An evening with

At my new studio location i have stumbled on a gold mine....well it is to me anyway. The Fashion and Textile Museum - is it just me or has no one heard of this!? Anyway its not your usual museum format, its much more of a general creative hub/hangout for creatives on the textile side.

What really caught my eye besides the exhibitions is the events - Jewellery workshops; Paint, Pattern and Print workshops; Talks and book signing evenings; Knitting workshops; question time with various artists....even a Beanie making workshop - now thats unique!

A typical afternoon course is £35 including entrance to exhibition and materials required, or you could go for a evening event 'Jewellery is Enchanting, Jewellery is Gossiping - a talk with Sofia Bjorkman' for £8.

Go check it here before it gets too popular! and having an evening with Pia Aleborg or Martin Bergstrom.............

A Designers Cooking Delight

For the past two years I have worked in the Notting Hill area and for the first 6 months developed an unhealthy obsession with these magical treasures......The Humming Bird Bakery!
My time is up in Notting Hill, with every street explored and every patisserie over indulged in its time to head to some place knew....Bermondsey High Street, London Bridge here I come but not without one last Hummingbird cup cake!

With the very thought of being further than i stones throw from the bakery sending me in to a spin you can imagine how delight i was to discover this:




This book featuring photography by Peter Cassidy is a cooking work of art, the design of the Hummingbird Bakery brand is simple, clean and yummy and the book conveys the 'designer cupcake' perfectly. Everyone should have this on there book shelf.

"This is a very in place where the cupcakes are as good as sex" Little Black Book - Sunday Telegraph










More info here

Handmade Nation

I have been flying through fiction books recently and as I scanned my shelves once again for a title to jump out at me for my next read I realised over the years i have collected loads of design books but have never actually sat down and read them. Sure i have flicked through and studied the images which is the essence of a design book but i have never done cover to cover, word for word. It always seams easier to get on the tube with a small paper back than an oversized hard back.
So before i read another fiction i am spending some much needed time with a neglected array of books. Starting with Handmade Nation, The RISE of DIY, Art, Craft and Design.

So far...lOving it!! I am learning so much...discovering new websites to explore, re-discovering, actually reading the statements under the great images and feeling the urge to go off and create, this is just what i needed.

I'm sure i am telling you all something you already now and i can almost hear the 'i always read my books thorouhly' statements but for those designers, makers, artists out there who like me can't resit buying every book that catches their eye with the best intention to read...go on, go and read them, enjoy them and remember why you bought it!

This book lead me to the this great blog: http://indiecraftdocumentary.blogspot.com