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 - Yellow Tulip Crafts

Meet the Maker - Gordana Lalic of Yellow Tulip Crafts

Yellow Tulip Crafts is all about colourful hand embroidered pieces with a playful touch. I design and create mostly florals and interiors using embroidery thread very often mixed with paint which gives each piece the lightness I am aiming for while the thread adds the sense of texture and warmth. My favourites are definitely my embroidered interiors hence an Instagam inspired series of rooms I have chosen from many accounts that I follow. (https://www.instagram.com/yellowtulipcrafts/).

Commissions are welcome, contact: Yellowtulip.shop@gmail.com

This floral hoop is one of my favourite, I love its blend of bright and bold colours I have used to create the composition of "floating" flowers.

I am easily inspired, a shade of a particular colour will do the trick not to mention beautiful interior spaces (or design magazines), art exhibitions, textiles with patterns and colours I can't get out of my head and much more.

Meet the Maker - Alice Frankel

Meet the Maker - Alice Frankel

        

I am a printmaker working in etching and linocut. Printmaking uses processes that have been tried and tested for centuries, but these traditions can be combined with new techniques such as photopolymer etching in exciting ways. Printing produces inherently one-off pieces and the process allows you to tweak and amend, so that printing can give unexpected results and each print is unique. I love how the process is both technical and precise and hands-on and messy - but don't love having permanently inky hands! 



My favourite pieces at the moment are my linocuts of a boat at sea and a lighthouse - I like to picture them hanging on a child's bedroom wall, while a child dreams of the places they will go and adventures they will have.

I find inspiration in the natural world, and wandering happily around London's galleries.  

Alice will be at Homeworks on 1st December

Meet the Maker - The Hampstead Smock Company

Bilal at work

Meet the Maker - The Hampstead Smock Company

I studied Fashion & Textile Design at St Martin’s School of Art in the 1980’s, I specialised in Interiors & Soft Furnishings and have worked all over the world doing this job.  My products are accessories for the home.  I’ve always worn an artists smock to work in, this was inspired by my mother who wore one around the house looking after 6 children.

 My favourite product is my ‘Smock’, although all the products I will be bringing to sell at ‘Homeworks’ give me great pleasure.

I truly find inspiration from within, I can walk into a home or space and immediately know how I’d enhance it with beautiful products, soft furnishings, lighting.  I frequent museums, we have so much wonderful free art to see in London, I go to new exhibitions and I often walk through London where I was told as a child by my father to look up and see the architecture around us, we can miss so much and so all of this inspires me.

The Hampstead Smock Company will be at Homeworks on 8th December

Meet the maker - Hokan Bowls

Meet the maker - Alistair Donald

Once I became a father of two sons, it quickly became apparent that I needed to use my time efficiently in the kitchen and to avoid unnecessary food waste. So I turned the leaning towers of bowls with saucers and clingfilm that covered food in the fridge, into a practical, plastic-free solution that will work in any kitchen. Hokan Bowls can be used to cook, bake, store, serve and save food. They come in three sizes with a one-size fits-all lid, which through their interlocking design can be stacked one on top of another to save space in the fridge, the freezer or the oven. Their contemporary design and range of colours, makes them perfect for serving to table or keeping out on the sideboard. One Hokan Bowl with many uses, that with good care, will last a lifetime. 




 The home, and living within it, provides all the inspiration needed to improve and develop how to make how we live more conscientious and efficient. Nature always provides the colours needed to determine the new ranges, and people provide the feedback necessary to improve and fine-tune.

Hokan bowls will be at Homeworks on 1st and 8th December. 

Meet the maker - Jackie Parsons

Meet the maker - Jackie Parsons

Scobel clothing makes pared Back considered women’s clothing and accessories made in south east London by Jackie Parsons using fabrics surplus to the trade.

Jackie's current favourite piece is thiscross back apron made from sanforised Irish Linen. It improves with washing and has a useful phone pocket on the bib so you can carry on chatting while stirring your risotto. 

Jackie used to work as a costumier so finds inspiration in any costume drama. She likes to keep the romance with out compromising the practicality.

Come and see Jackie 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 - Rebecca Denton

Meet the maker - Rebecca Denton

I make original fine art prints. By combining ancient printmaking techniques, such as etching with stories in my head, I try to create work that is contemporary and unique. From the idea to the sketch to the preparing and inking of the plate, I love every step of the process! Works are often narrative with imaginary characters in imagined landscapes; playful or serious, but always hopeful and life-affirming.

Etching editions are limited to 40 prints whilst the atmospheric monotypes, ‘printed paintings’, are one-offs. To find out more about me and the process visit www.rebeccadenton.com, or Instagram: @rebeccadentonart

My most recent drypoint etching ‘Evening Flight’ is my new favourite. I’m very happy with the way it turned out as etching can be unpredictable... You never know exactly how it will look until the first print is pulled! I’ve tried to bring together both the drama and calm that the sea and birds in flight evoke.

My favourite place to find inspiration is my imagination, childhood memories and road trips.

 Rebecca will be at Homeworks on 1st and 8th December.

Meet the maker - Sophia Langmead

I hand make individual lyrical glitter word pictures on beautiful decorative papers which come from all over the world . Sometimes I make the pictures with slightly saucy women made with a touch of humour.  I use vintage and new frames.

My favourite product in the new font I am using.  Very time consuming as each letter has to be cut out with a scalpel two or three times because of the shadow and colours before being put together.  But I am very pleased with the finished look. I’ve used it for ‘Oh what a circus’, ‘wow’, ‘yay’ and ‘star’.

I get a lot of my inspiration for the pictures from simply listening to music as I walk back and forwards from my studio in Primrose Hill to Queens Park.  I hear a line that I love and think will work and quickly text it to myself otherwise I might forget.

Sophia will be at Homeworks on 1st December. You can see her work at www.sophialangmead.com

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

Makers choice - Steph Rubbo saddlery

Steph Rubbo is a qualified Saddler and keen follower of all things equestrian, who loves the look and longevity of leather. A chance encounter reading The Last Horsemen by Charles Bowden ignited her passion for creating high-quality leather goods. Since then, she graduated with a Diploma in Saddle, Harness and Bridle Making from the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers and is a Society of Master Saddlers Qualified Saddler. Steph produces beautiful accessories and bridles and leather goods, winning top prizes from the Society of Master Saddlers.

Steph's favourite products are her box bags.  The smallest has interchangeable short and long straps, and is intended for evenings out, or those times when you only have a few small essentials to carry.   The largest she has made takes a large tablet, note pad, wallet, phone, and more.  The lovely soft nappa leather lining always gets a great reaction.  

Steph finds inspiration sitting in a public space people watching, just looking at the bags people carry, how they wear them, and what they use them to carry.

Steph Rubbo will be at Homeworks Christmas Bazaar on Sunday 1 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