The Handmade Wedding Collective Event at Craft Central:

 

Window Display (Bunting by event sponsor Bunting Queen)

Last week we were excited to have been invited along to a shopping evening that was part of The Handmade  Wedding Collectives event at Craft Central. 

The show was packed with stunning handmade items that would add a extra special touch to a wedding.

With items ranging from hats, shoes, jewellery, to cakes, ceramics and ties. 

The event was really well organised and I personally can't wait to see where there next event will be.

Paper Bouquets by www.bookwormeatsflower.com

 

Wedding cakes by www.craft-cakes.co.uk

 

Shoes by www.hettyrose.co.uk

Hats by www.hatastic.folksy.com

 

Accessories by 

Ceramics by www.porcelainjewellery.co.uk

Handmade ties by www.peggybamford.com

 

 Accessories by www.rosalindpricecousins.com

 Beautiful Hand Crocheted Jewellery by http://isamocrochet.etsy.com

The event had some great sponsors including Horse Shoe Photography, Oak Studio, Bunting Queen, Etsy, Craft Cakes and Meantime Brewing Co

23 Rings by Laura Bell:

Laura Bell is currently in her second year of studying Applied Art at UCA Rochester, over the last year or so she has been working with found objects and creating (mainly) jewellery. Laura is fascinated with collected objects, the sentimental, the souvenir, and the histories, either real or fictional that we attach to them.

A tiny charm from a baby bracelet...
A letter from a friend you no longer see...
A button from your grandmothers collection...

We all have belongings that have little monetary value yet we keep and are attached to them. Why? Are they simply a visual prompt for a memory, or does it run deeper than that?

To explore this Laura has taken objects like these from her own life and created 23 rings. Each ring is unique, and handmade by Laura. The objects used have been set in various ways in an appropriate fashion to maintain (where possible) the objects original identity.

Laura now invites you to take part in a one day installation where you can come and take possession of one of these rings in exchange for an item from your own life that you have a sentimental attachment to.

Your item must be no bigger than the dome the rings are placed under (65mm diameter, 65mm high). Your item must not be perishable and you must have a strong attachment to the item. You will be required to leave a description of what the item means to you (between 30-60 words).
 
As there are a limited number of rings, exchange will happen on a first come, first served basis, follow Laura on twitter (http://www.twitter.com/23Rings) to get live updates on how many rings are left, to avoid disappointment.

The items exchanged during this installation will become a part of Laura’s next series of jewellery. She will exhibit this next series of work some time in June, if you have exchanged an item (or are just curious) you can leave a contact email or phone number and Laura will contact you with dates/location of this exhibition.

For information and directions please see Laura’s website:  www.laura-bell.co.uk or Blog: http://from-laura-with-love.blogspot.com

Dan Hillier's Solo Show:

The We Make team are all fans of Dan Hilliers work, we have been proud to have Dan as an exhibitor at our fairs.

We were excited to here that he has a solo show this friday in London.

It sounds fantastic.

Dan will be exhibiting some fancy new art along side his exisitng prints... and we have heard rumours his existing prints will be sold at a reduced rate for the evening. 

With live musis, Dj's, Free gin drinks and pie and mash for 250 people, freebies its going to be a massive night.

The event takes place in a beautiful Grand Music Hall and if thats not enough to tempt you Dan wants everyone to arrive in fantastic outfits worn with 'Victorian disguise' in mind. There will be a team of professional make up artists on hand to add the finishing touches.

Dan will be crouching in positition when the doors open promptly at 8pm to hand a limited edition print to the first 50 visitors. so get there nice and early.

This is expected to be a very busy event and entry in invite/ guest list only to get your name on the guest list please email Dan on featherandclaw2011@gmail.com

Event Date:  Friday 11th March
Event Time: 8pm - 1am
Event Venue: Wilton Music Hall

The Handmade Wedding Collective:

With the wedding season fast approaching The Handmade Wedding Collectives event at Craft Central is a perfect place for some extra special wedding purchases.

The Handmade Wedding Collective is a showcase exhibition of UK designer-makers creating beautiful, unique wedding products - from bridal garters in vintage lace to personalised cake-toppers and bespoke ties!

For brides and grooms who want their wedding/civil partnership ceremony to be as individual as they are. With the current resurgence of interest in both craft and ethical shopping, many couples are looking away from the highstreet when shopping for their wedding, but it can be a time-consuming challenge for brides/grooms to source beautifully crafted or alternative wedding products - which is where the Handmade Wedding Collective comes in! This exhibition showcases work ranging from exquisite jewellery and fashion to embellished vintage crockery, contemporary cuff-links, one-off hats and fascinators, hand-crafted shoes, bridal garters and much more, all handmade by independent UK designer-makers.

