy to locate specific designer-makers. I also noticed the fab Craft Central had a making table and were doing a good job of enticing people to “sit down and have a go” with their handmade rosette workshop.

I quickly scanned the designer-maker list and was delighted to spot quite a few of my personal designer-maker crushes: A. Alicia Accessories who also gave her fellow crafty stall holders a wonderful impromptu workshop! Anna’s work is always so beautifully presented and I love her eco-ethical ethos which means her designs utilise fair trade cottons and vintage elements.

Stunning limited edition screen-printed wares from Chase and Wonder. I love the victoriana references…always seems appropriate for London-based fairs to me.

Anyone who knows me will know I am a big fan of Jimbobart’s work! Who could resist crockery with a sense of humour and I think the large platters featuring animals curled up sleeping make awesome gifts for any occasion! James’ stall was so popular that I had to hang around for a good while before there was a break long enough for me to get some photos. Definitely a designer-maker to watch!

Julia Pott’s animal illustrations are so striking….all her characters have such personality you could almost imagine them starting to talk. I treated myself to a gorgeous pack of her animal Christmas cards and now find myself in the position that I don’t want to send them to anyone because I want them all for myself lol

I couldn’t resist treating myself to one of Kate Sutton’s cuckoo clocks which are just marvelous! Final shot is of it in situ in my studio.

Being a big fan of foxes I felt myself drawn to Robin & Mould’s gorgeous fox print cushions…these are definitely on my Christmas list!

It’s always nice to put a face to handmade items I have seen before so it was wonderful to meet Zosienka & Rosie who were featured on UK Handmade recently. Gorgeous, whimsical work and lovely smiley ladies to boot!

Another wonderful lady and her work is so striking that I spotted it from the other end of the venue. I am the proud owner of two of Mary Kilvert’s brilliant sheep print cushions…love her work!

I also discovered the work of the marvelous Hazel Stark who uses bright, bold, contemporary geometric fabrics in her beautiful homewares and Ellie Curtis who incorporates her quirky, eye-catching illustrations into her range of homewares and accessories!

There were MANY more wonderful designer-makers there and SO much variety and talent the mind boggled. There was also an international contingent of designer-makers, which I thought was great. One of my favourite international maker stalls was that of The Drawing Machine, from my husbands homeland The Netherlands. These wonderful wooden villages unfolded along this stall, created using recycled/reclaimed wood and sold by the inch so you can make your own little wooden town!

I could probably have spent the entire day browsing and STILL not have managed to see everything properly. Definitely a successful start to what I hope is the first of many more London-based Renegade fairs to come. Well done Renegade team…hope you had a safe trip back to Chicago and enjoyed your stay in London!

Twitter
The latest phishing attempt doing the rounds seems to be these:

“I saw a real bad blog about you, you seen this? [dubious looking link]“
“Our new sponsor is the latest weight loss fad @ [dubious looking link]“
“hey, watch this clip with you in it .. [dubious looking link]“

This article gives a pretty good summary: http://technorati.com/technology/article/more-twitter-phishing-and-account-hacks/

Whatever you do DON’T OPEN the links!! I have had this direct message twice now from people I am following or follow me, not some random suspicious looking accounts so watch out! My advice is go change your password asap and make it a strong password mixing numbers and letters!!!.

Here’s what the official bods as Twitter say to keep your account safe: https://support.twitter.com/entries/76036-keeping-your-account-secure-safe-tweeting

I think now is a good time to reintroduce a couple of articles written by brilliant IT expert Susan Morrow of Lynwood Jewellery for UK Handmade about how to stay safe online!

Security & The Internet Part 1 ~ Phishing
Security & The Internet Part 2 ~ Installing Malevolent Software

One way I try to avoid this pitfall is by searching out unique, handmade goodies for my loved ones which reflect who they are and what they like. This year, like Christmases previous, I plan to do just that and am pleased to be assisted by UK Handmade’s MAGNIFICENT bumper Christmas showcase which will be filled with 160 covetable handmade goodies from the best uk-based designer-makers! If you’re a designer-maker you can apply for a Christmas showcase spot here

If you don’t know what UK Handmade’s showcases are, they are monthly, themed features….here are a couple of examples of past showcases:
wedding showcase and wonders of wool showcase.

At UK Handmade we strive to offer opportunities that are a good return on investment, so we have deliberately kept slots for our showcases affordable at just £10 per slot. So, for the price of a few drinks out on the town you can get your Christmas advertising sorted (^_^).

UK Handmade will be really pushing the #buyhandmade campaign as well as drawing traffic to the showcases in the run up to Christmas. Why not help support the #buyhandmade campaign by blogging about it or mentioning #buyhandmade in your tweets and telling your friends why buying handmade this Christmas is the way to go!

If you want to make your own gifts for friends and family stay tuned for the Winter issue of UK Handmade, which will be released on 1st November over on the website, where we will bring you lots of tutorials on how to make handmade gifts for your loved ones! If you aren’t the “making your own presents” type then checkout products from our 3000+ members of UK Handmade!

You can show your support of the #buyhandmade campaign by adding the buy handmade campaign badge to your website or blog; you can grab it here.