Bombus

Last and by no means least of the urban craft stars is Bombus. Amelia uses the art of decoupage in a modern and fresh way with her love of vintage maps and comics which are used to cover furniture and accessories.

She is happy to undertake commissions so if you have a favourite image or part of the world that you would like to see on a bowl, chair or table then please visit her website http://www.bombus.com/

She also has an etsy shop where you can buy a range of her products including her handmade recycled envelopes.

Last few days now for the pop up shop so please come in and say hello!

Glammamamma

Marcia Hamilton is the talent behind Glammamamma and she creates the most gorgeous crochet designs using vintage patterns which she updates and customises.

She also hand knits baby bootees in the softest wools. Her little shawls and shrugs are perfect for little girls in soft lilacs, purples and orangey shades.

Not long to go now for the urban craft stars pop up shop so if you are in the carnaby street area you have no excuse not to come and see us!

FreeFlowMamas

The urban craft stars pop up shop is now in it's last week (how time has flown) so I had better get a shift on to fit all our talents onto this blog.

FreeFlowMamas is the work of Elizabeth Oniri. I met Elizabeth on the Textiles course at Morley College and she was like a kindred spirit!

She loves to knit and creates the most amazing designs in lovely soft and stretchy wool. She also has customised tops in the shop with the theme of 'skulduggery'. The green dress on the mannequin in the picture can be a long skirt or a shorter strapless dress.

skinnylaminx blog

We are featured on the lovely skinnylaminx blog today.

Thank you Heather!

Heather is an etsy favourite of mine with her beautiful textiles and it is great to 'chat' with her about the urban craft stars and who knows possibly there will be a skinnylaminx pop up shop happening in cape town some day.

today's star...

of the urban craft stars is Tim Williamson aka Ryokan Art. Tim is a well travelled photographer having visited New York, Iceland and The Maldives where he has taken some beautiful images of the everyday and the unusual.

In his own words...

‘I try and look for the abstract as well as the beautiful in the world. Simple images that need to say little just look interesting. Aesthetically pleasing imagery created by the world we live in; the naturally occurring and the man made…. I am a photographer. I take photographs sometimes. What more do I need to say?’

He also runs personal chef service morue http://www.morue.co.uk/

Sorry for the rubbish photo of tim's work. I will try to take a better one this week but hey I'm a printer not a photographer!

urbanknit

For the third urban craft stars profile we have the lovely urbanknit aka dolapo james.

"Urbanknit is a design collective started by Dolapo James with the aim of providing fresh and interesting handmade fashion accessories that are unique and offer the wearer a sense of individuality.

From handbags and purses in bright African prints and batiks, to customisable scarves and tee-shirts, there is something for everyone with a taste for originality.

Dolapo says: ‘New designs, shapes and styles are added regularly and we are constantly exploring and experimenting with new ideas.
Each piece is carefully and lovingly put together by hand and one of our most important goals is ensuring that no two items are the same.’

I love the little touches she uses such as over sized buttons which makes each item both original and personal.

my mums a hippie!

My Mum's a hippie aka Monique Jivram is one of the lovely urban craft stars. I met her at the Brixton Craft Market and she just stood out from everyone else with her lovely original work.

"She loves to sew while listening to the rolling stones. After a third Galaxy ripple, her obsessive, ever busy hands combine her love for embroidery with her punchy illustrations creating works of art which are a mixture of hand embroidery and machine sewing.

To battle the forces of her mothers crushed velvet and beaded wardrobe, my mums a hippie brings urban T-shirts and striking accessories to you. Every labour intensive piece revolves around colour, to create raw, edgy and intricate pieces."

Her mum very kindly looked after the pop up shop for us one day and she is a real sweetheart too. Thank you Miriam!

living etc feature

the urban craft stars pop up shop is featured on the living etc website today! http://www.livingetc.com/news/Urban_Craft_Stars_article_265888.html

It's our favourite interiors magazine so we are double chuffed to be on their site. It also mentions etsy as that is where most of the UCS met which is nice for etsy to get some uk press. Hardly anyone who has been in the shop has ever heard of them unfortunately butwe are trying to spread the word!

my favourite things in the shop

Our pop up shop is into its second full week now and our flyer/blog campaign seems to be working with a steady stream of people through the door these past few days which is lovely.

We've had some great feedback from visitors to carnaby street and alot of questions about the artists and designers involved.

I thought it would be nice to feature each one in the next few days along with some images of their work. I've picked my favs but you can look in their etsy shops or come to the pop up shop and choose your own!

Starting with the very lovely Ariane of Peppermint Twist Designs. Ariane says "My designs are a little playful, a little quirky, a little offbeat, thanks to my love of appliqués! I use a variety of motifs, all hand-cut: doves, horses, hearts, stars, and so forth. But the products aim to be practical and durable, and are meticulously hand crafted in London"

I own one of her fabulous purses and it most certainly holds all the essentials and is so soft and tactile. The liberty print lining just shows her attention to detail.

a wee birdy says....

that she is a fan!

