School for Creative Start-Ups join Etsy at The Thames Festival:

On the 10 &; 11 September, EtsyUK will be joining forces with School for Creative Start-Ups to bring you the Create Cafe at the Thames Festival, London’s largest outdoor free arts festival. 
Situated by City Hall on the Saturday and Tate Modern on the Sunday, Create Café will provide a welcome break from the hustle and bustle of the festival.  

Drop by for a cup of tea or a delicious cake by The Tea’s Knees and sign up to ‘dragon den’ style mentoring sessions with School for Creative Start-Ups or learn more about selling online with Etsy.

Etsy.com is the worlds’ handmade marketplace. Shop directly from almost 800,000 sellers in 150 countries, offering over 10,000,000 unique, handmade and vintage products. By supporting   micro-producers directly you are helping to change the way the global economy works. At Etsy, we envision a world in which very-very small businesses have much more sway in shaping the economy, local living  economies are thriving  everywhere, and people value authorship and   provenance as much as price and convenience. We are bringing heart to commerce and making the world more fair, more sustainable, and more fun. For more information on Etsy events, workshops and meet-ups in the UK, join the EtsyUK mailing list:  http://etsy.me/UKemail 

School for Creative Startups is an innovative one-year programme for creative people, with unique ideas, wishing to start a successful new business. The inspiration of serial entrepreneur and angel investor Doug Richard, the aim of the programme is to teach the critical skills that new creative businesses need to succeed and to provide support throughout the vulnerable first year of business.

We provide accelerated business training that helps entrepreneurs launch more successful startups and run more successful businesses.  Our face to face and online instruction covers topics like how to start a business, how to find investors, how to design great products and services, how to implement fast, cost-effective marketing strategies, how to build effective management teams and how to scale a business safely.  Our business networking events connect small businesses to create supportive, self-sustaining communities.

School for Creative Startups’ overarching mission is to create a vibrant, dynamic culture and economy in the UK that supports and promotes innovation and entrepreneurialism. Our aim is to increase the number of creative small businesses in the UK and provide them with access to world class business advice to help them succeed.

School for Creative Startups kick starts the one year programme with a 3 ½ day bootcamp in London on the 19^th of September in London. This bootcamp is then succeeded by:

• Mentoring calls – web based calls for all delegates with the opportunity to ask questions and get them answered there and then
• Half day workshops with visiting industry experts
• Broadcast lessons (on-line) – ‘how to’ lessons based on requirements and needs discovered by working with all delegates
• On-going monthly small group sessions for your sector

And includes:

• ·      Mentor matching service
• ·      Membership at The Hub Westminster collaborative space
• ·      Membership to a state of art business planning service

This is all tied up by a 2 day bootcamp at the end of the programme on the 11^th of July 2012. Doug Richard, Founder of School for Startups, and a team of carefully chosen professionals with a background working in the creative industries, along with business and social media experts, will deliver this course.  Thanks to our sponsors, the cost for this one-year program is just £500.  A monthly payment scheme is available to make this cost affordable to all applicants.

For more information or to apply to the programme, please visit: www.schoolforcreativestartups.co.uk

TheTea's Knees  - A distinctly British tea house that wears its heart on its sleeve. We celebrate the best in traditional and British home grown produce with a particular passion for the home brew and all its culinary accompaniments . Currently operating as a market stall we offer Classic Tea grown by the UK's only producer, Tregothnan, and a vast selection of traditional cakes and cupcakes in your favourite past time flavours, not to mention the classic cream tea. All hand made with love, care and creativity using  the best quality ingredients Britain has to offer.

Honing in on the UK’s insatiable thirst for tea we aim to expand into a contemporary London tea room to satisfy the growing need for a more sophisticated cup of tea with all the added trimmings of a British menu. With an equal passion for creative learning and engagement we aspire to offer a range of accessible art workshops and activities to accompany your cuppa.  Working with emerging artists and creative practitioners we hope to offer them a key central space to teach whilst providing our customers with a unique and creative environment to engage, socialise and relax.

Thames Festival Designers: Cards and Prints

With just under 1 week to go we would like to introduce you to some of the designers that will be at the We Make London area at the Thames Festival.

These are all of the wonderful sellers that make cards and prints:

• Sweet View

Sweet View is a new company offering prints by artist Jack Noel, designed to resonate with Londoners. So rather than pictures of the London Eye with Big Ben in the background, or Big Ben with the London Eye in the background – views we only recognise from the Apprentice titles – these are views of the crossroads, markets and hidden squares that provide the true backdrop to a life in London.

For each image there is a limited print run of 200 copies, signed and numbered by the artist. Our pictures are printed on high quality 235gsm paper in A2 size (594 x 420mm).

• Teresa Robertson

I’ve been earning a living as an illustrator for 25 years and the work I’ll be showing at the Thames Festival

will be my hand screen-printed cards and examples of my ‘house paintings’. 

