Clutter City is a new alternative market for Norwich. We provide a platform for creative independent crafters / artists / collectives to sell their work and focus on original, quirky and unique items including DIY clothes, jewellery, badges, sewn items, paper goods, prints, paintings, comics, zines and more!

Plus live music, DJs and tasty take-out food in the cafe bar.

*Xmas* Clutter City
Saturday 22 November : 10am - 4pm
FREE ENTRY

Come and buy some early Xmas prezzies that you won’t find on the Norwich High Street and listen to some twinkly live music with a glass of warm spicy apple cider.

Website: http://norwichartscentre.org.uk/cluttercity

I caught up with Rachael Elwell of the Kings Arms Knitting Club to ask her some questions about the group, buying handmade and knitting in general. Here’s what she had to say.

The Knitting ‘Renaissance’

At the time when I was younger, in the 80s and 90s, knitting wasn’t as popular as in previous decades and unless you had a relative who knitted in your company, you weren’t really that aware of the activity. These days you can get access to just about anything via the internet.

I think the resurgence of knitting has a lot to do with internet forums, blogging and the availability of free patterns, online tutorials and being able to buy just about any yarn and yarn related accessory on the market via online shops. You can very easily get inspired by projects that people are making right across the globe and even contact the makers directly right from your home.

I also think that today we are in a time when nostalgia and vintage style is very popular and to make connections with an activity that your grandmother most probably did throughout her life is really appealing. People like to reinvent and bring things back into fashion and I think knitting and crochet are just a progression of this.

The very idea that you can make something beautiful and functional from a ball of string and two sticks is just amazing

Knitting is a wonderful way to relax whilst also being productive and creative. The very idea that you can make something beautiful and functional from a ball of string and two sticks is just amazing.

I enjoy the whole process of knitting right from the start: going to the yarn shop and choosing from the hundreds of different colours, textures and fibres, through to finishing a project, which is more often than not a gift for someone else. Presenting a knitted gift to a friend or family member is so lovely and meaningful.

I also enjoy knitting as a fine art medium. I have recently introduced knitting and crochet into my visual arts practice and it’s opened so many doors for me from community-based workshops to working with fellow artists on collaborative projects.

The best way to learn any creative skill is to learn from others first hand

Starting the knitting club was a personal way for me to advance my skills in knitting and crochet. When the knitting club first started my knitting skills were basic and I believe that the best way to learn any creative skill is to learn from others first hand.

I felt confident from the beginning that I could teach people wanting to learn basics of knitting but I also wanted to reach out to people with more advanced knitting skills to come and share their expertise and knowledge with one and other, making it a real community effort to bring people with similar interests and passions for knitting and crochet together.

We invite interested passers by into the community to get involved

The idea behind the Kings Arms Knitting Club is to primarily bring people of all creative abilities, backgrounds and sexes into a public meeting space to practice their skills in knitting and crochet.

We also engage in group activity to allow people to learn from one and other, be inspired and make projects in which they may not normally have the opportunities or access to such creative processes.
Bringing the club to a public social space and one not normally associated with crafting activity clubs, also allows visitors to the pub to see creative works in progress and to engage with an activity they may have heard of but not seen in the making. The result is often one of amazement and intrigue. We invite interested passers by into the community to get involved if they so wish or just to pop by, say hello and ask questions about the activities taking place.

We also take this opportunity to raise money for charities with great success.

You know that what you are buying has the personality of the maker in it

The uniqueness of handmade goods is very appealing and you know that what you are buying has the personality of the maker in it, unlike mass-produced goods. There are thousands of crafters making clothing, jewellery, ornamental objects etc, but each maker will have their own special way of making.

When you are buying a handmade object you re also getting a piece of the maker’s soul – this makes you eager to know more about the designer and the skills and passions that have gone into making it and therefore you become very connected to an item.

I believe that handmade goods are not planned with the idea of becoming obsolete, the creations are more often than not usually meant to last a lifetime.

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The Kings Arms Knitting Club meets every Monday from 7pm until 9pm in the Snug at the Kings Arms, Salford. Everyone is welcome!

The attack of the time-warp wives? No! It’s the return of Made In The Shade at The Lighthouse, Glasgow!

Innovative shopping event ‘Made In The Shade‘ launched at The Lighthouse, Scotland’s Centre for Architecture, Design & The City, on 24th May 2008. Attracting over 40 creative stallholders and over 2000 visitors, Glasgow’s discerning shoppers and handmade lovers embraced the arrival of this DIY style showcase and relished in the exclusivity of the handmade one-off.

Made In The Shade (a slang phrase, popular in the 1950s and synonymous with guaranteed success) returns to The Lighthouse this Autumn on Saturday 25th October. Due to demand from local designers and makers, organisers have increased the size of the Autumn and Winter events. Now taking place in both Gallery 5 and the Vitra Suite at The Lighthouse, Made In The Shade II will now play host to 50+ independent creative businesses from across the spectrum of crafty disciplines and from across Scotland.

