Welcome to the Indie Quarter!

From 15 March to 12 April Liberty will be running a very special show to celebrate all things ‘quilty’. Quilty Pleasures will run alongside the V&A’s ‘Quilts 1700 – 2010′ exhibition which explores 300 years of British quilt making.

As part of the exhibition Liberty will offer a brand new collection of 18 limited-edition fabrics. Inspired by the V&A’s archive of British Quilts, these fabrics have been specifically created for quilt making and will be on sale at Liberty and at the V&A Shop throughout March 2010.

Avid quilters will be able to purchase Liberty’s Worn and Washed vintage fabric bundles. Each pack is an individual blend of soft reclaimed and washed fabrics, colour coordinated and ready to sew into strips in order to create a beautiful quilt.

I miss London. . . .

What: Quilty Pleasures at Liberty
When: 15 March to 12 April 2010
Address: Liberty, Great Marlborough Street, London
More Info: www.liberty.co.uk

by Jenny

I do quite like dual-purpose objects. You know, a pen with a clock on it, a cap with a solar panel fan on it, a fire-alarm with a snooze button on it. And so on and so on.

But I’d say this is the best of the lot. Stewart and Patricia Would from ‘Tree Gems’ have come up with a great little accessory to combine a memory stick and a set of post-it notes.

The 2GB USB is able to hold between 1000 and 2000 photos, and let’s face it, you’d have to be a real David Bailey to have that many photos.

The stick itself is made from sycamore and houses plenty of 3″ x 1″ post-its. And when you run out you simply top them up.

The cost of this great little pint-sized device is a mere £18.95.

Buy online here: www.folksy.com/shops/TreeGems

By Joe

I don’t know about you but I can’t go to work without fulfilling my craving for a good cup of coffee.

Sometimes, I need two before I can even begin to think about doing anything remotely functional, like getting up.

Fortunately for me, I only have a short trip to work but for a lot of people, the daily commute can be the most stressful time of the day; jam-packed trains, chock-a-block roads, incompetent cyclists etc.

Surely the best way to relieve some of the hassle would be to find a coffee shop and buy yourself a decent cup of coffee. However, a common problem with the modern-day coffee cup is that the outside can get extremely hot.

Step forward Jennifer Westwood’s ‘Coffee Cozy’.

Jennifer, from ‘Mouthy Mitts’, has come up with a solution to a common, yet not widely recognised, problem which for £10 seems like something of a steal.

They come in a range of colours, are suitable to be put in the washing machine and can fit around any size coffee cup. The simplicity of the design means that once you’ve bought one, you’re unlikely to need to buy another one for a very long time.

Buy online at www.folksy.com/shops/MouthyMitts

by Joe

Say hello to Joe McGonigle. He’s our new blogger and will be adding posts over the next few weeks.

Joe’s into footie (Leeds United - but we won’t hold that against him), enjoys art by Georges-Pierre Seurat and is looking forward to providing a male perspective on Indie Quarter.

I hope you’ll join me in welcoming him.

On 28 April The Lowry celebrates its 10th birthday. And what better way to celebrate and to pay homage to the art centre’s namesake by commissioning a mass installation of everyday people going about their everyday lives. The only difference is that the everyday people will all be naked.

The Lowry has commissioned New York-based photographer, Spencer Tunick to create an installation across eight locations in the two neighbouring cities on 1 and 2 May 2010. The artist is now looking for 1,000 volunteers to shed their clothing and their inhibitions and take part in the project. The resulting photographic and film work will then be shown at The Lowry from 12 June to 26 September as part of the exhibition, Everyday People.

Tunick is renowned for his naked installations and previous locations include Sydney, Montreal, Melbourne, Santiago, Barcelona and Gateshead. However, this marks a departure from his usual style and will be his first visual response to the work of another artist. In contrast to his usual, static works, Tunick will break new ground by capturing the movement of everyday people within each photograph.

Tunick explains, “Salford and Manchester presents an intriguing prospect for my latest UK installation based both on the rich industrial heritage that exists across both cities and the art of LS Lowry. LS Lowry’s paintings depicting the mass of everyday people who contributed to the industrial machine of the 20th century, also provide an interesting frame of reference in terms of the compositional possibilities of the installations.”

If you would like to get involved then go to www.thelowry.com/tunick to register your interest. You’ll be pleased to note that participants will be transported to the locations in heated buses.

So what do you think? I’m a great admirer of L S Lowry’s work and think this is a grand and ambitious tribute. I won’t be getting my kit of though. I’m far too inhibited for that. But I look forward to the exhibition with interest.

I’ve never been too hot at gardening. Plants seem to wilt the minute they enter the house and I then manage to over or under water them. And there’s the maintenance too. All that planting the right bulbs together, getting the soil just right and making sure they’re not too much in the shade or too much in the sunlight.

That’s what appeals to me about GroBox Gardens. You simply plant the box. Really, it’s that simple. Just open it up and plant it in the garden, container or window box and year after year the flowers will come up and in bigger clumps each time.

Each GroBox Garden is designed by horticulturist Jayne Lawton who has trained with the Royal Horticultural Society. The boxes are biodegradable and will rot down naturally in the soil. In fact they’re made from organic sustainable, recycled and biodegradable material that benefits the garden ecosystem.

As well as flowering plants you can select herbs and vegetables too. Jayne has handpicked each little garden to offer maximum colour, scent or delicious veggies or herbs. And they’re a bargain at around £6.25 each.

Buy online from www.groboxgardens.co.uk.

Don’t forget Mother’s Day on Sunday!

I love this apron but don’t let its pretty design fool you. Made from a sturdy 10oz cotton twill (like denim jeans) it’s suitable for the toughest of kitchen or barbecue environments. I’m thinking it would make a great Mother’s Day gift.

Personally I’m not a big fan of cooking and other domestic chores. Therefore, I console myself with the thought that if you must spend time in the kitchen then you might as well surround yourself with aesthetically pleasing objects. All of the above are available to buy online from Hunkydory Home.

Teacake Apron - £15.00
Birds Designer Dishcloth - £3.75
Blue Daisy Peg Bag - £19.00

PS I do enjoy pegging out the washing and mopping the kitchen floor. I realise I may be alone in this.

I hope you all had a good weekend. The following survey dropped into my inbox this morning and I thought I’d share. For anyone living, working or visiting Manchester on a regular basis, would you like to see an independent market in the Northern Quarter?

If you have an opinion on this please complete the survey. It’ll only take a few minutes. There are just 10 questions.

Link to survey: www.surveymonkey.com/s/KN9PK6Y

Thank you!