I had a good afternoon at Number 57, friends dropped by, artists came to introduce themselves, had some great discussions. I even sold some lavender bags, which were the sum total of things I made this week (half-term never pans out the way you think!). They looked lovely nestling in beautiful Jan Barker bowls (see photo).
… and a picture taken at home this morning before I went to Number 57.
Earlier this year, in collaboration with Nipper Skipper, I designed a set of t-shirts based on their very cute logo-mascot Pip (Penguin) – They went on sale yesterday!
Nipper Skipper sell sailing gear- safety gear and technical clothing for children who sail – age 0-10 years. The t-shirts are their first foray into Nipper Skipper branded products.
Rather than straight copy their Pip logo I went for a simplified, yet still very recognisable, strong line drawing of Pip.
Nipper Skipper felt strongly that their customers would be keen on organic fair trade t-shirts. After some research we settled on Stella and Stanley marl shirts, printed by 3rd Rail in Bermondsey London, using water-based discharge inks – which give a fantastic soft feel (no horrible plastic finish) you can hardly feel any ink on it at all.
Lastly, we thought about packaging. I’d had these gorgeous stripey candy bags on one of my Pinterest boards for ages, they come in a lovely range of colours and sizes. The yellow ones were perfect with the set of Pip stickers Nipper Skipper already send in their parcels.
Spent hours today trying to sort out an image to advertise the ‘Sewing Clinic’ I’ll be doing at Number 57 in May and June. I wanted to suggest different kinds of sewing projects; so came up with a big collage of bits and bobs with a red cross shape in the middle.
http://www.57arts.co.uk/Events/Sewing-Clinic
I’ve been working on the idea of an adjustable crossover back apron for a while and this red and navy number is the first one. I’ve made two of these so far, one is in the ‘Number 57’ gallery/shop and the other I just put in the Folksy shop.
https://folksy.com/items/6638349-No7-Artisan-Apron-Pull-on-For-artists-and-makers-Adjustable-Small-Large-Red
It’s taken me ages to get round to getting this apron photographed. I made three of these, one I gave as a Christmas present, one is for sale in ‘Number 57’ gallery/shop, and the third I just put onto the Folksy shop this afternoon.
It is a really lovely loose woven stripe cotton with the odd ‘nubbly’ bit here and there.
Last night I added a new men’s apron to the Folksy shop, and made a ‘men’s apron’ category.
A ‘one off’ mens apron; made from denim offcuts, different shades and some reversed, pieced together to make a unique maker’s apron. It was quite exciting to make; usually I plan designs very carefully, do diagrams etc but this one was more spontaneous, folding and handling the fabric until I got all the fabric pieces in the right place.
No 6 aprons will use the same basic pattern with adjustable neck tie with a loop, pencil pocket on the breast, large pocket, narrow ties, but each will be unique with different arrangements of fabric offcuts.
My first festive apron. I really loved this fabric when I saw it in Rolls and Rems, but it took me a few weeks to ‘take the plunge’… then I went back a few days later to buy the fabric with the tiny red stars for the contrast fabric.
This is a new apron, with two neck ties which knot at the back – this is for more length or coverage adjustment.
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Actually this apron was made weeks ago, but I couldn’t get a decent photo of it – we had much better luck today it was so beautiful and warm! I particularly like James photo taken from behind the geraniums!
Listed a new No 4 House Apron on Folksy. Dark denim with white top stitching, which is tricky to sew but I like the finished effect. I’ve made a No4 Artisan Apron too, in the same fabric, but haven’t managed to get a decent photo of it yet!
