Wow!! What a day!

What an amazing day!!



Handm@de Winchester was a great success, a huge thank you to everyone who took part and all of you who visited and spent their hard earnt pounds and pennies :)

The sun was shining, and by late morning Winchester was heaving, and we had over 1000 people visit Handm@de, this was a steady stream of people throughout the day, and the Goody Bags went quite quickly!



All the stalls looked great, and we are certainly looking to run it again next year!

Please go to the Flickr group to see more of the photos!

Thanks again if you visited, you helped create a fantastic atmosphere :)

Meet the Maker - Monda

Just over a day to go!! So the last few Meet the Makers today, firstly Monda !!



What got you into crafting?

If I really think about it - it was probably my CDT (craft, design and technology) teacher in secondary school. He was great, and very encouraging - not many teachers had a profound effect on me, but he did. I think he saw the potential in me and nurtured it. I've also got creative parents - my dad is a writer and photographer, and my mum can turn her hand to pretty much anything: crochet, embroidery, knitting, quilting, upholstery - you name a craft, she can do it.
At University I went on to do a degree in Design Crafts - a combination of ceramics, printed textiles and multi-media textiles (and specialised in the latter two disciplines).

What is the best thing about making your softies and mixed media pieces?

One of the things I like best about making my softies, accessories and cards is that I have complete free reign over the creative process and decision making. I don't have this same level of freedom in my day job (not a creative discipline) where 'collaboration' is the buzz word of the moment. Sometimes you just want to do it the way you want to do it without having to involve the world and his brother! Also, because I create in my own time, I think it's generally quite a good stress reliever and a complete contrast from my day job which an be quite mentally and emotionally demanding at times.
Creating makes me happy - I like to produce nice things which I think people will also get pleasure from.



What Handm@de stuff do you have your eye on ?

The handm@de stuff I have my eye on is, well everything! I'll be like a kid in a sweet shop. I'm getting married next year so I'm eager to see what Hatastic has to offer - perhaps some nice wedding headgear for me!. Also, I'd like some more of Kate's (Paperleaf) cards - her printed designs on recycled paper and card are lovely.
I met some fab people at handm@de Oxford last year, so it will be nice to say 'hi' again and see what they've been working on since the last time we met.



Lots of stuff to do, but back later with another!!!

Meet the Maker - Quercus Silver

For todays Meet the Maker, an old hand at Handm@de, well this is the third one! Please welcome Su, also known as Quercus Silver!



What got you into crafting?

From the moment I stepped into the jewellery workshop at my local college and started twisting metal I was in love with silversmithing. Along the way I became fascinated with using colour, too and began working with more unusual materials such as fabric, acrylics and a whole rainbow of resin. I like bold geometric shapes and blocks of colour framed in sterling silver. And the resin is so light I can make lovely chunky forms.

What is the best thing about making jewellery

I confess I always wanted to be a jeweller and it certainly doesn't feel like a proper job. I have a workshop in my garden here in Bath and it's full of bits and pieces, shells and pictures and my much loved tools. It's a real haven.



What Handm@de stuff do you have your eye on?

I'm looking forward to the handm@de sale. I've been at all of them so far and they have a very special friendly atmosphere.. You can't beat a room full of like-minded people sharing their craft and their knowledge and I shall certainly be shopping, too.

A couple of sellers I've spotted who are new to me including Carole King, I collect prints so I shall be heading for her stall and who could resist Nonsuch and Meninafeliz's gorgeous little frame purses?



Thanks Su, I think the one thing I have discovered through Handm@de is the huge range, and how you think that jewellery is just one thing, when it actually is huge!! Another one tomorrow!!

Meet the Maker - Meninafeliz

Not long now!!!

Squeezing in some more Meet the Makers, and here's the next - Meninafeliz, I'll let their answers explain everything!



What got you into crafting?

Anne-Marie and I (Bebe) actually met through a mother & toddler group and - with both of us coming from creative backgrounds - discovered a mutual desire to set up our own little business that would enable us to continue to be creative but look after our children at the same time. We launched in 2005 with the name 'Meninafeliz' which is Spanish/Portugeuse for 'happy girl' and also combines our two eldest children's names: Nina & Felix. I should probably point out that neither of us are Portuguese or Spanish. She's Dutch and I'm Scottish but the name fits well!
We make accessories - jewellery & textiles - in an eclectic mix of cloth, colour, buttons and beads, embroidery, knit, crochet, layering and felting. We're also great recyclers so use vintage and reclaimed fabrics wherever possible.



What's the best thing about crafting?

Making something out of nothing - designing and making a piece from start to finish and then someone loves it so much they actually want to pay you for it! Or when you walk down the street and a passer-by is wearing something that you made! That's a nice feeling.

What Handm@de stuff do you have your eye on?

We're both really looking forward to the fair and meeting all the amazing designers there and especially fellow Etsy sellers. There's such an incredibly high standard and array that it would be difficult to name anybody in particular! I think that Anne-Marie and I will be fitting in some very early Christmas shopping....



Another one on Thursday!

Meet the Maker - Daisychain Designs

A week, only a week to go, and more Meet the Makers to squeeze in :)

Now it is the turn of Jo Tinley also know as Daisychain Designs !



