Lovely Lustre (2012)

It's that time of year again, the annual Lustre event at Lakeside. I went with a keener and more inquisitive eye this year, looking at the display and quality of finish to the products on show. I was quite taken by the affordability of the wares and made a few purchases too!

I enjoyed talking with Christine Gray about her process of making these beautiful porcelain bowls:

The cast glass sculptures of Louisa Finch:

More glass sculptures by Samantha Donaldson:

Katie Gilliland's taxidermy inspired jewellery:

The attention to detail in Malin Winberg's work:

The simple yet effective designs of Jane Blease:

The technicalities and consideration applied to the work of Anna Wales:

The scaffold inspired brilliance in the jewellery of Helen Sutherland:

The illustrative delights in the textiles of Teresa Cole:

And the exciting ceramic drawings-cum-sculptures of Nicola Laidstone!

Nicola has an open studio event at the Shed 2 studios on 30th November -
I'm definitley going along to have a peek!

My purchases of the day were: 

these three bear embroideries by Natalia Kukiel...I wonder where they will go?

and a mug by Carly Dodsley - which I'm enjoying as I blog!

So all in all, it was another lovely Lustre and a pleasant addition to the work that I saw there last year. I'm keen to make it a annual visit and continue to support the new, local and inspiring makers that it attracts. Maybe I will be there one day? who knows....

Young Scientist of The Year Nomination!

My lovely little sis has been nominated for Young Scientist of the Year - woopee! I'll be going along to see her deliver a presentation on Wednesday, all based around her final year project:

Improving environmental sustainability in the food industry by readdressing methods of food production and local food networks. 

It's very far removed from my arty little world, but I'm incredibly proud of her indeed :) I was also very happy that last week were able to join forces! As part of her final year assessments, she took part in a nutrition fair at Sheffield Hallam uni. Delivering a stall with the theme of Grow it Cook it Eat it we worked together to make it all look tip top!

So, starting with this bunting as inspiration,

I created an applique patchwork wrap around for her to wear.

adding a little extra detail

to both sides of the apron

 it really made her look quite the part!

Then it was time to have a rummage and source everything we needed for a well presented table..I knew all this stuff would come in use one day!!

 We kept with the patchwork theme and cut out letters to match for the backdrop

Made a few minor adjustments, et, voila!

Here it is on nutrition fair day, I think the addition of the yellow looks great!

Each stall had to run a competition as part of the assessment, so after securing a free veg box from able & cole as a prize, she created a 'competition garden' for people to guess how long it took from a courgette seed being planted to flower and end up on your plate!? The stall was very well received and the competition especially -  I love the idea of using the plant markers as your guess!

So here is a happy Nic caught by instagram on the day!

Well done sis! Look forward to seeing you on Wednesday!

Making Local Food Work were the main sponsors of her stall

and Taste Real Food UK have played an important part of her uni life this year too!
Highlights include her organising various tasting events at local drinkeries and eateries:
most recently at the newly opened Tamper in Sheffield, and an up and coming trip to Ludlow Food Festival.

Blog blog birdy birdy

I've been having so much fun with this blog recently! Maybe it's because there's only a couple of months left to my first year at uni (and I already feel a bit like I'm in summer mode), but I'm really into researching at the moment and finding so many wonderful makers! The internet is amazing, distracting, yes, but amazing!! I have discovered so many things from the hour or two I spend browsing everyday..newsletters, blogs, and facebook feeds - information and connection at the click of a button!

Today I came across Tara Badcock Tasmanian embroiderer-extrodinaire! These birds are hers:

I love the addition of the long feather!

and she quotes so beautifully too! :

My favourite and constantly inspiring quote is from Mark Twain, “You might be on the right track but you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

If you want something to happen in your life, you have to make it happen and if you’re on the right track then the Universe seems to conspire to help you succeed.

So true!

Another bird-y maker is Abigail Brown - who really is incredible!

Another to mention at this point too is Donya Coward. Local to Nottingham (and a studio that's a stones throw from uni!) her taxidermy creations have been mentioned already on here but beautiful nonetheless and worth another shout!