#nofrillsfriday 11 - a better (albeit hectic!) week

There's been no real news about Louis, but we've had to put another heart monitor on him which has taken our time and attention.. He's not had any more funny turns as such, so we're taking it one day at a time. As I write this, he's voraciously gnawing a bone on the sofa.  He makes the grimmest sounds! 

Bits and pieces

Bits and pieces

Goodstart Jones grey Woodsack.. yearn! 

Goodstart Jones grey Woodsack.. yearn! 

The bulk of the week has been taken up by prepping for two craft fair/market/show/etc things we're doing. Firstly was Thursday night and was local - Three Thinking Collective organised a "proper craft fair" at Urban Coffee Co in the Jewellery Quarter. Despite the weather being miserable, a few people popped in and it was great to meet local makers we knew already and some that were new to us! (Especially infatuated with Goodstart Jones' AWESOME 'Woodsacks'.. Just wish they did a satchel version!) 

 

The second market is on Sunday and is a pretty big deal for us. It's the Bust Craftacular - London .. And as a long time lover / subscriber to Bust magazine (really.. It's the best!) we're SO EXCITED TO BE INVOLVED! (Albeit super-nervous too!) alongside the obvious extra 'feminist' stuff, we'll be launching quite a lot of new stuff too.. SNEAK PEEK AHEAD!

Component parts

Component parts

.. For a very important date! 

.. For a very important date! 

If you're at a loose end on Sunday and you're close to Bethnal Green, come say hi! There's LOADS happening at the Craftacular - live music, drinks & food, workshops.. As well as other amazing designers and makers who'll I'll probably feel massively intimidated by and then behave like a hermit. As long as I drink lots of coffee, it'll help my Dutch courage. :)

#nofrillsfriday 09 - Blog and Buy Sale: Wish List Picks

 [disclaimer: our #nofrillsfriday are normally awkward messy quick snapshots of our works in progress or what we've been up to - but this week we've been doing secret designs we can't yet share, and now Adrienne and Lee are en route to Newquay for a bank holiday wedding! (Not theirs, though!) so instead we thought we'd do a long overdue post instead!]

We've used Blog and Buy Sale in the past to seek out ways to spend money on awesomeness. When we were picked to feature in their Spring Wish List we did a little happy dance. 

For those of you that have no idea what this means we'll just let them explain it in their own words (way more succinctly than we ever could). 

“The BlogAndBuySale Wish List is a curated list of the very best creative products available online.

Make sure you get what you really want this year by browsing the Wish List, sharing with friends and family the products you can’t live without.

There are so many brilliant things being sold by independent artists and designers, but the problem is the public doesn’t always stumble upon them. It is our job to point you in the right direction to find that perfect gift, while also making sure the artist / designer fully benefits from every sale! Prepare to have your knitted socks blown off by the amount of talent on show!”
— http://wishlist.blogandbuysale.com/about/

We were lucky enough to get three of our jewellery designs featured in the list:

Baby Balls!

Seaman Sayings!

Medals of Modern Achievement: Adventurer!

But enough about us. We wanted to share with you our top picks from the other awesome independent designers and makers out there. We have to admit it was a bit of struggle to narrow it down to 5 and so we certainly don't envy the guest curators job in shortlisting the wish list each season, that's for sure.

In no particular order our picks are: 

 

This was an easy pick for us. Wes Anderson. Grand Budapest. Stitching. Need we say anymore?

A cat related item was always going to be in there and with a few to choose from it was tough for Kirsty to decide. However, with her ever growing and unnecessary collection of tote bags there will always be room for one more; especially with such an awesome, bright and minimalist kitty print.

From one Film Club to another 'The Goonies' is an awesome film and as we have a Sloth print on our walls it would have been rude not to promote the Sloth love. Rendered and captured so simply whilst still inherently Sloth - that takes control and editing that Kirsty in particular lacks -  she never knows when to say enough!  

We long to make our own Risograph prints (But alas, the tech is becoming more and more scarce!) and this print ticks so many boxes: bird lovers, batman fans, and perfect for the walls of anyone of any age. We are now hoping birds will visit our office wearing superhero costumes.

We love the prints of Sparrow and Wolf, origami (duh! check out our origami animals) but Adrienne is also a make-up fiend who loses her make-up bag all the time. This is one bag you would never want to lose with the cute pom pom pulley!

Now whilst that is our 5 picks we couldn't _not_ give shout outs to some of the other makers. Hunkdory Home has some beautifully printed homewares and whilst the wish list features a very tempting Dinosaur, their tiger print is too cute! As needle felting and animal fans the work of Karen Rao in her hat making is awesome! Finally Gaynor Trophies is a new shop getting up and running but uses the most incredible African prints for cushions and bags. 

Whatever your cuppa tea there will be something to entice you to spend on the Blog and Buy sale, whether it is from the Wish List or latest product spots, be sure to follow them for a regular dose of shiny - and support local makers.