Manchester Print Fair Today!

 

So I'm a sucker for punishment, 3 days after returning from BCTF I'm off with my suitcase of goodies to another show - this time it's the Manchester Print Fair!

With a constant stream of people - it was virtually standing room only for most of the day! - and with lots of beautiful work on show and lots of lovely folk to chat to it was great fun. 

 

My little table was full to burst with 'card corner' (as my friend Roger delightfully calls it) supersized with the aid of my new card stand and my new tea-towels and prints seemed to go down a storm which is always nice.

 

There were some old faves on show such as Karoline Rerrie and Mr PS whose work already proudly adorns my living room and kitchen!

 

One of Karoline's prints

 My current fave Mr PS towels!

  

And of course there were the newly discovered gems; Jamie Mills whose beautiful drawings really caught my eye (and my purse!). 

 and Francesca Young who had a lovely illustration style too!

  Thank you for a great day Manchester Print Fair and all of the other sellers who you can read about here!

British Craft Trade Fair 2013

Gosh, it's been so long since I've posted anything on here - apologies! This week I have been exhibiting at the British Craft Trade Fair in Harrogate, showcasing a new range of limited edition screen-prints, cards and home textiles. 

Despite it being exhausting it was really good fun and met some great contacts and other designers along the way. 

My new work remains heavily influenced by the modernist textile designs of the 50's which I love and this time explores vases and pots of florals I have been drawing over the last few months. With a cheerful new colour palette I've been printing like a crazy lady to get ready for the show and I got there in the end - just about! 

For those of you who have never been, the trade show features some of the best makers working in print, metal, plastic, ceramics, wood and textiles (mainly) and allows buyers for small shops and galleries the chance to pick some new stock and suppliers to work with. There are so many beautiful pieces on show it must be so hard for them to choose! 

There were plenty of last years newcomers (like myself) who had returned and it was lovely to see some friendly faces and to see how they had developed over the past 12 months. One of which was the lovely Mandy Tate, trading as Natty Maid, with her beautiful collection of lino print and collograph pieces. 

Mandy had some lovely new products to share and my personal fave were the fabulous fishy placemats based on one of her detailed lino cuts - can't wait to see these available in the stores! 

Nottingham based illustrator Sue Bulmer, (another returning newcomer) was back with a new collection of limited edition cards and prints under the theme of 'love rocks' - a slight departure from last years birds and bird boxes this new selection of prints illustrate song titles and sayings in her quirky black and white signature style - delightful! 

Sue and I also did a print swap at the show and I can't wait to get my 'Sue Bulmer Original' up on the wall in my studio!

Finally, creative chum and ex-student, Jess Hogarth was onto her 2nd trade show of the year (after Home London in January) and continuing to go from strength to strength. Jess was launching some new products this time though with some fresh new tea-towels, cushions and notebooks all featuring her lovely illustrations and juicy colour palette. 

Just when you think 2 trade shows in a few months is busy enough, Jess will also be showing at Pulse in London in a few weeks time - busy lady! - so catch her there too if you can. 

A final little mention for my trade show neighbours Zincwhite and their wonderful jewellery celebrating the magnificence of the pencil! 

Made from recycled Derwent pencils, transformed into stylish rings, cufflinks and more, I particularly love this rainbow necklace! They also were runners up in the 'WOW factor award', voted for by exhibitors - it couldn't have happened to a lovelier pair of makers!

There are of course far more fabulous makers than I can do credit to here so apologies to anyone I have missed! All in all is was again a great show and either exhibiting or visiting I'll definitely be back next year!

Craft fair this weekend

I'll be selling some of my paper goods this weekend at the Shipley Alternative - pop on down if you're near by and pick up some treats! More info here.

Today! Saltaire Makers Fair

Saltaire Makers Fair - not long now!

The prep for the fair is well underway for me now - I'm packing, printing and labeling things up today! Just enough time however to showcase another seller from the fair, today is the turn of the fabulous Jessica Hogarth! Jess is one of my ex-students from Leeds College of Art and since graduating she's been busy establishing her own brand of products.

Jess's quirky hand drawn illustrations are one of the things that make her work so fab and a strong sense of colour and composition makes for a beautiful collection of interior products from prints to tea towels to mugs. See more on her website and of course if you're coming to the Saltaire Fair on Saturday! 

Saltaire Makers Fair - 4 days to go!

The countdown continues! Today I'd like to share with you Clare Caulfield's prints and paintings. I just adore Clare's work, her quirky use of line and delicate colour has a real vibrancy to it and I love looking at all the delicate yet energetic marks close up-which of course I'll be able to indulge in on Saturday-hurrah!

Saltaire Makers Fair - 5 days to go!

I'm going to be exhibiting at the Saltaire Makers Fair this Saturday (as Bubble & Tweet) and I'm really looking forward to it-despite having lots of packaging and last minute printing to do! 

