Just take a look at these beautiful photographs by Polaroids and Pinholes. There’s something so pure about them. The prints are created using pinhole cameras, polaroids, photograms and traditional darkroom techniques. There’s no digital intervention or touching up, just simple and true pictures.

Illustrator / photographer Rowena Dugdale describes them in her own words, ‘Like the delicious static on a vinyl record, any dust specks, light leaks, torn edges or quirks are an integral and honest part of the process and character of this body of work and have been deliberately left in rather than airbrushed out.’

You can buy online at www.polaroidsandpinholes.etsy.com.

Do you remember Margo from the Good Life? She was my favourite character - very glamorous and very uptight. Well in this case Love Margo refers to the luxurious knitwear company headed by Catherine Hallinan. It’s so called after the hypothetical daughter of Tom & Barbara Good (of course named after the original Margo). The collection’s ethos is about getting away from the scrum of shopping and instead choosing more carefully and less frantically. A bit like Tom really, leaving the rat race to live ‘the good life’.

Each garment is designed and knitted by Catherine in 100% Italian merino wool. I love the Ava and Evie cardigans. You can wear them in two different ways. Either hip length with a big scarf neck or longer (to cover your bum) and with a shorter scarf neck.

Shop online at www.lovemargo.co.uk.

Oh, and if you’ve never heard of Margo or The Good Life check it out here.

After graduating from university last summer, Candice Wren has been very busy launching her beautiful range of pashminas. Each pashmina is hand-picked and then silk screened with Candice’s own illustrations and sketches. The current collection includes print and applique from rare vintage fabrics and pretty embellishments such as beadwork and stitching.

For more information visit www.candicewren.co.uk.

As it’s Friday I thought we’d go for something litte bit different today to round off the week. This beautiful jewellery is hand formed and hand painted by Surly-Ramics. There’s an illustrated step by step guide to how the pieces are created on the Surly-Ramics website. However, in brief each piece starts life as a lump of clay. It is then formed and shaped and the design is drawn directly onto the clay. After firing, painting and re-firing the items are ready to wear.

Each and every piece is unique and carries a stamp on the back to guarantee its authenticity. So you’ll know that you’re getting a truly original and beautiful piece of wearable art.

For more information go to www.surlyramics.com. To shop online go to www.surly.etsy.com.

But why so surly? Read about the talented artist Amy Davis Roth.

A little while ago I blogged about Bonbi Forest and Lee May’s menagerie of animal doodles. Since then Lee May has expanded her empire and created the Bonbi Forest Indie Emporium. As well as Lee May’s own range of hand printed t-shirts and quirky jewellery, you can now shop for indie inspired clothing, accessories, zines and homewares. Designers include Fluffstuffs, Cat and Bang, Mr PS and Gallery A. They’re all interesting and original and very very cute.

Check them out at www.bonbiforest.com.

I’m always looking for handmade products that have been recycled. Not only are they more eco-friendly but they’re an instant talking point.

This gorgeous knitwear is made by ThinkingMama. Each piece has been reconstructed from old sweaters and then felted to give it a soft and fuzzy texture. Many of the pieces have a science or nature theme. I love the coffee sleeve with the caffeine molecule.

Check them out at www.thinkingmama.etsy.com.

The other day my Venus Zine newsletter dropped into my inbox and I was drawn to an article on Getting some ink: How to score good press. I clicked through to the Venus Zine website and found some interesting articles written by Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching fame. They fall under the heading of Crafting a Business and include topics such as getting into the press, book deals and tips for starting small businesses. They make a very interesting read for small indie / craft businesses.

And if you have your own burning question then contact Jenny via the site and she will pick one question a month to answer in the column.

Go straight to Venus Zine
Go to Sublime Stitching
Artwork by Alicia Traveria

I met Jen Lewis last year at Fresh on the Market in Preston. Her stall was full of beautiful canvases combining paintings, illustrations and photography. She has recently expanded her collection to include pretty household textiles and accessories made from reclaimed fabrics.

Jen has kindly agreed to share a typical day in her life with us.

A Day in the Life of Jen Lewis

Up with the Lark

I work as a cleaner part time so Thursday to Saturday I’m up at 5.50am for work (and 7.50am every other Sunday)! On days I’m not cleaning I get up around 7.30am, if the weather outside isn’t being too cruel I’ll go out for a short walk to wake myself up, then back to the house for breakfast, which I try to keep healthy, although sometimes the easiest thing is a bowl of sugary cereal, and I have been known to prepare the odd “full English” on a Saturday morning! I don’t always have the TV on, but when I do it’s usually the digital sports news channel!

In an Artist’s Studio

I work from the spare room in my house, where I have a large work table, computer, loads of drawers and boxes full of materials, plus plenty of great books and magazines for inspiration!

I check my emails first thing, and if I have any orders that have been paid for the first job is to get them packed up and posted, luckily the Post Office is only a short walk so I’m there quite a lot, running errands! If I need any materials I would usually pop out first thing and get these too. Even though Longridge is a small market town, there are many useful facilities and shops, which mean the expensive bus trips into Preston are thankfully rare!

Then it’s back home to concentrate on either promoting my work through the web, or getting on with works in progress or sometimes painting commissions. Jimmy my pet budgie spends a lot of the day in his cage on the drawer unit next to my computer, and has sometimes been known to fly around and try to sabotage the computer keyboard! His constant chatter keeps me company throughout the day!

A Spot of Lunch

After sitting at a computer, over a canvas or sewing machine all morning, lunch is often a welcome break! My mum works in and around the Longridge area, so if she’s in the vicinity she will sometimes pop in for a spot of lunch with me. I also like to get out for some fresh air and get another short walk in around this time. Often I will come across something in the morning that I need for the afternoon’s work, so this is also the perfect time to pick any essential materials up.

Clocking Off

I usually get finished around 5-5.30pm but if I’ve been cleaning in the morning; I’m really ready to leave the studio from 4pm onwards! I cook myself tea, trying to be as healthy as possible, although I slip to the occasional pizza or Chinese takeaway when the budget allows! Some evenings I will carry on working, or browsing the internet for inspiration and looking at others’ work. If I have work the next day, I’m usually in bed by 8-8.30pm; but a big part of my life is watching football, and if Preston North End are playing I’m either down at the Deepdale ground for the evening, or listening intently on the radio (the same scenario occurs on all Saturdays between August and May)! I’m a passionate fan and, believe it or not, shouting at those players really helps me relax after a hard day being creative!

Every once in a while there’s a gig in one of the local towns or cities (mainly Manchester), and my mum and I love these evenings where we dance the night away with great rock bands; believe it or not another great source of relaxation time!

Thing I Like Best About Being an Indie Designer/Artist

It sounds silly, but I just love to be creative in general, and to come up with fantastic original ideas. I also like to think that my products can brighten up people’s lives (cheesy as it sounds) and that I can make a worthwhile difference somehow!

Things I Like the Least About Being an Indie Designer/Artist.

I honestly can’t think of anything. Apart from a bit more cash flow (!), there’s nothing that I’d want to change, I LOVE being an indie designer/artist!

For more infoemation read Jen’s blog at www.illustratorjen.blogspot.com.
Buy online at www.illustratorjen.etsy.com.