BCTF, The British Craft Trade Fair 2014

The British Craft Trade Fair is an annual event that has been running for 35 years, giving designer, makers and artists a platform to showcase their work to galleries and shops wishing to stock all manner of interesting things including jewellery, homeware, illlustrations, ceramics and sculptures for the garden to name a few.

This was my fourth year sharing a stand with Samantha Robinson Ceramics.  We work well together and always have a well turned out stand. 'The show was the quietest I've seen it.  In general there seemed to be less people at the show and a definite decline of students.  Of course this is only my opinion.  It depends on who you talk to and what wares they are showcasing.

My stand was devoid of my usual array of books sculptures and this was a decision I'd made so that I could display more of my jewellery. This year I took a new range called Be-laced; a combination of lace tatting, pearls, jet and paper beads with oxidised sterling silver and and extension of an existing range called Organic Repose.

Barinder Gahir on her stand

My work is always well received and the welcome orders and the promise of future exhibitions keeps me going for another year in my practice as a designer and maker as I continually build relationships with galleries and shops.  I did noticed that there were a lot of Design Factory members this year including some that were making their appearance for the first time.

One such maker had a stand opposite me.   Her stand Barinder Designs was a colourful display of silk scarves which would delight any outfit. I noted that her stand was well thought out, but she had the same problem as most stand holder this year.  Due to the change in shell scheme, it was very difficult to adhere display items in the stand, this mean periodically items fell to the floor.

Katie Almond on her stand

Another first timer was Amelia Kirk who creates intricate sewing themed silver and copper jewellery.  I hope to write a blog post on Amelia, she has come through the ranks of the Prince's Youth Trust and eventually became an ambassador for them for a while.

Then there were regulars such as Katie Almond.  There is a
universal appeal to her work and each piece is essentially a canvas for decoration and collage which is combined with drawings and found ephemera.  And Rachel, from Facets of Avalon, this is her second year at the event.  Last year we did an exchange of work as we were mutually taken with each others creations.

This year my exchange was with Suraya from Mahliqa Knitted jewellery.  She will be featuring in a future blog post about my favourites from the show and there were quite a few.

News for March

Over the next couple of months I will be involved with a number of events which I thought I'd share with you.

Exhibitions

UNFOLD - Exploring the process of collaboration
5th April - 18th May
Walford Mill Crafts, Wimborne

I'm delighted that my collaborative piece worked with Sharyn Dunn and Samantha Robinson will be seen again.  It was first aired last year at 'Synchronize' at the National Centre for Craft & Design.  I worked with these lovely ladies for about 6 months and I really learnt a lot.

BESIDE THE SEA

Bilston Gallery, Wolverhampton 

12th April to 14th June

Think of all the things that conjures up the Great British seaside holiday; bracing winds, sand castles, deck chairs, windmills and a fish and chips supper.

These have inspired many an artist and maker to create beautiful and quirky work.

Samantha Robinson and myself decided that our 'Wish You Were Here' collaborative collection would be perfect for this exhibition and were fortunate enough to have our work selected.

Workshops

LOV FESTIVAL

Bottle Top Workshop,  

Wednesday 16th March, 11.00am - 4.00pm

The Guildhall Arts Centre, St Peter's Hill, Grantham

Come along to this free event, bring along an old magazine or comic and go away with a little bit of bottle top jewellery.  This is a good opportunity to learn how to re-use disguarded items and turn them into something more desirable.

KEEP CALM and CARRY YARN
National Centre for Crafts and Design, Sleaford
Tuesday 8th April 2014, 10.00am to 12.00pm

I will be demonstrating the lost art of Lace Tatting, from flip to ring and there will be the opportunity to have a go yourself.  If you prefer to attend a workshop then please visit my website for future listings.

Shows

BCTF (British Craft Trade Fair)

6th - 8th April

Stand 412

Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate

This will be my fourth year at this show.  It is a fantastic event.  Visitor levels are always good and the people on the other stands are always very friendly.  If you are thinking about doing a trade fair, this is a lovely starting point as the organizer is very helpful and supportive to new starts.

Well, that's all the upcoming events for this month.

