TinkeringTimes

Charley Harper Colouring Books

Just a quick post to say - you'll know I'm an absolute geek for pattern. Likewise coluring-in has featured time and time again on this blog - I do genuinely find it soothes the soul and brings peace to a hectic mind.

So imagine the joy of discovering that some of Charley Harper's divine illustrations of birds, animals and other stylised designs have been turned into colouring books! There's the Charley Harper Deluxe Coloring Book (above) or the Charley Harper Birds & Words Deluxe Coloring Book (below).

They've probably been around for ages and are just new to me, but still...
The only decision now is which one to choose.*

*No choice: get both. 

Quick: a sumptuous downloadable Valentine's Day card!

Need a top quality card for Valentine's? No time to nip out or whip something up yourself? Ta-da look what I found from Jen and Floris at Love vs Design. Just head over here to download the proper pdf and print it out on some nice thick card. Job done.

And it has a little secret - a bundle of valentine's vouchers. To put inside and offer the recipient... well that's on a need to know basis...

Also it's beautiful. A quick, beautiful card that you made yourself (well you did, with a little help that's all). For all of us who love handmade and refuse to let it be a retail thing. Thanks Jen and Floris, you saved the day.

Angie Lewin, Plants and Places

 
I've been planning to blog about this for, oh about a year now...

Angie Lewin's Plants and Places is one of the achingly beautiful books I received as a present last year. I've been a huge fan of Angie Lewin's work since she very first began designing printed Dandelion themed fabrics for St Jude's quite a few years ago.

It shares the process she goes through from quick sketches out in the countryside, to blocking colour in and transferring to paper and fabric prints.

The book is available here, and you can buy Angie's fabrics here.

Colouring in for Grown-Ups

You may know I'm a huge fan of colouring in. It relaxes me, helps me feel free and childlike again, and polishes up my thinking about how to use colour and pattern.

I recently came across a real grown up colouring book Garden Party! with a nod towards those fantastic 1970s vintage children's illustrations. There's a sample page show above, and 29 more inside.

The publishers say it's "Set in a dreamy landcape of stylized patterns, this garden party buzzes with life. Whimsical and wild images of birds, frogs, bugs and other creatures populate flowery fields that pulse with psychadelic energy." 

I've added this to my Amazon Associate favourites - these are the books I love so much I want to recommend them. Nobody's sent me them to review, I don't know the authors or the publishers. They're just books I love and think you might too.

A Cushion for Pilgrim

A whole four years (or more) ago I made this cushion. It was possibly my favourite vintage fabric ever bought. Thick dense durable crispy cotton in rich sumptuous colours and bold 1970s popping floral pattern. It sold on etsy and off went the parcel to the other side of the world.

Imagine my surprise when randomly perusing Pilgrim's design lifestyle blog - in fact snooping around her house - when there was my little bold punchy much loved cushion. A double take and a few emails later confirmed that it was indeed the very same item. Such a heartwarming moment to see something I'd made in such an appreciated and beautiful setting.

I'd strongly recommend popping over and having a big snoop around Pilgrim's blog, home and shop. And if you ever bought any of my items, I'd love to see a photo of them in their natural habitat around thehome or being worn. It's so lovely to be reunited with them and see them being enjoyed.

Japanese Washi Tape

I have a weakness for stationery. If you know me, you'll know this well. Come to think of it I always have. I was a prolific letter writer as a child and a teen, there's always been a treasured box of special paper and pens in the background. Now I'm older the lure grows ever stronger. I could write reams about the addiction and its finer points. For now, for those of you who have yet to discover it, let me introduce you to Washi tape. The gentleness of masking tape with the beauty of Japanese design.

Its uses are limitless. I've done the wrapping of parcels yes, but did you know you can write on it? Or that it sticks to glass? We've made paper chains with it and gently stuck children's tags to oversized maps with it in workshops. I've used it to tag the pages of diaries and twirl round cardboard tubes to make magical  castle turrets which would rival any in the pages of a Grimms fairy tale book. (I have not - yet - stuck it to my keyboard, that's the work of Minifanfan Eng. But I'm not ruling it out...)

