Avant Garde Crafts

BLOG MOVING!

2010-10-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

This blog has moved to...
http://joannawilliams1.blogspot.com/
as I feel the name no longer suits the nature my posts! Please join me here for many more exciting posts, and back posts from this old blog.

Vintage at Goodwood 13, 14, 15 August 2010

2010-08-11T05:32:00.000-07:00

Vintage is a brand new event at the Goodwood Estate, which is famous for their motor festivals in West Sussex. It aims to take the essence of the music festival and add a fashion and a design aesthetic that references every era from the Forties to the present day. There is a roller disco, make up and hair dressers, vintage shops, a high street and many music venues each themed as a decade. Come along dressed in the style of your favourite decade and look the part. You can still buy tickets for the event online so don’t miss out!

www.vintageatgoodwood.com

Tea fit for a monkey!

2010-07-31T12:44:00.001-07:00

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Lovely Lutterworth!

2010-07-19T10:47:00.001-07:00

I have arrived in Lutterworth ready to start my placement tomorrow. The farm I am staying on is so peaceful and so is my view.

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Fresh Sea Air

2010-07-19T04:17:00.000-07:00

I cycled to Littlehampton's lovely beach today; it was so tranquil and calm. And of course nice to breath the fresh sea air before I head to the Midlands for my placement at George at Asda's head office working in the ladieswear design team.

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Extreme Sticky Note Experiments

2010-07-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing video!! Post-it Note experiments!

Bunting Dress

2010-07-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

I had a plain black dress which needed some fun adding to it. I found a scrap of stripey summery fabric which would be perfect for a bunting applique design. The only bit left to do now is to couch on the cording joining all the triangles together.
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Cockpit Art's Open Studio

2010-06-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

I went to Cockpit Art's Open Studio in Deptford, London with Thornback and Peel as they were exhibiting and I found some really nice textiles and ceramics. I liked Lizzie Allen's quirky hand screen printed wallpaper and recognized it from Liberty's.

www.lizzieallen.co.uk

Louisa Taylor Ceramics

Louisa Taylor's ceramics were really lovely and combined the glazed and unglazed textures together. I brought a little green jug that caught my eye.

Katharine Morling

These were amazing clay sculptures most of which were life sized! They are made out of clay then painted white and black lines added to add life. They are so quirky and very detailed.
www.katharinemorling.co.uk

TwentyTwentyOne

2010-06-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

This was a nice design shop full of goodies! TwentyTwentyOne - Upper Street, lsington.

www.twentytwentyone.com

Atelier

2010-06-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Atelier was another really eclectic shop in Islington, on Upper Street. I especially loved the raven 3D birds and this cushion with the printed spotty skirt.

www.atelierabigailahern.com

Smug

2010-06-16T12:19:00.000-07:00

While in London I found 'Smug' in Islington, on Camden Passage. It was a lovely little shop with a very retro feel, it stocked a large range of homeware and apparel. Thornback and Peel also sell here as you can see there aprons hanging up in the last photo. Also visit the website its equally as lovely!

www.ifeelsmug.com

Margaret Howell

2010-06-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

Fun shop window on Wigmore Street, London.

Funny find...

2010-06-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

Evening Standard - Monday 14th June 2010

Thornback and Peel

2010-06-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

On Monday I start work experience with Thornback and Peel which is really exciting. I love their quirky designs.

www.thornbackandpeel.co.uk

NTU Textile Design 2010 Degree Show

2010-06-09T14:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my favourite bits from NTUs Textile Degree Show. All of the work was amazing and has inspired us for 3rd year!

Tatty Devine

2010-05-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

Tatty Devine in Tate Modern

www.tattydevine.com

Blood, Sweat and Luxuries. BBC 1

2010-05-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in Globalisation then this series on BBC 1 shows a very good insight. It shows how 6 British consumers cope under the working conditions, living conditions and wages of people in Africa and Asia for the luxuries trade. Leather, Gems and Coffee have already been aired but you can still watch them on BBC iPlayer.

