littlechook vintage and original

Crafty Projects No 1 Headbands

2010-01-09T08:08:00.000-08:00

Katherine is desperate to learn to sew and wants to hang out in my studio so I have been looking for simple projects we can work on together. She's too little to actually use a sewing machine but she likes sitting on my knee and watching me sew!

First up for 2010 is a head scarf from the Lena Jansdotter "Simple Sewing for Baby" book. I got some great fabric in the form of two pairs of curtains in a local charity shop a while back. One pair has been turned through 180 degrees and new header tape attached to fit Katherine's room. (thanks mum!).

The other was too faded to use as curtains so I cut this up to make some headbands. The pattern is very simple and is either for a dribbler bib thing or a girl's headband. I did though have to cut Katherine's pattern again as the pattern in the book is definitely toddler sized. Or maybe my daughter has an extra large head?

We put Sarah's on her head and she seemed quite happy with it. I think though when I make more dribblers I will use some velcro rather than tying it around her neck. Faster on and off then!

renovations, renovations, renovations

2009-12-30T14:05:00.001-08:00

After accepting my award for the most neglected blog in the world I, like many other bloggers, resolving to try and post more thoughts in 2010.

Our main project this year is going to be updating and renovating our victorian terraced house. Some work has already been done which was exciting. One of the bedrooms contained a kitchen - a legacy of a large family living here previously.

It contained exciting things such as a 40 year old boiler and a central light which used to be able to be adjusted in height but this mechanism was broken and it was at perfect forehead whacking height.

Our lovely builder Guy and his sidekick Yanni were fantastic and hoovered up at the end of each day. There was alot of dust and dirt as the room needed re plastered and the ceiling replaced due to an undetected leak from the attic.

A large brick fireplace was plastered over. It looked like a very strange pizza oven! The room feels so much more spacious without it and is now a proper studio space for littlechook. The photo shows the old layout but after the Christmas rush I haven't had time to tidy up or take any 'after pics' as yet.

Bust London Summer Craftacular

2009-08-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

Firstly, Sarah Elizabeth arrived on 16th June weighing 9lbs 14 ozs (4.5 kgs)! She has a long body, funny wee legs and a shock of dark spiky hair.

So we've been settling into life as a family of four. Big sister has been great with the odd blip. She has nick named her little sister 'the gosling' and it has kind of stuck!

On the littlechook front I have cut some new templates such as a horse and a lobster but they are not yet on tees. I found a new organic cotton supplier aswell so have some really lovely new tshirts to work with.

Lastly I applied for the Bust Craftacular in London on 22nd August and was accepted. Help! Got to get busy making......

etsy front page!

2009-04-22T09:41:00.000-07:00

My lovely friend Ariane of Peppermint Twist Designs emailed me to say I'd been on the front page of etsy. Well my little lady modelling the deer and star tshirt had been!

I also discovered craftcult as a way to find expired treasuries, hearts, views etc so I could see how it looked. I can't for the life of me take a screenshot though.

I also found that the butterflies tshirt is in a gift guide and the rabbits and star tshirt was on the front page back in march.

Yay for etsy!

the folksy children's category disaster

2009-04-20T08:22:00.000-07:00

ok, folksy.com is turning into the most annoying website to sell on.

they have removed the category for 'children' on the account that categories are for 'objects'. added in is 'housewares'. As they say on the blog it is a huge category but on that is recognised on many online shopping sites. Duh as is children.

Etsy, notonthehighstreet.com, misi , dawanda - all have children or baby and child top level categories.

As was pointed out by several posters on the blog people often browse a whole category looking for inspiration for presents. Now on folksy they have to search each top level category to find the children sub category.

And then I find admin put a little post up a while back asking for 'feedback'. I can't stand this way of communicating. Not everyone has time to read all the forum posts everyday. What about a dedicated email to sellers. That would seem fairer.

Along with the static and frankly boring front page, front page link to a competition that finished last year and the everlasting totes promotion it just looks to me like they couldn't give a monkeys about how their site looks.

I've never really looked into misi or coriandr in depth as their front pages put me off. My pet hate is anyone's items photographed lying on a laminate floor. Ok for some old tshirt you are sticking on ebay but your handmade items?

But at least their front pages have some life to them. On folksy there are some items I see pretty much everyday. If I was a buyer I'd think they had bugger all to sell.

Ok rant over....

I thought that A Resin Revivals 'organ grinder' pendant and locket was appropriate!

Gorillas in the mist

2009-04-18T01:39:00.001-07:00

Took the little lady to london zoo as an easter treat and it rained all day! Some of the animal didn't seem to mind including the meerkats who had a tiny baby with them.

The Gorillas though contune to depress me everytime I see them. Despite the 'no flash photography' and 'don't bang the glass' signs people - adults and children just rush up to the glass, bang on it, shout and take photos with a bright flash!

I find it very sad. The male gorilla died before christmas and I think the females are really missing him. Or am I just projecting human values onto them? I don't know.

I'm not sure these beautiful creatures are really suitable for a zoo to be gawped at. It's no wonder they don't breed.

There's a series of gorilla portraits on one of the walls in the visitor bit and they all look so different. Most were rescued as babies and have suffered trauma after their parents were killed for bushmeat or for their hands.

I sadly think that by the time the little lady has grown up there will only be gorillas and many other animals left in zoo and not in the wild where they belong.

It's very sad.

what have I been up to?

2009-04-14T02:56:00.000-07:00

not blogging that's for sure and that is naughty.

I like blogging but I am just so tired at the moment. I am now the size of a beached whale and getting to sleep at night is so hard. Baby Sister likes to wake up and kick me for most of the night and the weight of my pregnant belly just gives me a dead leg! ouch...

but I am a happy chook after a good run of sales and two press features - country living mag (but sadly only the back of a tshirt) and in Sustained Magazine which is a really interesting publication that I hadn't come accross before.

They have featured my old oak tree organic cotton tshirt. I can't for the life of me manage to take a screenshot though of the online version.

Bloggers Block?

2009-03-14T04:39:00.000-07:00

Is there such a thing?

I certainly haven't had the inclination to write anything for a long time! I've found online selling so time consuming too. Why do etsy, folksy, MISI, Trunkt etc all require different photo sizes, file sizes etc etc etc! It's driven me mad.

However I am much more motivated now after an online break where I have been concentrating on new designs and just doing some sewing projects for the hell of it!

On the home front too there will be a new littlechook arriving early June and I must say the first and second trimesters were pretty hard going with constant morning, noon and night sickness.

My little lady is very excited at the thought of having a baby sister. When my sister was born I used to try to sell her outside our local shop while my mum was shopping. Hope history doesn't repeat itself but then times have changed and there's no leaving the little 'uns outside now while you shop!

Handmade Oxford

2008-11-12T12:24:00.001-08:00

My blog laziness knows no bounds but I have been busy concentrating on designing and making a whole bunch of new baby and toddler tshirts. My hands are curled into small claws after cutting large batches of flock into many lovely deer, squirrels, rabbits, stars and other forest creatures!

On Sunday though I was part of the Handmade Oxford Craft Show and what a day! It was so well organised by Becci and her team and the town hall is a stunning building making such a nice change from mouldy old church halls that are the usual location for craft fairs.

And everything there was handmade! No re sellers , no sweatshopped in china crap! There was so much lovely stuff and I met some nice folk like cloudhopping, snap dragon beads and poor robin whose etsy shops and blogs I have read and admired so it was lovely to meet and chat.

crafters rock!

bugs and sniffles

2008-10-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

It's definately autumn now as it is pretty chilly in the afternoons and both the little lady and I have been suffering with colds and sniffles. She has a terrible chesty cough and hasn't been sleeping that well so all my well intentioned 'perpare in advance' for the christmas craft fair season have fallen by the wayside.

I've also got a part time job working for my sister at her company Neon which has been good fun. It's very interesting to see behind the scenes and I am proud to be part of her very successful company aswell.

As a little treat I have bought her a skinny la minx tote bag (and err one for myself and some stickers for the little lady...). I thought it would be something different for her to carry her work things around in.

I love Heather's work and as she featured the urban craft stars on her blog for me it was high time I visited her shop for a little purchase or too. I'm hoping the mugs are back soon as they wuld make lovely Christmas presents for my mum and dad.

office gossip

2008-10-17T06:31:00.001-07:00

our internet connection is fixed at last thanks to the lovely Colin and Ben at Tiscali. I actually managed to load a new item - a red bird treasure tote bag onto folksy and started on updating my etsy shop.

Somehow though my new camera makes the picture's dimensions too big for etsy size so that's another technology challenge for me to wrestle with.

My other challenge is being back at work part time. I do though have the most family friendly employer aka my sister. Her company Neon goes from strength to strength in the world of PR and I am very very proud of her. I think alot of people do dream about running their own business but not everyone actually takes the leap but she has done so very successfully.

Royal Parks Half Marathon

2008-10-13T11:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday starting in Hyde Park was the Royal Parks Half Marathon ran by around 12,500 people including my very brave sister. Her time was about 2 hours and 15 mins and that was with a sore ankle. She also ran in style wearing gold leggings.

She picked UNICEF as her charity and she raised a fantastic total for them.

We missed her at the start of the race but we made sure we were at the finish to see her cross the line. It was a hot day so everyone was sweating buckets and the water and bananas at the finish line were in demand!

There was also a food and fitness festival for the spectactors including a portuguese hog roast mmmmm

Well done my sis!

Treasure bags for little 'uns

2008-10-11T13:46:00.000-07:00

I'm working hard on new images for my littlechook website and managed to get some great shots in finsbury park with the little lady modelling the bags. She had a great time helping me stuff them with paper bags to make them more photogenic then we hung them in the trees. They looked really sweet and the squirrels and loads of passer bys were intrigued!

