A day to escape to bonny scotland.

Everybody needs a day escape from time to time and even more so when the weather has been so awfully cold recently. So i decided to take a trip north of the boarder to visit some dear friends before Christmas, and also spend some quality time with little brother before he goes off on his travels in the new year.
It was touch and go with heavy snow fall the night before we left but thankfully it held off long enough for us to venture into bonny (but very cold) Scotland.
I love Edinburgh it is such a grand city and as some are aware I am currently putting the wheels in motion to relocate there. Little brother and I had such a lovely day, drank alot of tea to warm us up and boost us through the Christmas shoppers, the German Christmas market gave the city an extra festive buzz ... and of course a trip to Edinburgh just is not complete without my Cath Kidston fix ... which this time consisted of not just one but four new tea cups!

This little trip was the start of the holidays for me so heres wishing you a very jolly christmas and a happy new year folks!!

xxx

The Grand Tour : Customs House Gallery

Those clever little knitters have been at it again!!!

After the Christmas fair we had a wonder on down to the gallery to see the Grand tour exhibit.
This was part two, which followed on from the project Knit a coat for a boat i was involved with last year.
The Grand tour gives the idea of the knitted boat going off on its travels around the world and returning with artwork from each country ... knitted of course!!

The collection ranges from Andy Warhol, to kimonos, to a portrait of Rembrandt and Van Gogh's sunflowers.
My personal favourite was the girl with the pearl earring ... which was constructed by cross stitch and quite possibly is the most amazing piece of stitch work i have ever seen!!

Hats off to you ladies!! i was sorry i was to busy to be involved on this one but you have pulled it off in style it looked amazing

xxx

Christmas fair & open studio

This year is the first Christmas to be celebrated in the Customs House gallery shop, and to mark the occasion they decided to run a Christmas market in store, by each day of the week having different designers and artists working in store.

This was a very proud moment for me, as it was my first event working under my label, and i was to be working alongside Zanna Designs who i worked with on industry placement whilst at university. It was nice to see my work come full circle and now doing it for myself alongside the company that got me started.

It was a very chilly day thanks to all the snow that hit so the event was quieter than it might have been but still alot of fun!!

many thanks to the gallery for inviting me

xxx

Culture Magazine December Issue

This week i had the privilege to be in print in time for Christmas!! my work was spotted at the Customs House gallery shop and was selected to be featured in the Christmas gift edition of the Culture Magazine.
This was brilliant coverage for both me as a designer, and my brand. I was thrilled with the amount of space i was given in the article and the imagery looks fab....which is down to my good friend and amazing photographer.. Grant Glenton.

Since my work was featured my website has had over 3000 more hits so fingers crossed for many more and get those orders rolling in.

xxx

Christmas market and russian dolls

I really love this time of year especially when the the Christmas market hits down in town.
Finished work early for a change this week so me and Roy went for a wonder around the little stalls all settled in the snow and highlighted with fairy lights ... looked so pretty.
Every year we both hunt down the little Russian lady who sells the the most amazing Russian dolls . . Roy buys a new one every year, me? miss indecisive? I never quite get there in making a purchase .. however this year the lady did good!! hidden at the back of the stall my eye caught a set of dolls with an old blue and white china pattern ... instantly fell in love and it now has pride of place on the shelves above my desk, along side my other bits and bobs ... sat looking around this bedroom/studio/office i am dreading moving day ... i have so many belongings im going to need a good month to pack .. ill cross that bridge when i get to it , and for now just admire my collection of kitsch goodness.

The market was great fun and i have had a few good ideas about how im going to set my stall up at the fairs im doing in the next few weeks. If the postman manages to battle through the snow with my new camera ill be able to upload some photos for you all to see after the events.

keep you posted

xx

Culture Magazine December 2010

Several weeks ago i got a phone call from the gallery saying that culture magazine wanting to include my work in the christmas issue ... i was obvioulsy over the moon with this, fab coverage in time for the festive season and it couldnt be a better time with the rebrand and the new launch for 2011. Iv yet to recieve my copy but i have been able to look at the article on line and its brilliant. If youd like to have a look before i can get the imagery on my blog click the link below ... click to view the latest edition and turn to page 40 & 41 ... all comments welcome . xx

http://www.journallive.co.uk/culture-newcastle/culture-magazine-archive/

let it snow let it snow....let it snow

So if your not aware of the snow ... where have you been hiding? and is there room for me? ... i knew it was forecast but i didn't think it would be quite as much as it has been. I opened my front door this morning to a mini avalanche .. as i stood there in a now snow filled hallway i decided that venturing out wasn't the best plan ... typical that it is my day off work and i have so much to do but never the less a productive day in doors to catch up on my blog it is .. so kettle on and here it goes. . .

This week started out a good one, with a night out with the lovely tiv and allen. We have tickets to see the rather divine mr leto for a long time and we were not dissapointed!! 30seconds to mars were bloody brilliant! and the night continued to be eventful as we left the arena to find a blizzard .. and very almost got stranded in town..as the pics show the snow was coming down fast! Our taxi never showed up and myself and allen pushed a total of 12 cars up a hill that got stuck on the ice .. while men sat back and watched i may add .. proving even more so my point that the gentleman is an extinct breed!
Was humourous though and kept us warm, i just do hope this snow does not delay the postman i have so many wonderful new materials arriving this week in time for the chirstmas fair at the gallery ... fingers crossed they get here in time .. xxx