And I'll tell you a secret. You can buy it in the UK, you can, from perfectly packaged mail order companies nestled in nice big barns in the country. At perfectly packaged big barn prices. Or, you can buy it where I do, where it suddenly seems more affordable, like you might actually want to use it when it arrives rather than saving it for best (ie never, gathering cobwebs at the back of a drawer). Get your fill from Pretty Tape on Etsy. (Of course you could also go to Japan and buy it there, but for the rest of us...)

Still stuck for ideas?
Try this facebook page, or this Pinterest search,

Selvedge Trial Size Giveaway

I'm an avid obsessive follower of Selvedge Magazine. Absolutely one of the best magazines about textiles you could hope to find. 

If you've never come across it, it's a beautiful thing to hold, printed in matt recycled thick paper so it feels like a small catalogue. It prides itself on image-led articles so of course the design is stunning and it's a visual feast to behold.

Covering textiles in fashion, fine art, interiors, travel and shopping, a single copy can take you round the world and back through hidden and lost routes; wind you slowly back to local and family heritages throughout the country; showcase the newest in textile designers; and bring new textile related films, books and exhibitions to your attention.

Don't take my word for it, if you want to scour it for yourself I have a 20 page sample copy to giveaway, including features on Scandinavian textile designer Maria Aström; global embroidery collector and writer Sheila Paine;  fashion designer Liaqat Rasul; and the traditional woollen blankets of Hudson Bay.

How to enter:

There are three ways to enter the giveaway (feel free to enter 3 times by doing all of them!):
1. Leave a comment below
2. Mention this post / giveaway on your blog (then comment or email me, sally-dot-fort-at-yahoo-dot-co-uk with a link to let me know)
3. Tweet a link on your twitter stream and include me @sallyent so I can see your tweet (don't just retweet as that won't show up in my @ stream due to the silly changes twitter made a while back - you'll have to actually type @sallyent in the tweet yourself)

**Deadline: Midnight (UK time) 15th May 2011**

And that's it. I'm happy to post the publication anywhere in the world. And I'll let everyone know who won and also if I find any more amazing blogs through the process, I might well share some of those too.

Post Craft

What is post craft? Where are we in time if craft is the past? You know, I have no idea, I really don't. But at last I can share my excitement about finding out. I've been bursting with excitement about this for weeks and now I can blurt it out to the world!

I will be chairing a panel discussion at this year's Future Everything festival eyeing up the future of craft in a DIY-hack-break-down-the-walls-of-the-institution type chat with some fellow craft / future / hack heads.

The conference organiser introduces the topic thus:

"In an increasingly post-digital world, there is a move towards a pre-industrial landscape. Eased by global connectivity, cottage industries are sprouting up everywhere. People are creating their own products, services, and art. They are rediscovering the satisfaction of creating a tangible product, the process of making, the lessons from making by hand."

Now I know much of that is true (though are we in a post-digital world already? heck where does the time go?) and it echoes much of what I discovered in my UK DIY craft research a few years ago. So I'm thrilled to have been asked to be part of the panel. (I suspect I'll come away ever more confused of course, shh don't tell anyone ok?)

*That picture up there, by the way, is from Datadecs, one of the projects of one of the other panel members, interaction designer Andy Huntington. Do have a look at his website, he does some very cool stuff turning data into beautiful and fun things 

Manchester Craft Hack event needs you

If you're reading this there's a chance you might be interested in craft, DIY culture, hacking and / or the city that is Manchester.

As it happens, there's an event happening on May 14th combining all of those things in the sumptuous and utterly wonderful setting of Victoria Baths. What's more, that event needs you.

Handmade is the name of the event which is orchestrated by the FutureEverything gang, as part of their annual festival of digital innovation. Be quick - submit your ideas by April 18th *here* 

If that is your cup of tea, and you're going to be in the area. I'd suggest you keep the afternoon of Friday 13th free too, can't say any more for now!

