Upcycled | Recycled | Design
St Laurence’s Church, Union Street, Chorley, PR71EB
Tuesday – Friday 11am – 2pm | Saturday 1 – 4pm | Sunday 1 – 3pm
The exhibition runs for the whole of January (5th – 30th)
An afternoon of Art and chat.
I’ll be at the exhibition on Saturday to meet and greet.
Come and say Hello
A surprise request for art to fill the gallery space had me in a whirl of activity this January.
Exhibiting along side artist Caroline Amos.
There’s a flash of blue and yellow in the corner of your eye. Stop. Be still. Shhh it’s there, at the bottom of the garden.
I don’t know about you but I love it when the Blue Tits come to visit the bird table. They are so cute and colourful.
During the lockdown of 2020 there was nothing I liked more than sitting back and watching the birds going about their business in my garden. It gave me a sense of calm and I found their antics quite entertaining.
I decided to redesign my current small frame Blue Tit to try to capture a little more of this birds personality and movement. While working on this I thought it would be nice to create a flying version as well.
I sketched out and experimented with lots of different poses. Then using end of season fabric scraps, used postage stamps, bits of recycled coloured paper and whatever else I could find that fitted the bill. I layered and stitched them together to create these wonderfully cute little birds.
This January I’m holding a Sale. I’ve never held a sale before because I usually sell most of my pieces as I make them. Since setting up Thrift Design in 2014 my style and direction has changed. While trying to organise my workshop I have come across a few items which I no longer make so I’ve decided to put them in a sale.
To be the first to see what I’ve got why not sign up to my news letter and I’ll let you know whats on offer first.
Sale Ends Monday 30th December
Gift Wrap & Personalised Gift Tag
Why not have your purchase wrapped and add a personalised handwritten tag added?
Eco-friendly gift wrap & tag – Recyclable, Biodegradable and compostable.
The VIRTUAL Great British Craft Trade Fair ONLINE
14th & 15th June 2020, 10am – 5pm
The British Craft Trade Fair (BCTF) is USUALLY a three-day event, taking place at the Great Yorkshire Showground in beautiful Harrogate.
This year, for obvious reasons it did not happen, but the wonderful BCTF team have been working hard behind the scenes to deliver a groundbreaking online event to showcase the amazing talented work of UK designer makers.
It’s Trade only so you’ll need to register here https://bctf.co.uk/register/buyer.html to see maker videos, trade products and download price lists. You’ll even be able to LIVE CHAT to the makers.
Skip to the benefits of becoming a Thrift Design Patron Click Here
What is Patreon?
Patreon is a membership platform that provides business tools for creators to run a subscription content service. It allows creators and artists to earn a monthly income by providing exclusive rewards and perks to their subscribers, or “patrons”.
Why I (Thrift Design) use Patreon?
I’m on Patreon because 2020 is already proving to be problematic for self employed, freelance creatives. With all the Exhibitions and Trade Fairs cancelled, galleries and shops closed indefinitely, I’m finding I have more time to be creative with my creativity.
What do you get out of being my patron?
By paying a subscription, as well as being part of my ‘inner circle’ you are in effect buying a piece of art from me over the course of several months. After a specified amount of time* I will send you one of my art pieces equivalent to the amount you pledge.
In addition to this you will get exclusive ‘thrift Studio’ content and free art samples every month.
What will I get out of it? I’m hoping this will keep me connected with you, inspire me to carry on and of course provide me with a much-needed regular monthly income top up.
*9 months of subscription
After being spotted as ‘One to Watch’ by Wayne Hemingway and Crafts Councils Ellie Clewlow at the National Festival of Making, Blackburn.
I am delighted to now be one of the many talented makers represented in the Crafts council Directory.
Have a look at my Directory page
I’m delighted to be part of this exhibition, which seeks to highlight the plight of our British Bees and their connections within our ecosystem.
The Interconnectedness of All Things: Fifty Bees is an exhibition of fifty beautifully sculpted bees by artist Lydia Needles. Exhibited alongside each bee will be a companion piece created by fifty guest artists. Artists, makers, writers and musicians have produced one new work in response to one of the fifty bee pieces exhibited, in order to give a fuller illustration of the diversity of our bee population, how endangered it is and how our pollinators are completely interlinked with our ecosystem.
My companion piece references the ecology of the Lasioglossum leucozonium – White-zoned Furrow Bee and was created as a museum botany sample from a dystopian future where we can only see nature through the waste created in the twenty first century.
Ecology sample of calcareous grassland, featuring the Leontodon Hispidus, Rough Hawkbit, a perennial native to the British Iles. Ranked first for meadow flora nectar production and a favorite visit for the White-zoned Furrow Bee.
This piece was made using a whole host of salvaged resources. Materials often thought of as waste. Single-use plastic from bread and frozen chips packaging. Last season’s wallpaper and fabric samples, old clothes and maps.
Reanimating used materials in this way aims to highlight the worth of the things we throw away. There is a value to attached to the energy we use to create these materials and the cost is our natural world
Exhibiting at the Brewhouse Theatre & Arts Centre, Coal Orchard, Taunton, Somerset TA1 1JL. 9th March – 6th May
2020 hasn’t turned out as planned, to put it mildly. So far all the events I had planned to attend have been canceled and all the exhibitions, shops and galleries I supply are currently closed.
Hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel with non-essencial retail slowly reopening in June.
It is important to support our independent retail outlets and maintain our vibrant high streets so when things start rolling again I will keep you informed as to where you can find my products locally.