Visit the programs website: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s6103

Uneven Geographies; Art and Globalisation

2010-05-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

'Uneven Geographies; Art and Globalisation' is the new exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary. It displays the work of 14 artists from 5 continents representing this huge and complicated subject of Globalisation. Where in our world now is so easy to buy thing and not think where it has come from, where people and products can all move so freely its hard to keep track. The exhibition shows this uneven spread of the wealth and harsh manual labour.

'Nobody wants to see: Three of the richest men in the world own as much as six hundred million of the poorest people.'
Mladen Stilinovic, Nobody Wants To See, 2009.

I thought this quote was very powerful and shows this uneven spread of the worlds wealth.

Exhibition: 8 May 2010 - 4 Jul 2010 Nottingham Contemporary, Weekday Cross, Nottingham.

www.nottinghamcontemporary.org

'Caught Up in the Frame of the Revolution'

2010-05-09T12:10:00.000-07:00

On Friday I went to the private view of an exhibition called 'Caught Up in the Frame of the Revolution' at Lee Rosy's tea shop in Nottingham. Which consisted of illustration, screen prints and up cycled mirrors. It features the work of Alf Design, Chloe Blount designs, Christina Giljohann designs and Kathleen Gillen and is open till 31st May so definitely worth a visit.

Picturesque Bergamo

2010-04-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

Views of Bergamo where we stayed just outside of Milan for the Furniture Fair. The old town was very beautiful and traditional Italian architecture. The Duomo in Bergamo had a very intricately painted ceiling which was mesmerising!

Finally I have found my Tea Set!

2010-04-08T09:11:00.000-07:00

For such a long time I have been looking for a nice tea set as a belated 21st present. I eventually chose the set above 'Provence Flowers' as it is colourful and pretty from Cath Kidston.

www.cathkidston.co.uk

Liberty's London

2010-04-06T04:57:00.000-07:00

I also visited one of my favourite places for inspiration this weekend... Liberty's. Again it didn't fail to capture my interest and I even bought a top from their Target collection. I fell in love with it as its a classic 60's print and really funky. They have also covered one of the outside walls in one of the classic prints to celebrate the collection.
I also saw these dog mannequins in the window of Banana Republic and loved the array of different sized dogs.

A Trip to London Zoo

2010-04-02T10:36:00.000-07:00

For my next project I am going to look at Anita Roddick and all of her work that she did for the rainforest to stop its destruction. At London Zoo a new enclosure has just opened called 'Rainforest Life' which consists of a rain forest atmosphere which the viewers can walk into and experience this rainforest climate in London. It contains real rain, is very humid and has over 1000 inhabitants including monkeys, sloth and an armadillo. My favourite animal to watch was the Emperor monkeys with white beards playing in the trees. The sloths were also amazing to watch as they spend their life slowly climbing around upside down! The iguana was also really cool sunbathing! London Zoo was better than I was expecting and the rainforest enclosure was facinating as you could get so close to the animals, I would recomend anyone to visit but do search around for a 2 for 1 voucher as ticket prices are a little bit pricey!

Nottighams Handmade Nation Event

2010-03-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

Nottinghams Handmade Nation Event at Broadway Cinema this weekend was a great success, we had two film showings of 'Handmade Nation' by Faythe Levine in the morning and a craft fair in the Meze bar running all day and late into the evening. There was also a raffle, colouring competition and several craft demos. I think everyone enjoyed themselves and we are looking forward to working with Broadway again.

Check out our website for more upcoming events www.nottinghamcraftmafia.com

Foale and Tuffin

2010-02-20T04:28:00.000-08:00

The 'Foale and Tuffin: Made In England' exhibition at the Fashion and Textiles Museum London was really exciting and was full of bright and inspiring prints many were made by Liberty's.

Marion Foale and Sally Tuffin left The Royal College of Art with only £200 to set up a shop which would appeal to the new youth. The exhibition was arranged into several sections and also had a mock up of the iconic shop on Carnaby Street. There was a video playing with photographs from the 60's putting the garments on display in context.

The exhibition runs for a few more days and is definitely worth a visit.