To get myself in the mood I thought I'd do a daily post in the few days leading up to it, featuring some of my favourite makers who'll be there - whether they be friends, acquaintances or just someone who's work I can't wait to see in the flesh. 

First up is Hugh Leishman, a lovely man who sold his wares alongside me in a great little gift shop (sadly now closed) in Ilkley, West Yorks. Hugh makes the most exquisite wooden objects, beautifully crafted out of fabulous English woods. I bought one of his 'spurtles' to stir my porridge and it's almost too nice to use-which is always a good sign in my book! See more at on Hugh's website or come and see it in the flesh on Saturday of course-where he's also doing some live demos! 

Screen-print your own fabric

I've been doing some work for Making Magazine of late and the most recent issue sees my article on how to screen-print your own repeat pattern fabric! Get yourself a copy from your news-agent if you fancy having a go. More projects to follow in the coming months, exciting times.

Inspiration!

Despite being on holiday from work, I'm finding it really hard to stop drawing. I've come back to see my folks in the beautiful Shropshire hills and all this wildlife is just too much inspiration. Been sketching and photographing none stop. Note to self: must remember to take actual break!

See more of the collection on my facebook page.

Making my own sunshine!

Brightened up my day with some scribbly florals this afternoon...makes up for the lack of summer sun!

Retro vases

Today I've been rummaging around in my cupboards stumbling across all sorts of forgotten treasures. And inspiration has struck, as now on I'm a mission to create some new screen-prints. Can't wait to develop some more drawings tomorrow!

Old woodland friends

Been looking back through some portfolio pieces today - for my new facebook page! - and re-discovered this little guy. Think I might dabble a bit more with extra texture - what do you think?

Floral Repeats

Today has seen some serious drawing going on...it's been great fun doing some complicated technical repeats! Lots more to get out of my head yet though...

Card designs!

This weekend has been glorious here in the UK! So, with an iced tea in hand I've been busying away at some freelance work for Tigerprint. It's been a while since I've shared any commercial card designs with you guys but I've been having a blast and thought you might like to see them. Here are some of the fruits of my labour so far!

More budgies

I've been having such fun today putting together a collection of budgie prints - here's a section of one, I love their little faces!

Budgies!

This afternoon I've been playing about with budgies! Not there quite yet but here's a peek.

Papercuts for new projects

The last few days have seen me developing some sketchbook drawings into stylised motifs and today the fun part has begun; paper-cutting shapes to play with. I love paper-cutting, creating pieces to arrange and scan into the computer is a great way to develop some new ideas both for digital freelance work and screen-prints. Wish it didn't make my finger hurt so much though!

British Craft Trade Fair 2012!

Wow, what a week! Apologies for the lack of posting, again!, but I have been a busy bee. As some of you may well know, apart from producing and designing prints under my own name I also collaborate and produce work with a friend of mine, Jayne, under the guise of Bubble & Tweet. We produce and design all sorts of lovely goodies including prints, cushions and tea-towels and this week saw the launch of our new collection of products at the BCTF in Harrogate. 

We had a brilliant time and met some great fellow designers and buyers. Thanks to all who stopped by to say hello - above is a little piccie of our stand. Although we are currently updating the site, you can find out more about Bubble & Tweet by having a look at their site here. 

Liebster Blog Award!

The very lovely Louise over at Love Print Studio has awarded my little blog the Liebster Award! I've long admired her work and her blog so this is a real treat, thank you!

For those of you who aren't aware the Liebster Award is given to blogs (with less than 200 followers) that you love and that inspire you, if you receive an award you must then choose your top 5 and pass it on!

So today, I'm sharing with you 5 lovely blogs (although narrowing it down to just 5 was pretty hard!) that I think you should all read - fabulous for colour, tips, characters and repeats (my faves) - enjoy!

I really hope you take the time to check them out on your coffee break today! 

xx

Happy Sunday

Beautiful day today, far too nice for working!

Drawing drawing and more drawing...

Trying to get some ideas down for my agent today and my sketchbook has been filling up nicely. Lots of drawings to work with, including these jars of flowers I drew this afternoon!

Today!

I'll be here as part of my collective We Have Beaks - find out more here. 

Artist Book Fair Prep...

Hope I manage to screen-print the book containing this little fella tomorrow night - need to get him printed and the book bound and made for the Leeds Book Fair on Friday-eek! Fingers crossed, tightly.

Amazing paper sculpting

Now, I have always enjoyed paper-cutting and the art of fiddling about with pieces of paper but this video shows it taken to a whole other level - so beautiful!

Mono-printing Friday

It's the Leeds Artists Book Fair next weekend (9th-10th) and so far I've only got bits and bobs made - whoops! So, this next week is going to see some new little books coming into being. Tonight has been mostly spent drawing out some new imagery to work with - hope I don't run out of time!

Yay, window vinyl up!

Excited about the opening tonight now!