Meet the maker - Ruth Spencer-Jolly

Meet the maker - Ruth Spencer-Jolly

Hi! I'm an artist based close to Queen's Park and I am really inspired by the locality which I love walking and running round. In my guise as 'ARTSJ' I currently have two ranges of products, one of which directly responds to nearby boroughs of London, taking the form of illustrated maps that capture the sites of interest and quirky landmarks in a neighbourhood. I also have a 'paisley pet' range: a collection of products for people who love animals, pattern and bright colours. When not making art, I'm often found with my other hat on - as a nanny - but I also love to run, ceilidh and go to the theatre.

My favourite product at present is the paisley dog teatowel. It's bright, cheerful and captures man's best in friend in many of the possible shapes and sizes. 

My favourite place to find inspiration at the moment is the Victoria and Albert Museum. I didn't grow up in London, and so I only discovered this treasure trove when I moved to 'the big smoke' about 18 months ago. It's incredible! As a lover of all things patterned; I'm in seventh heaven there. 

You can see Ruth's work at www.ruthspencerjolly.com/ARTSJ and www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ArtSJillustration. Ruth will be at Homeworks on 1st December

Meet the Maker - Elsker

My name is Sian and I am Elsker Creations. Elsker Creations was created from my desire to transform what was my hobby and love (elsker) of traditional crafts into my full time job. This journey began almost two years ago when I started taking this passion for traditional crafts such as; gilding, calligraphy, letterpress printing and bookbinding and applying a contemporary twist through my handmade products and designs. I now also run gilding workshops for adults and a programme of arts and crafts workshops for babies, toddlers and children.

My favourite products are my glass gilded pressed flower frames. I love the process of glass gilding and these works have evolved the most. I feel like I am capturing a season or a moment in time. These works are one of a kind. I love the way I manage to capture the vibrancy of the flowers.

My allotment is my number one place to find inspiration. I love doing things with my hands, I find it very therapeutic and that extends to gardening. The wildness of my allotment is a great inspiration, I feel I am out of London and can think clearly. I have also developed a wild flower meadow and use many of the flowers in my works. 

Queen's Park based Sian will bring her Elsker creations to Homeworks on 8th December. 

Meet the maker - Eleanor Khan

I am a former journalist and have lived and worked all over the world. Out of all the places I have lived in the one I really fell in love with was Pakistan, where I spent two years with my husband, who is British-Pakistani. 

The country has one of the richest artisanal histories in the world yet its many traditions are little known to the rest of the world. I was dying for an excuse to go back so last year I made a few buying trips and set up Nimuri, a company selling handmade clothing and homeware from Pakistan.

I sell baskets, ceramics, home and vintage textiles, wooden trays and women and children's clothing. I try to source as ethically as possible & many of my products are made by women's charities or come from small, family-run businesses or start-ups. Unlike in India, artisans have never received much government support or interest from Western designers so I really love the fact that I am starting to get money directly to them.

Favourite place for inspiration:

Of course it has to be Pakistan itself. Waves of immigration and invasion over the centuries means the country's handicrafts show great variety. From tribal embroidery, to kitsch truck art, to the floral images of the Mughal Empire that once ruled India, to the influence of British textiles, there is a huge range of looks, symbols and traditions to choose from in terms of inspiration for new products going forward.

My favourite product:

I'm very intrigued by the heavily embroidered quilts they make in Pakistan. They are very mysterious and made by itinerant tribes in the desert. It's been quite hard to find out much about them or the people that make them. Each one is like a work of art but they are so well made that they are actually quite practical and hard-wearing. They can be used on beds or sofas or turned into cushions. 

Eleanor Khan will be at Homeworks on Sunday 1st December

Meet the maker - Cecilia Child

Meet the maker - Cecilia Child

By Cecil was launched to create modern woven textiles using traditional techniques and provide an alternative to today's mass-produced and environmentally damaging textiles. The intention behind my brand is to produce future heirloom pieces that people will treasure and pass down to the next generation. I design and sample on a handloom in my North London home with a collection of mill woven blankets and scarves produced in Bristol by a micro mill as limited edition runs. I hand-weave a selection of unique and individual products, including cushions, snoods and eye masks.

