Meet the Maker - Sally Hampson

Meet the Maker - Sally Hampson

Sally Hampson weaves with 100% pure British wool and is passionate about being involved in every step of the process, from selecting the sheep breeds to creating the finished blanket, shawl or scarf.

The shawls and scarves are woven in natural un-dyed wool from the fleeces of Welsh Black and Jacob sheep, using a traditional twill which creates warmth in its open structure. Sally has recently started felting some of her shawls. This creates a denser, warmer and softer feel.

The blankets are limited edition, woven in 100% pure Shetland wool. The ‘Family Blanket’ a new addition to the collection, is a replica of a blanket Sally grew up with. The original label read, The Connemara Rug.

Sally has spent time with shepherds in the Cheviot Hills on the Scottish border. This wild and rugged landscape continues to be an important part of what she wants to share through her weaving.

Sally will be at Homeworks on 8th December. 

Meet the Maker - Marissa Irwin

Meet the Maker - Marissa Irwin

As the granddaughter and niece of professional jewellers, Marissa Irwin has been draping herself in gemstones from a very young age. Her first designs included graduation gifts for her elementary school girlfriends and birthday presents for her Mom and beloved grandmothers. She continued making jewellery throughout  university, hosting trunk shows at her family’s jewellery store in the US and selling earrings alongside local artisans at her town’s summer fair. Nowadays, you’ll find her crafting new designs with semi-precious gemstones, freshwater pearls and delicate gold findings at her home studio in London.

  

Marissa says! My favorite product is the Freshwater Pearl Threader earrings. They're made of 14kt gold-filled ear threaders and Freshwater Pearls that I individually wrap using 14kt gold-filled wire. I wear them almost everyday!

I often feel most inspired to create when I'm sitting at my desk with a pile of colorful gemstones in different shapes & sizes all mixed up together in front of me. I'll play with color combinations and designs on a velvet cloth until I have that 'aha!' moment. I also use Instagram as a source of inspiration by following the journeys of fellow designers & makers - seeing each of them do what they love inspires me to keep going!

Marissa will be at Homeworks on 8th December. 

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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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

Meet the Maker - Michele Wycoff-Smith

Meet the Maker - Michele Wycoff-Smith

Michele Wyckoff Smith wearing
combined Olga necklace, bracelet and bangle

I'm Michele Wyckoff Smith, a trained jeweller in love with organic shapes and textures inspired by nature. I believe that jewellery should be simple, understated and versatile. Many of my pieces can be worn on their own or combined to create a new piece. For example, my Olga chain can be worn by itself, or combined with an Olga bracelet and Henry Moore inspired bangle to make a stunning focal piece. These are best sellers and I'll be sure to have some with me at Homeworks this year.

  
Right now, I am in love with my brightly colour gemstone stacking rings. They look great in all kinds of combinations or worn individually. I take great care to develop a soft, but organic texture on the ring shank, so that it feels like it is an object found from a long ago time and place. I am endlessly fascinated by the combinations of colours people put together. 

More than anything, I want my customers to fall in love with my pieces and find that they wear them day in and day out. Beautiful design should be something that can be worn all the time, not just on special occasions.

Born by the seaside, I always head towards the water when I am in search of new ideas. The most inspirational place I've found in the UK is the beach between Lyme Regis and Charmouth. There is an old Victorian tip that has slid onto the beach due to coastal erosion. I have found so many pieces of decaying metal, pottery shards and odd little items that have gone on to inspire me endlessly. (Tip: it is best to hit this beach after a big storm.)

Michele will be at Homeworks on 1st December, and you can see her work at www.wyckoffsmith.com / www.instagram.com/wyckoffsmith

Our tenth year of Homeworks

It’s hard to believe this year will be our tenth annual Homeworks Christmas Bazaar. Our first fairs were held at the iconic Twentieth Century Theatre in Notting Hill, which has now sadly closed its doors.

Many talented designers, makers and artists have joined our events (and helped to organise them) over the years and we continue to champion small local businesses at our Christmas Bazaars in the Salusbury Rooms in Queens Park.

We have some interesting Q & As from this year’s sellers including their Maker’s Choice selections and Top Ten Gift Guides to inspire all your Christmas shopping needs.

We’re kicking off tomorrow with our first talented designer Elvira Van Vredenburgh. See you then!