Hopefully I'll be able to get this internet problem fixed and get the new images of the mini toe bags onto etsy and folksy soon. They sold really well in the pop up shop so I have high hopes for them at all the christmas fairs this year.....

finsbury park life

2008-10-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

My blog discipline is all over the place at the moment and my posting is a bit erratic but I am still struggling with a crappy internet connection which is making me lose the will to live.

Still had a nice day today with the little lady. We took some of the little treasure tote bags up to finsbury park and I hung them in the trees and took some pictures. The park looked lovely today in the autumn sunshine but it felt alot colder today. We also made friends with some squirrels including one who tried to climb in the buggy. The little lady was ready to fight him for the raisins!

slow, slow and slower...

2008-10-06T13:32:00.000-07:00

We spoke to a nice tiscali call centre person last night and thought our problem was fixed but nooooooo....

It is driving me crazy having intermittent internet access. I have new things to add to etsy but can't and also I seem to be unable to add any photos to my blog either.

On the bright side although I didn't win the Howies/Folksy competition they are sending all the shortlisted designers £30 in Howies vouchers which is nice as I really need a waterproof type coat as I can't push a pram and hold a brolly in the winter weather.

And it feels so cold at the moment. I've had the little lady modelling but I've had a long sleeve tee under her tops as I don't want her to catch a cold. I'm ordering American Apparel long sleeved baby tees for the winter range (doesn't that sound posh) as I'm struggling to find organic cotton ones.

At least the AA ones have been made under fair working conditions. I do wonder when I see baby items for sale on various 'craft' sites at such low prices - £3/$6 for a 'onesie' if the person selling them thinks about how they were made so cheaply. I have friends working for a few design companies who have visited Indian and Chinese textile factories and it isn't a pretty sight. Virtually no health and safety for a start.

Yes I do sometimes buy the the little cheap supermarket clothes but I always feel really guilty and try not to buy too much. I hate the idea of children's clothes made for us westerners by developing world children. Kids should be out playing and getting an education not slaving in some sweatshop.

broadband hitches

2008-10-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to put this post up for 5 days now, hopefully it is now fixed. We will see when I try to upload the picture....

I got a new digital camera , a fuji finepix, as an early birthday present and it is fantastic! I keep wandering round the house taking random shots of anything and everything. I did manage to persuade the little lady to model one of the new tshirts (bribed her with a biscuit) so she struck a pose and I think they turned out really well.

I'm hoping to set up a new etsy shop soley for the tshirts but need to get a few more decent pictures first. I'm glad I went for the organic cotton ones and they are washing and wearing really well. I did print onto a couple of the really cheap fruit of the loom ones and you get what you pay for.....

new etsy purchases

2008-09-30T07:14:00.000-07:00

well finding some cash in my paypal account was nice after a little flurry of etsy and ebay sales so of course this was burning a hole in my virtual pocket so I decided to buy some supplies and also a little treat for myself.

I bought magnet backing which are used in the back of a badge instead of a pin and hey presto you have a button sized magnet. We've had fun making some vintage fabric magnets which are residing on our lovely fridge at the moment.

The seller , kungfucowgirl.etsy.com also very kindly sent me two fantastic Obama 2008 badges plus some stickers and a picture of a punk hedgehog. The little lady was transfixed by both the stickers and the hedgehog and spent hours playing with them. The simple pleasures of toddlers!

She also loves the kungfucowgirls logo sticker which we cut off the envelope - The little lady declared that the baby fairies live under the mushrooms. Then we made shortbread biscuits. It's all good in the world of littlechook!

babygros aka 'onesies'

2008-09-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

I really liked my singing bluebird from the Howies/Folksy comp entry so I re cut the flock shapes again and used them on a babygro (onesies as the US etsyians call them) and also tried the rabbit and love heart designs on other babygros and they are just cute as a button!

I've been thinking about other garmets that I can use my designs on as t shirts will be more seasonal and just now everyone is thinking about keeping their little ones warm. So I am trying long and short sleeved babygros and long sleeved toddler t shirts. It's been hard to find organic cotton ones so I think I will have to go with the american apparel long sleeved t. It's not organic but at least I can be sure it hasn't come from a sweatshop or been made by children....

The folksy display in howies

2008-09-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

We were in town today shopping for a suit for hubby so we went to carnaby street to have a look at the folksy display in the howies shop and it looks amazing. I really like the way they have displayed Bbel's bracelet and necklace by drawing a figure and arm onto a brown bag. The folksy logo is made out of some distressed chunky wood and it looks really good.

The voting systems is basically stick a gold star beside the one you like best. So if anyone is passing the shop and wants to vote for me that would be ace!

There are more pics on my flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/littlechook/ and in the flickr folksy group http://www.flickr.com/groups/folksy/

Move over etsy - folksy rocks!

I made the final!

2008-09-19T06:34:00.000-07:00

of the Howies/Folksy competition! I am so excited as I never win anything. Well I did win a prize in primary 2 for a painting I did but I got myself into trouble by inventing a middle name (elizabeth) for myself as I was always annoyed that I didn't have one.

Anyway......

My Free as bird tea towel will be in the window of the carnaby street store as of today. I think that the final winner is decided by a public vote (just like the x factor but I am sure JamesB is much cuter than simon cowell) so I am going to hassle everyone I have ever met to vote for me me me!!!

Going to Selfridges tomorrow morning so will pass howies on the way to see how fabby the window looks with all the folksters in it. There are some fab entries which can be seen on www.folksy.com

Howies/Folksy competition

2008-09-15T00:51:00.000-07:00

Folksy are running design competition in conjunction with Howies and I decided last night to do a last minute entry. I had been thinking about their 'life is complicated, sport is simple' theme for a while and had some ideas but true to form life is complicated and I hadn't had any time to do anything about them.

So last night I cut some flock, did some embroidery and came up with a bird themed tea towel.

I went for a tea towel cos everyone has to do the dishes and I wanted a design that would remind you to hurry up, dry up and go outside.

The winning designs will be displayed in the window of the Howies carnaby street store during london design week. There are some lovely entries on folksy at the moment. I like Stitchy Woo Woo's freedom to wheel tote bag and Lucy Player's simple illustration.

my little treasure

2008-09-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

I am in the blog dog house as I haven't been blogging for ages. No excuses really apart from a visit from the grandparents and just general tiredness.

I didn't realise I hadn't uploaded the pics I had taken on our day out in brighton and this one just sums up what happy wee soul my daughter is. (most of the time!). She loves buses at the moment.

Design wise not much happening either but trying to get back on track. Few sales on etsy for vintage fabric cushions which has been nice and I'm trying ebay again to see what happens there.

featured seller on etsy

2008-09-06T13:09:00.000-07:00

The current featured seller on etsy is Bombus aka Amelia who was part of the urban craft stars pop up shop. How exciting to actually know a featured seller on etsy!

The pic is of one of her decoupage mirrors and a chair covered in an old london a - z. When this was in the shop I noticed that our street was on one of the legs.

Congratulations Amelia!

where are the children?

2008-09-05T02:52:00.001-07:00

A little hungover today after a lovely anniversary meal at La Bota in Crouch End last night. Still trying to unpack everything from the pop up shop too!

So I'm avoiding this by flicking through Living etc and Real Homes.....

Living etc has a featured house this month belonging to Sara Berman. On the floor plan it does show a playroom so I can only imagine she locks her kids in there in order to keep the rest of her house so 'stylish'.

I had an interesting conversation recently with a woman who works in child health and development and she said she is seeing more and more children from middle class families who are not allowed to be children as they live in these perfectly styled homes with no consderation to their needs.

She said many are not allowed to use paints or play with water toys in case the house gets dirty or heaven forbid the kids get anything on their clothes. The kids have their lives totally managed with 'play dates' and 'french lessons' but they never get time just to lounge about or to just play outside.

I find that really really sad.

In another conversation with a woman who used to work in primary schools I found out that many schools hardly teach art, sewing or music anymore. I strongly believe that everyone is creative in their own way and that in children this should be encouraged and supported.

Without creativity I think our society gets smothered and the world is a greyer place. Thank goodness for etsy and folksy so I know I'm not alone....

Ok rant over.....

Hello Battenberg

2008-09-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

The lovely hello battenburg was at the East London Craft Guerilla on Saturday and she has got the most gorgeous collection of handmade toys, badges, baby pixie hats and bib/burp sets. She uses vintage fabrics and simple shapes to make really beautiful things. www.hellobattenberg.etsy.com

I love the birdy with its button eyes and so does the little lady. I also love her pixie style hats and I need to measure the little lady's head so I can do a custom order. It's always dangerous when I've got a wee bit of money in my paypal account!

Another etsy sale today to Australia! I sometimes wonder if my mum distributed some flyers or business cards before they left Melbourne....

discovering folksy

2008-09-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

My blog discipline has faded a little recently due to being so exhausted by the last week of the carnaby street pop up shop. The clear up and clear out ended up being really stressful due to one man and van cancelling and the other ending up being late and going to the wrong address - nightmare!

So I've been taking it easy today and spending some time with the little lady. I have also discovered the new 'uk etsy' in the form of folksy.com and have managed to list a couple of things so far, one kids tshirt and one vintage fabric cushion cover.

It looks great and so good to be able to buy and sell in £ and not have to pay the paypal conversion charges (dick turpin wore a mask!). However I'll be interested to see how they spread the word about folksy beyond the crafting community or will they fall into the etsy trap of marketing to sellers?

