The September issue of Woman & Home magazine has a fantastic six page feature all about learning new creative skills (a subject close to our heart!) and we got a special mention as a great place to find out about courses run by talented British designers and makers.
The feature also highlighted many of the course providers listed in our Directory, including (clockwise from top right) The Make Lounge where we recently tried out candlemaking, Claire Aristides Jewellery School where we learnt to make a chunky charm bracelet, The Workshop by Sally Bourne Interiors where we’ll be making Christmas decorations, and Hugh Dunford Wood in Dorset who taught us to make beautiful hand block-printed wallpaper earlier this year. Search our Directory to find creative courses in your area, or browse our Course Notes features to read about some of the courses, classes and workshops that we’ve tried out for ourselves…
Last Saturday I did a beginners crochet class at my local yarn shop and haberdashery Mrs Moon in St Margarets. It’s such a beautiful shop and I’d often eyed their rows of brightly coloured yarns, patterns, books and accessories longingly, wishing that I was nimble-fingered enough to know what to do with them. I’ll be sharing my experiences as a novice crocheter in our next Course Notes feature, but in the meantime I wanted to post a few photos that I took in this gorgeous local gem of a shop. If you’re in the area I’d recommend a visit, but if not you can also buy online at www.mrsmoon.co.uk.
Hoorah! We now have video on our blog, so here for your viewing pleasure is some inspirational footage from London-based bespoke handsewn shoemakers CarreDucker. You can read more about their work and what inspires them in our Meet the Maker interview with co-founder Deborah Carre, or find out about their handsewn shoemaking courses in London and New York at www.carreducker.com.
You may already have taken a peek at our latest Course Notes feature, where craft journalist Clare Kelly visited the London studio of Smashing Chintz and learnt how to make a mosaic mirror, but I just couldnt resist adding a few more of Clare’s beautiful photos here.
They show the mosaic work of Smashing Chintz founder Janine Nelson who combines fragments of old discarded china with vintage plates to create stunning new pieces. Janine says that chintzy fabric and china have suffered from a poor image in recent years, but now she’s on a quest to bring chintz into the 21st century in a new, slightly quirky way. From the photos below, I’d say she’s definitely succeeded!
This bank holiday we spent the weekend pottering by the river in Henley-on-Thames and quite by chance discovered that it was the annual Henley Arts Trail, where local artists and designer makers open their studios to the public.
Never one to miss an opportunity to visit an open studio event, we headed off first of all to Assenden Glass where glassmaker Anne Arlidge’s studio was filled with people fascinated by the various techniques she uses. Of particular interest to me were her beautiful cast fruit and vegetables made from recycled Dartington crystal using a technique based on the lost wax casting method, which she refers to as the ‘lost vegetable process’! You can read about how she creates these tactile pieces on her website at www.assendenglass.co.uk/vegetables.asp.
Next we visited the idyllic garden studio of jeweller Wendy Penrose who also had quite a crowd watching her demonstrate how she creates her beautiful handmade silver and glass beads. Wendy was absolutely delightful, taking time to explain to my (rather grumpy and overtired) three year old exactly what she was doing, and allowing him to dig for treasure in her wonderful bead collection! I was transfixed watching Wendy work so deftly with the molten glass over a flame, creating each individual bead from scratch using vibrantly coloured sticks of glass.
I adore the coastal theme of Wendy’s work and couldn’t leave without buying a pretty pair of silver clam shell earrings. She has also inspired me to have a go at lampwork myself, and I’m now determined to take up the offer of Tracey Bell at The Old Kennels in Devon who had suggested that I try out one of her glass beadmaking workshops. To see more of Wendy’s work or to place an order, visit her website at www.wendypenrosejewellery.co.uk.
I do love a happy coincidence. Yesterday I slipped off for a spot of half term fun by taking my son to the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood. By a strange twist of fate which involved a small voice from the back of the car saying ‘mummy I need a wee RIGHT NOW!’ I took the next turning left and found myself parked outside Prick Your Finger, a fascinating haberdashery shop and textiles gallery which specialises in British wools and yarns.
Did you know that there are over 60 indigenous breeds of sheep in the British Isles? It was news to me. Owners Louise Harries and Rachael Matthews, who originally hail from the sheep farming areas of Wales and the Lake District, explained how they work with one of the last remaining British mills to create their own range of yarns, as well as offering a wide variety from British and rare breed sheep.
In this treasure trove of a shop you’ll find thick waxy ropes of wool from the seaweed-eating Ronaldsay sheep from the south Orkneys, Romney wool from the sheep which graze on Romney Marsh in Kent, and Herdwick wool from the hardy breed indigenous to the Lake District, as well as Swaledale, Wensleydale, British Alpaca and Cornish Organic, to name just a few.
You can catch up with Prick Your Finger at the Stanley Picker Gallery at Kingston University from 16-20th March, where they will be constructing the world’s first bicycle powered wool mill, turning unwanted sheep fleeces from within the M25 into a range of seductive yarns. Definitely one for the diary!
Hello! I'm Nicky Sherwood, Editor of FromBritainWithLove.com, and I'll be sharing all of my latest discoveries, news and offers as I trawl the nation in search of the very best British made products for you, your home, your family and friends.