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 - Hélène Turbé

Photo: Lily Bertrand-Webb 

Tell us little bit about who you are and where you are based?
My Name is Hélène Turbé, I’m a fine jewellery maker based in West London. I live near Kensal Rise and my studio is based just behind Ladbroke Grove.
I’m passionate about the handcrafting process and can spend hours working on details. I totally love working close to my work creating an intimacy with each of my pieces. My work is inspired by the ornate allure of jewellery dating from Antique, Byzantine and Victorian eras, enhanced by intensively repeated details, and by the use of coloured gemstones and pearls:



Where did you train and when did you start your business?
After working 10 years in Paris as a producer manager in the media Industry, I finally moved to London to accomplish my two dreams; to live in London and to study a fashion course.

In 2001, I joined London Metropolitan University to study jewellery and ended 3 years later with a First Class Honours degree.

In 2009, I set up my workshop while looking after my three kids. Very quickly, I managed to sell my work to few shops in London. I now work from an Artists Community Studio called Kindred Studio in St Marks Road (behind Ladbroke Grove) where I share my space with six other brilliant makers. I still work for the same retailers who have supported me from the beginning while making bespoke order for private customers. Very soon you will be able to shop through my website.




What inspired you to become a designer and set up your company?
Very young, I was fascinated by illustrations in children’s books, by my mother’s haberdashery and carving wood. I guess my curiosity never left me. I grew up on a little island surrounded by religious signs called Ile d’Yeu in West of France. Everything inspires me, all my surroundings. I’m fascinated by icon figures, icon medals, and rosaries:



Usually I start drawing some ideas and designs on my sketchbook, and once I’m happy and ready for it, I move to my bench where I start making a model before working directly on gold.
Depending of the piece, but sometimes it can take 2/3 weeks before finishing it.

Hélène will be at Homeworks on both 4 & 11 December.

Meet the Maker - Sally Hampson

Sally Hampson is joining us at Homeworks for the first time this Christmas. She recently told us a bit about her design life and what inspires her:

My name is Sally Hampson, I’m a weaver and produce blankets, shawls and scarves. I mostly use 100% Pure British wool, from Shetland, the Welsh Black Mountains and from Jacob fleece. I am based in London where I have my studio, but I am also currently running workshops in Stroud where I have set up The Weaving Shed Project.

I studied at the Royal College of Art and graduated with an M.A in Constructed Textiles. Shortly after, I moved to Paris and set up a design studio working closely with the stylist bureaus - this was a real apprenticeship into design. I came back to London and set up my studio and began designing and making woven rugs, collaborating with interior designers and architects.Through my knowledge and experience in textiles I have been invited to Egypt, Ethiopia and Kenya to work on projects along side and support other makers, ceramicists, weavers, basket makers and embroiderers. This in turn has been an inspiration for my own practice as a maker and also as a tutor.

My earliest memories were always of the feel, texture and colour of fabrics. It just seemed inevitable that I would become a weaver. I grew up with a travel rug that my parents bought over from Ireland, when they first came to London. It was a very special possession in our family and has inspired me to produce limited edition woven blankets to be treasured and kept forever.

Sally will be 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.

Meet the Maker - Bea Bags

With just over a month until our first Homeworks Christmas Bazaar, we’d like to introduce you to some of the designers and makers taking part in our events this year and find out what inspires them.

First up is Bea Bags, a creative partnership between Ruth Hannett and Sharon Chin:

Sharon, left and Ruth, right.

Ruth has a studio in West Hampstead, and Sharon has a studio in Suffolk where she now lives:

Ruth’s studio in West Hampstead.

What’s your design inspiration?
‘We set up Bea Bags in 2007. Originally we started in order to be able to work from home and around our small children - our company has grown organically but is still pretty small.
We began making our oilcloth bags and accessories when we were unable to find beautiful, contemporary practical bags to use on the beach. Our range has grown to include beach bags, shoppers, shoulder bags and accessories:

Tell us about your design process:
We do everything ourselves, from choosing our fabrics to be made into oilcloth, to cutting out and sewing our products. We both love what we do and take great care and pleasure to make sure all our products are finished to a high standard.’

Bea Bags will be at our first Bazaar on Sunday 4 December, 10-2pm.