I asked loads of people who came to the shop if they had heard of etsy and very few had. These were the sort of folk who were happy to spend their cash on our handmade goodies. Hmmmm

Sew Long Good Buy

2008-08-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

The east london craft guerilla are holding the 5th and final outdoor craft market this saturday in the garden at the back of the Penny Fielding Beautiful Interiors shop in Walthamstow village and littlechook will be there. It is organised by the lovely Deborah Daniel who is also busy organising the E17 art trail on 10th September.

I managed to staff the pop up shop for the final saturday after a wee mix up here and there so I will be taking a selection of my lovely organic cotton children's t shirts along for my stall. I may possibly squeeze in a small print run of the linen/cotton tea towels - maybe!

More info on the market at http://www.eastlondoncraftguerilla.blogspot.com/

urban craft stars and skinny la minx

2008-08-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

The urban craft stars are featured on skinny la minx's blog today. I got in touch with Heather Moore to ask her if she would feature us and I am so chuffed she picked us to write about. She also says she has seen an empty shop that would make a perfect skinnylaminx pop up shop. I hope she does as her work is so lovely.

Her etsy shop was one of the first shops I discoverd and I love it's simplicity. Her designs are always printed in a lovely pallette of soft colours.

Thank you Heather! We went to Brighton today (it was very wet and cold but nice to see the seaside) and it was nice to come back to this feature.

The little lady had a ball and was paddling in the sea with me but was most taken with the teacups ride on the pier!

charles and marie

2008-08-24T13:57:00.000-07:00

came across this website today - http://www.charlesandmarie.com/

to be honest I am not 100% sure what they do! They seem to sell a variety of products in limited editions aswell as blogging and doing alot of travelling as they have just finished the New York Gift Fair and are going to Paris for the Maison et Objet show. They seem a wee bit 'try hard' for me but I did like the simplicty of the sun jar by toby wong.

However I do like their frank minded website where they talk the global sameness of cities as small independant retailers are edged out by the big corporations. Personally I am heartened by sites like etsy and folksy that give us designer/makers a chance to sell to a global market but then it's hard to have your voice heard outside of these arenas in the wider press.

baby tshirt photography

2008-08-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

Another attempt at photographing the tshirts today as the sun was out this morning. I tried to keep thing simple by laying them on the grass. It did seem to highlight the colours especially with the red tshirt with the rabbit and squirrel. Cropped them tonight and may add them to my big cartel and etsy shops if I am able to stay awake!

Good day in the pop up shop today aswell with plenty of sales.

Hoping for some rest and relaxation tomorrow and a trip to hampstead heath for some fresh air after the stale air of the tube today.

little flockstars

2008-08-22T03:44:00.000-07:00

Spent some time yesterday trying to photograph the new tshirt designs but the pics didn't come out too well. It's quite dark in the pop up shop and too many shadows. Also I'm not sure how good tshirts look when not on a real child! My toddler is way to wriggly for a model!

I've added some pin button badges to the toddler tshirts. For the singing birds tshirt I have added a badge made from vintage sheet music.

Struggling a bit to get some good images for my website. I'm switiching from linking http://www.littlechook.co.uk/ to etsy to linking to my bigcartel shop. I am hoping in the longer term this will be more cost effective as there's still no option to pay in anything other than dollars on etsy and the paypal conversion charges are extortionate.

Urban Craft Stars on Living etc.com

2008-08-20T06:19:00.000-07:00

it's a dream come true! http://www.livingetc.com/news/Urban_Craft_Stars_article_265888.html

Living etc is my fav interiors mag. I have every copy going back years and I have refused to chuck them away during any housemoves/clear outs!

And now they have featured the urban craft stars on their website! It is so exciting and so kind of them to feature us. There's a click through to etsy aswell so hopefully more uk buyers for us etsy folk too.

The pop up shop is so busy today aswell and people love our things so it's all good in the world of littlechook today.

http://www.livingetc.com/news/Urban_Craft_Stars_article_265888.html

Kim Parker Textiles

2008-08-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

I've seen bits and pieces of Kim's work in the past but until looking at her website I didn't realise how lovely it is. http://www.kimparker.tv/ She is on the back page of this months living etc (finally got myself a copy) and I think her style is very individual and beautiful. I love that she is self taught too. She uses colour so beautifully and talks about painting flowers how she feels them rather than how she sees them.

"A designer with an exuberant style, Parker combines her own fantastic floral prints with unconventional flea market finds, fashionable antiques, and unique modern pieces to create a vibrant, colorful look"

To me she is the opposite of the blonde wood, neutral and sterile strangehold that masquerades as some kind of minimalism. Homes are meant to be lived in!

Her cushions really caught my eye and I'd love a couple for my sofa. I have just found some amazon vouchers so I may order her book Kim Parker Home although I am not sure I can get both this and Soule Mama's book. I find her blog very calming in the swirling madness of parenthood but that's another post!

Life in the pop up shop continues with a really busy day today with some great sales including one from a lovely american couple. Plus yesterday someone bought one of my kids tshirts! I was beginning to think no one liked them except me and the little lady!

in and around carnaby street

2008-08-18T02:29:00.000-07:00

On saturday we had a really busy day in the pop up shop as we had our friends and family day plus I had been busy putting flyers everywhere I could think of around carnabay street and soho and this seems worked.

I really enjoyed chatting to other shop owners aswell and found some beautiful interiors shops. Many are tucked away round here and need searching out but they are worth the trip for the beautiful and unusual items and knowledgeable service they offer.

One of my favs is lifestyle bazaar in newburgh street. http://www.lifestylebazaar.com/ filled with well edited choices including china, lighting, glassware and furniture.

wee birdy blog

2008-08-15T07:41:00.001-07:00

features the urban craft stars today which is so kind of her!. I love Rebecca's insightful blog with her pick of the london shopping scene. Her blog covers fashion, design, beauty and style in general and it is not just a 'oh look at this etsy shop' kind of thing.

You can tell she really researches her features and edits and picks the best from a range of designers, new and established. She picked out a vintage fabric cushion cover from my etsy shop in blue and white french ticking with a pink floral on the reverse. Oh the lady has style!

My blog posts are overlapping a wee bit at the moment for several reasons including the fact that I am so knackered and I am not really getting any new littlechook work done. Being away from the little lady has been really hard too. More for me than her I suspect though!

I do feel the littlechook blog is the place to be a bit more personal about me whereas urban craft stars is about the 'collective' and what we do with the pop up shop.

But - it is friends and family day tomorrow in the shop so if you are around Carnaby street come and see us for champagne and cakes. Yum.

new designs

2008-08-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

I've been working on more print designs and am thinking now about printing them onto some vintage fabrics as well as the organic cotton. I've been incorporating the paper cut outs with hand drawn images mainly of beetles and moths with some cut outs with text on them.

When I get some time that is! Between Urban Craft Stars shop, blog, my blog, little lady's molars, and a flurry of etsy sales I am knackered!

The little lady is in a nursery play today about all the different countries the children in the nursery are from and they are dressing in national costume. Her's is a bit lame - all I could find was a tartanish dress. Did manage to score points though by taking hubby's sporran and kilt pin along for the kids to see.

where have they gone?

2008-08-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

I've lost living etc. I can't buy the latest issue anywhere. Has it sold out? what is in it to make it so good that everyone is buying it?Also my selvedge magazine hasn't arrived in fact I think I am missing two issues now.

What is going on?

I'll have to make do with surfing the living etc website until I can find a copy.

Apart from that I've been lucky enough to have some etsy sales recently and the pop up shop is keeping me busy too. Our flyers arrived so we are busy spreading the word. We are also now featured on the official carnaby street website. http://www.carnaby.co.uk/events/events_item.cfm?id=80

Anorak

2008-08-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

I came accross this brand in this month's real homes - anorak. http://www.anorakonline.com/ and I love the prints and the made in the uk philosophy. Her website is great with pics of Laurie Robertson as a child in various campsites they used to visit.

I have been thinking about taking Katherine camping at some point especially after meeting a couple who take their two children camping alot and they are around Katherine's age. After our trip out of london to willows farm yesterday I am hankering after a bit of country living. Oh and I really really want a rabbit!

Back in the pop up shop tomorrow after a day not feeling too good and the little lady is cutting her molars so we are all a little under the weather at the moment.

Inside the pop up shop

2008-08-10T12:53:00.000-07:00

here's a little preview of whats in store for you when you come to the pop up shop!

Flower image is by Ryokan Art on canvas. Tea towel is a lovely new flower circle design by littlechook (me!) on a 50% linen , 50% cotton tea towel. The bag is by the lovely urbanknit and is my favourite one of all her bags and purses in the shop. The little kids treasure bag is a mini tote with a flock print - this one is called Tweet. The cards are by Bombus and use recycled maps and magazines.

The shelf and the elk came from my house which is looking bare with all the furniture now in the shop.

We worked hard on saturday to get all the stock uploaded onto big cartel so we can now take crdedit and debit card payments too.

day 2 in the pop up shop

2008-08-08T15:07:00.001-07:00

and here is a picture of the outside of our shop in all its glory.

great day today with plenty of sales and lots of chat with people who love our work. Also met the lovely steven who makes toys, childrenswear and other goodies - http://www.myhappyaccidents.etsy.com/

I am really enjoying being in Kingly Court and meeting lots of new folk and Carnaby Street was buzzing when I was dragging myself home tonight. I remember the world of going for drinks after work with a spring in my step and a twinkle in my eye.... but then that was LBT (life before toddler)

And big thanks to the lovely Richard for coming to the rescue of the Urban Craft Stars today and fixing our wi fi. Beers are due!

pop up shop open for business

2008-08-08T01:41:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot to take photos of the shop on its first day!How silly was that??