Donkey rides and rock pooling, windbreaks and deck chairs, buckets and spades, 99's and sandcastles... experience all that the seaside has to offer without travelling to the coast, with this fun exhibition for all the family! Beside the Sea is full of craft inspired by British beaches, life on the coast and seaside holidays.
Included in the exhibition are Ian McKay's quirky automata boating scenes made from British hard woods and found objects, and charming seaside scenes in textiles and ceramics by Flossy Teacake. Discover more about the British coastline and how makers are inspired by it through lots of hands-on interactives.
- See more at: http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/events/beside-sea/#sthash.K9wX6ztC.dpuf

Interview with Rachel Reilly for "Facets of Avalon"

I met Rachel earlier this year at the British Craft Trade Fair, where we both had a stand.  During the show it was clear that we had a few connections, both in our interests and the approach to our work.

It was the ethereal quality of her work that I admired and the gentle nature that Rachel presented to me and she in turn was intrigued by the techniques I employed in my book sculptures and jewellery pieces. After a few conversations we decided to barter our work. This is quite commonplace amongst artists at events and I highly recommend the practice as it offers an opportunity to mutually appreciate each other’s creativity. I exchanged a book sculpture for a selection of jewellery pieces. I have to say I was over the moon and couldn’t stop smiling as I chose jewellery from Rachel’s stand. It still makes me smile now when someone admires her jewellery when I wear it. 

If you are a follower of my Blog, Twitter or Facebook you will have seen that I have been a little too quiet for the past few months. I can only say that I have been in a state of flux as I have needed some silent moments to re-assess my practice. Within those moments I have been carefully calculating how to carry on presenting my online journal. One of the aspects I have particularly enjoyed is interviewing other artists. By asking certain questions it can unfold aspects of the artist and how they work. 

These are the questions I pitted to Rachel:- 

Phiona: Can you describe your journey to becoming a professional maker? 

Rachel: Slow and steady mainly! I have always been a fiddler, beading as a child, moving towards textile as an adult. As an undergraduate, (jewellery degree at Sir John Cass College, London) I took apart a broken television to discover small reels of coloured wire inside… and so my wire jewellery exploration began. That was twenty years ago. I will never forget the excitement I felt when I managed to machine knit more than three consecutive rows! 

My mother and I opened Facets of Avalon, Glastonbury the year after the birth of my second child. Until then I had been fitting my creativity around part time work. 

Phiona: Many, many artists reading this will identify with that, Rachel. 

Rachel: For the first time, my jewellery business was given some importance and time. 

Phiona: And that is a dream most of us have to turn our creative skills into a serious business. 

Rachel: Over the last fifteen years I have worked hard to balance the bread and butter stock lines with the more flamboyant and theatrical work. 

Model:  Chanty Yeung

Phiona: In some cases it is easier to play it safe and not push the boundaries with your designs. 

Rachel: I’m not a natural business risk taker, but over the years I have shown at events regularly. The Desire jewellery show in London, the Glastonbury Festival and most recently my first visit to the BCTF (the British Craft Trade Fair) which I have booked for next year, it was the friendliest event I have ever been involved with! 


I supply a number of UK galleries, and a few overseas too. 

Entering competitions has always worked well for me and it’s so easy to do! Emailing good images with an application form and waiting to see the response. I won first place in the US, Bead and Button wirework category a few years ago. 

Phiona: Really! Perhaps I need to try this. 

Rachel: I love what I do and get enormous satisfaction from the contact I have with my customers plus managing to eek out a living…. pretty good eh? 

Phiona: Most definitely. What are your main influences when conceiving a piece of work? 

Rachel: If the piece is a commission then obviously the customer has already influenced the making of it, to a point. 

Phiona: Yes, I remember our discussions when I was deciding on which jewellery I wanted, you were very accommodating. 

Rachel: With a completely new collection, I let the material almost talk to me, if I manage to listen, then it’s kind of magical! There is still a thrill from changing a 2-D piece of metal mesh, into something 3-D and sculptural. I tend to make organically… with a vague starting point which evolves into a finished piece as it’s worked upon. 

It’s still surprising me, which is why, I guess I’m still working with it! 

Phiona: Do you have any new plans, collections in the pipeline? 

Rachel: I’ve been exploring origami folding this year, which is in its infancy. But I hope to develop this further in the next few months. 

Phiona: I’d be interested to see the results.