Premier Vision and Indigo, Paris 12th Feb 2010

2010-02-15T08:47:00.000-08:00

The 'don't pull threads out' or 'cut chunks' from the samples signs!!
We visited Premier Vision a show of fabric swatches being sold to buyers from the different fashion houses to use in their S/S 2011 collections. It was so big and overwhelming, there were lots of different sections; dividing up the different materials and also putting them into sections of how they would be used.

The part I enjoyed most was Indigo, the area with 'textile design and creation.' In this part there were lots of digital prints and floral was a very popular theme running through the show. The University stalls were probably the most interesting as they were not as commercial as some of the other stalls and mixed disciplines more than others.

The Mod Amount area was full of stalls with buttons, trimmings and zips, all created for the S/S 2011 garments.

As students we were often told to not touch the samples as we wouldn't be buying them and we were not allowed to look at some if the button books for some reason! The companies generally don't like the Friday as it is the student day and they wont make as much money as they would on the other days, and we could sense this.

Colette, Paris Feb 2010

2010-02-15T08:27:00.000-08:00

Erdems S/S 2010 collection

While in Paris we visited Colette a shop which people often go to be seen in. It is like a mini department store, with books and gadgets, cds, phones, shoes, a perfume section and Erdems S/S 10 collection. It also has a restaurant and a gallery upstairs! It wasn't a very big space but it was laid out well. The down ground floor felt a bit like Urban Outfitters in London.

The slightly rude staff also went round cleaning up with disinfectant spray, spraying air freshener and straighting things up people had moved them! Photographs weren't allowed that's why they are all a bit rubbish, security guards jumped in front of my camera on two occasions!

Erdems Spring Summer 2010 Collection was lovely to see up close the fabrics were printed with a bright large floral pattern.

Final Print Collection Presentation

2010-01-25T13:25:00.000-08:00

My presentation for my final print collection! Exciting and fun but glad its over, now for some sleep!

10% off all Homemade Goods at Get Made, Monday 1st February!

2010-01-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

The Nottingham Craft Mafia's next shopping evening is coming up so come along on Monday 1st February to get 10% off all our homemade goods, perfect as Valentines Day is just around the corner! So treat that special someone! Hooray for handmade!

The Knottingham Trent Knit Society are also haveing a colaboration event on the same eveing with the Nottingham Craft Mafia which is very exciting.

First 3 metre print repeat!

2010-01-13T08:11:00.000-08:00

This was a group project which involved us designing a 3 metre print repeat pattern using two colours, combining our imagery for the silk screen then hand printing it. It was a lengthy process but we all really enjoyed it and are pleased with the results. First we printed with an olive green and dark grey then we changed the green for a pale blue and it looked much fresher and clearer. I enjoyed this kind of printing and definitely think I will try it again.

Eerie Alotments

2010-01-05T11:28:00.000-08:00

I loved this photograph I took as it looks really eerie with the sky. I think my film SLR will have to come out again after a long hibernation!

A Snowy New Years Day

2010-01-02T13:07:00.000-08:00

We woke up in Hythe in Kent on New Years Day to a few inches of snow! So after a late breakfast snow ball fights and snow men building was on the agenda. What a nice way to start 2010!

Knit and Stitch Show at Harrogate 2009

2009-12-12T12:55:00.000-08:00

At the Knit and Stitch Show there was some really inspiring work and I came home with a big bag of goodies. These lovely books are made by Libby Smith. The layers and texture makes them so fascinating and also the colours a really nice too.

This collagraph print was created by Diane Smith. Collagraphs are so interesting as they capture lots of textures and the tonal changes are also very lovely.

Momiji Competition

2009-12-08T13:02:00.001-08:00

I read on the Momiji Blog that they are now judging the dolls! How exciting! This is my doll that I entered, its a Farmer called Farmer Ji with a little piggy pal! I designed it to support British farming and to buy local. The secret message underneath reads: 'Plant some love today and let it grow.'

Welcome to Momiji

2009-12-08T13:02:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Momiji

Liberty's Chirstmas Window!!

2009-12-02T07:45:00.000-08:00

I found this window display on Liberty's blog, I love the huge robin its so sweet and the whole village of little bird boxes are just as lovely. I am going to look at fabrics at the weekend which should be really fun.

http://blog.liberty.co.uk

The amazing Toft Alpaca Shop!!

