I am so excited by the excellent line up of designer makers exhibiting at our Fair at Bunkers Hill on Saturday 29th October. Don’t forget, as well as all this, we will have live music brought to you by Notts about Music, the Oxfam Boutique and tricks and treats for customers!
Eireann Lorsung is a poet and a printmaker. Her beautiful prints and delicate paintings are rich with narrative. On the 29th Eireann will be selling stationery, calendars, cards and objects made from cloth; small ornaments, coin purses and dolls. Her work makes me feel warm and I think you will love it too!
Stitches and Stars: The quirky creations of Jess Roper-Woods. Her collection of work is adorned with hand-stamped messages including super-cute stationery, homewares, badges and accessories.
Lana’s Cards and Crafts: Lana will be selling a mixture of her handmade designs: mixed media greeting cards, fabric home accessories such as cushions, quilts, notice boards, bunting, door stops, multi-pocket organisers, aprons and peg bags, fabric handbags, wall canvasses, altered notepads, gift tags and art journals. …A gift for everyone!
If you enjoyed this latest taster, you can read all our blog posts about the fantastic design we have in store for you on Saturday 29th October at Bunkers Hill here. Please also check out the event on facebook, I would just love it if you could share it with your friends and spread the word far and wide!
With Thanks,
C.H. xx
(The content of all images are credited to their designers, Eireann Lorsung, Stitches and Stars, Lana’s Cards and Crafts.)
In this post I will be showing off some more of the wonderful sellers you will find at our Indie Market at Bunkers Hill on Saturday 29th October. Don’t forget, as well as all this, we will have live music brought to you by Notts about Music and tricks and treats for customers!
Hello Sunshine by Jo Want features unique and quirky jewellery, accessories, greetings cards & illustrations. Inspiration comes from the playful nature of animals, people and everyday life, sprinkled with humour. With the intention of bringing a smile to the world’s face, these collections of work include laser cut necklaces, brooches, drop and stud earrings, pin badges, and greeting cards.
Jo Clarke: As a recent graduate from the Children’s Book Illustration MA at Cambridge School of Art, Jo has developed her visual language as an artist, designer, painter, illustrator and writer to bring together this beautiful ever growing, gift range. Jo’s designs emerge from organic shapes with a sensitive use of line and sophisticated colour palette creating a unique and contemporary identity. Jo will be selling her Greetings cards, original illustrations and art prints, also a range of gift wares featuring her own hand painted designs and printed illustrations.
Northern Toff pride themselves in their environmetally friendly screen printing on ethically produced textiles. They will be selling a range of great t-shirts, bags, various handcrafted products, unique gifts and even shoes!
Hope you enjoyed the second instalment of what’s to come on Saturday 29th October at Bunkers Hill.
(The content of all images are credited to their designers, Hello Sunshine, Jo Clarke, Northern Toff.)
Only two weeks to go before the Indie Market at Bunkers Hill! Time to start telling you about the wonderful things you can expect on the day.
Zincwhite: Why has no one thought of this before? Zincwhite’s genius touch of upcycling is surely the best gift for any creative friends. On Saturday 29th, they will be bringing their jewellery and accessories made from recycled Derwent colouring pencils, knitting needles, old typewriters, broken camera lenses and artist’s paint brushes to join us at Bunkers Hill in Nottingham!
Hannah Stevens is a very talented lady! She will be with us at Bunkers Hill selling her range of hand screen printed textiles, such as cushions, lampshades, tea towels, hand bags, purses and pencil cases, all made from her own fab print designs!
Dirtyface creates limited edition apparel in collaboration with many talented artists and designers. The dirtyface range represents an underground movement of artists, generating a unique brand that exudes creativity and originality. We’re excited to welcome them along to show off their graphic skills on the 29th!
Hope you enjoyed that little taster of what’s to come on Saturday 29th October at Bunkers Hill, check back tomorrow for the next instalment!
(The content of all images are credited to their designers, Zincwhite, Hannah Stevens, Dirtyface.)
