Susannah Conway

When I started putting this post together it was going to be about English seaside towns. But I found so many beautiful pictures that I went a little farther afield. And then the sun came out.

The first two photographs are by Susannah Conway. Susannah is a photographer and writer living and working in the UK. She describes her work as ‘my attempt to unravel the world around me, to see the beauty in all things’. You may also be familiar with Susannah through her Unravelling eCourses.

I love these photographs. They were originally taken using a Polaroid and the colours and hue remind me of old 70s pics. In fact when I think about it all my childhood memories are in this hue.

You can find Susannah at www.susannahconway.com.
Her work can be purchased through www.unravelling.etsy.com.

Marc Loret and Schu Girl

The next two pictures have been taken by two different photographers. The picture on the left is by French photographer Marc Loret. He came across ‘Le Manége’ or ‘The Carousel’ in Normandy. This is an unmatted print of an original photograph, digitally mixed with texture.

I’ve only ever seen carousels like this in films and photographs. How beautiful they used to make them.

You can purchase Marc’s work at www.MarcoLaGrenouille.etsy.com.

The picture on the right, entitled ‘Sea Grass’, was taken by Sue from ShuGirl. Sue teaches 8th grade but in one of her ‘escapes’ from education she took a course at the Rhode Island School of Design for Advertising and Print Design. This photograph was taken using the TtV method to give it a nostalgic feel. It is printed on the finest quality luster photographic paper for a deep, rich print.

You can purchase Sue’s photographs at www.schugirl.etsy.com.

Oh My Wonderful and The Cycling Artist

Now the next two pictures are different again. The left hand pic was taken in Rockport, Massachusetts by Jessica of Oh My Wonderful. Jessica explains, ‘There was this old rundown house on a dock with a wall full of colorful worn buoys that was absolutely beautiful!’ I wish our English buoys looked like this. Such lovely colours.

You can purchase Jessica’s work at www.ohmywonderful.etsy.com.

And the picture on the right shows ‘quintessential English beach huts in cheerful, summery, pale blue and white on a shingle beach’. They were taken ’somewhere on the south Kent coast’ by Tina, aka The Cycling Artist. In addition to photographs Tina also produces beautiful paintings which are based on her ongoing cycle journey around the coast of the UK.

To purchase Tina’s work go to www.thecyclingartist.etsy.com.

Gillian Bates

And then I found this. A pretty embroidered art canvas by Gillian Bates. This depicts a traditional English seaside scene - Eastbourne Pier, the prom and deck chairs. Gillian has used freehand machine embroidery on white cotton drill fabric to create the outlines. This is combined with an eclectic mix of reclaimed, recycled and new fabrics.

You can purchase Gillian’s work at www.gillianbates.etsy.com.

I’m yearning for a long weekend by the sea. Happy Friday everyone.

It was the butterflies that drew me to Julia Davey’s work. It’s such an unusual and contemporary way of looking at a Victorian concept. The semi porcelain butterfly wings are decorated with hand drawn transfers of cyclamen, seeds and tulips. They have the fragile, almost papery quality of their living counterparts.

Julia works from a small studio and produces small runs of fine art frames and bespoke tableware. She is fascinated by everyday life and documents her experiences through sketches and drawings which are then incorporated into her ceramics. Lustre in silver or gold is added for a decadent touch which complements the shiny clear glaze.

For further information visit www.juliadavey.com and shop direct at www.folksy.com/shops/juliadavey.

This year the V&A Village Fete celebrated its 10th year in traditional British style with a Jubilee celebration, rain and all! We’re sad to say it WAS the last ever Village Fete but with a whole host of talented designers presenting fun and imaginative games for a very up-for-it public to take part in everything was set for a very memorable send off.

In the corner of the John Madjeski garden stood our 8 foot kittens, which formed the centre piece for our game - Rock ‘n’ Roll Tiddlywinks! Players were invited to throw 2 out of their 12 ‘winks through the targets to the sounds of a 30 second snippet of the Ramones to win a limited edition Rock’n’Roll Kitten necklace. It was a frenzy of throwing, whooping, ducking and winning and the two days went passed in a flash. We did manage to quickly skip around the fete to sample some of the other amazing game . . . .

