Makers Month: The Workbench shop

Hey there, so another week, another maker to treat you to for Makers Month.  This time we have a husband and wife team that make up the great The Workbench Shop.  They make products for designer/makers and people everywhere who want something beautiful made of wood mainly, but I am sure they could turn their hand to most things if asked! ha ha.  They also happen to be the wonderful human beings who bought Hello Sunshine up and so they are a family winning combo really!  Lets have a chat with Janet and Tony.

Lets Meet: Peas and Needles

Since meeting Lucy at the Mollie Makes Awards we have been wanting to have her on for a chat and so now the time has come - its like Christmas has come early!  So lets hear all about Peas and Needles and what she has got coming up.

Let's meet: PupTart

We have been wanting to interview this months designer for so long, but she is always so super busy (well that's a great thing) and so we are really happy that Hannah managed to find a little time for us this month and tell us all about her business PupTart.

Let's Meet: Junk & Glitter

Hello and welcome back to Let's Meet.  We are freshly back from our holidays and of course we had a bumper pack of features for last month's Makers Month and so it feels good to get back to the routine.  Although of course we are busy planning our presentation for the Mollie makes awards for the Handmade Champion category!  eek. 

Makers Month: Lets Meet: Nylon Sky

It's a bumper crop for you this month as we have another Let's Meet for #makersmonth.  This time we had a chat with Jennifer from Nylon Sky.  We have admired her work for a while and so are super excited to bring her work to your attention - if you haven't seen it before now of course!

Makers Month Lets Meet: Hackney Potter

We wouldn't be able to have our Makers Month without our Lets Meet section that we run throughout the year and it just makes it extra special when its in this month too.  H has been obsessing over the ceramics that Hackney Potter has been making and showing on their Instagram page and so it only seemed fair to have a little chat with them. 

What was the first thing you remember making?

I’ve always been making things; ever since I was little I’ve been drawing and creating. My favourite thing to do as a little kid, was draw with candle wax and reveal the image with washes of black paint, the image appearing seemed like magic to me. Ceramics has the same effect on me now, when glazing something it looks nothing like it will when it fired, so when the kiln is opened and the final product is revealed its magical.

How did you find your creative side?

My mum always did activities with us kids, and TV was full of creative shows like, Smart, Tony Hart, Art Attack, Bitsa, Penny Crayon and Smarty Arty in Zzzap!! I can’t think of a time that I wasn’t trying my hand at someone thing creative, and luckily for me it was encouraged. It seemed obvious to me to do arts at college and university. After university I struggled to find time to be creative, 9-5 jobs really disrupted things. Until I found out about the drop in pottery workshop at Hackney City Farm, then I was hooked.

What has been your favourite ever make? Whether that be for your business or pleasure – tell us about it.

The marbled mugs I’m making at the moment are my favourite. Although the most recent make is usually the favourite. Then as new ideas develop, new things are made that replace the last as favourite. I never feel 100% satisfied for long, which pushes me forward and keeps me making.

What are your favourite ways to stay inspired?

I believe inactivity breads inactivity, and that creativity works the same way. To stay inspired and full of ideas you have to keep making, it keeps your brain ticking.

I am part of a shared studio space called Clay Collective and the other makers there are incredible, everyone is so different and it’s a constant inspiration. Going to exhibitions never fails to inspire, and Instagram is another great place to gain ideas; I’ve got a huge folder on my phone of screenshots that I look through regularly. Also it’s important to give yourself time to explore new ideas and possibilities.

Who are your favourite Designer/Makers right now?

I have so many favourites! The 11 other makers in Clay Collective are huge favourites right now; being able to see their processes, and watch work develop makes the end product more amazing to me.

The Hilma Af-Klint at the Serpentine is mind blowing, she was in an all-female collective called ‘The Five’ in Victorian Sweden, and made these epic works through challenging the spirits as a mystic. Her work was unseen until way after her death, and so it was only recently we discovered her work. Her abstract style pre-dates Kandinsky and other abstract painters. (exhibition on till 15^th May)

 On Instagram im currently loving:

https://www.instagram.com/ceciledaladier/

https://www.instagram.com/kaleyflowers/ 

https://www.instagram.com/melissaweisspottery/

What crafty item is top of your wishlist?

Everything on the bath potters website!

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

Watching films and videos online, hanging out at the studio and going to the pub with my boyfriend

Tell us a bit about what you have coming up?  any little projects you want to tell us about.