Curiosity Haus Indie Market- live at Bunkers Hill!
Saturday 29th October. 12-5pm
As well as the usual eclectic mix of Craft, Design, Art and Vintage wares, the event is coinciding with the pub’s very own beer festival! There will be live music, food, an array of real ales and tricks and treats for customers!
Most importantly, we will have a host of handmade wares from local designer makers, vintage clothes, accessories, jewellery, textiles, ceramics and homewares as well as cakes! …phew! So come along and fill your boots, it’s going to be a great day!
As well as a great selection of independent designers, we will have the Oxfam Vintage Boutique with their Autumn Winter collections and Live music brought to you by Notts About Music!
Would you like to come along?- keep up to date with info on our sellers and musicians on facebook. Where we will be posting info and links to everything going on on the day! Featuring the Fabulous:
Oxfam Vintage Boutique
Night Owl
Delish
Hello Sunshine by Jo Want
SparkleCat
Hannah Stevens
Zinchite
Delightfully Delectable
Awesome pillows
Mental Elf
Eireann Lorsung
Lana’s Cards and Crafts
Jo Clark Design
Dirtyface
Northern Toff
Stitches and Stars
Anna Treliving Textiles
Notts about Music
On Saturday I visited The Power of Making Exhibition at The V&A Museum.
Crochetdermy Bear, Shauna Richardson
At first glance, the exhibition is a collection of objects seemingly random in nature; shoes, machinery, jewellery, bicycles, even a large brown bear, which would not look out of place in any natural history museum. The ‘taxidermy’ bear is actually a crocheted sculpture, and once I had noticed the distinctive woollen rings of the crocheted pattern, I found it difficult to stop thinking about the time and skill that went into creating the beast.
In fact, each and every one of the objects in the room could be defined by the processes that made them. Almost as if the processes themselves were more important than the end result. Traditional skills from dry stone walling to shoe making were showcased alongside 3D printers and incredible animations made using the ipad as a tool for drawing with light.
“Power of Making comes at a time when the loss of skill is threatening cultural practice and impacting on commercial industries. However, there is also a resurgence of making currently taking place as a means of self expression, social participation and cultural definition.”
The resurgence mentioned above is seeing thousands of craft practitioners embracing their skill to turn making into a business, and I have personally seen a rise in the number of people wanting to sell their work, through my own craft fairs. Is this a trend? …is it easier to make a business out of craft with the internet as a market place, and social media for promotion? .. is it a reaction to the commercially mass produced and demise of independent businesses on our high streets?
“What we have here is a post-industrial nostalgia for the pre-industrial…as we lust after craftsmanship we can’t afford and disdain the industrial products we can.” Justin McGuirk,Guardian
In recent weeks I have been following and participating in some excellent online #craftdebate. Hosted by The British Museum, and the Craft Council, the debates were held entirely on Twitter and covered topics such as ‘The role and value of Craft today’, ‘Can Craft Change the World’ and ‘Craft in the Information Age’. …Big topics for only 140 chararcter responses!
With another big emphasis on making, “Made not Manufactured” was the tagline for this year’s Origin – The Craft Council’s Contemporary Craft Fair. I popped by on Sunday to have a look and have picked out a few of my favourites from the show for your viewing pleasure:
Upcycled Vintage Suitcase by UoldBag
Bird necklace by Julia Parry-Jones
Swimmer Ring by Helen Noakes
Knitted fox scarf by Nina Fuhrer
Animals everywhere!
Cut Paper illustration by Claire Brewster
Felt Animal hats by Barbara Keal
I will leave this post with a great story about the power of making in a group of Chilean women, who created tapestries (or Arpillera). This was seen as a traditionally feminine and politically passive activity, however, these particular tapestries depicted the atrocities taking place under the dictatorship of Pinochet during the 70′s and 80′s and the groups that made them started to become involved in social protest. Eventually they reached an international audience by communicating the horrors they were involved in through this apparently ‘benign’ medium!