We had a first great day in our carnaby street pop up shop though and made a few sales including a bag by peppermint twist and a t shirt by my mums a hippie. I also met the manager of our neighbouring shop, Stromboli Circus Shop (vintage clothing) and he gave me some advice on dressing the window and lighting the shop which was really kind of him. We plan to change the windows round every few days to keep things fresh and to ensure that all our urban craft stars get maximum exposure.

Kingly Court really gets going in the afternoon and in the early evening they have live music so it's a really nice atmosphere. The smell of the food from the Chinese restaraunt downstairs drives me into a hungry frenzy though...

Ok, off now to update my etsy shop and then into town to open up for day two...

the pop up shop is full of goodies!

2008-08-06T13:47:00.001-07:00

and we open tomorrow for business! Today was a day of very hard work by all of the urban craft stars and it looks fantastic. So if you are in the Carnaby Street area come and see us at 1.4 Kingly Court (1st floor).

Our stars are:

Urbanknit

Peppermint Twist

My Mums a Hippie

Bombus

Ryokan Art

FreeflowMamas

Littlechook

Hope to see you in the shop soon ready to spend your pocket money....

pop up shop is almost here!

2008-08-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

I got the keys to our unit today which makes everything seem very real now for our pop up shop. I have also just read our fabby urban craft stars press release written by my oh so talented lil sister.

Off to bed now as knackered and need to be up early for our 'man and van' arriving to take all the props and stock down to carnaby street. I am worried I have more than a van load and will have to follow in the car!

urban craft stars blog

2008-08-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

finally today I managed to set up the new urban craft stars blog. I am hoping that urban craft stars will become a force to be reckoned with in the UK design and craft scene helping its members to gain publicity in the press, opportunities to sell their work and time to network with each other as being a small business owner can be kinda lonely sometimes!

Whilst I love etsy it isn't the most well known site in the uk and as far as I can see promoting etsy outwith the US doesn't seem to be a priority for them. I did contact them tonight about the carnaby street pop up shop as I think it would be great if they could feature us somewhere on the site.

I need a website so I'll have to talk nicely to the lovely Jen of http://www.jhollywooddesigns.com/ , designer of the littlechook website, etsy jeweller and soon to be mama for the second time around!

So have a look at http://www.urbancraftstars.blogspot.com/ and if you would like to join us the email me urbancraftstars@googlemail.com It is not just for etsy or dawanda sellers but for any indie designer/makers who are UK based. You can do anything - jewellry, textiles, knitting, ceramics, illustration, fine art, photography - as long as it is handmade.

exhaustion sets in!

2008-08-02T15:46:00.000-07:00

For some mad reason I decided to print a whole new series of cushions and tea towels for the pop up shop which has left me absolutely knackered with trying to organise everything, look after the little lady, update my etsy shop etc etc - the list is endless!

And the prints haven't turned out the way I want them to either. My ideas are still in my head and I really need to do something with them.

I am thinking of making changes to the website again so I've been looking at other websites for inspiration and I really love Melin Tregwent's site, http://www.melintregwent.co.uk/

It's fantastic to see a welsh woollen mill using its traditional skills to create some gorgeous fabrics. I love the vintagey feel to their products and I love the bags. Everything is photographed beautifully too. Their blankets look really soft and cuddly. I'd love to visit the mill next time I go to Wales to see mum and dad. Having worked in a textile mill I am always interested to visit and I especially like buying fabric remnants in mill shops!

urban craft stars

2008-07-31T14:54:00.000-07:00

is the collective name for all the pop up shop designers.

So far confirmed we have:

my mums a hippie

urbanknit

peppermint twist desings

bombus

Tim Williamson (photography)

and of course littlechook.

Most of us sell on etsy already but I'll post profiles of each over the next few days in advance of us opening our pop up shop in carnaby street. It's all very hectic but very exciting too. Thought I'd start with an urbanknit tote bag which I am very fond of!

hero shots

2008-07-29T15:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had a meeting of some of the 'urban craft stars' who will be part of the carnaby street pop up shop. All tonights stars are etsy sellers. Our lovely PR specialist aka my sis has asked for our bio and logo in order to put together a press release along with four images - hero shots!

I really love this expression for some reason! I need to now pick mine which is proving difficult. I've included a possible here so any feedback on this is very welcome. Needs some cropping and editing though.

I also spotted the most amazing sofa in a secondhand shop today. It is a pink upholstered two seater with a scroll back and arms. We glimpsed it's loveliness from the bus window and are going back tomorrow for a closer look!

all things original

2008-07-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

Doing some research into etsy like sites tonight and came accross allthingsoriginal.com

It's a beautiful site featuring some really fab designers including bombus (who is going to be part of the carnaby street pop up shop).

I have decided I am in love with the coffee table covered in decoupage with a vintage 1960's london map. It belongs in my living room!

I do wonder though how many of these types of sites can be successful as I know from my time in the corporate world how much time and cash is needed to develop a website and then all the marketing and PR needed to get the name out there. I think alot of folk still think 'build it and they will come'.

This week though I am really looking forward to meeting the other pop up shop folk and to having another peep into our unit and to deciding how we will arrange all our goodies.

all change please!

2008-07-25T15:22:00.000-07:00

Change is in the air....

It's still hot and sunny here in london and I'm enjoying it while it lasts having picnics in the park.

Labour have lost the Glasgow East by election, Obama has been doing a JFK in Berlin and littlechook is organising the pop up shop and has new etsy sales - yay! I am surprisingly un stressed. (for now).

I have also decided not to make up any more vintage fabric cushions. From now on I want to concentrate on my own print designs. I just feel that is now the right direction for me and I am full of ideas at the moment.

Tomorrow is the little lady's birthday party so I'm looking forward to some family chill out time filled with food, drink and catch up chat.

the pop up shop

2008-07-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

is finally going to happen....

I saw our unit yesterday. It's in Kingly Court just off Carnaby Street. The unit is absolutely massive so I am hoping that we can do it justice.

I am keeping in mind though all the Mary Queen of Shops programmes I have been watching and how she advises her clients to keep the layout and fixtures very simple. I love the interior of the Mayfair Stella McCartney shop with its vintage style wallpapers combined with modern touches like the bright pink bag display unit.

My aim is to move us as far away from a 'craft fair' with its horrible 'behind a table' philosphy to a place where customer can browse and touch the product, see demos of knitting, embroidery and other crafts and really talk and get to know who is behind the product. I have a fab bunch of designers ready - some london etsy folk, others I have met at craft markets.

In order to keep costs down I am planning to use some of the victorian pine vintage furniture I have already plus we are of to find a cool sofa and chair at one of the many second hand places round here at the weekend. Plus a trip to Ikea for some open shelving too.

I have big plans so watch this space!

the studio clear out

2008-07-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

is now complete! I have room for my heat press, sewing machine, printing stuff as well as my stash of lovely vintage fabrics all boxed and labeled.When I packed my latest etsy sale to send away to the customer I could actually find all the things I needed without having to run up and down stairs or saying any sweary words. Result!

The room was used as a kitchen by the house's previous ocupants so I have a very useful sink and some much less useful kitchen cupboards and a cooker (now covered by a piece of chipboard and has my lightbox on it). The second pic also shows the crazy light which you can pull down or up. I have managed to raise it up a bit so I don't keep hitting my head on it!

children's bedrooms

2008-07-20T05:37:00.000-07:00

Whenever I see children's bedroom in interior magazines like living etc and elle dec it makes me feel a bit sad as they are always so 'styled' and more for adults than kids. Recently DesignSponge featured a Yellow and Grey colour scheme which to me was really bland and had very little to stimulate a child's imagination.

Ok so the pics here of the little lady's room are after a good tidy and hoover this morning but it is a room for playing and enjoying. Yes it does have elements of her mum's style in it - vintage furniture and crochet blankets but it is for her to enjoy as she grows and if she wants Barbie wallpaper at some stage then so be it!

The wardrobe I bought on ebay, it is victorian pine and it is gorgeous. The child's chair I resuced from the side of the road. The rug is from ikea (it's really easy to clean) and the grey toy cupboard was given to me by my mum.

The wallpaper is cream with silver flowers - it was here when we moved in and I actually really like it now!

Busts 4 Justice!

2008-07-19T06:07:00.000-07:00

I received an invite on facebook to join the group Busts 4 Justice! Basically Marks and Spencers think it is ok to chrage more money for bras above a DD cup. They say it takes more development and technical expertise to make the fuller cup sizes. Busts 4 Justice say this is rubbish as you don't pay more for a size 20 dress than you do for a size 10.

And they have Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman as the group avatar. I loved that show when I was little, although I did think the lassoo of truth was a bit of a lame accessory! I loved it when she used to catch some random bloke who fell of a roof. My friend and I re enacted this by getting her little brother to jump of a wendy house roof.

Luckily there were no broken bones!

So after being distracted by this important topic I did manage to do a quick revamp to my etsy shop. I also want to start a DaWanda shop but just getting to grips with the website.

New Kids Tshirt Design

2008-07-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

made this one quite girly with a red heart and one of the pigeons is singing away. The little lady has taken to rubbing her nose against the flock shapes! I used the moo cards as the washing instructions label as the flock needs ironed on the back (although who the heck irons kids clothes!!!)

The tshirt itself is organic cotton and I was surprised at how soft it is. It is so different to the fruit of the loom t shirts that I think it does justify the higher price tag. I got some new t shirt samples today including some red organic ones from Mantis and some long sleeved unbleached ones.

I also got some Fruit of the loom v necks and I ordered a Large and X Large and I cannot believe how small they are! I can barely fit into the XL - it is sooo tight accross the chest I looked like I should be headed to the Playboy mansion. So I have scratched them as the tees for the 'plus size' collection.

