Meet the Maker - Louise Firchau and Paper Panda

It's no surprise that Paper Panda has over 80 000 fans on Facebook and that, as a result, designer Louise Firchau has been able to quit her day job and make her hobby for making typographical lyrical papercuts from recycled paper a full time job.

I'm not going to say too much about her work as it speaks for itself but there are a few at the bottom in Louise's own words for those who want to know more.  

It is no surprise to me that this piece is causing a bidding frenzy on e-bay - it's just adorable.

One lucky competition winner had an original design created just for them and you can see the work that goes into producing one of Louise's pieces.

And because I'm always on the look out for projects you can have a go at yourself, you should know she has a beginner's kit, more details further down the blog too

  

 and you can get a template, just perfect for Mother's Day.

I promised to let Louise explain more about Paper Panda so here she sums it up in her own words:  "PP has three very distinct styles available in a multitude of merchandise.  I hand draw and hand cut The Bird & Bunny and folk series of papercuts that are inspired by Quarwood, where the Panda family live in a little cottage in the Cotswolds surrounded by animals and woodland life.

The Storybook series (and other gothic darkness) is a cute collaboration between Mr & Mrs Panda. I tell Ryan what to draw with a waggy, pointy finger over his shoulder and only when he gets it perfectly right will I cut it out of paper. It's a good bit of teamwork.
The typographical pieces are created using digital software. I studied typography at university and it became an obsession. There is nothing more satisfying than creating a piece of graphic art using amazing fonts and hand cutting it so perfectly that no matter what the size it looks like it's been printed."
As promised too, here's the information about the trainee kit: what's included and reassurance that you will be able to do it!

In each kit there will be:
1 x A4 self heal cutting mat
1 x soft grip blade handle with 5 x blades in a rubber encased blade holder (some may differ slightly)
1 x 'how to Panda stylee' instuction sheet
1 x Practice sheet showing you what to do
1 x Baby Panda Design 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'
1 x Baby Panda Design 'Home Sweet Home'
1 x Small Panda design 'I love you'
1 x Large Panda Design A4 (Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's learning to dance in the rain)
1 x sheet of speciality paper
1 x Panda badge (essential)

I guess today's tenuous link would have to be our own 'learn how to knit' tutorial which you can find on our website by clicking here.   Personally, I'm off to order my own kit from Paper Panda and hopefully surprise my mum with a truly personal gift this year!

www.cobwebknits.co.uk

Meet the Maker - Katie Almond, ceramicist.

Another workshop to whet your creative appetite.  This time from ceramicist Katie Almond in Rutland.

Since graduating five years ago, Katie has set up her own workshop in Rutland making ceramics using a variety of slip casting and hand-building techniques.  Each piece is essentially a canvas for decoration and collage as she combines drawings with found ephemera.  "I am inspired by nostalgia, old paper ephemera, vintage textiles and a love of drawing."  

She transfers old envelopes, bus tickets, seed packets and magazine adverts unearthed in charity shops and car boots sales on to her hand-painted porcelain jugs, cups, cakes stands and brooches.  

The mass of handwritten receipts, savings books and postcards she acquired from her grandmother has been a constant source of inspiration.  “Reading through them is fascinating.  One receipt from 1951 just have been when she was out buying presents for my mum, aunt and uncle.  I love being able to add a personal touch to my work.”

"The pieces I create are unique, one-offs that explore a variety of nostalgic themes that I am always adding to. Currently my themes are; the notions of afternoon tea, ‘Oh I do like to be beside the seaside’, gardening and flowers, and traditional blue and white pottery."

Katie is another artist exhibiting at Unit Twelve alongside Kirsty Elson in the 'madebyhandonline' exhibition and she also supplies galleries and shops both in the UK and internationally as well as regularly attending craft fairs.

And of course, you'll be keen to know more about the workshops she runs at Debbie Bryan's studio in Nottingham which include courses in the art of  brooch, tile, card and bead making.  These are all on offer in the coming weeks, with the added incentive of homemade cake and tea thrown in! Ideal for hen parties, birthdays or just to vent your creative bent, you can find out more from her website. 

And don't forget if you can't get to Nottingham, do try to search for something similar in your area and let us know how you get on.  We'd love to see the fruits of your labour.

And my tenuous link for the day - I guess it would have to be my pottery, as featured on our vintage inspired aprons!  Take a look on the website if you fancy something to keep you tidy as you bake (or even wear one for your ceramic sessions!)

www.cobwebknits.co.uk

Something for the weekend - Lego

I know the world seems to have gone Lego mad with the release of Lego - the Movie, and I hadn't been surprised that my 7-year old nephew seems to have more boxes of the little bricks than I thought possible.  However  I was amazed to discover that my husband's cousin who is quite a bit older proved a huge hit with Freddie when he showed him a picture of his completed Tower Bridge (sadly the cousin isn't Becks, who also revealed his love of Lego recently).