Made In The Shade is organised by a small team of Glasgow-based independent business owners and creative entrepreneurs alongside The Lighthouse events team. The ethos of Made In The Shade is rooted in a commitment to promoting neo-craft, design talent and indie business. Organisers are devoted to nurturing the event as a DIY, grassroots enterprise. The team’s talents span numerous craft and design disciplines not to mention various business fields and the group has crafty connections with the creative networks such as The Lighthouse, the Creative Entrepreneurs Club and the Glasgow Craft Mafia. The group has already begun work on the Made In The Shade Festive shopping weekender!

What: Made In The Shade Market
When: Saturday 25th October 2008 | 10.30am - 5pm
Where: The Lighthouse, Mitchell Lane, Glasogow, G1 3NU
Admission: Free
More Info: Made In The Shade

PARIS FASHION SALE IN MUSIC COMING TO BRICKLANE!!!

Wish U Wel! presents
Viens dans mon dressing!

Come and discover 22 up and coming french designers!

Join us for a Unique Shopping Experience in Music!
with Esmeralda and Les Moches and VarOslaV

Saturday 13th Sept | 01.30 pm - 07.30 pm
Sunday 14th Sept | 10.30 am - 07.30 pm
The Dray Walk Gallery off Brick Lane Next door to the Big Chill Bar - Liverpool St.

£2.50 admission / purchases in cash only!

For more info contact: info@wishyouwell.biz

Visit: www.mademoisellelek.wordpress.com

Sustainable knitwear label Keep & Share have just announced details of their latest round of knitting workshops. At one special event held to celebrate National Knitting Week, participants can knit Keep & Share’s signature style, the Gladys Cardi, in a single weekend.

The Gladys Cardi has become a Keep & Share classic since its introduction in 2005, and the two-day course offers knitwear fans the chance to make their own cardigan (in a choice of sizes and colours) from start to finish. No knitting experience is required as Amy will guide participants through the making process, using her trusty chunky knitting machines and signature seamless joining techniques. The Sunday session finishes at lunchtime with a celebratory meal at the village pub.

The course runs at the Keep & Share workshop, just outside Hereford, on Saturday 11 October, 10am to 4.30pm, and Sunday 12 October, 10am to 1pm. It costs £135 per person, including materials, equipment, refreshments and lunches.

The ‘Knit your own Gladys Cardi’ course is just one of a series of events planned for the autumn. A beginners’ machine knitting course will run on August 23/24 and November 15/16, while those wishing to get busy with a pair of needles will be interested in a day course covering the basics of hand knitting on 6 September. Further events are planned for 2009, and bespoke knitting workshops for groups can also be arranged.

Details of all courses are available at www.keepandshare.co.uk.

Thank you to Dionne Swift of Host Studios for this guest blog post.

Huddersfield and its surrounding area is exceptionally fortunate to be home to a plethora of nationally respected creative talents, in a vast array of disciplines: jewellery, textiles, painting, sculpture, ceramics and furniture.

HOST is now in its fifth year and provides a unique opportunity to visit the artists in their own studios and workshops. You can watch them at work, see what inspires them, perhaps have a go yourself and get inspired!

It’s also an opportunity to buy work direct from the artist, and to chat to them about their thoughts and inspiration for your chosen piece of work. You could also commission a special piece to be made exclusively for you.

Fifty artists in 22 studios will be opening their doors for two weekends at the end of September. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to explore their private and personal spaces of spontaneity, innovation and deliberation.

If you would like to support HOST and benefit from invitations to VIP launch events and discounts from artists, log on to the website and register as a Friend of HOST for only £20 a year.

Saturday & Sunday 20 & 21 September 11am to 6pm
Saturday & Sunday 27 & 28 September 11 am to 6pm
Launch Parties at all venues Friday 19 September 6pm to 9pm

I recently read a forum post on pricing handmade goods and started wondering ‘why should a person buy handmade?’ You could say it is because handmade is:

- Unique and/or individual
- Well-made and/or high quality
- A high level of innovation
- Fair labour practices
- Traditional skills are used

However, I disagree that these are good enough reasons. Go and wander through top-end shops and you will find products that match all of these criteria.

I think that the main motivation that people buy handmade goods is for the story. But be careful because you can find a story in exclusive boutiques too. You can go shopping with a friend and talk about how elegantly the items are layed out, what the packaging is like, how you decided on your purchase . . . that is a story too. However, what is the ‘value’ behind the story? This is where I feel handmade wins hands-down.

When you decide to buy handmade you are a part of the whole story and not just a consumer, a number on a sales chart. For example: You walk along the street and you see a man carving a wooden sculpture. You stop and watch him in amazement. You see that in front of him are a few pieces for sale. You buy one of these. Why? Because when you get back home you have a story that is more precious to you than anything you could ‘buy’: you met the man himself, you saw him carve, you have an experience and this sculpture, the one you bought, reminds you of this precious moment.

That is why you buy handmade. You know the maker and the story behind your product. You know where it came from and you were a part of that. Your story does not begin after you have purchased the product.

The story of handmade has value.

Guest blog post, written by Wendren Milford from Wren.