Each of the above has rolled off the vintage press of Green Chair Press. Susan Angebranndt combines her love of type, poetry and old cranky machines to make prints, fine press books and ephemera. Using an 1890s Chandler and Price platen press, she prints from handset type and photopolymer plates.

The Green Chair Press website is full of beautiful paper products and contains lots of interesting information about print and bookmaking processes.

For more information and to shop online go to www.greenchairpress.com.

The Best of Manchester is back. The annual competition that celebrates innovation in art, music and fashion is now open for entries.

Organised by Urbis, led by Peter Saville and judged by a panel of industry experts, the Best of Manchester spotlights the work of Manchester’s creative professionals. There is no age limit, no hype and no rules: just the best creative thinking by the best creatives working in Manchester today.

Anyone working in music, art and fashion – and who lives or works in Manchester - can enter. The prize? The chance to have work judged by a panel of industry experts, long-term professional development, a one-off cash prize and an exclusive exhibition at Urbis.

Deadline for entries: 30 June
Exhibition at Urbis: 8 August – 28 September

For more information visit www.urbis.org.uk/thebestofmanchester and http://bestofmanchester.wordpress.com

The people over at origin68 like t-shirts and like good design. They merged the two together and their funky, Manchester-based label was born.

They also like working with other like-minded designers and so if you have an idea get in touch.

And check out their online shop at www.origin68.com.

If you’re feeling a bit sluggish after the Bank Holiday, sit back and relax for a few minutes and read all about Elizabeth Carnahan of Longcroft Soap and a typical day in her life.

The Day Begins

My day usually begins at 7.15. The first thing I do is make my way to the kitchen and fire up the espresso machine. I like a few minutes of quiet time before waking the children for school, so I’ll drink a couple of cups of ristretto while I check my orders and email, and make a plan for the day.

Along with making soap, I also run a cosmetics-supply company. Most days, I’ll have a few orders to fill, so I head over to my warehouse after the morning school run to pack parcels. Once that’s done, I go back home and make soap.

‘The best bit is adding the fragrance and colours because they’re what give the soap its personality’

There are eight varieties of soap in my current collection, so I try to make at least five kilos of each kind every week. I find this helps me keep enough stock to meet both my retail and wholesale demand. The highlight of my day is making the soap batches because I love the creativity it affords me. It’s always exciting to the raw ingredients (oils, water, and caustic soda) come together to form the soap. The best bit is adding the fragrance and colours because they’re what give the soap its personality. I love adding my signature hearts to the tops of the soap loaves.

I also try to do a bit of packaging every day. It isn’t my favourite task, but at the same time, it isn’t demanding, and I find I do my best thinking while my hands are engaged with paper, tape, and scissors. I try to use only biodegradable packaging, and keeping the products interesting can be a challenge. Lately, I’ve been using recycled scrapbook paper to wrap my soaps, and I’m really pleased with how they look.

‘After lunch, I’ll take a short walk if the weather is nice’

Lunch is usually an informal affair and I’ll generally have something simple. My favourite lunchtime dish at the moment is a cheese toastie with homemade tomato soup. Not very exciting, but it hits the spot on a regular basis!

After lunch, I’ll take a short walk if the weather is nice. If the weather isn’t great, I’ll work on my latest Showcase piece for Saponifier Magazine.

Mid-afternoon is parcel pick-up time, so I make sure everything is ready to go when my courier arrives. Then it’s time for the afternoon school run and my working day is effectively over. I collect the children from school, help them with their homework, and start dinner.

I love being self-employed because it gives me the flexibility to run a successful business and manage a busy family life. It also gives me a tremendous amount of freedom, both personally and professionally. I feel extremely fortunate to work for myself because I wouldn’t be happy stuck in an office somewhere.

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You can buy Longcroft Soap products online at www.longcroftsoap.co.uk.

A big thank to Elizabeth for sharing her day with us.

The company name, Mysterious Cats, was enough to draw me to this quirky little DaWanda store.

After receiving a gift of crochet hooks and yarn, designer Ana Yogui began creating her own bags and accessories. She now sells them, along with sparkly jewellery and cute plushies at http://mysteriouscats.dawanda.com.

From 19th to 22nd June, Design Show Liverpool will showcase a selection of exciting new designers and well-known brands from the North West, the UK and the rest of the world. It is a flagship event and a key part of the European Capital of Culture 2008 programme.

There will be over 150 exhibitors from a number of sectors ranging from furniture, glass, ceramics, lighting and interiors, to jewellery fashion and accessories.

In addition, there will be a number of live events including catwalk shows, new product launches and children’s creative workshops.

For more information visit the website at www.designshowliverpool.com.

What: Design Show Liverpool
When: Thursday 19th to Sunday 22nd June 2008
Where: Contemporary Urban Centre, Greenland Street, Liverpool

Thank you to Judith Brown for giving me the heads-up.

Badges, cards, purses, bags - you can find them all at Littleclouds, complete with quirky and humorous illustrations. The artist focuses on ‘the less glamorous, undesirable and unpolished side of life. The mundane, the boring and the in between.’ Though the illustrations themselves are anything but mundane. See for yourself at www.littleclouds.co.uk.

‘Beautiful Original Cheerful Jewellery’ is the strap line for the Lucy Wallis collection and you can see why. It all started with a chance meeting. A couple of years back Lucy met up with a friend and couldn’t help admiring her beautiful glass lariat. This triggered something in Lucy and she began working on her own designs.

As well as the signature lariats, the collection includes pendants, bracelets, earrings and rings. Orders are sent out beautifully wrapped and won’t break the bank.

Shop at www.lucywallis.co.uk.