2009-11-22T14:29:00.000-08:00

I saw these most amazing bags today at Harrogate's Knit and Stitch Show. I love the shape of them and the massive button! They are called bulb bags but sadly are £80 for the kit. But I do love them so maybe in the future!

Take a look at the website...

www.thetoftalpacashop.co.uk/home.aspx

FreeQ Mags 1st Birthday Party @ Moog!

2009-11-09T05:27:00.001-08:00

This Saturday, the 14th of November come down to Moog on Newdigate Street, Notts between 12-6pm for the Nottingham Craft Mafia Craft Fair, a photography exhibition, live illustration and graffiti. I have been making lots of pig brooches especially!!

Buy Handmade this Christmas!

2009-11-07T02:48:00.000-08:00

I was in the Design Circus, Pop Up Shop in West Bridgford yesterday and just couldn't resist this horse clutch bag! Its so beautifully finished, has a quirky horse on the front and fir on the back! It was handmade by Sarah Culleton, a maker from Derby, she has many more in the shop all individual and so beautiful. Visit her etsy shop at....

www.etsy.com/shop/sarahculleton

You have got to visit the shop, its is a little treasure trove full of lots of goodies and Christmas presents. Some of the Nottingham Craft Mafia members are also selling there, its definitely worth a visit!

Buy Handmade this Christmas!

First Fair Isle!

2009-10-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at fair isle using 7 colours, i am quite proud. Buts its not actually as hard as it looks!

Make its 2 - Pattern

2009-10-09T02:01:00.000-07:00

Using polystyrene is a quick and easy way to add a pattern and could be combined with the textural embroidery stitches. Letraset is a fun and quirky way to add text.

The Big Messy Cup Cake!

2009-09-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

This was my 21st birthday cake, it got a bit stuck to the tin, so needed a bit of patching up!!

But the blue ribbon and the plum on top distracted the mess! I liked it anyway!

The duvet is done!

2009-09-24T02:37:00.000-07:00

My finished pig duvet! I used a satin stitch to sew on the pigs then used free hand embroidery for the eyes and ears. I am excited to put it on my bed in Notts now :)

Make its 1 - Texture

2009-09-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

'Make its' is going to be a regular feature of ideas to add to your work or new ways of working. Some will be easy and some will be more challenging or require specialist equipment. You can print them out to keep or pass on to your craft loving friends!

Add some textural embroidery stitches to felt, fabrics or paper to make work more tactileand interesting. Couching is attractive when sewing down knotted or tangled cording.

Shopping Week @ Get Made! Monday 14th to Saturday19th!!

2009-09-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

Shopping Week @ Get Made! Monday 14th to Saturday19th!! Also Tuesday 15th 4-11pm Shopping evening and get 10% OFF ALL PURCHASES and FREE GLASS of BUBBLY!!

Rankin Live

2009-09-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

This exhibition (31st July - 18th September) at The Brewery in Brick Lane is a necessity in anyone interested in photography!

It was an extensive exhibition covering many aspects of his photographic career and many of his more recent celebrity series. He has photographed Kate Moss and the Queen and had a section of photos of his wife and son which let us pry into his personal life. The aim of some of his projects was to shock the viewer and make them feel uncomfortable which I am sure he achieved!

My favourite collection pictured really thin models with clothes pinned (so they are small enough) that had been caught devouring chocolate showing their desperation and the extremes they go to stay scrawly thin. These images were trying to prove a point about the controversial body image attitude of the fashion world.

At the end of the exhibition we watched Rankin photographing nudes live in the studio, so you could see how he worked. He had at least 10 people helping him at a time, not including make up artists. Three people were holding up the light reflective screens, holding a spot light or changing the wall colour. As soon as he took the photo it went to the first of the three computers. On the the other two computers people were editing them as soon as they were taken, smoothing out any imperfections. It didn't seem very glamorous as modeling is always perceived; the models were rushed in quickly then after about 5 minutes, it was the next ones turn, also there were lots of people watching so it needs a lot of self confidence! Photos taken in the Rankin photo booth!

