Great northern contemporary craft fair

http://www.greatnorthernevents.co.uk/ are hosting at spinningfields in manchester a cutting edge craft fair with 140 selected designer makers from the 23-25th october 2009 two designers to watch out for are Aisling Laws printed textile pictures. Inspired by manchester industrial lanscape andthe fabulous bags of Monica Boxley

New bag styles

This new bag design was launched at the 'made in manchester' exhibition at the Royal Exchange Theatre Craft Shop. Each bag is completely exclusive. The same style is repeated but the fabric used is only used once so each bag is unique.

The undiscovered country of the nearby

I was listening to the radio the other day and heard this phrase 'the undiscovered country of the nearby' this is so true we dont have to go on a great journey to find inspiration its right here on our doorstep it is in the most ordinary of things just take the time to look.

These are just images of a grided wall and a drain cover but I thought they were really interesting for designs.

Worker bees finding the Queen

I have been drawn to finding out about bees at the moment and whilst walking to the studio came across this on the bridge passing from Manchester to Salford. written on it was authenticity and industry. A bit deep but maybe this is what we all need to have authenticity in all things we do, being attentive to things around us.

patchings festival 2009

I will be exhibiting again at patchings art craft and design festival . This year the festival sees a special feature on fashion, promoting contemporary fashion accessories and jewellery. The dates of the festival are the 4th- 7th June for more information go to http://www.patchingsartfestival.co.uk/

Street Style

Inspired by a article in The Times Magazine on Scott Schumann and his cult blog http://www.thesatorialist.blogspot.com/ who takes photographs of ordinary people with extraordinary sense of style. I took to the streets of Manchester to take photos of people with my bags. Thankyou to all those who took part.

etsy shop

Check out the bags on my etsy store dontbitchstitch on http://www.etsy.com/ more to come soon

mothers day gift

How about these wool brooches as an idea for mothers day sunday the 22nd march dont forget.

unique boutique

A fresh new look to unique boutique a newly painted and styled store. It is now easier to find our spring summer collection in a dedicated area within the boutique. Unique boutique is a clothing and accesssories boutique specializing in independant designers, refreshing in its approach to fashion.

Urban photo shoot

With help from friends who kindly gave up thier time so I could get some images of the button scarfs. We used the backdrop of these shutters which have been decorated with a cheeky monkey by a street artist.

When designing the scarf I thought of it as a collar. A customer described it as like a necklace which I really liked. they should be available on the web site to buy soon.

triffid flower

My sister bought me this bulb for christmas which grew and grew into this triffid flower its amazing I took some pictures and came up with this design.

Recycling Old Clothes

I have recently been involved in a poject with oxfam,which involves breathing new life into old outfits that have been donated to oxfam. Through the oxfam shop on oxford road Manchester I am selling one-off bags made from the unusableor unsold donations. Through the project I have discovered that the uk alone throws away 900,000 items of clothing,which means there is a enviromental impact of fast fashion which often ends up in lanfill sites. Synthetic(man made fabrics) dont decompose. So how could I not become involved it is good for the enviroment and for a good cause.

Emma Cooney the manager at the store wanted to promote the shop as a fashion destination while pushing the recycling ethos at the heart of the oxfam even further. The charity works in more than 70 countries to alleviate poverty and suffering around the world.So I am very excited to be involved these are two of the bags that I made for the shop One from a flared skirt the other from a old suit.