This is meant to be a great local festival for kids and adults,  I will try and post some pics if I manage to make it along.  Here is what the organisers have to say…

A Summer of fun in Hackney’s parks launches this Saturday 22 May with a free all-day mini festival in London Fields. Simon Atkinson, Mestre of East London Capoeira Group, who will be running free Capoeira for Kids in Hackney Parks every week over the Summer.

The mini-festival will give visitors their first taste of summer events to come in Hackney’s Parks from May-September.

London Fields will be turned into three festival style “villages” where visitors can join the Hackney melting pot of TV chefs, urban gardeners, home-grown bands and natural play.  For more information click this link

If you are thinking of carrying out some DIY or you simply can’t get enough of home decorating, then get yourself down to the Black & Decker DIY weekend exhibition where there will be a team of specialists on hand offering expert advice to anyone that needs it…brilliant! Venue: Lowry Outlet Mall

Here’s what they have to say about it…A recent report* stated that over a third of Brits are planning to make home improvements themselves this year with many families looking to save a little money when it comes to jobs around the home. For those who are considering this but feel they need a helping hand – head to the Lowry Outlet Mall

On the weekend of April 24 and 25 for some much needed DIY expert advice. Black & Decker® will have a team of experts on hand across the weekend in their famous Black & Decker® 40ft Demonstration Unit situated on the plaza of the Mall.

Black & Decker® DIY demos will run on Saturday from 10am-4pm and Sunday from 11am-4pm. Each day will be split into DIY demonstrations covering Sanding and Fixing, Screwing and Drilling, Making Gardening Easier and Breathing New Life into Old Furniture. The Black & Decker® team will be showing customers how to use the tools correctly and offering top tips and expert advice on how to make the best of their home with the use of different tools. There’s also opportunity to get involved in the demonstrations too!

In the run up to the Black & Decker® experts coming to the Lowry Outlet Mall we’re searching for the King or Queen of DIY; send us details** on your proudest DIY creation and a picture, if you have one, to DIYking&queen@mason-williams.com Mailto: DIYking&queen@mason-williams.com . We will pick the most creative story and offer the winner and their family VIP attendance at one of the Black & Decker® DIY demos. We will also give them a £50 gift card to spend at the Lowry Outlet Mall.

In addition Black & Decker® will be offering an exclusive 10% discount voucher to be used in the Lowry Outlet Mall store until May 3. A prize draw will also run in store across the weekend with the following tools up for grabs; 18v Hammer Drill (RRP £109.99), 12v Dustbuster (RRP £79.99) or a Li-ion Screwdriver (RRP £37.99).

The Lowry Outlet Mall is the perfect place to find some real home bargains, with stores offering up to 60% off RRP all year round! The Mall also offers free undercover parking, an on-site cinema and five plaza restaurants.

For more information visit www.lowryoutletmall.com or follow us on http://twitter.com/lowryoutletmall

It was a really interesting walk as behind the Olympic Park, in an area called Fish Island there is a hidden creative community.  The place looks like a ghost town with loads of beautiful old factory buildings but on closer inspection it is in fact a thriving hub of local artists.  There were little signs of activity here and there  including flyer’s for local exhibitions, familiar illustrations adorning the building walls, adverts for local artists to submit works for exhibitions and information about available studio space:  Click here for more information on renting a space.

The area is really close to Victoria Park and has great links to the city, it only took us 10 minutes to walk there.  Below is a map of the area, it’s wlooks like a great place to work but Dace Street seemed the most interesting. I would have loved to have a look around some of the studio spaces.   We are planning to revisit soon as there are a few local exhibitions that looked really interesting.  I’ll keep you posted on this one…

The pictures below show just some of the factory buildings that are now occupied and just look how close they are to the new Olympic stadium!

Anyone with an interest in textiles will love this exhibition, below is a little bit more information about the event:

Handmade Interiors (in association with Handmade in Britain) is very excited to announce the forthcoming exhibition – IPEK (which means silk in Turkish) as part of their initiative to promote and support Contemporary Designer-makers. Handmade Interiors will host the exhibition in their Cheshire Street store, showcasing ‘one off’ or limited edition pieces designed by British and Turkish textiles and fashion artists. The pieces will be available for purchase during the exhibition.  As the name suggests the designers will draw inspiration from eastern influences and the products on show will range from fashion accessories to soft furnishings and interiors products made in silk. The exhibition will run alongside our permanent product ranges of contemporary design art ceramics, exclusive home textiles and interior accessories.  The exhibition opens on 11th March with a private view from 6.00 – 9.00pm. The exhibition runs until 28th March (opening hours 11.00 – 6.00pm).

Handmade Interiors
Established by Indian textile designer, Piyush Suri and Turkish interior designer, Burcu Akin in October 2008, Handmade Interiors is an exciting new collaboration between “Handmade in Britain” and “Orientum” which offers natural, handmade and contemporary ethical home and personal accessories and new and vintage lifestyle products.

Following the successful launch of its gallery on Cheshire Street, Handmade Interiors has recently introduced an eco-friendly, contemporary interior design service ranging from “Room Styling and Consultancy” to “Total Interior Design and Project Management”.  Handmade Interiors brings together indigenous handcrafts and contemporary design in unique and affordable way with a focus on fair trade practices in the field of interior design.