Illustrators Jenny Bull and Sarah Fotheringham from Here’s one I made Earlier were our delightful next door neighbours. Their stand Best In Show featured a game to test your dog training potential in a Crufts endorsed time trial. Picking out a pooch was fun enough let alone navigating them around the cute obstacle course. It was a winning combination!

Across the garden were the well dressed folks from Poke hosting Quick Draw, a wild west style saloon comprising of a Pictionary inspired drawing contest, fastest being the winner! The game was hosted by 5 cowboys, 2 saloon whores and 1 bartender - a truly authentic stand with brilliant details down to the holsters for the marker pens, and cold tea in the Jack Daniels bottle.

Crazy Cashpoint, created by the clever family bunch Mark, Katy, Ace and Zoom in true bank style rocked a crazy queue the whole weekend. Their pop art cashpoint was spitting out bundles of edible cash and other great prizes if you signed up for a credit card at their Bureau de crazy bank. But you had to keep up repayments on your home with a Crazy Bank credit agreement and talk to the friendly account managers for advice. A brilliant concept and lots of fun for all those cost-cutters out there!

If you didn’t come along don’t worry you can see all the fun of the fete on our Flickr page AND you can win your very own limited edition Rock’n’Roll Kitten necklace.

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A big thank you to Lady Luck’s Leona Baker for the guest blog.

Dandi is a Sydney-based design house specialising in the design and creation of innovative homewares. The team behind the company is a group of four female industrial designers who share a passion for beautiful and functional objects for the home. A fusion of fresh patterns and colours are combined with 50s nostalgic femininity to create a pretty range of coordinating screen-printed textiles and etched bamboo products.

The styling and photography of these products is just beautiful and does nothing for my obsession with ironing board covers.

Dandi ships internationally. Shop online at www.dandi.com.au.

Penelope Bolkovsky loves the idea that her clothes are worn by women half way across the world. She is based in Sydney and ships internationally. Deliberately never following trends, Penelope produces collections that will stand the test of time. The style and cut of her clothing is inspired by vintage and antique collections. Old movies, a love of 70s and 60s prints and Hollywood glamour have helped develop her style.

Each garment is a unique hand tailored piece of clothing. There are no more than 10 copies per design and many are one-offs.

For more information visit www.penelopered.com. To shop go directly to www.penelopered.etsy.com.

The above pics give a sneak preview of Penelope’s next collection which will launch in September.

To make way for new season stock, the summer sale starts 1st August. All items will be discounted by at least 10% - 20%. Hurry though, the sale ends when stocks run out or by the end of the month.

Building on the success of their Handmade Social events, Urbis will run a full-day screen printing workshop next month. Participants will have access to materials and support from experienced printmaker Ayesha Ansari.

The morning session will begin with creating designs and developing them into stencils. In the afternoon you will begin printing, using the stencils created in the morning session.

Bring your own fabrics to print onto. There will be time to print a good range of pillow case sets, cushion covers or a collection of t-shirts.

What: Screen Printing Day Workshop
When: Saturday 15th August OR Sunday 23rd August / 10.00 – 4.00 with 1 hour lunch break
Where: Urbis Learning Suite
Cost: £15 per person
Booking: Advance booking essential: email a.owen@urbis.org.uk or call 0161 605 8200.
Website: www.urbis.org.uk

Psst there’s 20% off over at Custom Made. Stock up on bags, brooches, jewellery, interiors and all manner of cuteness.

The sale lasts until 3rd August 9am. Just one week to snag yourself a bargain. Go to www.custommade.bigcartel.com.

If you like your jewellery quirky and full of charms, trinkets and knick-knacks then head over to This Charming Girl. Jackie has built up an eclectic collection with an abundance of recycled vintage components. Lovely, unusual pieces.

Shop online at www.thischarminggirl.com.