Crafts Council

I am now a member of the Crafts Council's National Register of Makers which is a directory for contemporary craft makers in the UK. Visit here for more information.

At the Studio

I thought you would like to see some images of me at work at the Little Red studio...
Busy, busy and lots of concentration as i work my magic!


Sewing on my trusty Janome...


Images of inspiration and prototype bags hang on the wall.

As you can see it is all a bit frantic; but from the chaos beautiful accessories are made.

Prototype bag

This is a prototype i have been working on today for a new bag; please ignore the fact this is made in canvass!

It will eventually be made in leather or suede, and have my trademark ruffles running down the front flap. It will also have a hard base and metal feet, and close with a magnetic clasp. I am also toying with the idea of have an external zip pocket at the back of the bag, were you can keep small items like a travel card or mobile...

I would love to hear your comments on it; as it should be ready on the Little Red Boutique in a few weeks for you to buy.

New Delivery

I just received my new delivery of gorgeous and fabulous chocolate and black suede! Yum yum yum! It is soooo lovely, i can wait to get cutting and sewing. I have a great new bag design all ready to be made. It is a bucket shaped bag which closes with a ruffle encrusted strap at the front. Forget the bling on bags; it is all about the feminine ruffles and girliness!

Watch this space for the new bag, once i have made it :-)

All technical

Just been adding things to my blog, like a slide show of my new collection, more images along the side and now you can sign up to the Little Red newsletter too... I'm impressed that i both managed to figure out how to do this and found the time. Also, sign up to be the first to follow my blog (it is on the left towards the bottom of the page)

:-)

Busy little Bee

I have been crazily busy over the last few weeks, and although it appears i have not been able to add any new products to my boutique, I have been working my way through some very exciting commissions; A really yummy black and green Ruffle bag and matching purse, a vintage fabric Mable bag for a bride, and numerous iPhone cosies.... Phew! It is all so manic in the Little Red studio. I am hoping to start making some new stock in the next few weeks, so keep your eye on the Little Red boutique.

Little Red's Corsages Featured...

...In a blog called Autonomous Artisans. Check out their blog entry featuring one of my corsages which is currently available through Coriandr :-)

The Home of Jane Austen

Today i went to Chawton to visit the home of Jane Austen. Turns out that she has had many homes (Steventon, Bath, Southampton, Winchester) but this is the village where she lived for the last 8 years of her life and wrote some of her most famous books.

Chawton is a lovely wee village just outside of Alton. It has an amazing Church and country walks. We enjoyed a stroll around the garden of Jane Austen's house. It was really lovely to visit...

Spike Island Open Weekend

It was my first trip to Bristol yesterday to visit Spike Island, a amazing collective of studio and exhibition spaces for the creative talent in the area. It was another crazy, up early, long travelling, road trip Saturday for me... Last week Liberty in London, this week Spike Island! Phew!! I'm just glad it is a bank holiday weekend here in the UK and i have an extra day off work to recover.

Spike Island is really amazing, with fantastic studio spaces and a hive of artisitic-ness all around. I was really impressed by the Spike Print Studio and the facilities available; as screen printing is something i am itching to rediscover.

The Sculpture studios put on a rather great village fete area. There was cake and tea served from china cups and saucers, and an outdoor seating area with gingham table cloths; all served by two rather jolly ladies (really men in womens clothes, aprons, hair nets, and rather interesting makeup!) This is me enjoying a slice of apple crumble cake! Yum Yum!!...


The trip was really inspiring and it was great to chat to a mix of sculptors, painters and textile artists about their work...

• I particularly liked the crocheted pieces by Elin Thomas... check out her esty shop here.

• And the illustrations by Hannah Waldron. I bought one of her cute owl finger puppet badges. Check out her website here and the finger puppet badges are available here

There is also a great cateen that does yummy noodle boxes £4, so if you are ever in the area, it would be a great place to spot for lunch.

Liberty Open Call: 25 April 2009

Liberty in London had their first ever 'Open Call' looking for new British talent and designers on 25 April 09. What an amazing chance to meet the Liberty buying team and get feedback on your products. So I, plus another 800 people, decided it was something we would like to attend.

For more photos of the day, please visit the Liberty Blog here and for a short film on the event, please go here...

What a day!! My alarm went off at 05:15 and by 06:36 I was on the train whizzing on my way to Waterloo (well it was the slow train, so not so much whizzing as stopping). By 08:35 I was in the queue outside Liberty, where there was already about 50 people standing in the drizzle. However, morale was high and everyone was buzzing.

The doors opened at 10:00 and they let the first 100 or so people in; of which I was one. It was really exciting. Once we where in the building, we queued for another hour in a stairwell. Finally I made it into a large balconied room at the top of Liberty where we were sorted into different disciplines, and then it was just a matter of waiting for your name to be called out. About another hour later; it was my turn for my 5 minutes with the Buying Team.

It was a really interesting and exciting experience. They gave me lots of great feedback about my products; it has really inspired me and given me direction for Little Red.

By midday, it was all over… Phew. I went shopping for leather in Soho and by later afternoon a rather tired and grumpy April was back on the train heading South.

Everybody was really friendly and I just want to say a ‘Big Hello’ to all everyone I met in the queue… Silk scarf, furniture, greeting card, knitwear, decorative box and felt designers. You are all an inspiration for and the future of craft and design in the UK.

Pamper Morning

Little Red will be at a Pamper Morning at the Botley Centre in Botley, Hampshire. This is taking place on 16 May from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Come along and be pampered. Event will also raise money for COTE, a charity which supports care for the elderly.

There will be exclusive Little Red accessories for sale on the day, as well as The Body Shop, handmade chocolates, Pampered Chief and lots of exciting things to spoil yourself with.

Entry is only £2.00 per person which includes a free drink and entry into an exclusive draw.

It is certainly a morning not to be missed and hopefully see you all there on the day :-)