Rachel: A very exciting Geisha styled photo shoot recently spurred me onto finishing a small collection. A very talented team of Jess Augard – photography, Jo Jo P – make up, and Chanty Yeung – model worked fantastically well together. 

Photographer - Jess Augard

Phiona: Wow! This collection has definitely pushed some boundaries, it’s phenomenal. 

Phiona: What would you say are your values and ethics when it comes to making? 

Rachel: a) To strive to produce the best work I possibly can b) Too enjoy the challenges along the way and to keep having fun in the making. c) The spirit of my enjoyment, I hope is seen in the work. d) To not get complacent and to keep seeking out new techniques, pushing the boundaries… 

Phiona: What tips do you have to get around creative block? 

Rachel: There is a world of inspiration out there, online or on the doorstep! Looking at other artist’s work, not to copy but to appreciate a different outlook, I find also very interesting. There is such a thing of being over visually stimulated however… 

A glass of wine and a good bouncing around of ideas with friends is good too! Some crazy sketching in the middle of the night….messy, spontaneous, not precious, just first workings, relaxed explorations… 

Make up by Jo Jo P

Phiona: Do you allow people to visit you at your studio? 

Rachel: Absolutely! The shop/gallery is my studio too….I have workshop space at one end of the shop floor. I’d go mental if I couldn’t make, whilst being in the shop! It’s nice to be able to do mini demos to interested visitors, knit colour samplers on the spot, to show customers thinking of commissioning. 

Blending the workshop and retail space keeps things vibrant. 

Phiona: How did you get into running workshops? 

Rachel: To date, I have given one, one-to-one workshop… it was lovely. It’s not where my heart is however, not right now anyway. I am a maker through and through! 

Phiona: Do you have an online presence that we can find more information about your work? 

Rachel: Yes, of course my own website is www.rachelreilly.com and the shop’s website is www.facetsofavalon.com 

Phiona: Thank you so much for sparing the time for my questions, if I don’t see you before I will see you at BCTF where I have also booked a stand for 2014.

Countdown for the British Craft Trade Fair

This will be my third year at the British Craft Trade Fair in Harrogate, an annual event which promotes about 500 designer/makers to a captive audience of galleries, gift shops, students, and invited public.

Each year I have shared a stand with Samantha Robinson who you will have read about in my recent collaboration.  It isn't the first time we have worked together.  Last year we started a jewellery callaboration which has gone from strength to strength.  Our 2012 collection RSVP which is a sensitive combination of porcelain and lace tatting has proved to be a good seller.

This year the event starts on Sunday 7th April 2013.  We are bringing to the event a new collection entitled "Wish you were here..." As the title suggests it will have a strong connection to the seaside.  I am really excited to present this collection as unlike RSVP it is totally away from our normally style of working.

Our stand number is:  419

Hope to see you there!!

Tweeting and Creating

I've been so busy that I just haven't had time to show you all the lovely creatives that I came across at BCTF.

As mentioned in the previous post, the show was very friendly. I had linked with lots of Twitterers pre-show, in the hope that I would meet some of them. The plan worked well. Imagine a world of lots of individual creative people all tweeting and creating. Since I have joined twitter, I am never alone whilst I work, I can always pause, strike up a conversation, or comment on a image or video. It's a place to SHARE. When you need to source something and you're struggling, just ask the world and the world will answer you.

So here are my lovely twittering friends, in no particular order....

Mrs Blueberry (aka @Blueberryathome) who creates cushions, purses, and the most fabulous children's craft kits house in what only can be described as American Chinese Takeaway boxes. Here's Gerry the Giraffe to give you an idea...pure brilliance.

Stephanie Earl (aka @StephanieEarl) Unfortunately, because I was so busy at BCTF I didn't get to meet this lady, although I did see her work on passing. She works in porcelain and glass. When I look at her work its like she has taken some gorgeous textured floral or lace material dipped it into the glass or porcelain, waved a magic wand and 'Hey Presto' produced a gorgeous jug or bowl. Have a look at her cup and saucer, I wonder whether it would stand up to a cup of Darjeeling poured from a matching teapot. mmmm Divine.

Rachel Lucie (aka @rachellucie) evolves jewellery using sterling silver, semi-precious stones and freshwater pearls. Her work I would say is contemporary with a classic almost traditional take. Here's one of her pieces that is so clever... http://ow.ly/1ciRAP and if you are a pearl lover like myself you will appreciate its' beauty.