Thanks for reading… now time for a shameless plug: if you liked the animal themed highlights from Origin, Curiosity Haus has a page full of handmade animal-themed crafts available to buy on our Online Shop too!
Written for Creative Nottingham on September 28, 2011, by Guest Blogger, Laura Morgan of Curiosity Haus: A house for Contemporary Craft and Design. Curiosity Haus has an ‘online craft fair‘ and runs regular indie-markets in Nottingham, showcasing and promoting independent designers and quality handmade goods. You can follow Curiosity Haus on facebook or twitter.
Previous Sellers at Curiosity Haus Contemporary Craft and Design Fair: Stitches and Stars, Lucie Pockets, Owl Loves Panda, Penelope Ruth, Jessica Hayes Gill, Ruth Singer, Lesley Nason
I thought I would start my guest blogging experience with a little bit more about the projects I am working on and Craft in Nottingham. However, you will be pleased to hear that over the next week I am going to talk less about myself and more about the wider world of Contemporary Craft, including a review of Origin Craft Fair in London, and hopefully a little insight into why Contemporary Craft practice is a just as thought provoking as it is beautiful!
Nottingham might be noted in the region for it’s great high street shopping, but dig a little deeper and you may be surprised to find an an even more impressive shopping experience from the city’s highly rated creative community.
I’ve been lucky enough to work with many of these creatives over the past few years of running Craft and Design Fairs in the city. Forget your traditional church hall Craft Fairs, these contemporary crafters and designers make the highest quality, unique products which should far over shadow the goods to be found regularly on the high street. Dismiss those preconceptions of Granny’s pastel drawings (sorry granny!) and crocheted loo roll covers, the craft and design fairs I’m talking about give customers the chance to find intelligence, skill, beauty, and quirky designed products, all rolled into one!
Previous Sellers: Ultra Horse Zines, Steve Booton Ceramics, Katie Stainer Contemporary papercrafts, Loree Bologna, Alys Power, Alison Peacock Leather Artist, Julia Church Pyrography Jewellery, Ruth Singer
Through Curiosity Haus I organise regular events throughout the year. It has become, what may be best described as, a ‘roving’ market over the past year, having held craft fairs all over Nottingham. In October Curiosity Haus will be working with Bunkers Hill in Hockley to hold an Indie Market. This first event for the winter season will coincide with the pub’s very own Beer Festival held on Saturday 29th October. There will be live acoustic sets in association with Notts about Music, an array of real ales, treats for customers and most importantly, a host of handmade wares from local designer makers, vintage clothes, accessories and homewares as well as tasty cakes! We are pleased to have the Oxfam Boutique selling top quality vintage pieces, with all their proceeds going to oxfam’s current projects.
Once you dig a little deeper, Nottingham has many creative events to be found. If you read my intoduction interview, you may have heard mention of Craft Map. It is a new group on facebook specifically for designers and craftspeople.
Join to share your crafty projects and creative happenings with other like minded creatives. I have set up Craft Map as an area for people to shout about and map out all the amazing creative, design and craft based events and business.
With so many new exciting events coming up, it is a good way to keep track of the multitude of creative things going on just below the radar. So please feel free to make use of this group as a platform to tell lots of other creative folk your news; get posting!
Help spread the word and bring the creative underground to the surface!
Above: Curiosity haus Contemporary Craft and Design Fairs, L-R: Sneinton Market- Dec 2010; Delightfully Delectable- Orange Tree, May 2011; Hello Sunshine- Orange Tree May 2011; Night Owl- Sneinton Market Dec 2011.
Written for Creative Nottingham on September 22, 2011 by Guest Blogger, Laura Morgan of Curiosity Haus: A house for Contemporary Craft and Design. Curiosity Haus has an ‘online craft fair‘ and runs regular indie-markets in Nottingham, showcasing and promoting independent designers and quality handmade goods. You can follow Curiosity Haus on facebook or twitter.