I'm having more luck with tshirts from the supermarkets but the low price does make me worry about the conditions of the workers who make them.

Ideally I will buy two overlockers on ebay this weekend and will make my own t shirts eventually. My mum will be helping so we will be a two women sweatshop!

My bedroom

2008-07-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

Hello bedroom! I have some new pics on flickr including this one of my bedroom. I made lovely new bed cushions made from a vintage butterfly print and a paisley print vintage dress. My crochet blanket came from a charity shop and the lampshade is a Habitat sale purchase made from cork which is a material I really like.

The chest of drawers came from an antique shop in crouch end and is made of victorian pine. It's one of my favs. The fireplace is not orignal and is a horrible fake mahogany. I did read in living etc though that to disguise a not so nice fireplace the surround should be painted the same colour as the walls. As you can see we haven't tried this yet! The walls are a bit distressed looking as I stripped the hideous 80's wallpaper (green textured background with brown roman collums) about a week after we moved in as it was so so so bad!

The show and tell at broadway market last night was a bit of a fiasco due to staff not turning up so everyone waited hours and hours to be seen. I left after 3 1/2 hours as had to get the bus home! Better luck next time....

Broadway Market Show and Tell

2008-07-16T01:52:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the show and tell at Broadway Market for non food items so I am taking littlechook tshirts and tea towels along to see if they will allow me to have a stall. I think I can be given a 'casual pitch' so I can have a stall say once a month.

The market is every saturday but that would be a bit much for me. I don't think I'd have enough stuff! It is a brilliant market though, right by london fields so you can have a picnic once you've finished your shopping.

Wish me luck!

http://www.broadwaymarket.co.uk/market.html

Craft Friendly Southern Illinois

2008-07-14T08:16:00.000-07:00

I was featured on Kat Eyez blog yesterday! http://craftfriendlyso-il.blogspot.com/ She found me on flickr and featured my tea towels, vintage fabric cushions and cards and used the pictures from the Brixton Craft Market on her blog.

I had a look at her lovely blog and flickr pics and found that she is pretty crafty herself and produces lovely applique work on baby clothes, baby booties, bags, coasters etc etc. This is one busy lady! Her items are beautiful and she chooses some fantastic fabrics to work with.

I love the way the internet connects all us crafters, artists and designers.

another lovely etsy purchase

2008-07-12T08:49:00.000-07:00

By some miracle I had some money in my paypal account so I decided to do a little bit of shopping on etsy as I need a new wallet. My bag was stolen ages ago and I haven't got round to replacing the wallet. The worst bit of having the bag stolen was I lost a wallet my sister gave me and the bag was one bought for me by hubby on our honeymoon in Girona. Cards, phone etc can be replaced but I still miss my bag.

I was spolit for choice but I have plumped for an upcycled wallet made from a herringbone harris tweed with a cowboy print lining. The tweed was orignally a mens suit. The maker is akat and her shop is http://www.akat.etsy.com/

The Stone Family

2008-07-11T15:32:00.000-07:00

Today was a really wet and miserable day here in London but we just made the most of it and went to the park getting totally drenched in the process but kids never seem to be that bothered by torrential rain. The little lady was looking for frogs in all the puddles!

Even though the light was pretty poor today I did take some photos of bits and bobs around the house to try to improve my photography as I am still not sure how I am going to get images of a good enough quality of the t shirts.

I do like the shot though of the stones. I got them from a beach in Ireland when I went to stay at my friend's house in a remote part of Donegal. I was about 7 months pregnant at the time and a bit emotional and I picked up these three stones from the beach, one for me, one for hubby and a 'baby ' stone.

Sounds a bit crazy now but at the time it all made sense! Anyway they are lovely stones, very smooth and round. The little lady likes to say Mummy, Daddy and Baby to them as she is quite into the concept of families at the moment.

Stylish T Shirts for curvy girls

2008-07-10T13:33:00.000-07:00

Thankfully the heat press is fully functioning so I cracked on with making a couple of baby tees today. The organic cotton tshirts worked really well and they feel so lovely and soft.

I also noticed a while back on the etsy forums that lots of etsy ladies were saying how they couldn't find any tshirts to fit them. They were looking for the type of cool, funky prints that many etsy sellers have in their shops but they weren't keen on the usual American Apparel fit. Presonally I find AA really teeny tiny even the XL size! The cut is not particularily generous for a proper bosom....

So I've been trying to source wholesale 'plus size' (I hate that term) tshirts but it's been really hard to find anything half decent. I have been shocked though at the negativity towards so called 'larger' (e.g. normal!) sizes even from companies selling plus size clothing. ("our cuddlier customers" as one put it).

So I'm trying to create something stylish, fun and beautiful for us curvy girls. I used some flock shapes today as I think the deer and birds work well and I just love stars!

House versus Home?

2008-07-09T15:20:00.000-07:00

London is still being buffeted by horrible rainstorms and we are wondering if that is all the summer we are going to get.

Tonight was a late night shopping trip to Ikea to buy a cheap table for me to use as a print table. I got what I wanted aswell as some box frames which I am going to use for some mini chook worlds (pics to explain what the heck this is will follow soon).

Ikea have the slogan of 'do you live in a house or a home' which got me thinking ours is definately a 'home' ! Most of the houses in the interiors magazines I have read lately just leave me a bit cold. It's a bit wood floors - check, large gilt mirror - check, glass extension for a kitchen - check and the houses are always in London and always have a couple who are architects/interior designers who have impossibly cute kids with names like Song and Otter.

But I do like the 'feng shui' house in this months Living etc. The kids rooms look like real kids bedrooms that they can have fun in rather than an adults idea of a 'styled' kids room. I also like thier mix of vintage furniture and street art like the banksy print.

Happy Heat Press

2008-07-08T10:31:00.000-07:00

It's back and it is hopefully fixed this time. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. Just relieved it wasn't away for ages as I am going to the Broadway Market 'show and tell' next weds to try and get a 'casual trader' card to allow me to have the occasional stall at this market. The market is in Hackney beside London Fields and has a great variety of crafters, artists, food and vintage clothing.

I'm hoping to take my tea towels and kids tshirts along on the night. I'm not sure the cushion covers are the best thing for a market stall, think they are better off in my etsy shop!

I've been busy cutting flock shapes for the new t shirts. My hands are aching as the flock is fairly thick to cut through. Oh for a vinyl cutter!

Liberty Lovelies

2008-07-06T15:03:00.001-07:00

I bought some beautiful liberty fabric squares on ebay and they arrived yesterday. I was planning to use them for vintage fabric badges but I have had so much trouble cutting fabrics with the badge cutter I have given up. The point is to cut a perfect circle but the fabric seems to blunt the cutter and the circles are not properly circular so the badge machine doesn't properly press them into the fittings.

In summary the badges look great but they fall apart which isn't going to be good for customers!

The badges in my etsy shop are made of fabric but these fabrics are much thinner cotton and they worked out ok.

So I think I may just hang onto these fabric samples as inspiration as they are really gorgeous fabrics! Liberty is one of my favourite shops in london and I especially love going at Christmas to see their window displays and their whole department of decorations. The only thing is the shop is so old it isn't that easy to manouvere a pram around the floors!

Carter's Steam Fair Today

2008-07-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

No post last night as we were out gallavanting in Hoxton at lil sis's leaving do drinks which was a nice change for a friday night. I'd forgotten how many people go out for drinks after work on a friday.

Today we took the little lady to Priory Park in Crouch End to the Steam Fair. All the rides were lovely old fashioned affairs especially the fairground carousel. The little lady surprised us be being a bit of a speed freak! She loved the horse and also went on another ride with me that went really fast (I was a bit worried!) but she had a ball.

Tomorrow we have a yoga picnic on hampsted heath which I am hoping the weather holds for. I must also try and do a bit of sewing as I have some ideas for t shirts using some applique.

The Crouch End Project

2008-07-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the shopping evening in Crouch End which was fun apart from the sudden downpours. We were a bit soaked. The Crouch End Project is a collective of independant retailers which was set up to promote local shops and the unique character of the area.

We nosed round the lovely Powder boutique and I almost succumbed to a Orla Kiely stripey top but I stopped myself as the purse strings around littlechook need to be tightened this month as I've had a few unexpected expenses like shipping my heat press off for repair.

We ended up munching some delicious food in Banners which is a real Crouch End institution and great for some people watching.

My etsy shop has been neglected this week so I am going to spend sometime on it this weekend and have decided to have a sale on the vintage fabric cushion covers as I want to begin to move my shop over to be dedicated to my print designs.

my mums a hippie

2008-07-02T04:39:00.001-07:00

The lovely my mums a hippie aka Monique Jivram was part of the Brixton Craft Market. She does embroidery and illustration and I love her quirky and colourful style. She had framed drawings, embroidered broaches and t shirts for sale on sunday. Her images are really diverse - wasps, fairground ride and vintage gramaphones and she stitches on top of the drawings.

I am hoping that she can join our seven dials pop up shop as I think she has an amazing talent. She isn't on etsy yet but I've told her all about it! She's on my space www.myspace.com/mymumsahippie

outdoor yoga

2008-07-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

Beautiful sunny day again today here in London and I think I may have had a bit too much sun. The little lady was in the paddling pool for most of the afternoon and I was cooling my own feet down too.

I was also trying to take some pictures of her modelling some of my t shirts for my etsy shop but it was just far too hot for any of that! So not much work today, mostly play.

