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.

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.

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....