I met Jo from Hello Sunshine at a craft fair we were both attending a few years ago and fell in love with her intricate laser cut designs. I am delighted to stock a collection of these fab birdie themed creations at Curiosity.Haus, grab them before they fly away! :)
Night Owl specialises in animal illustration and applies her designs to ceramics and wood. I absolutely love her meticulous drawings and careful attention to detail.
Zeus Label is a craft/art label making handmade toy’s and soft sculptures from found and vintage textiles. Always a crowd pleaser, as one of our Craft and Design Fair regulars, I am now really excited to be selling these popular Zeus Label sculptures online!
Charming 'Almost an Animal Alphabet' Book by Katie Viggers
I am proud to have a choice selection of items from the ‘eightbear’ collection. Humorous animal illustrations with positively human characteristics make up a brilliant series of prints, mugs and books.
Fuzz Bucket creates beautifully hand embroidered textile pieces. Curiosity Haus is delighted to present a selection of her intricately detailed brooches online.
Keep your eyes peeled as more amazing work is being added to the shop very soon.
I would just like to say a big thanks to James Pink, for coding all of my many design demands into this sexy looking site. I think that deserves a quick shout out for his business illPod.com. Based on Nottingham’s Malin Hill they are the guys to go to if you have any Apple product problems. Anything from cracked screens to water damage, or even Macbooks making strange noises- please check out illPod.com if you need their help. (if you use curiosityhaus as a promo code at checkout he’ll give you a sneaky 5% online discount on any repairs too.)
C.H xx
Only one week to go before we descend on Rufford armed with no less than FOURTY amazing designer makers across the two day event! Join us from 10 – 4pm at Rufford Abbey Country Park where we will be holding our craft and design fair alongside the All About Nottingham Tourism Fair. As well as craft there will be family activities, free prize draws, bouncy castle for the kids as well as Robin Hood and Maid Marian plus some rickshaws to carry people from the end of the road to the show. It’s going to be a great day! If you have never been to Rufford before, this is a great weekend to visit. Rufford Abbey also has a sculpture trail, lake, extensive grounds and of course the historic Abbey.
So back to all that lovely craftyness- the talent we have exhibiting over the weekend is very inspiring. The 24 designers are the cream of the crops covering many different disciplines from illustration, textiles, glass, ceramics, wood, jewellery, photography, toys, mosaic, and even iron work.
Here’s the who’s who on the designers you can expect to see over the weekend…
SATURDAY:
Alison Kent Handmade Originals
Alison Peacock Leather Artist
Alys Power Design
Angela Ibbs Designs
Bottled Glass
Clare Hawley Jewellery
Darby & Joan Ltd
Hannah Sawtell
Joanna Boyes Photography
Katie Stainer Contemporary Papercrafts
Lana’s Cards and Crafts
LC’s Beads
Love u More
Lucie Pockets and Ena Green
Mel Anderson Design
Penelope Ruth
Rachel D Warren Jewellery Designer/Maker
Sam Taylor Glass
Scribblings
Shed Two Studios
Steve Booton Ceramics
Trinity Forge
Weewoollies
Zandra ceramics
SUNDAY:
Alison Kent Handmade Originals
Amy O’Connor
Angela Ibbs Designs
Bee Designs
Deborah Franks Jewellery
Jessica Hayes Gill
Ken Hurd
Laura Goodacre Photography
Lesley Nason Ceramics
Loree Bologna designer jewellery
Number8glass
Owl Loves Panda
Penelope Ruth
Pyrography Jewellery
Rachel D Warren Jewellery Designer/Maker
Ruth Singer
Scribblings
Shed Two Studios
Steve booton ceramics
Stitches and Stars
Sunflower Design
Trinity Forge
Ultra Horse Zines
Vann-Thomas Design
Can’t wait!….Look forward to seeing you there!