What got me into crafting?

I’m really lucky that I come from a family where crafts were always valued and I was encouraged to knit, crochet, embroider, glass paint and lots of other crafts from an early age. I’ve still got a couple of pieces of (very simple!) jewellery that I made when I was about 11, and although I still do lots of other crafts, working with silver is definitely my passion.
It wasn’t until my little boy was born and I left full-time teaching that I turned a lucrative hobby into a business. I now work from home in a fully kitted out shed in the back garden where I can solder, cut and hammer silver to my hearts content and I love it!
It’s great being able to work my business around my family. I love passing on the jewellery making addiction too – I offer one-to-one private silversmithing tuition, teach workshops to small groups at home and teach City and Guilds Jewellery Making for Eastleigh College.

What’s the best thing about making your jewellery?

That I never stop learning and I can get inspiration from so many things around me – a pattern glimpsed on a piece of material may inspire the creation of a pendant by the following week. A fellow silversmith in the same craft guild as I belong to (Wessex Guild of Craftsmen) taught silversmithing for several decades, and told me that no matter how long I develop my skills there will always be something new to learn, and I really enjoy that challenge.



What Handm@de stuff do you have your eye on?

Where do I start?! I’m definitely going to have to ask a friend to come and help me on the day so that I can have a good browse and buy!
I’m really looking forward to see Quercus Silver's resin work as I love her use of colour. Then there’s Raspberry's beautiful bags (you can never have too many bags or too much jewellery as far as I’m concerned), 23 Beech Hill's gorgeous textiles, and Penny Spooner's cool ceramics – please, everyone, buy my jewellery so that I can spend the money on the other stalls!
I do at least half a dozen craft shows a year, but Winchester Handm@de is definitely the one I’m most excited about as it seems so fresh and there will definitely not be any mass produced products!



Some great selections there from Jo, and also very true about Handm@de, no re-selling, all made by the person behind the table! Lots more Meet the Makers this week, keep your eyes peeled for them!!

Meet the Maker - Carole King

10 days to go, I can hardly believe it!!! Time to fit at least another three or even four Meet the Makers in! So here is tonight's, it's Carole King, a very talented artist, and creator of lovely books.



What got you into making and creating?

Both my parents have always made things - marionettes, steam engines, clothes, working models, toys so it has rubbed off on their children- we all make things too.
I was introduced to various forms of printmaking when I trained as a teacher and have loved getting inky fingers ever since- there is always something slightly unpredictable about the results, which makes the whole process fascinating.
The books and cards came as an extension of the printing process- there are always so many test prints and experiments that are just asking to be used up in some way. Our annual Christmas card is becoming a collectors item.



What is the the best thing about making books?

The first books I made were sketchbooks for my own use: the manufacturers ones were never seemed quite the right shape or size and so I started making my own. Now I make books for all sorts of purposes; sketchbooks of different sizes and shapes-from pocket upwards, and notebooks: from tiny purse sized minibooks to special ones with pockets for keeping special letters or momentos. All are either completely hand stitched and bound or just covered with my own hand printed papers.

What Handm@de stuff do you have your eye on?

I am looking forward to seeing fiveinthemorning's prints and Paperleaf always have interesting and quirky images for their cards however its always the unexpected that I like to find at craft fairs and of course the interesting people that you meet!



Thanks so much Carole, it is always great to be able to feature sellers create slightly different pieces, and something that you yourself can be creative with : )

Meet the Maker - Corryvreckan

It's official Handm@de Winchester is full and raring to go! The last tables have been paid for, the postcards are out and about, so Hi if you have picked one up and found yourself here!

Still have some Meet the Makers to fit in before the big day, so please find out about Rachel Simpson, better know as Corryvreckan!



What got you into crafting?

I have always done some sort of craft, my mum taught me sewing and knitting but I preferred spending time hammering stuff at my dad's workbench. I always loved crafts at school and had a progressive junior school where if you worked hard and completed all tasks early you could go and spend the rest of the day in the pottery corner with the clay! I started a jewellery course at Whitehouse Arts in Cambridge about 5 years ago after wanting something a bit more long term as a hobby than the watercolour work I had been doing. With great tutors and facilities it all snowballed from there and I haven't looked back since. There's just so much to learn with metalworking that I think I've found my lifetime hobby. For example, I've recently taught myself pearl stringing and that's led on to me working on designs for new silver clasp endings for strung pearls as I'm not keen on the commercially available ones.



What is the best thing about making jewellery?

My work is heavily inspired by the seaside and I enjoy developing a design based on memories of the Norfolk coast. I remember textures and movement of light from spending along time living, walking and cycling around there. I work hard trying to recreate image into precious metals and then into a final piece. I make pieces that I like but the bonus pleasure is when someone also loves your work and gets pleasure from wearing it.

What Handm@de stuff do you have your eye on?

Quercus Silver, particularly the hewn bracelets. Also Hodge Podge Arts, her work is so diverse and creative. I have a large mouse button from Handmade Cambridge that will be sewn onto a cardigan my sister knitted for me.



Thanks Rachel, so much lovely stuff, and so much more to see at the Guildhall on 5th July!

Watch out for those postcards and posters in you live or work in Winchester, another Meet the Maker this week : )