Carrying on the craft hack theme, though a little less digitally, I've spotted some great hacks lately, especially with pallets. The image above is StudioMama's pallet chandelier - pretty unexpected and yet incredibly subtle and beautiful. Other top pallet hacks I found below include...

A Little Q&A

I was chuffed to have been interviewed by the UK Handmade team about my work and what fuels me. It was interesting being interviewed, it made me think about things in the kind of clarity I haven't done for a long time.

So if you're remotely interested in what inspires me, where I started with the whole craft and sewing thing do have a little look *here*.

And if you're not remotely interested in that, I have mentioned a few other women who inspire me so you might want to skip straight to that bit.

The hardest question I was asked was, "In your role as arts consultant what do you feel the cuts in arts funding will mean for the arts in the UK?" I can tell you that's a very tough one to answer in only two or three sentences...

Textiles & Electronics

Through the magic of twitter I was introduced to Lynne Bruning. She weaves magic in the form of textiles and electronics. Given that I've twice researched this area I'm amazed I didn't find her before. She's a whizz with neon, nylon and pulses.

Added to that, this piece, Synaptic, is inspired by green flourescant protein; the nervous system; and cell imaging. A flick through my recent posts will show you how I feel just now about tiny scale science coming together with textiles. She describes it as "a Victorian raver blacklight evening coat" - brilliant! (Literally)

This is something I'd love to try more of myself, and though all her workshops on how to create your own conductive threads, fabrics and yarns seem to be in other countries, actually it's not that impossible. My local hackspace - Madlab - runs beginners courses in Arduino programming, which is a tiny computer board you can wire into fabrics to make it run instructions like switching led lights on and off - so if I ever have the time / money available I'm going to try and master this one, as a starting point.

You may already be familiar too, with Leah Buechley's work - probably the longest known textiles / arduino hacker; she helped develop the exceptionally appealing looking Lilypad Arduino, which was what first sparked my interest in this, around 3 or 4 years ago.

The future is *bright*

Command Team

Some exciting news, I was approached to become part of the 3M Command Team. From the logo I'm feeling all Charlie's Angels / A-Team.

In reality it means I, along with my two team members, are responsible for providing interior design and styling ideas that make use of 3M command products - hooks and general 'putting things on walls' kit. They are a bit special because they don't leave any marks on the wall (which when you've only just decorated is a bit of a relief quite frankly).

The ideas we create will be spread around interweb world via the magic of facebook, digital TV, and will also pop up in real life at next week's Ideal Home Show.

So watch the facebook page and keep an eye on my blog for easy and stylish ideas about sprucing up your home or office. And remember that secret project? You'll be seeing more of that soon...

Lost in Lace

I just can't wait to see the exhibition Lost in Lace, a partnership between Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, and the Crafts Council. It won't open until October, then it runs through to February next year.

Birmingham's website says it will be "an ambitious exhibition featuring twenty international artists, designers and makers who will explore the relationship between textiles, specifically lace, and architecture through site-specific installations"

You'll see on the website it will be held in the museum's Gas Hall. For me that's as much the thrill as the craft content, it's an incredible airy, atmospheric hall that gives such a special feeling just walking through it. I know the combination of the exhibition and the space will be incredible.

Luckily I'm working with Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery for the next couple of years so there's every chance I'll be there when it's on.

Image: Moucharabieh + Jardin de lit, lit de jardin by Annie Bascoul 

Sneak Preview

Just a little sneak preview into a secret project I'm currently working on. More will be revealed very soon but this was just such a lovely little village of pots I couldn't resist posting them now.

And, because I don't think I'll be able to throw in a plug in the actual secret project, I did just want to share the beautiful handmade smaller vases - they're available on Etsy from the lovely Wendy Jung (she went out of her way to find me exactly what I wanted and whizz them over to me poste haste! Thanks Wendy).

I do like them just as they are, but there will be 'stuff' in them when it's all done. Watch this space... 