The cards are all printed in my studio at home from my own paper-cut stencils and I sell them at craft fairs, on folksy and at selected shops.

There are about 150 designs to date. 

The ‘house paintings’ show families either inside or outside their homes – in London and beyond - and prove to be extremely popular commissioned presents.

• Cat Bird Craft

Catbird Craft is a small pagan arts & crafts business based in SE London, UK. We make Sabbat greetings cards; paintings and prints of original artworks and photographs; skull fetishes; and garden ornaments. We are interested in many art forms including folk, naive, and art nouveau

• Jilltydrawings

I'm Jill and I'm an Illustrator in London, UK. I love cats, fine china and marmite. The summer starts here with fab tea towels to use at your sunny afternoon teas and picnics.

• WetPaint

Originally from Devon, Helen now lives and works from a rather lovely SW London studio (from which she can witness squirrel fights in the park) and spends her time developing her decorative lettering styles, combining beautiful colour and clean lines to create a quirky and vibrant style. Her passion for her work is illustrated in everything she designs, creatures and characters burst into life in her colourful and gently humorous designs.
Helen has worked on a number of projects for many high profile organisations and companies in the UK, Europe and beyond including John Lewis, Te Neues and the Tate. Her illustrations have also adorned an array of products over her career including t-shirts, porcelain mugs, greeting cards and stationery.

Helen's beautiful limited edition prints are available through a variety of online retailers as well as her website http://www.wetpaint.org.uk and are perfect gifts which can adorn your home or workplace.

• East End Prints

EAST END PRINTS.... is based in the East End of London and we sell prints! Gorgeous, quirky graphic art for first time buyers and creative connoisseurs...

EAST END PRINTS was set up in 2010 by Helen Edwards who felt beautiful, affordable artworks from emerging and established graphic designers, illustrators and print-makers should be delivered to your door framed and ready to hang in home or office.

Located in the heart of Shoreditch, with over 10 years experience of artist management, print publishing and temporary concept stores. Keep up to date with news, print releases and events

• Celia Reid Cards & Gifts

A range of beautiful handmade cards and gifts made by       Surface Pattern Designer, Celia Reid. Using worn and torn wallpaper that has been hand and machine stitched into layers that become 3-dimensional. Each design is then embellished with beads and glitter dust to add that touch of sparkle.
	To design and make beautiful handmade cards and gifts that you'll want to keep for yourself..you'll just have to buy two!

• Lemonstone 

My work embraces the free flow of shades, colours, textures and allows the blank canvas to play host to the magic of spontaneous expression. Often I work with no expectation of a specific character in mind before starting to paint. I prefer to let them arrive through the glimpse of something deeper, slightly hidden. I enjoy the moment when the interaction in painting changes from me giving to the picture, to it mediating something back, like a creative dialogue beginning which I respond to. The elements in the painting seem to speak; a small whisper or a shout. And thats when the magic dance begins.

• Biba's Tea Party

Biba’s Tea party is a paper goods design company that is based in North London. Our concept and inspiration comes from the art of a ‘Tea Party’.

All of our products feature whimsical printed illustrations. They have a playful simplistic quality that is both nostalgic and timeless.

Products include stationery, paper chains, bunting and art prints. Designs and materials are carefully chosen and combined to create something special that we hope will make you smile and you can treasure.

Thames Festival Designers: Homeware

With just 1 week to go we would like to introduce you to some of the designers that will be at the We Make London area at the Thames Festival.

These are all of the wonderful sellers that make beautiful products for your home:

• Edwyn Uk

EdwynUK design and make unique original home and pet accessories using hand-embroidery, appliqué and hand-carved block printing. 

Our background is in Furniture and Interiors and after the arrival of our Welsh Terrier Edwyn (named after our hero Edwyn Collins) we became increasing submerged in the world of ‘dog’.

So from our base in East London we decided to merge our two loves and design products for dogs, dog lovers and the home, with the aim of enhancing life shared with a beloved pet with quality handmade items such as cushions, neckerchiefs, door stops, dog walking bags and more.

• Fifi Superstore

I've called the website superstore, in the grand idea, that I like to make things, anything....I have been able to indulge in my passion for the last 10 years, selling my designs through many markets and independent shops in London and larger stores such as Urban Outfitters

• Laura Felicity 

 

Laura Felicity is a London based Designer-Maker whose hand drawn patterns and developed skills in Silk Screen Printing create her awe inspiring Handmade Wallpapers and Soft Interior Homeware.

Expressing her love for surface design and interior furnishings, Laura Felicity finds inspiration within the beauty and delicacy of patterns from a range of eclectic areas, enabling her to design and create unique bespoke and retail ranges for the home.