As part of the exhibition there will be a late night shopping event on Wednesday 16th March, from 6-8pm. There will be amazing wedding cake to sample from Craft Cakes, free beer from Meantime Brewing and free entry into a fantastic GIVE-AWAY COMPETITION, for the chance to win a wonderful handmade prize by Lou Rota!! you can also grab a goody bag from The Wedding Collectives sponsors Etsy
As well as the upcoming exhibition, The Handmade Wedding Collective operates as a directory of wedding related designer-makers.
Links to websites for each of the craftspeople involved in the collective can be found on their website's ‘Buy Handmade’ pages at www.handmadeweddingcollective.blogspot.com 

Exhibition venue: Craft Central Showcase Space, 33-35 St John’s Square, London, EC1M 4DS (near Farringdon Tube)

Dates: 15th-20th March 2011





Opening times: 12-6.30pm Tuesday to Saturday, 12-4pm Sunday Late night shopping event (with cake sampling and give-away competition!): 6-8pm Wed 16th March Entry is FREE All work on display will be for sale

Exhibitors Include:
Aelska – laser sliced lace fashion pieces
A Alicia Wedding – bridal garters and accessories handmade using vintage textiles
Blue Eyed Girl – jewellery combining textiles and metals
Book Worm Eats Flower – stunning bespoke bouquets of handmade paper flowers
Daniele Geargeoura – exquisite contemporary jewellery and cufflinks
Cinderela B - Contemporary jewellery
Hatastic! – fabulous bespoke hats and fascinators
Hetty Rose – exquisite hand-crafted bridal shoes
Isamo Crochet – gorgeous crochet jewellery
Lou Rota – embellished and updated vintage crockery and cake stands
Peggy Bamford – hand-crafted and bespoke silk ties
Rosalind Price-Cousins – stunning textile based fashion accessories
Rose Sharp Jones – knitted bridal accessories including shawls and gloves
Toft Porcelain – ceramic cake toppers, vases and ring-bowls

Ethical Fashion in the Age of Austerity

Thursday 3 March 18.00-21.00

This looks set to be a fantastic evening.   The Papered Parlour host an ethical mini-festival at the V & A Museum of Childhood.

There will be lots of  workshops, live music, performance, panel discussion and craft stalls set amongst the Museum's childhood collections. London's leading eco-journalists, green stylists and ethical campaigners come together to discuss the key issues surrounding the growing social movement.

Fashion designer Betty Jackson and the Guardian's 'Ethical Living' columnist Lucy Siegle, who will be speaking about her forthcoming book 'To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing out the World?'.
Stylist Jocelyn Whipple will be running a unique workshop on green styling, plus eco-campaigners Labour Behind the Label and Love Fashion Hate Sweat Shops will be offering top tips on how to be sustainable with style.
The Papered Parlour will also be running Make Do and Mend workshops with Piney Gir.

I am really looking forward to going to this event. There are two workshops in particular that I will be making sure I fit into my visit.
Firstly,the lovely Sarah McCartney from 5 Degree Woolly will be running a knitting workshop. Being a amatuer knitter myself, I am very excited about this workshop. Heres a few details about 5 Degree Woolly and Sarah's workshop.

A 5 Degree Woolly gets its name from being 5 degrees Centrigrade warmer on the inside than the outside. It's easy to knit one, and as it grows really quickly you've got a statement work of eco-fashion in days. Essentially, it's knitting with up to 10 yarns to make a thick, warm, cosy extra layer to wear instead of putting the heating on. The important part is to get the mix of colours right and balance the thickness of the bunch of yarns so you end up with a garment you're proud to wear.
Sarah McCartney will be supplying patterns for two simple projects, the Original 5 Degree Woolly and the 5 Degree Woolly Socks. All you need are your biggest pair of needles plus a bag of your leftover yarns and the ones that have been sitting in your stash for months (or years) waiting for a project. This is that project.
If you don't ahve your own yarn stash (yet) raid your relatives' cupboards or come to the 4.30 materials swap before the event gets going; there'll be some yarn and needles to buy too, and funds will go towards spreading the word and encouraing more people to save on energy bills by wearing a 5 Degree Woolly.

The second workshop that I am really looking forward to taking part in is Heart Zeena and Craft Guerilla's Plushie Fox workshop.
You can create a cute little plushie from recycled and upcycled materials...Print, sew and stuff your very own little fox! A lovely accessory or toy hand made by you with some expert help. 
I have been a fan of Zeenas work for a while now. 

Heart Zeena has been a exhibitor at our last few fairs, we are always proud to see her work amoungst the amazing designers. 
So I am really excited about seeing how this little fellow is made. 

Ok, so lets hope thats tempted you to go along.... I might even see you there

Come Up in 2011

Happy New year to everyone!

After our superb Christmas Craft Wonderland in December, we are working on some new events for the coming year. We are in discussion with various groups to collaborate with, so its all very exciting...keep popping back her to see what we are up to. It's never been a better time for small creative businesses to flourish so we want to embrace this to give designer makers the chance to shine.

We Make is formed of a small group of creative folk, and we are always looking for new people to come join us in our craft revolution and new places to use for shows and fairs. Do you have an idea for an event? Pop Up shop? A venue you think we could use? Please do get in touch as we are in our planning stage and would love to hear from you!

If you'd like to be added to our mailing list please check our blog, you can join it through the link on the blog and we will keep you in the loop.

Toodle Pip!

The We Make Team

Happy Christmas From the We Make London Team

We would like to take this chance to wish you all a very very happy Christmas and thank you all for your fantastic support in 2010.
Look forward to 2011

Happy Christmas

From

Mary, Jo, Donna, Julie, Lisa, Laura and Karin