The Woman in Black

2009-09-06T06:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Tom and I went to see The Woman in Black! At the Fortune Theatre in London. It was a really good show, and used the props well so it was simple. There were only two actors playing all the parts which worked really well again not confusing the audience with lots of people on the stage at once. There were a few screams and eerie bits, but i would really recommend it!

Museum of Childhood - Snozzcumbers and Frobscottle

2009-09-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

This was a really lovely exhibition again at V&A Museum of Childhood (2 May - 6 September 2009) showing many of Quentin Blake's illustrations for Roald Dahl's stories. They were so simple yet so beautiful and playful. The way he uses ink and water colour really creates a a good representation of Dahls stories and shows their collaboration worked well. There were several illustrations for each story which brought back memories of reading his books as a child.

Museum of Childhood - Make Do and Mend

2009-09-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

This free exhibition 'Make Do and Mend' (13 June - 8 Noember 2009) at the V&A Museum of Childhood was really inspiring as artists and school children turned old items into beautiful objects anyone would love in their home. I found the lampshades above really interesting because of the amount of lamps, placement and the bright clashing colours. I was really interested in the beetle chairs and crockery called 'Bugged' 2009 by Lou Rota. They were really fun, quirky and play with what you would normally consider grotesque and especially not want to find on your plate. I have found her work for sale on http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/lourota with plates from only £25.

Project Duvet!

2009-09-03T16:15:00.000-07:00

I am up-cycling a duvet cover which my Grandma gave me, I am going to sew large pink fabric pigs about 30cm in width on to the flower patterned fabric.

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Today I brought the pink fabric and some bonda web to use, and happened to come across the best fabric shop called 'Fabric Land' in Kingston. It sells so many rolls of fabric and patterned cotton only £1.99 per metre!! It has lots of buttons, trim and thread all for very cheap, even cheaper than Nottinghams markets.

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Sadly I am very busy over the next week so Project D will have to wait!

What a whale of a time in Wales!

2009-08-26T01:35:00.000-07:00

We stayed in St Brides in Pembrokeshire on the peninsular so had some spectacular views of beautiful and idyllic beaches and landscapes. We saw seals with their pups in a bay, lots of birds and got rained on many times!

And some cool dog statues at St Brides Castle!

Colours of Turkey

2009-08-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

Turkey was full of amazing inspiring colours and patterns. I really wanted one of these beautiful lamps but didn't think I could return with it in one piece!!

We visited a carpet weavers and saw the beautiful patterns and colour ways the talented women were weaving.

Architecture in Ephesus, an old tiny Greek ghost town now inhabited by Turks and a really decorative mosque.

I love the tradition of the 'Nazar boncugu' meaning evil eye, coloured eye like stones are attached to cars, houses, pets and babies to protect them from evil.

New Etsy.com Banner

2009-08-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

This is my lovely new Etsy banner designed by Tom Moloney my Graphic Designer boyfriend, how handy!! So take a look www.avantgardecrafts.etsy.com

Will it catch on?

2009-08-15T23:31:00.000-07:00

Tom and I saw some tourists doing this by the Houses of Parliament, so we thought why miss an 'hand/famous landmark combo' opportunity!

Nautical Brooches

2009-08-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

New nautical brooches available on etsy. These were one of my biggest sellers last year and the nautical theme is perfect for every summer season, as the nautical theme emerges every year; so you will get plenty of wear. For more info visit... http://www.avantgardecrafts.etsy.com/

Tea Bag Baby Family for Sale!

2009-07-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

My Tea Bag Babies are now for sale on etsy.com.

http://www.avantgardecrafts.etsy.com/

Puppies!

2009-07-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

Here are the lovely puppies playing in the barn, they were so hard to photograph as they don't stop moving.

Little Galaron sniffing big Sagramore! Sure they will be friends in no time.

Trip to Saxelbye

2009-07-08T07:27:00.000-07:00

I went to Saxelbye in Leics with my Grandma as she was going to collect her new black lab puppy. She use to live in a cottage in the tiny village, so we stayed on her friends farm in the Manor House. I remember parts of the house from when I was younger, but this time I had a good explore and took some photos.