C.H. xx
This week we have had some great news! We have confirmed that we will be hosting a Craft and Design Fair at Rufford Abbey Country Park. I love Rufford, and have visited many times. Here are some pictures that I have taken there over the years and you will see why;
I especially love the Abbey building's collection of Gargoyles and Grotesques, which you might be able to tell from the photo collection above. ;)
The weekend will see a 2 day event where Curiosity Haus Contemporary Craft and Design Fair will be held alongside the first ‘All About Nottinghamshire Tourism Fair’, organised by ‘All about Nottingham’. The marquee event is being kindly hosted by Nottinghamshire County Council outside the historic abbey, which usually receives thousands of visitors each weekend, with the added support of local radio and press.
You can expect the usual excellence from our handmade makers fair, with designers from across the East Midlands coming to showcase and sell their wares, all within the beautiful grounds of Rufford!
Rufford Abbey Sculpture Trail
If you would like to apply for a stall at any of our events, we need you to complete our online application form together with some images of the work you wish to sell at the fair. Stall holders, please ensure we have received you application and any supporting images by 27/06/11 and successful applicants shall be informed within one week of the deadline date. (Read more about the event details and application…)
The event is FREE for visitors and there is ample onsite parking.
We just can’t wait for this event! :) So put this day out at Rufford in your diary- and look forward to seeing you there!
C.H.xx
Curiosity Haus is pleased to announce that we are hosting a Contemporary Craft and Design Fair at Rufford Abbey Country Park on 16-17th July 2011. ▲ DATES
Saturday 16th – Sunday 17th July 2011 ▲ VENUE
Rufford Abbey Country Park
Ollerton
Nottinghamshire
NG22 9DF ▲ STALLS
Stalls will be housed under marquee
Tables are provided at a size of 2.5ft x 6ft (approx) ▲ COST
Saturday 16th July at Rufford Country Park = £35
Sunday 17th July at Rufford Country Park = £35
Both days 16th & 17th July at Rufford Country Park = £60 ▲ ABOUT THE EVENT
Curiosity Haus Contemporary Craft and Design Fair will be held alongside the first ‘All About Nottinghamshire Tourism Fair’, organised by ‘All about Nottingham’.
The marquee event is being kindly hosted by Nottinghamshire County Council outside the historic abbey, which usually receives thousands of visitors each weekend. With the support of local radio and press it will be targeting potential visitors through on and offline routes to market including social media, pr and ambient promotions.
The event is FREE entry for the public and there is ample onsite parking. ▲ ABOUT CURIOSITY.HAUS CONTEMPORARY CRAFT AND DESIGN FAIR
Curiosity.haus Contemporary Craft and Design Fair is a market specialising in handmade and independent designer goods held in various venues in Nottingham.
Bringing together Nottingham’s finest designer makers, artists and crafters, from established designers to new businesses. With an eclectic mix of arts, crafts and fashion items on offer, from textiles to jewellery, toys to t-shirts, illustration to vintage. The market was established in May 2009, by curiosity.haus. With an aim to showcase the talent of local and national designers and encourage promotion of independent and quality handmade goods. ▲ WHO CAN APPLY?
We pride ourselves in being a quality handmade market. We always accept applications from sellers of handmade goods and artwork. We do, occasionally accept sellers of locally made food and vintage goods. We do not accept applications from stalls selling bought in goods. ▲ HOW TO APPLY
To apply for a stall at any of our events, we need you to complete our online application form together with some images of the work you wish to sell at the fair.
On the application form we ask for your website address. Please ensure that this provides us with any relevant online imagery of your work. Your Folksy or Etsy shop, blog or flickr are also great for showing us what you create!
We MUST be able to see examples of the products you wish to sell, so if you do not have a website or online gallery, then please attach up to 4 jpegs, representative of your work, after submitting your form. These images will be used in the selection process and should be sent to markets@curiosityhaus.co.uk ▲ DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
Please ensure we have received you application and any supporting images by 27/06/11
Successful applicants shall be informed within one week of the deadline date.
Look forward to working with you! :)
Much Love,
C.H. xx