Tonight went to my yoga class and we went outside into the garden for a while which was lovely. Then we got to go back in and lie on our mats and just chill. Bliss! Our teacher has a yoga picnic planned for sunday on hampstead heath followed by a picnic so we are hoping the weather stays nice for the weekend.

littlechook loves brixton

2008-06-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

Didn't manage a post yesterday out of sheer exhaustion! The day started at 4 am when the little lady woke up early. I left for the market at 6.30 am getting horribly lost on the way (those AA road maps are rubbish!) I managed to get to the Elephant & Castle and muddled my there from there!

The market was great. It was on the famous Electric Avenue. Brixton totally rocks! It has such a fantastic atmosphere. I saw so many ladies wearing the traditional nigerian wax prints made into beautiful dresses and loads of folk just rocking their own look.

I managed to sell a fair amount of littlechook handmade goodies (mainly cards but also two cushions) but I am not sure the organisers publicised the event enough. One of my last customers of the day was the chair of the local residents association and she said she didn't know the market was happening and it was something she would have sent details of to her mailing list.

There were some other really talented folk selling crafts there and I will hopefully blog about them this week.

Hubby and the little lady joined me after lunch and they both had a great time. My daughter just seems to take everything in her stride and she was walking round the market charming all the shopkeepers!

We got home in time to watch the Euro 2008 final but I slept through most of it only waking up to see Spain lifting the trophy. Yay!

Today was catch up on sleep and housework day. Hubby is kindly making me spag bol tonight and I am enjoying a glass of red wine.

the calm before the storm

2008-06-28T12:06:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here surprisingly calmly the night before the Brixton Craft Market and drinking fruit cider. We had a brilliant day today with lots of sunshine and just general family happiness. I put together a trial layout of my stall for tomorrow and I have a fair idea of what I will do tomorrow.

I am really on my own though tomorrow with my sister at Glastonbury and hubby looking after the little lady. We decided it wouldn't be fair to get her up early and then have her spend all day at the fair so I am driving there and setting up on my own. To unload by my stall I need to arrive between 6 and 7 am. I'm hoping there's somewhere around to have some breakfast!

I'm actually looking forward to the whole thing as it will be a good chance to get feedback on my work and to chat to other artists and designers. Still bit gutted that I have no t shirts though as I felt they would sell well at an event like this. Instead I have vintage fabric cushions, badges, cards and tea towels. I am looking forward to seeing all the handmade goodies on sale.

Wish me luck!

getting steamy with tea towels

2008-06-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

I feel like I've spent the day in a Glasgow Steamie! I have slaved over a hot iron pressing the tea towels a couple of times each so they look their best for sunday's market in Brixton.

Sadly my heat press isn't working so I have no new children's t shirt's and in fact I have so few made up already that I've had to abandon this until the little blighter is fixed. Hubby has promised to see what he can do to help me out. I am so hoping he can fix it rather than have to send it away to the manufacturer.

I am happy though with my tea towels! They are a bit of a mixture of colours but all laid out together they look good. I especially like my butterfly ones.

home grown food

2008-06-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

Ok we are not quite self sufficient yet but we ate our first home grown strawberry today and it was delicious. I was a bit worried though that the birds would beat us to it and apparently the squirrels were having a little bit of a sniff round them this morning!

Tea towel production continued but alot of the colour bleached out of the green prints. Not sure why this keeps happening but it's a pest. The butterfly prints though came out well so happy with that.

I am starting on the t shirts tomorrow and am beginning to wonder whether a second etsy shop is needed for the kids t's? Maybe it is too much of a mix with the cushions? Need to think this over but need to get sunday's market over and done with first. Ali very kindly bought me a 'bumbag' from american apparel for my takings and change. I wasn't keen on having a cash box since I will be on my own behind my stall for most of the day as Ali is off to the Glastonbury Festival tomorrow.

the nightowl

2008-06-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

Insomnia struck again last night. Damm those steroids! It felt even worse this time round. I sat downstairs and cut out flock shapes for t shirts hoping the repetitive task would help me got sleepy. It didn't! I then sorted through the tea towels and found a rabbits one I had forgotten about. I have one in my etsy shop already.

I eventually slept at about 6am an hubby stayed off work this morning to look after the little lady so I got some sleep. Then went off to Stevenage to have lunch with my friend Karen which was lovely but the big pasta portion I had exhausted me. Katherine really enjoyed the train journey and loved it when other trains went past and enjoyed flipping the little seat tray thing up and down over and over again.

Went to yoga tonight and am hoping that will help me sleep. Julie worked us hard tonight so I think my abdominals will be achey tomorrow.

i want vintage!

2008-06-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

This super cool newish website was featured in Grazia a few weeks back and I had a wee look at it and decided to take up the free trial for some ads.

Lots of the usual suspects are on there: clarissa hulse, jan constantine, ulrika may with their vintage goodies and now littlechook is muscling in.

They have a newletter for customers which this week is on the very important subject of cushions and they featured me me me! My 60s floral cushion is hanging out with the cool crowd. I can't post the feature as it's a pdf thingy and I can't figure it out!

http://www.iwantvintage.co.uk/

Apart from this excitement I did do some work today printing tea towels and cutting flock shapes for the t shirts in preparation for saturday's craft market. My lovely sister looked after Katherine. The little lady was made up to have her Auntie Ali with her all day. Thanks sis!

I love summer

2008-06-22T15:17:00.000-07:00

Today was a lovely summer day here and we managed to pack loads into our sunday. Hubby went to the park with the little lady to run off her energy and she then slept for almost three hours.

While she was slumbering peacefully we got stuck into the jungle aka our garden. Out went half a tree, an old woody lavendar and many many weeds. The grass has been shorn and the bush trimmed.

We then decided to have a bbq. The lovely John and Anna who we bought our house from left us a fab kettle type bbq so we cleaned it up and lit it. Unfortunately the charcoal had been in our cellar and I think to be honest it was a bit damp. I tried to light the bbq and failed then hubby took over (man fire and all that) and with much fanning and sweating he did get things going.

By this time though we had already had to cook the food in the oven as Katherine was starving hungry!

My sis though made the most fab veggie food. The receipe roughly is:

Cut chunks of red pepper, courgette and shallots. Add whole mushrooms and halloumi cheese and marindae with rosemary, basil, chilli sauce, soy sauce and partida agave syrup. Wrap mixture is foil and bake for 30 mins or till the veg is cooked.

Delicious with our burgers. Thanks sis!

Tonight got down to sorting through the kids tshirts and tea towels for next saturday's craft fair in Brixton and I have quite a bit of printing, washing, ironing and packing to do before then but I am feeling confident about it and raring to go. Etsy is great but it will be nice to chat face to face with customers and get their feedback on my designs.

And Spain went into the semi finals of euro 2008 - yay!

Vintage Fabric Button Badges

2008-06-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to uploading these to my etsy shop. They are made from vintage fabrics using my lovely badge machine. It seems like a fun way to use up off cuts of the fabrics from my cushion covers. I hate wasting lovely vintage fabrics! My photos of the badges are not very good! I think it is because of the plastic film that goes over the badge to protect it. The fabrics do look much nicer without the film but they'd get marked or might not handle rain too well.

I have also added some badges to some of my handmade cards but I am keeping these for craft fairs rather than etsy for now.

Next weekend is the brixton craft market so I am busy preparing for this event. Tomorrow I am going to practice setting up my stall so off to check out the flickr group for craft shows to get some inspiration!

And finally our purses from peppermint designs arrived and they are gorgeous. They even come in a linen bag to protect and store them. Just lovely!

insomnia and creativity!

2008-06-20T04:40:00.000-07:00

I didn't get to sleep last night until about 5am. Hubby bless him let me lie in till 7.30am. I had hours of fun on the etsy forums and had a chat with my lovely web designer Jen about her baby bump.

I am cursing these steroids I am taking. Side affects include insomnia (thanks) and weight gain (and I worked so damm hard to shift the baby weight) and hungers pangs (hence the bowl of rice crispies and a glass of port at 3am).

But have managed to get myself working today while Katherine is at nursery. A grand total on a cushion cover made from some screen printed fabric with rabbits and squirrels in flock popped onto the cover. I'm not sure about it to be honest.....

Secondly finished one of my flower circle designs and am pretty happy with that one so hopefully can get a screen made up soon to start printing some of my lovely organic fabrics.

Think I will be napping with the little lady when she gets back from nursery. In fact got to pick her up now!

My latest etsy purchase

2008-06-19T06:06:00.001-07:00

Is from Peppermint Designs. She is a fairly new etsy seller and I am her first etsy customer. Yay! I am sure though she will have many more sales as her purses are just lovely. http://www.peppermintdesigns.etsy.com/

I have bought a black one with an appliqued dove for myself (naughty, naughty). For my sis I went for a brown purse with an appliqued horse's head, horseshoe and star . She is starting her own PR company, Neon, and I wanted to buy her something nice to mark the occasion. My purse is lined with a floral liberty fabric. I haven't seen a picture of the fabric and I kind of like the idea of opening it and getting a nice surprise when I see which gorgeous fabric she has used.

They are made from leather too so should stand the test of time.

So I am staying true to my handmade pledge for this year! Oh apart from the bloomin' Nintendo DS Lite that I bought hubby for his birthday. Sadly I am becoming addicted to the blocks game which is a bit tetris like. Somehow I have managed to get the top score tee hee.

vintage fabric from the states book

2008-06-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

I bought a book called 'Vintage Fabric From The States" in the Tate Modern bookshop on sunday but only had some time to have a look at it properly today and it is gorgeous. The range of fabrics is really good with lots of sweet little florals, polka dots and some really fab children's prints. It is split into rooms to with fabrics for the kitchen, bedroom etc. Somehow though I have managed to buy the japanese version rather than the english one I was reading in the bookshop! Not fussed though as the images are great.

