One More Day.....

Well so far it has been a glorious weekend. The private view was bustling with visitors. It's so nice when the weather is kind!
My printing workshop is proving popular amongst the kids of Stoke Newington.
I've posted loads of images of the whole event on our Facebook page



Last chance Sunday to come down and print your own bag and enjoy more sunshine.
Come after 3pm and it might be nice and quiet......I wonder why? Come on ENGLAND!

The Chocolate Factory N16 Summer Open Studios

Private View is almost here!

I'll be selling off lots of samples and ex stock of lampshades and bases at greatly reduced prices.

Check some of my sale items in my shop here

I'll also have fabric swatches, cushions, tea towels and more!

And if you want to take your shopping home in a brand spanking new bag, you can come and print your own!

You do the design, the print and the clean up!

Welcome to children and adults of all ages, a fun little lesson in basic screen printing.

Costs £5 incl. bag!
Bring along a letter stencil (use A4 photocopy/print paper or similar) No bigger than 18cm square.

No need to do the border, just a cut out of your initial and we are away!

If you'd prefer a Tee Shirt, bring your own and we can print on that instead.

Arrive totally unprepared but want to have a go? Yes you can!

Limited space, time and bags, so it's first come first served!
Saturday/Sunday only. I don't think I could cope on the PV night!I'm carrying this on from my last workshop at the nursery, going back to bags as it's easier than all the sizing issues.
For the nursery I picked T Shirts to make a change, having done bags the last few times. As the holiday workshops are a free for all, with no preparation and kids wanting instant results, I decided to try out letters, keeping it simple for those that found it difficult to grasp, but creative enough for others who could just go for it. I also wanted to draw in some of the other kids that had not been interested in the past.
Based on my ABC print I made screens with little borders to frame the letters and it was then down to them to fill the box with a simple initial.

I did wonder whether I'd stifled their creativity a bit by providing a framework, but it was an interesting experiment and seemed to go down very well. I don't think the end results were as exciting as the previous workshops, in photographic form anyway, having said that, the kids were really excited about what they had achieved and then to be able to wear their own work was a big bonus.
We rattled off loads and it was really nice to see them all parading about in them at the end of the day.
The age range at holiday club is from 3 to 11 so it's quite a challenge to keep everyone happy.
I've really enjoyed these workshops as Stanley has gone through the nursery. It's a wonderful place and really inspiring. It's also made me appreciate the care that goes into making a creative and happy nursery setting. I'm feeling rather sad that soon he will leave and we'll be entering the big league of School!
Following that, I had a bit of fun making a cushion for my nephew's first birthday. More for the shop soon, hopefully.

Anyway, pop down to the studios at the weekend and try a bit of printing and personalising for yourself!

Hey Daddy, look what 'WE' made!

OK, so Mummy ended up doing it all from start to finish! Stanley was well up for the idea of sticking and glueing in the garden, but I lost him at the first blob of glue! Oh well....it's the giving that counts and the big hug that went with it! Happy Daddy, happy son, job done.
Happy Father's Day to all the lovely Dads out there and mine too, miss you Dad x

Stamping Night at The Make Lounge

I had a bit of luxury time to myself the other evening and revelled in being a student again for a few hours!
I’d been meaning to get along to The Make Lounge in Islington for a while. To do a workshop and go crafty shopping was just great. Not having a little one tugging at your legs and occupying more than half your attention, wondering where he will wander next, meant real quality me time!
It soon became clear that carving stamps is totally different to the screen printing process and it was a wonderful loosening up exercise for me. Louise Best from LouLouLovesBooks was the tutor for the night and she was a star. Calm and enthusiastic, not too pushy but with loads of super tips and guidance for everyone. It was also nice to meet people who have ‘regular’ day jobs and were just doing it for a bit of fun, no pressure, just playtime.

The next night I had a birthday party to go to. So I messed about with my stamps et voila, instant cards!
All in all a very productive evening, which has got my old creative brain ticking again in a slightly different way! Highly recommended.

The Make Lounge is a great concept, lovely space and fab shop and thanks to Jennifer, you might be lucky enough to find my wee party bags and fabric patches on sale too!

Open Studio Countdown!

Well, as usual, I've got soooo much to do!