I have just been taking part in Pick Me Up Festival at Somerset House with Clay Collective, and that has really taken all of my attention for the last couple of months. I am next taking part in the Clay Collective open studio on 4^th and 5^th June, and the Independent Ceramics Market in Peckham on 17^th July, so please come visit me! 

Hackney Potter

www.hackneypotter.co.uk

www.instagram.com/hackney_potter/

www.facebook.com/HackneyPotter

Seriously you guys, you have to check out Hackney Potter's work, total love!  I just need a big house with lots of visitors to require use of ALL the beautiful ceramics!  ha ha.

Thank you for chatting to us Hackney Potter and hope you guys enjoyed this little delve into their world.

H,xxx

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Let's meet... Wolf & Moon

This month we had a chat with Wolf & Moon who make the most amazing Jewellery!  H has a few of their necklaces and shared the love with Sammy for Christmas with a pair of earrings, so it must be good!  We sat down for a chat with Hannah to find out a bit more about her.

Who's Who: The Fox in the Attic

It's back to normal this month with our Who's who, but that doesn't mean it is any less fun!  This month we are talking to Michelle from The Fox in the Attic, a great company that we first came across at Renegade last year.  Let's see what Michelle has to say.

Who are you?

I am Michelle Kreussel from The Fox in the Attic.

What do you do?

I make hand-embroidered soft-toy animals, cushions, pincushions, decorative items and printed tote bags.

How did you start?

As a child my grandmother taught me embroidery, and on a spontaneous whim one day a few years ago, I decided to start sewing and embroidering. I found I loved it, and quickly became more than adept at it.

What’s next?

I am currently working on a new range of printed characters that will coincide with the children's book my husband is writing.

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back to the beginning?

Stop stressing so much! Everything works out in the end if you work hard and you love what you are doing.

The cushions are so cute, right! much more fun than the normal square ones and would look just as great in an adult room as a child's!

They make you smile just by looking at them.

H & Sammy

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Makers Month: Who's Who: Sarah Waterhouse

This is the last of our Who's Who's for Makers Month and we have Sarah Waterhouse this time.  We have admired her work for such a long time and so it is great to be able to have a chat with her.

Who are you?

Hello I'm Sarah Waterhouse. I'm a designer and screen printer. I'm 33 years old and I'm from Sheffield, Yorkshire.  I share my life with my husband Owen, who is also a designer, and our rescue Pug Etty.  When I'm not working I'm knitting, sewing, reading or working in the garden.

What do you do?

Since 2007 I've run a sustainable fabric print and design company in Sheffield called SarahWaterhouse.  We specialise in sustainably printed fabrics for crafts, interiors and upholstery.  All of our designs are created and printed from our studio at Yorkshire Artspace in the heart of Sheffield and we print on organic cotton, hemp and linen fabrics and print using organic inks.  Our fabrics are bold, colourful and a little unusual.

How did you start?

I had ideas to start my own business making accessories when I graduated from university but I could never find the right printed fabrics to make things with so I decided to design my own. I loved lino printing at college but had never learnt how to screen print so I taught myself using books and picking up tips from the internet.  I started printing from home back in 2006 and then moved to my first studio at Yorkshire Artspace in 2009.  I then decided to concentrate on my fabric designs as they were proving so popular so I stopped making accessories and just concentrated on the fabrics. Since then I've expanded the business, moved studio 3 times and have grown from a tiny printing table that was less than a metre wide to an 8.5m professional print table capable of printing fabrics by the metre.

What's Next?

We're currently working on our new base cloth project which involves printing on a specially woven British sustainable cloth.  The experience has been brilliant and we hope to launch more British woven cloths in the future.  We will launch the new fabric with new colour ways of our Botany collection in September. We're also working with an upholsterer to start making some custom printed bespoke furniture pieces.

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back to the beginning?

I would definitely tell myself to go back to university and do a fabric print and design course. I've learnt so much teaching myself but it's taken a lot longer that way!

How amazing is Sarah's work!  Love the prints the patterns.  Wouldn't you just love to go visit her studio!

That is it for our Who's Who's this month, but check back in next month for our usual monthly instalment.

H & Sammy

Please Note: All pictures are owned by the interviewee and so should not be copied without permission.

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Makers Month Hidden Treasure: We Make London

Image courtesy of www.wemakelondon.co.uk

We are big fans of this month's Hidden Treasure and what better way to celebrate Maker's Month, than with a shop that showcases British Designer/Makers in the heart of Camden, London.

