BEAUTY IN THE MAKING

On a last minute recommendation I ran up to Holbourn yesterday for the penultimate day of this one week show 'Beauty in the Making'- which as it happened turned out to be one of the best exhibitions I've seen. The space, curating, enthusiastic and passionate staff got my visit off to a happy start but the displays, demo's, interaction and participation just blew me away. This exhibition by British papersmiths GF Smith takes you from raw materials, process, treatment, design and colour. I saw paper making, had a go at printing, made three envelopes, saw the original drawings for Gill Sans and talked to many people who are super skilled and passionate about what they do. The signage for the exhibition was presented as A1 piles of coloured paper with the top sheet laser cut and folded over to show you where to go or what you're looking at; simply genius. I came away with samples, colours, swatches and booklets as well as my own efforts at printing and making, all tucked away in a colourful printed bag. If this exhibition was meant to inform, inspire and enthuse, it has achieved its goals. A beautiful treat on a wet Thursday afternoon. And now I'm in the studio and wanting to make everything out of paper!

 Paper makers- http://gfsmith.com/

Natures Rainbow

More photo's from my recent highland jaunt, acid bright lichens clinging onto the rocks by the sea. Hunting for  colour and pattern has never been so much fun!

Spinning a Yarn

When fibres have been washed, dyed, carded and aligned, they are then spun to create a strong thread ready for weaving. The mechanics for this could inspire a weave draught with repetition, order, structure and pattern. Here you can see orange and black yarn being spun onto cones.

Mill Visit

Photo's from recent trip to Johnstons Mill in Elgin, Scotland where I had a meeting about exciting new batches of woven products I am working on this year. The photo's show the fibres coming into the mill, and being processed for making into yarns. The yarns are then hand threaded into the heddles for each warp and attached to the looms. Very industrial, very high tech, very inspiring. 

Highland Excursion

Recent colour and pattern hunting on a research trip to Scotland. I went to visit the mill  where I have some of my blankets and shawls woven (pictures to follow) and managed to squeeze in a few research and relaxation days. These fish boxes in Ullapool are just asking to be woven!

Getting Organised

New studio, new financial year, new mindset. Time to get organised in the most creative way possible. Out come the highlighters for a meeting with Dominic Stuart Hobson; recommended master in fashion industry finance and planning. After a few hours with this wizard, my accounts and structure are in order to take on another year and more! So important for artisans, makers and fashion brands with a heart to be able to move forward creatively and professionally, and I am now set to go, after being lucky enough to benefit from Dominic's industry experience and expert know how. I must say, he appeared very dapper too!

Style Guru

What I love most about fashion is when function meets imagination, add colour and brilliant accessories for perfect unbalanced perfection. This then is my style icon! She was spotted in a supermarket in Ulsak, Norway. Dummy, bonnet, boots, green trolley and fairy costume, for a trip to the supermarket! What she must look like in full party attire I can only dare imagine! I love her. Individuality by the trolley load.