I really like the style pages in it too especially the pic with the cotton reels. I am for some strange reason quite into cotton reels at the moment. I have some proper vintage ones too in my sewing box inherited from my gran and I remember playing with them quite vividly from when I was little. She had a great button collection too and that was always great fun so I am keeping some for Katherine to play with when she is a bit older.

I actually used some of my 'vintage' thread on monday night as I was making two box seat cushions for my sister's companies stand at The Bar Show at Earl's Court. I felt quite apprehensive about making them as the fabric was a beautiful silk from the Gainsborough Weaving Company and I was worried I'd mess up and waste the fabric but it all turned out fine. (littlechook breathes huge sigh of relief!)

Exploring London - Clissold Park

2008-06-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

Another nice sunny day in London today so we went out exploring to Clissold Park. It's only 10 minutes on the bus from our house and I am ashamed to say we have never been before because it is a really gorgeous park. Katherine loved seeing the animals especially the deer. I loved them too. They just look so gentle. We took lots of photos of them as I want to use some images in my circle flower designs and also on the kids tshirt's.

I've used a stag before but want to have the deer in different poses. It would have been nice to take a sketchbook and draw them but not fair to the little lady who was in the mood to play in the sandpit and discover the see saw!

The park has a really nice cafe too run by some friendly ladies and we sat outside and had orange juice and muffins in the sun.

Baby Banksy at the Tate Modern

2008-06-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

Nice relaxed day today with lunch at Wagamama's on the south bank followed by a walk to the Tate Modern. My cousin was with us and needed to get a train back to Edinburgh so we didn't have time to visit any of the exhibitions. Instead Katherine ran around the turbine hall with her Daddy while I had a look in the bookshop resulting in a couple of purchases for me but I also bought Katherine an Eric Carle book "brown bear brown bear what do you see". It is almost as fab as The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I love kids books and their illustrations particularily anything by Eric Carle.

The Tate is adorned with large scale "street art" from various street artists from around the world at the moment. It's ok I suppose. I did like the American Indian/Horse one but wasn't convinced by the others. They were ok. I was surprised though given the UK street art talent (Hush, Prefab etc) that no one was chosen although apparently Banksy declined their offer to take part.

However I think I spotted the new banksy working on the posters by the entrance!

organic cotton kids tshirts

2008-06-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

My samples arrived! They are 100% organic cotton t shirts and are also fairtrade. The only drawback is the sizes only seem to go up to 18 months. Colourwise they do white, unbleached and red. Somehow I have managed to forget to order the red ones! They feel lovely and soft. No chemicals or pesticides are used on the cotton. I am interested to find out more on their fairtrade aspect though and how this works. I am really aware that I don't want to be printing tshirts for kids that are made by kids. Not right in my book.

The manufacturer is Mantis World and their website is http://www.matisworld.com/ The website on the label though is http://www.tenderlovingclothing.com/ but it doesn't seem to be working???

No chance to add any printing as yet. I have decided to stick with the littlechook name but go for FlockStars by Littlechook. I am thinking of having a second etsy shop for the vintage cushions and using the littlechook on for all the printed, organic cotton cushions, t shirts and tea towels. So far my designs have rabbits, squirrels and deer. I am about to add pigeons, woodpeckers and foxes.

That's it for now, off to eat chicken fajitas an drink pear cider for dinner.

Like mother, like daughter

2008-06-13T09:47:00.000-07:00

Haven't had a chance to photograph my latest street find which is destined for the seven dials/carnaby street pop up shop but here it is.

I am developing a slight obsession with vintage suitcases and luggage. I already have a lovely silver steamer trunk which is being used to store all my vintage fabric cushion covers. I rescued this little beauty with Katherine's help. The outside is a lovely coloured tweed fabric but when we looked inside and saw the paisley patterned lining fabric we both said 'ooohh' and she was coming home with us.

My long suffering husband says I am corrupting a toddler with my magpie habits. I think it's all in the genes...

Katherine made a little bed for herself inside the suitcase this afternoon. She's been a bit off colour these past few days and possibly has chicken pox. We just have to wait to see whether her rash turns into the actual pox. I have calamine lotion ready.

So no nursery for her today and hence no new designs for littlechook. Hopefully I'll catch up on my new flower circle designs over the weekend.

littlechook in the Schmap Guide

2008-06-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

One of my flickr photos was chosen to appear in the London Schmap Guide. It's an online guide and covers loads of cities/countries aswell as London.

It's a picture from the first artichokeltd gallery of Hush's work in Carnaby Street. His work is now selling for big money and he was asked by Banksy to appear in a recent show of street art - the 'Cans Festival' which took over a disused tunnel near Waterloo.

http://www.schmap.com/ Seems like a good idea but I find the site is very very slow to load.

Tonight I am trying to do some work on my neglected etsy shop but finding other design blogs far more interesting.

back home from edinburgh

2008-06-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

Edinburgh was as gorgeous as ever. We had a fabulous time and managed to pack in visits to all family members both east and west coast.

We went for a walk round the city on saturday night finished by a drink in the lovely cafe royal. I had forgotten what a beautiful interior it has with all the old tiles and the leather seats in the little half moon 'booths'. We stayed in a really swanky top floor flat on Thistle Street a couple of doors away from my old flat which was a very strange coincidence. The flat looks as if it is up for sale too.

We didn't shop much unfortunately but I did get some pictures on penhaligons window on george street. their current display uses a backdrop of photographic wallpaper with old vintage books. They have some lovely old glass bottles too and bowler hats.

My Dad's 60th was a blast too. Great meal in Iglu then lots of family chat and general catch up. My cousins were nearly all there so we had a good blether.

We had lovely weather too and took Katherine to Princes Street Gardens to play on the swings and then walked through the gardens and saw the flower clock under construction. I used to go and see the flower clock as a wee girl so it was nice to show it to my wee girl (even though it wasn't quite completed). Edinburgh Castle looked really imposing in the sunlight and the set up for the Edinburgh Millitary Tatoo was well underway too.

It was lovely to be back in Scotland and it's inspired us to try to get there more often.

going to edinburgh

2008-06-05T07:03:00.000-07:00

Off to edinburgh this weekend for my dad's 60th birthday party (happy birthday dad!)and on my list of things to do are:

buy vintage from armstrongs (I love this shop! Todays pics are my best ever vintage purchase naturally from armstrongs!)
have a pint of IPA in the Black Bull
visit the museum of scotland
see the new scottish parliment
eat lots of cakes, scones, tablet etc

Back to blog about edinburgh's general fabness next week.

Pulse 2008 day 3

2008-06-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

Visited again today (with Katherine in tow poor mite) to have another look at the show. I thought the launchpad (supported by Liberty) was the best bit of the show and the designers showed fantastic creativity and talent. All these designers have studios or are members of organisations like Hidden Art, Craft Central and Cockpit Arts. Today's pic shows some of the work available from the hidden art online shop www.hiddenart.com

I am having a look at my fav's websites and will blog 'em all over the next few days.

After lunch I took the little lady to the park as a thank you for being so good at Pulse and we got soaked to the skin in the rain and Katherine fell in a puddle but she took it all in her stride as usual.

And I had a sale in my etsy shop too yay! I am not sure if I never noticed the gallery layout feature before or it is new but I much prefer how the shop looks in this layout. I am sure though that the ability to list items in terms of price, date added is new and it is a great addition to the site.

Pulse 2008

2008-06-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

Spent the day at Earls Court at the Pulse 2008 trade show. It has exhibitors covering jewellry, gifts, home furnishings, bath and body, cards etc. It also has a launchpad section for new designers. It was intersting wandering round and seeing the types of products on offer from a variety of companies. My particular favourites were thornback and peel and snowden flood. There were alot of real 'cutesy' stuff which is not me at all and I did think it would be more 'design' led.

Afterwards we zipped up to Kensington High Street and went to Wholefoods Market which is just unbeliveable. Floors and floors of organic, fairtrade, fresh - you name it they have got it. So tonight we feasted on loive bread, manchego cheese and quince paste and I have hidden away some white chocolate with poppy seeds. Mmmmm

Glasgow Craft Mafia - Miso Funky

2008-05-30T04:22:00.000-07:00

I am loving Miso Funky's emo broidery series. Definately using embroidery in a new and individual way. I can just see this in my hallway.....

They are part of the lovely glasgow craft mafia and their shop is:

http://shop.misofunky.com/collections/emo-broidery

sex and the city the movie

2008-05-28T17:01:00.000-07:00

all I can say is it is totally brilliant.

Laughed and cried in equal amounts. Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha were all just amazing. The clothes, the city and the men. Fantastic. We loved it. Thanks sis for booking the tickets. When are we flying the New York???

Also went to London Zoo today with Cat, Zahra and Daria and we saw a baby warthog. Not something you see every day but very cute. Also managed to get some cute pics of the little lady modelling the latest tshirt design. Hopefully some of the pics will be good enough to appear on the littlechook website.

The Geffrye Museum

2008-05-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

To round of our bank holiday weekend we visited the Geffrye Museum near old street this afternoon.

It's collection comprises textiles, furniture, paintings and interior objects from 1600 to the present day. I particularily liked the 50's interiors and the Jessie Tait ceramics.

The victorian rooms were fantastic too as it was interesting to see a house similar to my own home and how it would have been laid out and used in the era it was built in. We did laugh at the description of the women of the house spending afternoons sewing, playing cards and receiving callers. Would beat working for a living we thought.

I bought a really fab book too on 50's design which I will try and feature some pics from this week. The museum has a great shop and a nice cafe too. And no one minded a small child pushing a pink pram at great speed round the museum either luckily for us!