I love the merino wool scarves that I produce in conjunction with a micro mill in Bristol. I designed the collection in response to visits to various coastal towns such as Whitstable, St Ives and Dunwich. I am forever collecting pebbles from blustery, windswept beaches and fell in love with the bright colours of the Whitstable beach huts. The scarves themselves are generously sized and are so soft and cosy. 
The colours brighten up a grey day and keep me warm on a winter's day.

I love walking around my city, London, and my new collection of cotton snoods draws inspiration from the buildings and skylines of my surroundings. I love the Barbican and taking a stroll along the Thames finishing in the Tate. An afternoon spent wandering around the V&A always leaves me feeling refreshed and revived.

By Cecil will be at Homeworks on 1st December

Maker’s Choice – Julia Landes

I combine my drawings with hand built ceramic platters, cups and other useful household objects:

My background is originally in printed textiles and when you see my style of work you can see that colour, pattern, line; they are all important to me and now I combine them with my ceramic pieces.

I think my favourite piece is a platter with one of my illustrations of the top of Primrose Hill in the winter:

I am constantly inspired by London, that could be the parks, buildings, people, dogs and their owners or our great landmarks.


I think my absolute favourite London spots would be the Ladies Pond on Hampstead Heath or the top of Primrose Hill.

Julia Landes will be at our second Homeworks Christmas Bazaar on Sunday 9 December.

Maker’s Choice – Theresaceramica

My name is Theresa Edwards, I trained in fine art painting followed by a post diploma in ceramics, then spent many years working in the animation industry.

When computers took over from arty types like me, I left and picked up my love of working in ceramics again.

I’m coming to Homeworks on Sunday 9 December with a selection of my hand built plates and other work.

I’m very fortunate to have a studio and kiln in my garden where I make hand built earthenware pieces, some suitable for domestic use and others more ‘ornamental’.

I love the decorating process – using hand cut paper stencils, wax resists, slips and underglaze colours – all before the first firing.

A second clear glaze firing ensures the colours are safe for domestic use.

Hard to say where I find inspiration – my imagination just flows along – I hardly ever sketch or plan a design, they just take shape on the damp clay.

I suppose nature plays a large part. I’m fortunate to be able to spend time in the country and by the sea in Cornwall.

Fantasy and colour seem very important to me! Increasingly so, as shown in the bowl I’m holding in the photograph, a very recent work which I’m very pleased with!

Come and meet Theresa at Homeworks on Sunday 9 December.

Maker’s Choice – Dorothy Stiven

Homeworks regular Dorothy Stiven is back again this year with a selection of her carefully sourced one-off vintage finds. She’ll be at Homeworks on Sunday 2 December:

I started selling antiques and vintage when I was working in television and my daughter was at Malorees School in Queens Park. What started as a hobby has now become my business...I sell at Fairs all over the country, on Instagram @dorothystiven and at my stand at Station Mill Antiques in Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire.
I am also the co-organiser of The Reclaimed Home Fair in the Cotswolds.

I love the hunt involved in finding old things...it may be dark and cold at 5am at a brocante in France, at a trade fair on a racecourse in the U.K, or in a field at an antiques show in rural America but I still get a thrill in discovering treasures

It might be a torn old patchwork quilt, a tatty painting or a dirty old pair of candlesticks but I get a thrill in cleaning them up and seeing the beauty in them.

My customers, I would say, are those who love their homes, but are not bound by what is only mass produced or available on the high street.

I feel that by buying antiques and vintage you are not only reclaiming your home but also you are doing the planet a favour by not adding to landfill.

But paramount is that everything I sell is beautiful as well as useful!

Rosemont Vintage

Rosemont Vintage sell quality reclaimed decorative homewares, sourced in France, England and beyond:

Lorna’s favourite products include cushions made from salvaged antique quilts and linens. Her inspiration is derived from “The joy of discovering exciting finds at French brocantes and flea markets:”

Rosemont Vintage will be at Homeworks on Sunday 3 December.

Save the Dates!