Sun Bathing Cat

2009-07-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

My cat Mog enjoying the lovely sunny weather we have been having.

A Successful Summer Evening

2009-06-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

The summer Fete last night was really successful. Despite a breeze at the beginning blowing my picnic basket lid shut constantly, the sun shone all evening and the wind stopped. I sold out of the bow hair clips and sold lots of the pig pin badges.

Pig Pin Badges

2009-06-22T07:08:00.000-07:00

I made these for the little ones, as I am selling at Summerlea Primary School's Summer Fete in Rustington. However I can see them being quite popular for others too. A friend suggested I make them in blue too, so those are in progress.

These are hand knitted bow hair clips, I think these will also be a big seller at the fete. I have kept a couple for my self as they brighten up any outfit!

Nautical Brooches...

2009-06-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

My new stock for the summer! Available on http://www.avantgardecrafts.etsy.com/ Commissions and personal requests welcome.

KTC in Covent Garden

2009-06-18T06:53:00.000-07:00

I found these KTC knitted tags in Covent Garden in London this week. I assume they are like America's 'Knitta' but couldn't find anything about them.

End of Year Presentation Boards

2009-06-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

These are my Boards for my end of year presentation. The first shows where my inspiration comes from, the second shows the developments I made during the project. The final board shows the printed baby grows, how they would be packaged and displayed.

Washing lines and packaging!!

2009-06-06T11:14:00.000-07:00

These are my photos of the printed baby grows which I shall use as the final outcome for this project alongside the baby grows themselves. I have hung them on a washing line, as hanging the washing out is a mundane task. I have packaged them in test tubes and displayed them in a fridge to make them look really scientific and not very soft and baby like. This was inspired by Uniqlo the Japanese fashion labels t-shirt packaging; in plastic tubes.

Printed Baby Grows.

2009-05-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

These are my printed baby grows. I made the collagraph plate in the shape of the baby grows. It was pretty difficult to get it in the right place and also so the plate had the correct amount of ink on. But I think they work well and I have hung them on a washing line, to show how mundane and accepted test tube babies are now.

Habitat Visit

2009-05-21T09:50:00.000-07:00

I love these glass tumblers that I found in Habitat in Kingston. They are by Hennie Haworth, the illustrations work really well with the opacity of the glass. I especially like the gingham one.
The plates below are by Concetta Gallo also in Habitat at the moment. Her work also contains lovely illustrations, collaged photos, graphic elements and bright contrasting colours. The mix of the horses and ornate chairs is my favourite. She has a range of bowls, plates and vases; ranging from £6 to £95.

Research...

2009-05-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

I decided to look at test tube babies. I didn't know the first was born over 30 years ago now. I am going to print my science prints on some baby grows. They are not the normal patterns or colours that you would associate with babies, I like this contrast.

Collagraph Prints.

2009-05-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

After being inspired by light bulbs that I saw in the Science Museum, London, I made a collagraph plate with some on and the pattern works really well when printed. I espcially like the bulbs painted in peach behind the print.

The atom print, shows how the atom shells are layed out, these also make intereing prints. I printed onto pages of my old chemistry books from school, which creates a layer underneath that comes through in certain places.

An Inquisitive Crow

2009-05-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

This little crow was lingering around the cafe at Hampton Court palace. I was trying to take a photo and a child ran at it, but luckly it came back for some more crumbs!!

Science Museum, London

2009-05-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to the Science Museum in London, as research for a new project. Our group concept was 'Displacing Formation'. It made me think of science and scientific reactions, equations, numbers and calculations. I am going to draw from my photos to develop my ideas. The light bulbs and the old calculators particularly interested me.

Weaving....

2009-05-07T12:04:00.000-07:00

This is some of my recent weave samples and a visualization. It surprised me as I thought that threading up the loom and actually weaving would take a long time, but it was much better and more fun than I thought. However I still think I am a printer!!

Time for tea

2009-05-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

I have just uploaded some of my Tea Pot Brooches on to my etsy site so check them out!!

