#entomology | I have a date with Manchester Museums Entomology Department! After a super conversation about bugs, the folks at Manchester Museum invited me to come and meet their entomology team. I’ll be able to study the collection up close with a view to creating a range of bugs for their retail shop. I cannot wait. Watch this space.
This is all thanks to @artisanmadeuk for creating the opportunity for me to meet the buying team for Manchester Museum. They saw my work and loved my ethos.
As a kid, I always loved visiting the Natural History Museums in Bolton and Manchester. It was a time when no one seemed to realise the public was aloud in. I pretended I was indiana Jones as I sneaked around the Victorian glass cabinets. Good Times.
To promote our pop-up shop in Astley Park Coach House we attended the event Picnic in the Park and invited everyone to get creative and make a festival flower.
The event was well attended and we facilitated the making of over 200 flowers. It brought back memories of when I used to be a community artists back in the day.
Inspired by a recent exhibition commission and looking forward to new opportunities created during the Artisan Made UK Trade Fair, I set off on an exploration for inspiration at my local RHS garden.
I can’t wait to start creating these botanical blooms as three-dimensional salvaged masterpieces.
Back in April I posted about ‘Making things happen’, well my excellent friends and I have organised a Pop-Up shop to celebrate Lancashire independent handmade business. We plan to showcase around 20 local artists and makers work in June.
If you want something doing… I had been thinking for a few years about the limited opportunities for contemporary crafts in my home county of Lancashire. Don’t get me wrong there are the odd venues and galleries spread thinly but nothing to match the likes of Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair in Greater Manchester, Art in the Pen in Yorkshire, or even Pop-Up in the Palm House in Merseyside. I’m not sure why this is because there is a wealth of creative talent. We all just traipse over the boarders.
Astley Park
So I had an inspirational power walk with some of my local creative friends (sarah buckett and Wild Botainia), and we hatched a plan.
There was a lot of blue-sky thinking, dreaming of a local arts centre hub, events, and creative movements. We settled on a pop-up shopping experience to kick things off. Our local council (Chorley & South Ribble) was extra supportive by giving us an amazing venue for free and promoting the event on their digital platforms. Housed in the Astley Park Coach House, Astley Pop-Up was born. From Saturday the 13th to the 21st of June, we will be showcasing the work of 19 independent makers/ businesses.
A year or so ago, I was asked my opinions regarding the rise of AI in a handmade creative forum. My response was more of a musing really. I reflected on the parallel of how portrait painters must have felt with the invention of the camera. I imagine, the camera thinned out the need for portrait painters, but did it also open a door and create more space for abstract art and expressionism?
What is AI going to create a space for?
There is no denying our buying habits have been dramatically altered by big giants like Amazon and Temu1. We subconsciously expect online purchases to arrive the next day – instant gratification with no effort.
As an independent artist, I can’t live up to that expectation. Things take time. As they should. But what I can get behind is the consumer movement which is quietly growing in the background – The Human Connection
I read an article recently about how consumer habits are increasingly shifting away from badly made mass-produced dross. The example given was the comparison between a handcrafted Japanese mug and a mug bought from a global chain store. The store mug was perfectly functional but soulless, mass-produced and common. The Japanese mug had slight imperfections, traces of human touch. It was unique and evoked feelings of well-being and connection when used.
“As AI-generated content becomes more prevalent and, at times, indistinguishable from human work, consumers are paradoxically placing a higher premium on items that show human imperfection, traditional craftsmanship, and a clear, personal, or local origin’.
I was really struck by this concept. How great it would be for consumers to appreciate time and skill. Not only that but to consider the use of materials, the environmental impact and most importantly to buy something with meaning.
My creative practice is not only about seeing the value in discarded waste, it’s about catching special moments, celebration and remembering.
That little bit of silk that reminds you of your Grandma, the postal stamp that reminds you to communicate, or a sweet wrapper because you like sweets (it doesn’t have to be that deep).
If you love independent shops and small businesses, it’s time to invest in the human connection.
I am passionate about communities. I believe we are stronger together, and I see the value in helping each other. Working as an independent maker in the creative sector can be quite lonely. But it doesn’t have to be.
I’m quite fortunate to have acquired naturally a small group of local creative friends.
Wild Botanica
I’m very excited about implementing my newfound skills. However, there are a few environmental questions I need to research before jumping in.
All that said, I just wanted to highlight the value of playing as an adult.
Never stop learning, questioning, experimenting, laughing, and doing something for the sake of it. Find your tribe and have fun.
Back in October, I’d been working for 6 months as a community coordinator. One morning, I found out I wasn’t going to be offered a permanent contract. I was quite upset, but that evening, I received a DM from Holly Tucker MBE, the award-winning entrepreneur, founder of Holly & Co and co-founder of notonthehighstreet. She told me she loved my work and wanted me to become a seller on her creative retail platform, Holly & Co!
This couldn’t have been better timing. As one door closes, another door opens. Back to being a full-time artist* – hurrah
There’s a special place in my heart for independent high street shops. So I was delighted to be commissioned by one of my favourite; a book shop called Ebb & Flo in Chorley.
The owner Dianne, wanted a pencil drawing of the new shop front so she could use it for social media and create bookmarks. She gave me her inspiration, and away I went to create some examples.
I got a bit carried away and created a super detailed sketch of the shop front. Then I remembered the inspiration picture Dianne sent over…. oops.
So I created three versions of the same sketch each slightly different to see which style Dianne preferred. The original detailed sketch won the race. Then I suggested, perhaps some colour?
So here it is, a colour illustration of the Ebb & Flo Book Shop.