Kinetic displays

I just treated myself to a new erm... mobile? message board? objet decoratif? Anyway one of these, to clip stuff into. I have yet to decide if there's a tiny space left uncrammed in our house to hang it, or whether it should go to the office (whilst wondering exactly how much of my taste I can impose on the rest of my - fortunately very generous spirited and aesthetically appreciative - office mates).

When I first saw it, it did feel strangely familiar, then as I unpacked it from its box, it clicked. A few years ago I researched Ingo Maurer for an exhibition I was working on. If you're a fellow design obsessive supporter you might remember his Zettel5 (below):


Obviously it was never my intention to buy something 'influenced' by a bona fide master craftsman such as Maurer. I would always rather support original design. Let's face it the top version is a poor and pale comparison. But I have it, I love it and am happy that it reminded me of Maurer's incredible piece.

Co-incidentally, whilst I was scouring links for this post, I also happened to come across someone who'd tried to make his own (because - that looks easy - you could make that right? oh those words... but that's another story). Again I'm not advocating anyone copy someone else's design - exactly the opposite. When you read this story you understand how hard it really is, and why top class design comes at a price.

Hella Jongerius. A Misfit.

There are certain designers I could talk about in the sort of detail that would win an Olympic medal (and quite frankly I really stretch the patience of family and close friends wittering on about them!) Usually because they sort of rose to 'fame' or at least financial prestige and media reputation during the few years I worked at London's Design Museum. Which means I was in the almost unbelievably fortunate to position to get paid for things like reading Elle Deco and talking to amazing designers (remind me - why did I leave? anyway...) so I had more time to study that particular group of people than I do these days.

One such designer was Hella Jongerius. Such a varied designer who really teeters on that line between the unique handmade and design for manufacture; between feminine curls and lines in embroidery (on vases - genius!) to big square masculine furniture. She holds that balance with perfect class on both sides.

So imagine my delight when I found out a book of her work is being launched. A hardback came out in Autumn so I'm assuming the new launch is either a paperback, or a higher print run following a limited edition release maybe? 

I know it won't exactly be pocket money priced, but if you have a birthday coming up or deserve a treat (or can count it as a business expense - even better) then Hella Jongerius: Misfit will be out in February, priced around £29.95.

Image: Hella Jongerius, 300 Unique Vases

Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity

If you haven't come across TED talks yet, do scout them out. Some of the most inspiring viewing you'll find on the web.

This one stood out for me as being relevant to makers / crafters / designers (even though it's a writer talking). It is around 20 minutes but stick with it, you'll find yourself being pulled into a story of wonder, and feeling verified towards the end, no matter what your creative process is, how much of a struggle it may be, and however successful (or not) you find your outputs, work, pieces, objects - whatever you want to call them.

I'm just over here on pinterest...

Just a little note to let you know, if you didn't already, about Pinterest.

Firstly to say it's here - www.pinterest.com - like a big social, global, web based mood board. It rather niftily lets you bang a quick url into a field* (or 'pin' it) and bam - there's your image on your board. Since it links straight back to where you found it, all the credits / acknowledgements to the original owner of the image are sorted automatically - brilliant! 
*Or you can do it the old fashioned way and just upload an image.

At present it's mostly the domain of craft and decor types but I can see limitless potential for how it could be used. You can have individual boards or collective ones, depending on whether you set it so that only you can post to it, or whether you allow other people to as well.

Pattern, Beauty, Light and more at the Kinetic Art Fair

It's the Kinetic Art Fair in London this weekend. The image above shows you exactly why I'm jealous that London are holding it and not Manchester. I would so have loved to go along, but only just discovered it. Anywhere that pattern, design and engineering meet are hallowed ground for me.

Created by the newish Kinetica Museum, the fair is now in its third year and showcases "the convergence of kinetic, electronic, robotic, sound, light, time-based and multi-disciplinary new media art, science and technology." OK, sounds good, looks even better. It isn't just an exhibition, there are talks, performances, film screenings, discussions, workshops and some explanations of 'happenings' that being honest, I really can't begin to understand what they are.