Here’s all the information for our two Christmas Bazaars for 2017. We’ll start sharing work from our fabulous designers and makers soon, you can see who’s coming by checking the sidebar for each date. Meanwhile here is everything you need to start planning your visit:

Meet the Maker - Cardabelle Design

My name is Kate Guy and my design practice is called Cardabelle Design. I have a studio at the Kingsgate Workshops in Kilburn:

I specialise in linocut prints and designs, both original artwork and also screen-printed onto kitchen products, organic cotton textiles and hand made tiles:

I trained at Wimbledon and Norwich Schools of Art, graduating with a BaHons in Graphic Design and Animation. I worked in an animation studio in Camden and then went to lead their tracing department in Budapest.

After having children I worked as a freelance designer for a few years before training as a teacher. I worked in a large secondary school in North West London running the Art and Design department for 12 years. I left last year to develop my own company Cardabelle Design:

I started Cardabelle Design because I wanted to combine my graphic design background with my love of traditional printmaking techniques in order to produce unique, quality homeware:

My influences come from my home in North West London and the Languedoc region of South West France where I have family and friends. A Cardabelle is a thistle from this area which locals pin to their doors to keep out evil influences.

I have always loved printmaking, in particular the strong graphic qualities of lino-cut and screen printing. I use these techniques to make one-off, hand-made prints, and then using these original prints I have developed collections of quality items for the kitchen and home:

I take my principle inspiration from food and the kitchen; I feel that the kitchen is the true heart of the home and the smells and tastes that can be found in this social hub are prominent in my work, in particular natural, simple cooking with wild organic ingredients.

Kate will be at Homeworks this Sunday 11 December.

Meet the Maker - Scamp

As well as running Scamp with sister Stacey, Jennifer is a key member of the Homeworks team and organises our Christmas Bazaars. She recently gave us some time out of her (very busy) schedule to tell us a bit about her creative life:

Stacey (left) and Jennifer (right).

Tell us about who you are:
It’s a family affair at Scamp with myself and my sister Stacey establishing and running the business. We’re both mums, both into design, and both creative souls, who design everything in our range.

When did you start your business?
We began in 2010 making personalised pictures for baby gifts. We’ve grown a lot since then to include printed babywear, nursery accessories and bespoke gifts for little ones (and some for big ones too!). The world of the laser cutter has meant we’ve been able to create a lovely range of wooden kids room accessories and decorations and most recently customised printing has expanded our baby wear range to include pyjamas and blankets as well, all printed in the UK:

What’s your inspiration?
Having our own children very much defines what we want our product ranges to be like - lots of vibrant, colourful and funky babywear, bold and simple graphics on bedroom accessories (we love Scandinavian styles) and personalised products created with stylish parents in mind:

We design all our products ourselves and spend a great deal of design time thinking about how our designs fit in with modern family life - both ours and yours!

Come and meet Jennifer & Stacey at Homeworks on 4 & 11 December:

Meet The Maker - Wallplayper

Today’s Meet the Maker is all about Lewes based designers Emma Carlow and Gaynor Warren. As Wallplayper they design and sell beautifully creative and playful wallpaper, cushions and lampshades for children, inspired by the mid century design and artists they love.

They launched Wallplayper this September and are joining us for Homeworks on Sunday 4 December:

Emma and Gaynor are art school educated - Emma studied illustration and graphics and Gaynor studied sculpture. Both worked in the world of design and children's textiles - Emma began her career at Conran and has designed textiles for Habitat, Ikea, Marks & Spencer and Crate & Barrel. Wallplayper is the culmination of all their experiences and passions:

Childhood (particularly their own - they both have fond memories of wearing Clothkits clothing designs in the seventies!) informs their design thinking and they are inspired by designers and artists who are playful, particularly mid century designers and artists such as Charles and Ray Eames, Alexander Girard and Alexander Calder:

Come along on the 4th and meet Emma and Gaynor - Homeworks is their only sale this Christmas and they’re bringing a selection of their beautiful wallpaper with matching cushions and brand new lampshades.

Home Address

Home Address is a collection of carefully considered products for the home. Products are carefully sourced to be pleasing to the senses, useful, practical and affordable.

Come along on Sunday 6th December and find out some of the fascinating stories behind their distinctive pieces.