Sew special

Helen at her trusty machine

Helen Brewster from Word of Mouth is coming to the Meet the Makers Market at Hebden Town Hall to set us on the straight and narrow with zips and buttonholes!!! (OMG I bet you wish you knew how to do them?)

Helen started sewing at 13, learning from her Mum how to alter, mend and make and improve on ready made fashion. She moved on to creating bespoke shirts and then 4 years ago set up in business based at Word of Mouth where she runs sewing skills workshops and sews to commission. 

Students of all abilities are welcome - she'll teach you how to use a sewing machine and a pattern or help you work out how to bring your vision to reality.  Magic!

stitch/knit/crochet, take your pick!

Helen in her shop of many delights

Helen of Ribbon Circus fame will be putting in an appearance at the Meet the Makers Market at Hebden Bridge Town Hall in October, when she will be sitting at her stall showing us how to make a start at embroidery, crochet and knitting.  

Her shop is a Crazy Cornucopia of Colourful Crafty Consumables and she's a Wonderful Wizard at Wicked Wheezes, a Tremendous Teacher of Tricky Techniques....

I could go on but you need to see for yourselves, elves....

Leatherwork

Rod Boyes of Pinegroveleather will be visiting us at the Meet the Makers Market at Hebden Bridge Town Hall on October 5th, giving us all a chance to stroke and sniff his leathergoods (oo sorry got a bit carried away there).

Rod has been making and designing things for over 25 years, from cabinet making to educational software. He's also a keen musician and when his wife Lou made him a beautiful leather case for his harmonicas it led him towards leatherwork and his specialism in musical instrument cases. But he also makes notebook cases, ebook cases and many other small items, many made in a style influenced by 50s jukeboxes and American Western mythology that he calls "nouveau retro". 

You can buy Rod's work from his website but you can smell it as well at Heartgallery in Hebden Bridge and  Leeds Craft and Design Gallery .  He'll also be at Great Northern Craft Fair the weekend after our market but he might be a bit tired...

Do you like these key rings?

   

Rod will be making them at the market.  Choose your motif piece and you can have a go at trying the riveting machine under close supervision.  See you there!

Origami

the prettiest paper pot

 

Sue Leslie, of AThousandPaperWishes will be folding paper for your delight at the Meet the Makers Market, Hebden Bridge Town Hall October 5th. Sue used to be a Maths teacher (but despite this she's not at all scary) and has made things all her life.  Textiles was her thing, but these days, especially since she made the decorations for her daughter's wedding, paper is inspiring her more and more.  From handmade Thai paper to the pages of the Beano, Financial Times, old books and maps she can't resist folding, twisting and sculpting paper....

Financial Times bouquet

Working in a large room in her basement Sue makes an amazing array of objects - roses, butterflies, earrings and bracelets, cards and boxes.  You can buy her work at Spirals and Heartgallery in Hebden Bridge...or come along to meet Sue and learn how to make a beautiful little paper box

boxes

 

and this is what she looks like

See... not scary at all!

Green Willow Workers

the little willow hut

Green Willow Workers are Clare and Helen, two sisters who started out as gardeners together 20 years ago.  After a few years they began "messing around" with willow and have gone from there to making domes, hurdles and baskets and creating living willow structures for schools all over the North of England, including the children's museum at Eureka.

They find their inspiration from traditional basketry techniques. Winter is the busiest time for them, planting structures and harvesting new growths from old structures. You can buy their work at the Great Rock Co-op at Blackshawhead on Saturdays and contact them at clarewells123@aol.com if you are interested in a workshop or a commission. 

And...you can come along to the Meet the Makers Market at Hebden Bridge Town Hall on October 5th where you chat to them about their work and have a go at making a simple willow wreath or wand.  See you there!

Made in the Valley managed to get a chance to catch up with Catherine Woodall about how she got started and her inspiration's. We also had chance to ask her about her involvement in the Festival of Making and Doing and Meet the Makers Market in October:

MITV: Tell us a little about your background – what path led you to what you’re doing now? 

CW: My father was an engineer and as I seemed to have inherited his mathematical, technical brain, it seemed natural to me to follow in his footsteps and study to be an engineer. But I also loved the Arts and creating and it took a good few years and several different jobs for me to realise that that was a big part of who I was too. I initially took classes in ceramics, which I still love, but once I tried jewellery making something just clicked. It was the perfect combination for me. I love the making and I love the designing. I even love the small and fiddly (which doesn't suit everyone!!) and discovered a wealth of patience which really was not apparent in the other areas of my life.

MITV: What’s your normal day like and where do you produce your work?CW: I work from home and have a workshop in the back room. Jewellery making is a pretty compact business so my making fits into one corner, my admin/marketing/dispatch into another and Mabel dog into a third (the door is in the fourth corner if you were wondering). It’s on the dark side of the house whose gloominess suits me fine. I don’t mean personality-wise, but if you’ve ever tried soldering in bright sunlight you’ll know why (you can’t see the flame or the critical colour of the metal).