IPEK – THE STORY OF SILK
Dates: 11th – 28th March 2010
Venue: Handmade Interiors, 10 Cheshire Street, London E2 6EH

Craft London
Exhibition of Emerging Talent 8-19 March 2010
Venue: Craft Central, 33-35 St John’s Square, London EC1M 4DS

This is definitely an exhibition worth visiting; amongst many other designers, Laura Felicity will be exhibiting at Craft London’s ‘Emerging New Talent’ Exhibition.  There will be twelve up and coming designer-makers presenting their work, all of whom cover a variety of disciplines.

Laura Felicity will be exhibiting her bespoke modern elegant wallpapers.  All papers are hand screen printed combining the layering of subtle colours and glittering foils.  To compliment the wallpapers, Laura will be showing a range of plaster designs for the wall, which have embedded stitch and imprinted lace onto each of the plaster pieces’ surface.

The exhibition is on for two weeks, from 8th March (Private View) – 19th March.  There will be an informal chat with the designers called ‘Meet The Maker Artist Talk’ on the 18th March, where each designer talks about and answers any questions regarding their work.  Any one is welcome!

There is an online catalogue for the ‘Emerging New Talent’ Exhibition, where a few of the designer-makers have answered a few questions about what inspires them to produce their work, as well as images.  To view Laura Felicity’s article online please visit Craft Central

I hope you all enjoy it!

Designer Crafts at the Mall 2010
Saturday 9 – Sunday 17 January 2010

Rivington Street, EC2A 3DU

This exhibition is held by the Society of Designer Craftsmen and is promoting designer makers from the UK, sharing their creative and innovative ‘makes’.  Click here for more information about the show

Handmade 2009 @ Chelsea Old Town Hall, London (11th – 14th November) All the designer-makers are getting ready to show once again a huge variety of hand-crafted and one-off pieces, spanning fashion, jewellery, textiles, ceramics, sculpture, paper and home ware to name a few. This year brings together the work of around 60 talented British Designer-makers and as always Handmade in Britain’s ethics of Eco-Conscious, Socially responsible design and manufacturing remains a highly prominent theme.

HANDMADE 2009 @ CHELSEA OLD TOWN HALL
11^th – 14^th November 2009
11^th November: 12pm – 5pm
12^th – 14^th November: 11am – 6pm

Private View: 11^th November: 6.30pm – 9pm

CHRISTMAS 2009 @ MILSOM PLACE, BATH
5^th – 6^th December: 10am – 6pm
Private View: 4^th December: 5.30pm – 8.30pm
EXHIBITORS LIST COMING SOON

Click here for more information

CARDIFF’S VERY OWN ‘MINI MILAN’ DESIGN TRAIL, THROUGHOUT OCTOBER 2009

TENTH ANNIVERSARY 22-25 OCTOBER 2009

The Affordable Art Fair (AAF) is the place to discover and buy paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography and original prints – all priced between £50 and £3,000.

John Marshall, Soda Screenprint, £320, Artizan Editions

With 120 carefully selected galleries from across the UK and Europe exhibiting there is contemporary art on show to suit every taste and budget.

The event is returning to Battersea Park this October when it will be celebrating its tenth anniversary! Now a global brand with almost £100 million of art sold during the last decade, the fair is continuing to succeed – with two record-breaking fairs already this year.

For top tips on buying art in the current climate, how to beautify your home on a budget and getting the most out of an art, visiting The Affordable Art Fair is a must!
Nicky Wheeler, Fair Director.  Will Ramsay, Founder

Book your tickets in advance to save £2

Every season, London’s Fashion Week awakens most women’s dreams of owning wonderful and exclusive outfits. The reality though is that most designer garments on the catwalks are not for everyone’s pocket. Someone else’s inspiration comes with a hefty price tag and therefore with limited amount of choice.

Designer Courses (www.designercourses.co.uk) introduces fashion lovers to a world of reinvention with the ‘Customise your clothes’ weekend. By teaching participants how to look at familiar items of clothing through new eyes, and by deconstructing and transforming them into embellished new pieces, Designer Courses offers the opportunity to acquire an aptitude for life whilst creating your own exclusive garment. By learning the necessary skills to convert unused clothes and allowing your creative juices to flow, you will gain the confidence to modify your whole wardrobe.

During the course, tutor and practicing fashion designer Lena Santana will share some of her professional tips that go beyond simply adding a few sequins and trims! You will learn various hand and machine sewing techniques including how to put in a zip, four different types of hems, and how to take accurate measurements to adapt a pattern to your own size. You will also be focusing on customising a favourite garment you would have brought in and that you’d like to recreate.

The next ‘Customise Your Clothes’ weekend will take place on Oct 24th & 25th, between 10.30 am and 4.30 pm. For those who haven’t sewn since school and who’d like to become accustomed to basic sewing techniques, the next ‘Fashion Sewing’ weekend will be on 3rd & 4th of October.

Designer Courses is based in Holborn, London, and it runs a range of fashion related courses. To find out more about Designer Courses and workshops available please visit www.designercourses.co.uk or call 0797 000 5120.