Frankly if I were there, I don't think I'd emerge until every last bit of the festival had been taken down, so it's probably just as well I'm not.

There's a Flickr group too so if you are going along, be sure to share your shots later. Admittedly, some of the exhibits are a little weird and wonderful for my tastes but on the whole I'm smitten. I particularly like these shots from previous years...

Atomic jewellery

Just while I'm on an atomic theme, I must share these gorgeous necklaces from Julie Lake on etsy. I would be so delighted to be able to wear a structure like these. A girl can dream...



ps I founder her in blogland too 

Big fat chic wooly decor

I'm in love with big fat wooly homey stuff just now. It started last year when I saw Rockpool Candy's crocheted pebble rug. She's now made the pattern available to download for just £3.50. Bargain.

And then I keep seeing these popping up here there and everywhere. Christien Meindertsma's giant knitted Urchin Poufs

And then my lovely friend Michelle posted this covered pouf on her blog too:

What favourite item would you hang on a hook?

I recently asked people on twitter what favourite item they'd hang on a hook and why, and maybe where or any other details they wanted to add. (There was a reason for this strange question, which will become clearer in time!) But the replies were so colourfully wonderful and strange I wanted to find a way to list and share them so here they are...

One of my favourite responses was from Lu Summers (or @Lusummers) who said she'd "display a collage of all the mirrors I've been collecting in my hallway." I found a few other examples of people who'd had that same idea like Ula's bedroom collection and Haskell Harris' Hallways set:


And this set which Naomi found on Anthropologie:

 
I happen to know Lu lives in a farmhouse and is a dab hand at design so am looking forward to seeing her own take on this idea eventually.

So what were the other replies? OK here goes - get ready for some really random ideas! 

@RachelCockett, a museum strategy / development type person has many favourite things on hooks already including a Naga necklace, a World War 1 bayonet, a bronze fish shaped bell and a hand forged copper and silver spoon. (Her house sounds like a fabulously fascinating place. Any photos please Rachel?!)

Artist educator @K8ieSmith sent me a photo of her rather sweet and dainty toy poodle dangling from her hook rail.

Figure from history Sir James Pennyman (Leader of an English Civil War Regiment) - yes you read that right - told me his mum's boss at a nursery in the 1950s really did hang naughty boys on hooks for such crimes as hanging your coat on the giraffe peg when you know you're an elephant (phew thank god times have changed!)

Textile designer-maker and author @RuthSinger hangs 'just a few' vintage handbags on hers. I suspect that 'few' is way into double figures on the quiet right Ruth?

And more traditional home comforts like dressing gowns, aprons and pictures can be found on the hooks of designer-maker @laurafallulah and craft follower @jenimartian 

Rather boringly in our house we have nothing other the occasional mirror and a guitar hanging on hooks. Must do something about that! So what favourite item would you hang on a hook, and why and where? 

Free downloadable Jennifer Collier Calendar

Ok so we may be in January already, but textile and paper artist Jennifer Collier has created a beautiful calendar free to download. It features the work of other textile and paper artists who form part of the exhibition and workshop line up at Jennifer's gallery and studio, Unit Twelve.

So if you're a bit partial to special stationery, or work by the likes of Samantha Bryan, Helen Musselwhite, Julie Arkell, Debbie Smythe and others of that ilk, treat yourself to a freebie calendar now.

Better still, get down to Unit Twelve this year - it's a beautiful trip out into the country.

Recycled skateboards

I do love this furniture using recycled skateboards by Deckstool on etsy. Not just a brilliant idea but executed to perfection - I don't quite know how but there's something very classic about the actual furniture shapes. It's not just a hack and stick job. It's real design and carpentry. Attention to detail.

I've noticed an uprising in recycled board products lately, though mostly they're jewellery like...

Horrockses Fashions: Off-the-peg Style in the 40s and 50s

I was lucky enough to receive some amazing books this Christmas. Including the wonderful Horrockses Fashions: Off-the-Peg Style in the 40s and 50s. Just under 200 pages, the book "draws together fashion photography, textile designs, archival material, personal stories and beautiful dresses to tell the story of one of the most respected ready-to-wear lables on the post-war British high street."