Logo

2009-05-05T10:41:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to deisgn a logo, but I use Avant Garde Crafts for my blog and etsy and JW on all of my product labels, it is quite confusing with both seperatly. So I have linked the two together. I think it works quite well.

Mini Etsy....

2009-05-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at playing around with the html... so hopefully it has worked.

You can see a few of my bags and bow ties that I have made which are now for sale. :)

Slash/Slash Notts

2009-05-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

The event was a real success! The atmosphere was really good and lots of people came so it was really busy, including the bar! Below is my stall, it was hard to photograph as it was so dark.

Bow Ties

2009-05-01T21:23:00.000-07:00

These are my hand knitted bow ties, and are the first items to go in my etsy.com shop!! It was a bit tricky at first but I think I have now got the hang of it.

www.AvantGardeCrafts.etsy.com

I am also preparing for a craft stall at an event called Slash/Slash Notts tomorrow which should be fun. Rescue Rooms, Nottingham. From 12 till 6pm.

Excitement galore...

2009-05-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

I have just made a postcard containing all of my details, that people can pick one up at my craft fairs. It's pretty exciting! My etsy site will also soon be open for bussiness!!

A bag feast!

2009-04-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

A few more bags to add to the collection. I have aimed for one a night, but one evening I made 4, I definitely have enough to sell now! These will be avaliable to buy on my etsy site.

www.AvantGardeCrafts.etsy.com

More bags!

2009-04-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

I have made a few more bags. My favourite is the second of the little purses which I used a flower from scrap fabric and expanded the edges to blend it into the blue fabric. I think it works quite well. All are lined with funky printed fabrics.

I am in the process of setting up an Etsy.com account so you will be able to browse all of my handmade good on there!

Bags, bags, bags!

2009-04-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

I made the brown gingham bag for nearly a year ago. The gingham was ruffled with the flowery white fabric then sewn onto the zip the inside lining was from part of an old pillow case. I sewed on a few buttons for detail.

When the fabric of this bag was ruffled it made the edges stick out so it was a pouch shape, so I cut it into an oval shape. I used peach fabric for the lining that matched the flowers. I gathered the lace into a circle then sewed an interesting button into the middle.

Sonia Rykiel Exhibition

2009-04-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

Ruffles

Lace

Stripes

Musee Des Decoratifs, Paris

Sonia Rykiel is famous for her knitwear designs, which are really fun feminine and often wacky. The mannequins were all dressed really well many had gloves, hats and scarves on to complete the desired look. I like the series 3 striped dresses as they all have different interesting shaped hats on. A section on the exhibition was also garments and fashion drawing dedicated to Sonia Rykiel by other famous designers.

Just a thought...

2009-04-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

Everything moves continuously. Immobility does not exist. Jean Tinguely. 1959

Easter Ideas...

2009-04-05T07:32:00.001-07:00

This knitted Easter chick that perfectly hides a cream egg was made by Vanessa Bramble , it inspired me to design a little egg cosie of my own. Made out of vintage fabrics and little sequins for eyes; it only took about half an hour to make, so great for a last minute idea.

A Love of Carousels!

2009-04-04T11:40:00.000-07:00

Nostalgia for Brighton...

and Paris.

Where ever I am, I am always drawn to carousels! There shape, colours, music and fun. The image in Paris shows a Victorian carousel in between modern linear colourless architecture. The contrast of shapes is exciting.

Experimenting with different media has inspired a bag design.

Swedish Fashion: Exploring a New Identity

2009-04-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

The Fashion and Textile Museum, London.

Sandra Backlund
These garments are hand knitted by fashion designer Sandra Backlund. They were amazing to see in real life, The layers of Knitting were built up so they protruded out from the body, completely changing the form. The garments look almost robot like or space aged.

Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair
Run by husband and wife Astrid Olloson and Lee Corter. They are interested in deconstruction, draping and minimalism. The elaborate pumpkin shape created starting just below the bust changes the body form, its made with boning, making the fabric stick out.

New!

2009-04-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

New blog coming soon containing... textiles, fashion, crafts and quirky fun things!