MITV: What inspires you and where do you ideas come from?CW: Nature inspires me and, likewise, artists whose work are nature inspired, like the Arts and Crafts Movement at the turn of the last century. I quite often work off the materials or a solution to an issue. At college you’re always taught to start from an idea, an inspiration, then research and work it up to a finished piece. Sometimes, as I’m working, I’ll see the silver work in a certain way or get off-cuts in a certain shape and playing with this come up with a new piece. I don’t always get the time to work these up to a new range. I still do everything in the business myself, from the jewellery making to accounting, admin, marketing and sales, so my design work has to squeeze into the gaps. I have all sorts of prototypes lying around my workbench waiting for their day. There are probably a few more that haven’t even made it out of my design book…or even in my head yet!


MITV: Are you involved in any upcoming shows or events/ workshops/ shops? Where and when / how can we find you?CW: I don’t have any more shows planned before Christmas. It’s a busy time fulfilling Christmas commissions plus gallery and on-line orders so I tend to give the Fairs a break and start again in the Spring. I can always be contacted via my website www.catherinewoodall.co.uk and I have a little on-line shop on etsy (www.etsy.com/uk/shop/catherinewoodall) as well as selling through NOTHS (http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/catherinewoodall).

MITV: What work will you be exhibiting at Meet the Makers Market and what skills will you be demonstrating?CW:I’ll bring with me a selection of my current work including the leaf texture dishes and domes in silver. I don’t think I’ll be setting fire to anything (well, maybe just a little), but I’ll definitely be forming and shaping silver, drilling and beading.

MITV: What’s next for you?CW: My jewellery making will continue to develop with new pieces coming out each year. These include working on a re-design of my cluster ball range so that it is made from recycled silver. I already make the little balls from scrap silver recycled from my own workshop, but I want to take it further and make the rest of the jewellery from ecosilver.Sometimes the development of a business is not just about making, so some future projects include marketing my wedding rings and re-designing my brochure. Upgrading my workshop is also getting higher on my list of priorities too, what with the mould on the ceiling and the moths eating the carpet! (It’s a glamorous life being a self-employed designer/maker...)

Here's the Made in the Valley gang, left to right: Amy, Katch, Sue & Rachel! Posing for press shots for the Festival of Making and Doing in October. Pip's the one hiding behind the sign!

We caught up with Anna Butler this week and asked her a few questions about her work and involvement in Octobers Meet the Makers Market at the Town Hall.

Tell us a little about your background – what path led you to what you’re doing now?
I’ve been interested in recycling/ upcycling furniture for many years ( I used to run a furniture recycling workshop for mental health day services in calderdale which involved teaching basic upholstery skills and various decorative paint effects on a wide range of furniture styles. I have an art therapy background and have always been interested in art/ design
Whats your normal day like and where do you produce your work?
I have a small studio space at Tod studios on stansfield rd in todmorden… most of my work involves refurbishing dining chairs/ light weight fireside chairs /stools and comes from commissions and through word of mouth . I also run stool workshops at the studios and out in the community where people can learn basic upholstery techniques

What inspires you and where do you ideas come from?
I’m particularly interested in recycling old fabrics and using them to design new covers using patchwork .. I enjoy the richness of colour/ texture you can get from using velvets/ tapestry and brocades . I produce individual designs to suit the type of chair and the customer’s colour scheme. I am very influenced by art deco colours/designs as these lend themselves well to a patchwork style.

Are you involved in any upcoming shows or events/ workshops/ shops? Where and when/ how can we find you?
I will be demonstrating basic upholstery techniques at the meet the maker event in hebden bridge on Saturday 5th October followed by a Basic upholstery workshop the next day on sunday October 6th from 1 till 4 where people can come along and learn how to upholster a footstool for themselves at Tod Studios on stansfield rd in Todmorden ( up on the left hand side of the street above whithams engineering works) This workshop costs £40 including stool frames ,all instruction and materials. (If people can’t make this one I will also be running this workshop again at Word of Mouth in hebden bridge on sat 30th nov from 10 till 2 ) Places need to be pre booked for both workshops.
Phone anna butler on 01706812422 or email annalouisebutler@btinternet.com

What work will you be exhibiting at Meet the Makers Market and what skills will you be demonstrating?
I will be exhibiting some recently Reupholstered dining chairs and footstools which will be for sale and I will be demonstrating basic upholstery skills to show use of tools and materials and to give people an idea of what is involved ….
Whats next for you?
I’m hoping to start running some chair workshops at the studios later in the year as people have asked for this when I have collected enough tools ! I’m also hoping to develop my upholstering skills through experience so I can take on a wider range of projects.