I have been reading this brilliant london fashion, beauty, design and style blog for a while now and am so chuffed we are featured. Rebecca aka top bird is an australian living in london and she is a proud supporter of independant designers like us - the urban craft stars.

www.weebirdy.com

Tomorrow is friends and family day at the pop up shop so if you are in town then come and see us for a glass of champagne and some cakes.

thank you Carry Me Home!

the lovely Gayle and Steven of Carry Me Home right here in Kingly Court have blogged about the urban craft stars! http://www.carrymehome.co.uk/

Thank you very much!

Carry Me Home is a gorgeous shop chock full of beautiful clothes and toys for lucky babies and kids. Steven also has a fab etsy shop and blog http://www.stevenshappyaccidents.blogspot.com/

canvas mag feature

The urban craft stars are featured on the canvas mag website.

http://www.canvasmag.net/p/urban_craft_stars_070808.php

We love the 'nu craft' tag for us!

what's in the shop then?

well lots of lovely goodies!

Some of us sell via etsy, others through their own websites and/or craft markets but we all make gorgeous, inidivudal and handmade items.

My picture shows you just in side the pop up shop where we have got:

a bag by urbanknit

littlechook linen/cotton screenprinted tea towels and a kids mini tote treasure bag with a flock print called 'tweet'

ryokan arts print on canvas

cards and envelopes made from recycled paper and magazines by Bombus.

We are open mon to saturday 11 - 7 pm and sundays 12 - 6pm at 4 Kingly Court, just off carnaby street on the first floor along with othe rlovely boutiques selling vintage clothing, childrenswear, womens fashion and homewares. It's a great place to shop, eat and drink!

Pop up shop day 2

and here is a picture of the outside of our shop in all its glory.
great day today with plenty of sales and lots of chat with people who love our work. Also met the lovely steven who makes toys, childrenswear and other goodies - http://www.myhappyaccidents.etsy.com/
I am really enjoying being in Kingly Court and meeting lots of new folk and Carnaby Street was buzzing when I was dragging myself home tonight. I remember the world of going for drinks after work with a spring in my step and a twinkle in my eye.... but then that was LBT (life before toddler)
And big thanks to the lovely Richard for coming to the rescue of the Urban Craft Stars today and fixing our wi fi. Beers are due!

open for business

I totally forgot to take photos of the shop on its first day!

We had a first great day in our carnaby street pop up shop though and made a few sales including a bag by peppermint twist and a t shirt by my mums a hippie. I also met the manager of our neighbouring shop, Stromboli Circus Shop (vintage clothing) and he gave me some advice on dressing the window and lighting the shop which was really kind of him. We plan to change the windows round every few days to keep things fresh and to ensure that all our urban craft stars get maximum exposure.

Kingly Court really gets going in the afternoon and in the early evening they have live music so it's a really nice atmosphere. The smell of the food from the Chinese restaraunt downstairs drives me into a hungry frenzy though...

the pop up shop is full of goodies!

and we open tomorrow for business! Today was a day of very hard work by all of the urban craft stars and it looks fantastic. So if you are in the Carnaby Street area come and see us at 1.4 Kingly Court (1st floor). We are a mix of etsy sellers and other who sell via their own websites but all of us make gorgeous handcrafted and individual items.

Our stars are:
Urbanknit - scarves, bags and totes
Peppermint Twist - nappa leather purses
My Mums a Hippie - embroidered pictures, t shirts and brooches
Bombus - re inventing decoupage on mirrors, bowls and furniture
Ryokan Art - photography
FreeflowMamas - womens and childrens fashion
Littlechook - vintage fabric cushion covers, kids t shirts and screen printed tea towels

Hope to see you in the shop soon ready to spend your pocket money....

carnaby street here we come!

collected the keys today for our unit in Kingly Court (just of london's carnaby street) and am now very excited but also a bit stressed but things are coming together.

the unit has a beautiful wood floor and really good lighting. Not too bright but not so dark you can't see anything either.

Our press release is going out to all of ali's contacts tomorrow and tonight I have packed up all the props and stock ready for our 'man and van' arriving at 8am tomorrow.

I have added a little announcement to my etsy shop about our pop up shop especially as the majority of designers in the shop already sell there.

We will have a lovely variety of handmade goodies for sale including bags, purses, scarves, tea towels, vintage fabric cushion covers, childrens tshirts, crochet baby clothing, prints and a range of modern decoupage products.

welcome to urban craft stars!

Hello!

Urban Craft Stars are a collective of talented independant crafters, designers, artists and photographers based in and around London.

Our work is handmade, individual and ultimately gorgeous! Our work covers interiors, fashion, gifts, childrenswear, photography and accessories.

The aim of urban craft stars is to champion independant design and to find ways to spread the word about our talents. Our first venture is in the world of retail with a 'pop up shop' opening on 7th August 2008 in Kingly Court just off London's world famous Carnaby Street.

Out founder members will be selling their work and taking commissions within a fabulous retail space kindly provided by the Carnaby Street landlords, Shaftesbury plc.

If you are an independant minded maker who would like to join us please email me: littlechook@googlemail.com

thanks!