Having started to actually read it and not just scour the incredible collection of photos and illustrations, what I really love is its account of how social history affected the company's development.

Fashion Illustration

At college, I could not draw for the life of me. I developed a sort of stylised version of drawing I managed to just about get away with being on a fashion and textiles course, where pattern and artistic license were daily currency. Its a style of drawing I still use - I'd show you my sketchbook but you'd only laugh.

For hours we studied fashion illustrations: the variations on the human form and drape of fabric fashion designers had conjoured up - but even this, and the hours and hours of life drawing class could not improve my terrible drawing skills.

Imagine my delight to find a whole exhibition of these beautiful works of art about to open. Fashion illustrations from Galerie Bartsch & Chariau, showing at London's Design Museum. Featuring work of designers from the 1940s through to present day including Chanel, Dior, Comme des Garcons, Victor & Rolf and McQueen, to name a few...

I can never create illustrations even remotely in aspiration of these, but I can gape and dream in awe...

DRAWING FASHION
3 November - 6 March
Design Museum, London 

Image: Renee Gruau for Dior

ps - I'm also in admiration of the work of contemporary fashion illustrator Sandra Suy

Embroidered Digital Commons

 
Occasionally I receive invitations to show in exhibitions. Mostly I don't have time to produce the work but this was an invite I couldn't ignore...

"I have been approached by Dr Ele Carpenter (Lecturer,Dept of Art, Goldsmiths College) to coordinate an embroidery art work for an exhibtion she is organising which will be curated by artists anrdrea zapp and simon blackmoore, and be shown at the AND Festival in Manchester in October.

I need a team of creatives to embroider a series of words on to a patch. The size of the patch will be 25 x 25cm and I will provide you with the words. All the patches will get photographed to create slide show and then appear in a series of exhibitions".

I decided I could just about manage a 25cm square piece of embroidery. And I do love how the AND festival has been developing over the past couple of years so was really excited to think my little contribution could become part of it. 

Why I love my job...

This, I feel, succinctly sums up why I love my job.
Because other people love what they do, as a result of what I do. What more motivation could you need?

This is a wordle of the feedback I got from an event I ran at the weekend as part of the Unknown Pleasures festival in Macclesfield, including a photography tour and a screen printing workshop - both focussing on pattern in architecture. There are some photos of the events *here* (some great screen prints especially).

The next workshop coming up as part of this fantastic programme is the *Zine Workshop* on August 7th
Please come - it's going to be great. See you there.

Making clothes

After my first introduction to sewing from my Grandma Lily, my next bout of escapades in cloth occurred when I trained in fashion and textiles. Two full years learning how to create clothes. My course focused heavily on designing and making clothes, not so much art textiles, or material science for example.

We learned the hard way - with rulers, curves, compasses, protractors and calculators. It was hard work having to understand measurements, cuts and calculate the angles and dimensions needed to create a design and tailor the fit of a garment, all from scratch. But a fabulous skill.

Finally I'm coming full circle and slowly getting back to making clothes again. Starting with simple, but extremely flattering, A-line skirts, and of course, featuring the same gorgeous vintage, Japanese and Scandinavian style fabrics as ever. I have more ideas in the pipeline but don't want to say too much until they're a little further into the process.

I've decided for now to keep my clothes making just for my UK Folksy shop which has been much neglected. 
So here's my first skirt. Ready to roll...

Printing

 
    
For my *proper job* I'm managing an arts project that crosses over music and design. Specifically fashion and graphic design. I'm not allowed to say any more (ooh how exciting!). Suffice to say I wanted to find some talented people to run fashion and graphic design workshops. I have a rule that I try not to employ anyone I haven't seen in action - it's a quality control thing. 

So, by chance someone with just those exact skills had emailed me a few weeks ago just on the off chance it might be useful for us both to find out more about one another's work. They seemed ideal but just to be sure I asked if I could pop by a workshop they happened to be running.