Monday, October 10, 2011

10 things

Well, I haven't played before but hey, why not.

On Saturday I went to Renegade - a craft fair near Brick Lane.  There was some really cool stuff there, I did a bit of present shopping and indulged in a vintage brooch that has been turned into a necklace.  My 10 things come from there.



1) Gyotaku - well, I learnt what this is today - the Japanese art of fish printing - by inking a fish and printing it onto paper, with assorted leaves or anything else you fancy - different!

2) Foxes are in! - well not for me, but there were loads of fox printed things at Renegade - be interesting to see if they penetrate the world of scrapbooking.  Can't see me using them though!

3) Felting is fun!  - I've heard of boiling wool to make felt, but this is a different thing - you have a scrunched up ball of wool fibres and you poke a brass ribbed needle through them into a foam square - rapidly and many time - turning the fibres occasionally - and it felts!  People were sculpting amazing woodland animals - mine was a tiny, not very sculpted, frog.  I'd like to do this again.

4) Serious handcutting - there was a girl there who was handcutting amazing street maps of Manhattan and Brooklyn - I mean, I handcut, but these were huge and awesome - seriously nice art.


5) Take more cash to craft fairs!  - I did and managed to limit my spending accordingly, but then found a beautiful print that I really wanted - but couldn't find a cashpoint outside - grr!

6) There are crafting charities helping both crafters and Breast Cancer Sufferers.  Made in Clerkenwell is an event that I will probably go to, run by Craft Central - at whose stall I had great fun making a rosette for my bag - and showcases artists who are part of the project which helps crafters run their own businesses.  The Pink Pompom Project supports Breast Cancer sufferers through craft therapy and also runs events.  Nice people.

7) There is a world of amazing textiles out there that I know nothing about.  There were some absolutely beautiful (and expensive) works of art in gorgeous subtle colours, involving many hours of work that I could just stand a look at for ages.  I think I would like to see more.

8) I know it's difficult to combine coffee and craft, but it was a pain to have to leave the fair to look for a drink.

9)  I loved the owl poster that advertised the craft fair.

10) Brick Lane was much less busy than I expected on a Saturday - where was everyone else?

4 comments:

Sheena said...

Sounds like you had a fab day Ali x
shame I live so far away as it sounds just my kind of thing x

Sian said...

I would love to have been there! Looks like a fantastic day out. Thanks for dropping by and leaving that lovely comment - I would love to see a red version of my layout. But maybe a Victory one instead? You never know :)

Anonymous said...

I would've loved to go too - so I enjoyed reading your post! Thanks for your lovely comments - re the punch - all I've seen is Creative Memories on ebay in the US and a set of nestiing dies from the US (and I don't have a die-cutter) - so I'll have to stick to handcutting!

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

Looks like a great day out, I'm not envious one bit! Thanks for sharing. I'm fairly new to 10 on the 10th, this is my second time. Mainly because I kept remembering on the 12th!