I also got to sit in a Balzac chair by Matthew Hilton for SCP and it made me want one even more. Can't remember whether it is in Elle Dec or Living etc but one of the homes featured has a Balzac chair and the owner says she saved for 10 years for a Balzac. I can see her point but I am hoping for a lottery win sometime soon!

We rounded the day off with a fantastic vietnamese meal near old street tube too. Lovely!

littlechook goes fairtrade and organic

2008-05-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

Currently I use non organic tea towels and I am finding the quality a bit hit and miss and I keep reading in papers such as The Guardian about the damage cotton growing does through the excessive use of pesticides and it worries me.

As a designer I expect to be able to charge a fair price for handmade handprinted items so why shouldn't the whole supply chain expect the same?. So today I decided to use only organic fabrics but also to ensure they are fairtrade so that the makers get a fair wage.

Google came up trumps and took me to http://www.organiccotton.biz/

I ordered samples and the very nice Phil replied to my email straightaway saying organic fairtrade cotton tea towels were available. Yay!

They are a family firm based in Powys and their site has some fantastic pictures of the cotton being grown and made into fabrics by the local people.

I have ordered sample fabrics in a range of colours and weights. The range is brilliant with calicos, denims etc and many are handwoven. I got nostaligic for my weaving days thinking about handlooms. I miss my weavebird!

katherine's quilt

2008-05-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

I love reading about the featured sellers on etsy and finding out what inspires them. I always fantasise that etsy pick me to be a featured seller and how I would answer the questions. That is pretty sad!

Anyway the question asking handmade item do you treasure the most would be an easy one. I have a quilt that my classmates at Morley College made for me when Katherine was born. The summer of 2006 was a total heatwave and I was heavily pregnant but still struggling to work and college and managed to finish my dresses in time for the end of year show.

I didn't realise at the time but everyone made a square and Sue then joined them together into the most fantastic quilt. Some of the panels are textural so Katherine loves stroking them and also all the colours. Some of the squares too are japanese fabrics. Sue kindly gave me a card too which shows who made what!

So that would be my most precious handmade item by far!

butterfly prints

2008-05-19T14:25:00.000-07:00

Just a short post tonight as I am knackered! Hopefully soon I will be able to put some of my new prints up for sale in my etsy shop in the form of cushion covers and tea towels. For my designs I am using alot of tiny flowers with line drawn butterflies. I'm using alot of muted greens and turquoise with brighter accent colours like fuschia.

I need a new print table though because my current set up is too low and my back is really sore today.

Tomorrow I am going to use my new flock which is done by printing a layer of texiflock glue onto the fabric then heat pressing on the flock layer. Can't wait to see what it looks like!

Family Photos

2008-05-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

hello for a bad littlechook who hasn't blogged for days now. Mainly because of a rare night out in london on friday which involved cocktails and bucket loads of rose. The cocktails in a tapas place in shoreditch was very sex and the city but we had to take the fancy leaves out in case we poked our own eyes out.

Anyway, I was able to do some printing today using my butterflies screen to add to a flower garden design and the result is quite lovely and I'd blog more about this if I could upload a picture but I can't find my lead to connect the camera to the laptop.

And for some reason I am feeling all nostaligc this weekend so today's pic is of my two favourite family photos. On is of my daughter Katherine sleeping in the garden of our old flat when she was about 10 weeks old. The other is of me and my gran. I think I am about 4 and it is a strip of pictures from a photo booth (way before digital gave you four of the same photo). My aunt found it in a bundle of family pics she went through recently and the strip has been folded in half. I wonder if it was kept in her purse? It makes me remember what a lovely, strong and kind woman she was and how she would have loved to meet my Katherine.

I've seen walls of family photos in quite a few featured homes in interiors mag such as elle decoration and living etc and I think it adds a real personal touch to a home. I am planning to do this in our hallway over time so that Katherine can see her family members as some live quite far away and we don't get to see them that often.

My first attempt at a montage turned out well using photos from the bundle my aunt gave me including a picture of my dad with us in the 70's with a Borat style 'tash - it's a classic. I love all the 50s and 60s shots of my grandparents on their holidays especially loving the floral prints on my grans dresses.

Anyway that's me for tonight, off to update my neglected etsy shop.

throwaway society

2008-05-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

my poor husband hates my habit of finding furniture abandoned by the side of the road but I am always just amazed by what people throw out. My pet hate round Crouch End/Stroud Green/Harringay is seeing mattresses dumped outside houses. It just looks awful and I am sure they could be recycled in some way.

anyway, my current project is to put together a group of designers to sell their work through our very own pop up shop. Hopefully to be located in either seven dials/covent garden or carnaby street. I am in the process of contacting talented etsy sellers who I hope will be interested in my concept. I also found a few possible folk at Broadway Market but I am going to devote a seperate post to the delicious handbags once I find their business card!

Back to the furniture, my idea is to set out the shop like a house with a mix of original , vintage and second hand furniture possibly with a fifties or sixties theme hence the gathering of cast offs to dress my shop!

My best find so far will however end up in my bedroom after the shop. Isn't this just lovely! It was rescued from my street undercover of darkness (husband refused to be seen 'tatting' in daylight!)

My creative endeavours today involved a morning working the fabulous East London Print Studio using their open access time to put together some new screens. Hopefully Katherine will sleep ok tonight and I will get a chance to print up some fabrics and see how they have turned out.....

www.eastlondonprintmakers.co.uk

artichokeltd pop up shop

2008-05-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

Went to see artichokeltd's latest pop up shop in Earlham Street (in seven dials) today and managed to buy two Prefab prints. Artichokeltd is run buy Pete Matthews and focuses on street art. His pop up shop features limtied editions signed by the artists. Pete is the pioneer of the £1 print which gave Banksy fans a chance to own a print for you've guessed it £1....

His current collection includes work by Prefab, Remi/Roughe, Seamo, Oliver Harud and Jef Aerosol. His website is http://www.artichokeltd.com/ and the prints are available to buy online.

I've put other pics on flickr including one of Katherine in her new role as 'the baby boss'. She had a blast today and then we went to Wagamama for dinner. Perfect end to the day!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/littlechook/

littlechook at home

2008-05-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

I've been in the studio all day today working on layouts for new screens. I am going to the East London Print Studio on Thursday to use their equipment to expose the screens so I need to have four designs ready.

Also worked on more t shirt designs last night and washed them today. The flock is even more fluffy once washed and looks great. The colours are really bright.

Having bought Living etc, Elle Decoration and Real Homes recently I have been thinking about our house and how we should decorate it. My plan was to paint everything white for starters but I am actually really liking the wallpaper even though it is quite old fashioned and 'country cottagey' which isn't me at all usually. I think the living room paper is Laura Ashley.

The carpets are all a bit old and scabby but instead of replacing them I am thinking a good steam clean would help them look nicer.

The fact that we have no money after our move is also curbing my design enthusiasm!

The house though does have some beautiful orignal victorian features like cornicing and ceiling roses. Alot of the 'ladder' houses got the 70's treatment but ours didn't thankfully! The Harringay ladder houses are row of victorian houses on a set of roads all running parallel (hence the name 'ladder') and they all have unusual names. I'd love to know more about why these names were chosen but google hasn't yielded any results.

The community noticeboard though does refer to a 'seafaring theme'. Would like to know more about this!

Queene and Belle

2008-05-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

Featured in today's sunday times style section in their studio/house in selkirk are two designers whose company is caleed Queen and Belle. I know the scottish borders well as I studied textiles at the Scottish College of Textiles in Galashiels. At the time I thought the Borders were really boring and there were literally no decent shops although I hear Gala now has a macdonalds and a multi screen cinema.

Maybe the isolation is good though as you are not bombarded with information and are not constantly comparing your work with what you see in the shops. However I used to always feel my heart leap when I got to Edinburgh. To be honest I am not sure I could live in such a small town ever again....

Anyway Queene and Belle were previously designers for Pringle and are based in Selkirk and create beautiful fashion and accessories using scottish cashmere combined with vintage lace, buttons etc from a wing of a house called The Haining. The interior has the vintagey, lived in look that I really love.

It is interesting to read about a company in the textile industry in scotland that is actually doing well since the industry has shrunk to virtually nothing these days which is a real shame. I always wonder where all the talented graduates of scottish art, fashion and design courses end up?

a long day of sunshine

2008-05-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

the beautiful sunny weather continued today and it is still hot tonight.

had a family day today with a visit from my mum which is lovely. we had a takeaway from jai krishna veggie restaraunt. It's on stroud green road, N4 and the food is the best indian food ever. Katherine had a lovely time with her gran and got new playdoh with an upsy daisy stamp.

only littlechook related activity today was having another look at the t shirt designs and seeing what I like and what I'd like to do next. Have alot of ideas at the moment but so little time, the usual story!

etsy in living etc

2008-05-09T05:10:00.000-07:00

more fab press coverage for etsy on the living etc website. Living etc is probably the biggest interiors mag in the UK and it is a great read. They always support new designers too.

Shannon Morton admits her etsy addiction and hopefully this will inspire other UK folk to buy handmade aswell. I wish though she had highlighted that there are lots of UK sellers as people can think etsy is just US based designers.

I noticed she picked out Heather Moore (skinnylaminx) and she is one of my favs. i'm going to order some of her tea towels for my mum to hang in her new kitchen (well its still a work in progress at the moment and they seem to have no heating, no roof and no kitchen wall currently) gulp!

http://www.livingetc.com/blogs/editors_blog/Shannon_Morton_admits_to_an_itsy_etsy_internet_addiction_article_255826.html