My experience is limited to the traditional coloured bricks which were all square or rectangular.  I had moved on before the shaped pieces came in that intrigued and gripped my younger sister and there were only basic people who had removable hair that you could replace with a helmet if they were a fireman!

So I had no idea about architectural bricks and I had assumed that in order to complete one of these amazing buildings you had to buy a kit, but apparently not.  At least not if you are Duncan Titmarsh who traded in his job as a kitchen fitter to become the only professional lego builder in Britain to be recognised by the Danish company.

His change of career came about five years ago and he is now the director of Bright Bricks.  He admits : ‘It was hard at first to make the change, and my family and close friends thought I was mad.  But I’m thrilled that I made the change when I did as it’s something that I enjoy doing every day.’

My nephew would be in awe of his warehouse with its massive array of organised trays and compartments where Duncan  spends up to eight hours a day in the warehouse building a variety of designs.

He said: ‘I love the variety in my work; you just don’t know what you’re going to be doing each day.'  As he is commissioned to do different projects, ‘Each day is different and until people send in their photographs and designs - I don’t know what I’ll be working on.  I love to see the work when it’s finished and the recognition and response I receive from people is fantastic.'

There are lots of different buildings to have a go at.  Some are very reasonably priced so within everyone's price range.  And there is clearly a collector's market as some, such as the Taj Mahal and Statue of Liberty are no longer available.  You can still get Sydney Opera House or Grand Emporium if you're looking for something on a grand scale.

And if you're tempted to have a go at building Tower Bridge yourself, take a quick look at the kit before it's assembled.  There are 4300 pieces!  And read what others who have made this had to say:

Took me about four hours just to count pieces and sort them into separate "sections"  ... took about 20 hours over a period of five days. ... Loved it - Great addition to my city but right now have to find a place to put it somewhere in my house. 

It always amazes me that someone somewhere figured this out. Someone figured that if you put this series of legos on top of these other legos - you get room for another layer which will ultimately create a pattern that looks like a stone wall!

And can I find a tenuous link today?  Well I guess the closest I can come up with is one of my own kits, albeit a knitting kit, which you can buy here .....

www.cobwebknits.co.uk

Meet the Maker - Cardboard Collective

 

If you fancy yourself as a whizz with the old fancy dress, I think I've found something to challenge your skill levels, especially when you discover they're all made from cardboard.

These creative masterpieces are all the handiwork of Amber who hails from the US originally but, having travelled all over the world for the past 10 years with her husband, has finally settled in Japan where she started her family. 

She started her blog in October 2011 and tries to post once a week. Here you’ll find inspiration for projects, cardboard links, information about tools and techniques, and also a bit about sustainable building, crafting and living.

Each year she runs a challenge and this year's no different. You can find out more here. The standard varies but looks pretty high!

   

   

And they also offer some awesome tutorials with great instructions and easy to follow photos.   This one will allow you to create your own unicorn costume.  Check it out here.

If you do have a go, please let us know. Post your photos. We'd love to see them.  We must find someone who can make something like this for our photographers.  Check out our stunning images in our professional gallery here.

www.cobwebkbnits.co.uk

Meet the Maker - Kirsty Elson

I keep being drawn back to artists based in Cornwall for some reason, but I think a lot of it has to do with their skill for using natural objects to help create their unique pieces.  Kirsty Elson is another such artist.  And I agree with Sarah Pitt's description when she says "there's a special charm about Kirsty's driftwood houses.  With their tiny windows, weather driftwood doors and roofs of wood or slate held on with rusty nails, they evoke the naive art of St Ives 19th century fisherman-painter Alfred Wallis."

She has a background in illustration and printmaking, but now prefers to combine her love of beachcombing, textiles and all things nautical to create lovely handcrafted cards and home accessories.

I'll let Kirsty continue in her own words : 'I am a multi-media artist lucky enough to live in beautiful Cornwall with my partner and two young sons.  We all love the beach and I am inspired by my coastal surroundings.  My work is heavily influenced by the worn materials I discover washed up on local beaches and I love the idea of using found objects like driftwood and turning them into something beautiful and unique. I hope my work makes you smile!'

As well as featuring in the media her work crops up in less likely places too and eagle-eyed fans will have spotted her work in the home of one of the contestants in the BBC's recent Interior Design Challenge series.  But for her, one of her greatest accolades was being featured in a Russian magazine called Art, which is produced for teachers and pupils. The idea is they learn about a new artist, then there is a suggested project taking inspiration from that person. This little town is made from matchboxes. As she says herself, "How cool is that?!"

As well as selling her work online, she can be found in galleries and will soon feature in an exhibition at Unit Twelve from the 6th March in Staffordshire. The gallery hosts a regularly changing programme and this one showcases madebyhandonline, a curate website championing high quality contemporary craft from some of the UK's finest makers, including, of course, Kirsty.

And can I meet my challenge of finding something to link with our products?  I guess the pirate T-shirt would have to be the closest.  They did have pirates and smugglers off the coast of Cornwall after all.

You can buy your own T-shirt here.

www.cobwebknits.co.uk