Last year we attended their 5th Birthday celebrations and they have gone from strength to strength with visits to other shows and markets alongside their shop in Camden.  You will be able to see them at The Handmade Fair this weekend, so go check them out if you are going for a visit.

Image courtesy of www.wemakelondon.co.uk

They have over 30 designer/makers selling a range of items from Jewellery and homewares to children's clothes and gifts.  There is so much to buy for yourself and as presents of course.  This is where H first came across I am Acrylic and Mister Peebles and so there are definitely some great things to be found.

Is there a place like this in your town?  There is a shop where Sammy lives called the Craft Coop which do something similar and H's work, The Lightbox always pride themselves in having designer/makers work in their shop.

Image courtesy of www.wemakelondon.co.uk

We love little places like this and think they should be everywhere!  What a great way to support designer/makers and get the real life shopping experience at the same time!

H

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Makers Month: Who's Who: Corby Tindersticks

As you know we are in Makers Month here at Live it. Love it. Make it and so we couldn't leave out one of our favourite features, the Who's who.  We have a bumper crop for you this month and so we start with Corby Tindersticks.  Let's find out all about them.

Who are you?
Hello! I'm Carly Joleene Gledhill, designer, maker and chief Martini stirrer at Corby Tindersticks!

What do you do?
I design and make a collection of toys, clothing and ace stuff for kids (and grown-ups).  Corby is a brand with a love for childhood obsessions, collecting, making, digging in the mud and making art with pasta! These are all things which inspire the design process. I still get excited with little things that I loved as a child (like cool sticker books and collecting) which is why I try and incorporate all of these aspects into the designs.

How did you start?
I won a colouring competition at a local park at the age of 7 and realised that being creative was my calling. I started Corby as a creative escape from a boring day job. It began as a hobby and sprouted into a little business which soon took over my life and kitchen table.

What's Next?
I have just finished designing the Summer 2015 range which is behind schedule as usual! I'm really excited with the new collection as it has an approach to the previous collections.
I have also collaborated with a good friend of mine Catherine Lobster on a Poco Nido/Corby project (Poco Sticks!) which launched at Playtime Paris this summer.
I'm also a co-founder of the Dot to Dot London trade showroom which took place this July at the V&A Museum of Childhood. We had some ace brands joining us this season and the show is growing so it's really exciting to be part of it! phew!

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back to the beginning?
You'll get there in the end!

Sounds like Carly is keeping pretty busy and we just loves the playful nature of Corby Tindersticks. When we get older we often loose the fun of finding out new things and so going back to your childlike state encourages adventure.  Something we definitely like here at Live it. Love it. Make it.

Keep an eye out for next week's Who's Who!
H & Sammy
.

 Live, Love, Make, Like, Share, Follow, Tweet, Pin, Add, Enjoy. 

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Who's who: Laurel Howells

This month's who's who is Laurel Howells who is a Designer-Maker, Illustrator, Photographer, Collage artist and all round creative hailing from Taplow in Berkshire - Just near Sammy and it turns out went to the same Uni as H, small world hey!

Laurel is a designer who sells her homemade wares online and at craft fairs and pop up shops, so do watch out for her work.  She also does freelance illustration work.

How did you start?

I graduated from university 2 years ago in Graphic Design and afterwards I felt a bit lost.  I've always felt more passionate using craft and collage handmade techniques, so at the end of summer 2012 I decided to give it a go as a full time designer-maker and I am loving it.

What's next for you?

I hope to continue and develop my brand even further and expand my product lines and designs, to continue having fun and to hopefully progress in more freelance illustration work, currently I am designing website illustrations for a fair trade boutique shop in Glasgow who were fond of my quirky linear illustrations.

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back to the beginning?

To not worry

To follow your dreams and passion

There is no failure in life

The only pressure is the pressure you put on yourself

Have fun

Don't regret any career moves

You can check out Laurel's work at: 

http://www.laurelhowells.co.uk

http://www.facebook.com/laurelhowellscreative

http://laurelhowells.tumblr.com

I think you will love her quirky designs just like we do and so do go and have a look and please do let us know what you think in the comments below.

Live it.  Love it.  Make it

H & Sammy

P.s.  If you would like to be featured in our who's who, then please do email us over at liveit.loveit.makeit@gmail.com and we will see what we can do!