Another lady, I didn't meet at BCTF, but was told about her little ceramic birds is Makiko Hastings (aka makikohastings) She is a japanese artist that wanted to support her country in a creative way. So she makes little clay birds, sells them and the proceeds are sent back to Japan. I think she is surprised at the response she has received from the general public.


Helen Ose (aka @Helen_Ose) knits
jaunty lampshades that delicately play with light but giving you that homey feeling. I especially like the fact that she uses re-cycled linen which is spun in the UK.

Judith Brown (aka Judithjewels) using vintage haberdashery, eg hooks and eyes and connects them using silver and coloured wire to produce the most unusual jewellery pieces. You don't realize initially what you are looking at, some of the pieces seem to have a reference to a snippet of lace. I met Judith on a seminar run by Craft & Design magazine.



Kelly Marie McCrobie (aka @kmmcrobie) went to De Montfort like myself. She is inspired by wrought iron and lace and creates fabulous accessories and brooches.

Samantha Robinson who shared a stand with me at BCTF creates porcelain jewellery and vessels which incorporate a hint of stitch or a reference to a zip or press stud, stunning work. Yet to join twitter, so keen your eyes on the twitter line.

Jennifer Lockwood (aka@ jen_niffa88) is another ceramacist who creates fun folk style creations.

Rebecca Miles (aka rebeccamaryjane) I would describe as a traditional textile artist. You need to look at her website to see what I mean, please look at the broodges, they are my absolute favourite. She also provides workshops for adults and children.

Gail Myerscough (aka 7071design) works with felt to create the most sumptugous brooches. We had a few discussions at BCTF about our work and we discovered that we think in a very similar way sculpturally.

The British Craft Trade Fair

Wow! Has to be my first word. I really didn't know what to expect from this event. It was my first time and the thought of exhibiting at a trade event kind of scared me. Even the week before the event I kept telling myself that maybe I was out of my depth.

It all began with the Design Factory get together last year. Margaret Bunn came and talked to the group about BCTF. She is a very inspiring lady. I think because she spoke about her routes and how she had developed her business from being on the markets that it made me want to have a go. However, it was a few months later before I actually submitted my work and finally took the plunge.

Margaret rang me the day after I had submitted, giving me more encouragement and asking me whether I wanted to be in the Newcomers section or in the main arena. Initially, I was going to book in the Newcomers section,but there was only one space and I knew Samantha Robinson, a friend of mine also wanted a space in this area. Margaret came to the rescue and suggested that we shared a stand and the rest is history.

Margaret was so helpful throughout the process, whatever question you pitted her she always came back with a reply, even if some of the FAQ could be found in the exhibitors guide.

In the build up to the event, I had begun to use Twitter, and I found that not only did I enjoy it but there were a lot of other people using it going to BCTF. So, I started a convoy, trying to encourage people to connect. It worked far better than I imagined. A ll through the show I was meeting people on other stands who had seen my tweets. I had been told that BCTF was a friendly show, but this was amazing. Everyone was so helpful. One lady I met, Karen aka Mrs Blueberry made an excellent suggestion, that next year all the twitters wear or show a little bird either on their badge or somewhere on their stand.

Would I do BCTF again? Yes, most definitely. I have to say I was a bit taken aback at the response to my work. I took orders, I took requests for exhibitions, I talked to students, visitors and buyers with the same amount of respect. I went through plenty of business cards and post cards. The only negative that I could find is eating, there never seemed enough time.

Framing my work...

Not as the title suggests. Since being selected for the British Craft Trade fair I had had the idea of putting empty frames in my stand and pinning my work within theml. I've since found out that the walls are actually quite thin so I had to re-think my original plan.



I filled my frames with canvas and board, which means that I will be able to use them for other events....OTHER EVENTS!! Ok I guess I can do that once I have got over BCTF.

Paperwork practically completed

Time is marching on and before I know it I will be talking to people at the British Craft Trade Fair. Hence this is my last week for finishing all those odds and ends that need doing. Today was paperwork day..... pro-forma invoice, press release, press pack, price lists etc


All very time consuming but needs to be done. Just my catalogue to do now....