The simple concept behind Laura's eye for design is the attraction to combine unique patterns with one another.  Involving these delightful layers within each finished piece, creates an atmosphere that feels gracefully soothing and fresh, which also invites people to have a warm and cosy reflection towards each pattern.

Thames Festival Designers: Jewellery

With just over 1 week to go we would like to introduce you to some of the designers that will be at the We Make London area at the Thames Festival.

These are all of the wonderful Jewellery sellers that will be there:

• Boubou Designs

Boobou Designs is a unique concept in jewellery - combining style and comfort - necklaces

and bracelets so light and soft to wear they create a statement without feeling heavy or

uncomfortable.

They are so original that everyone will compliment you and wonder where you found them.

The versatile designs can be worn in a number of different ways to complete any outfit.

I hand make all items personally, so each is unique. I love creating designs that look great

and that you'll wear over and over again.

• Fairytales and Hidden Notes

 

Inspired by the world of fairytales and all that is Vintage and playful we spend our time creating covetable pieces of jewellery.

From Once upon a time rings to Heart shaped collar brooches and even Sand timer necklaces you'll find and abundance of whimsical pieces to add to your very own fairytale. 

• Culpably Cute

Culpably Cute utilises vintage lace and other vintage-inspired materials to make unique jewellery
and accessories. I started making jewellery in 2009, partly for fun and partly to make something
lovely to wear myself. I’ve been designing and selling since then and I really enjoy it!

Inspiration first came from with collections of lace that I inherited from both my grandmothers,
which I turned into my first pieces of jewellery.  Most designs can only be made in small editions or
as one-offs, since each piece of lace is in limited supply.

My
to hold the pieces together. I also have simpler styles based around flowers, butterflies and other
motifs.

   www.culpablycute.etsy.com

• Stars and Scars

Stars and Scars is named because it describes my main creative source - my hands. just below my right hand I have a white tattoo of a star. on the palm of my left hand I have an inch long scar from a carpal tunnel operation. I went to university for three years and have a degree in jewellery design and silversmithing. on my course we were taught not only traditional materials and techniques but encouraged to explore more unusual designs. I found that my love was in using non traditional materials, so most of my work is in plastic, paper, found objects etc

• Shark Alley

Shark Alley celebrates the lovely natural forms of animals, birds and butterflies in a variety of media, from ornate colourful jewellery to charming hand-stitched felt pieces.

It is the brainchild (and anagram!) of Brighton artist and designer Sarah Kelly and was started in 2010 to reconnect with the pleasure of making things.  Each piece is made entirely by hand with lots of attention to detail, decoration (and sparkliness) and recycled materials are used wherever possible.

• Julia Pharo

 

  Julia Pharo was raised in the heart of South Africa’s gold and diamond mining industry.
As a little girl, her young fingers were constantly stained by the brick red earth of her
grandfather's diamond mine where she played, searching through the rich topsoil dreaming of
finding her own precious gemstone.

Julia's passion and flair for jewellery design combines the stark beauty of precious and semi-
precious stones with the soft lustre of freshwater pearls.

Now working in London, Julia’s bespoke jewellery pieces are exquisitely designed and
instantly recognisable with classic and contemporary pieces in her Precious and Semi-
Precious Jewellery Collections.

The Craft Trail Map and Website goes live:

We are excited to let you now that The Craft Trail website www.crafttrail.co.uk is live and its looks fantastic.

A huge congratulations to everyone that worked on the map and the website

Heres the front and back of the map

We Make London at The Thames Festival:

Heres our fab flyer designed by Jo Askey

We Make London at The Thames Festival:

We are excited to announce that we are going to be at this years Thames Festival.


The Thames Festival takes part on the 10th and 11th of September from 12pm - 10pm both days.
We have an exciting line up of over 40 designer makers selling their beautiful, unique handmade products.
Over the two days we also have a special workshop area that will host 7 workshops and craft activities.




We will be forming part of The Craft Trail. This is a brand new concept for the Thames Festival.


It is bringing together some of London's most loved craft organisations including Craft Guerrilla , Sannapanda and Friends, Of Cabbages and Kings, Crafty Fox Market,  and or course We Make London and will be sponsored by Etsy and School of Creative Start ups.


The Craft Trails aim is to encourage the visitors of the Thames Festival to buy locally sourced, handmade goods. Last year over 800,000 people visited the festival which stretches along the banks of the Thames and includes a full and varied programme of activities. Each collective will have their own area along the route where they will run a craft market alongside workshop and arts activities.


We are extremely proud to be part of this and are really excited to be working with our crafty friends.
There will be lots of exciting things going on within the Craft Trail.....maps, tote bags, prize draws, loyalty stamps, and much more


That's just a taster from us for now, so make sure you check back over the next few weeks as we will be letting you know about each part of the Craft Trail and about our own sellers and workshops.


Cheerio for now!

Logo Design by Sanna King