Me in The Metro and my new Bollywood Jewellery collection...

 

Yesterday I was in The Metro - a free London newspaper - talking about me, my clothes, my inspiration and dreams - I even revealed some secrets too! 

The article is available online so if you missed it you can read it here.

I had the photoshoot a few weeks ago at The Metro offices in Kensington and I was really pleased that the lovely Bel Jacobs who edits the page let me choose my fave two photos from the shoot - she then made the final choice. It was amusing looking at lots of photos of me and trying to notice the difference between them - was my knee pointing too much in one photo...was my smile a bit too cheesy?

 My friend Sohail who is an amazing photographer tweeted a photo of what the article looks like on an Ipad which was interesting as I've still had very limited access to them. I've only been near my nephews, who's 5, but when I saw him over Christmas he was more interested in using it to play games with my brother-in-laws than letting me have a peak! 

Choosing what to wear was easy but knowing how to accessorise was the hard part. I have so much to choose from! I wanted to use the space to promote some of my favourite designers. The amazing clutch bag I'm holding (here's a better close up) was made from an upcycled rice bag by handbag designer ReddSkinGyal.

While the fascinator which is obscured in the paper was this incredible Bat Girl fascinator by Janine Basil who's work I LOVE!

   

I'm also wearing a necklace that features in my new jewellery collection. I love Bollywood & I love jewellery so clearly I had to make some Bollywood jewellery!

My initial launch range consists of statement pendants and brooches.

Each phrase has special film connotations. This one is in hommage to Helen and is the one I'm wearing in the Metro.

The term 'Desi Girl' was popularised in Dostana a few years back.

 I've always loved the phrase 'Filmi' it's a good way to descibe things that are a bit strange or surreal but could happen in the realm of Bollywood! 'It's just so filmi yar......'

All the pieces are for sale ranging from £7.50-£12 and are handmade by me! 

Visit my online store to purchase!

All in all it was a fun and surreal experience and I'm really pleased with the article and the photo. It's a good record of me at 31 and a great confidence boost for what I do.

Tutorial: How to make a Mexican Chilli Bangle

Too hot to handle!

For me, chilli's are the most iconic motif of Mexican & Latino culture. Not just because they feature in the cuisine (one of my fave holiday memories is eating fresh mango sprinkled with chilli powder on the street markets of Mexico) but because they have so much personality. I love their graphic shape, the bold, bright colours they come in, and the way they embody fire and passion. I designed this chilli bangle project to celebrate Crafty Chica's National Craft Month celebrating 30 days of Latino inspired crafts. Here's my contribution - check out her blog for more HOT inspiration from other designers who love Latino flavoured crafts, every day this March.
To make a chilli bangle, you will need:

Shopping list

Sheet of red neoprene (craft foam)

Red glitter

Green glitter

PVA/white craft glue

Paintbrush

Plain paper

Pencil

Scissors

End roll of sticky tape

Yarn

Strong glue or glue gun

Sticky situation

1. Start off by making Glitter Foam. Paint a layer of PVA glue over the whole of your foam sheet, ensuring every bit is covered and that it's even and not too lumpy. Lift it up and place it on a clean paper surface.

Shake it!

2.  Pour red glitter over the glue, shake it off and pour the glitter that falls off, back into the jar. When dry, you can use glitter foam in any number of craft projects not just to make sparkling chillis!

That's a wrap

3. While the glitter foam is drying, prepare you bangle. Use the card roll that is left over from sticky tape as the bangle base, or a plain wooden or plastic bangle if you have one. Cut off a long piece of yarn, tie it to the bangle and then wrap it around until you reach the end. Tie another knot and feed the end into the bangle so it's hidden and secure.

4. Draw a chili shape onto paper to create a template and cut it out. Lay it on the back of your foam and draw around it several times, enough to cover the bangle. Then cut them out.

Chillis to go

5. Paint the tops of each chilli with PVA glue, then pour on green gitter to ensure each chilli has a green stalk.

6. When completely dry, glue the glittered chillis along the bangle using a strong glue. 

Hot stuff

See more Latin crafts on Crafty Chica's blog.  I guarantee you will get hooked!

Spice girl

Now then...who fancies a burrito??

Tutorial: How to Make Paper Earrings for Chinese New Year

As it’s Chinese New year this week I decided to make a Chinese inspired craft

but there’s no typical dragons or lanterns here – just paper. The art and craft of papercutting is associated with many cultures, Chinese being one of them. Luckily you don’t need to be as patient as Rob Ryan to make one. Papercutting in China is known as Jianzhi and they consist of intricate patterns, often symmetrical, used to decorate interiors. My tutorial is a cheats, easy way to get started on this fine craft. 

There are two ways to do a papercut; with scissors or using a craft knife. It depends on the complexity of the design. A papercut can either be the outline left behind from the shapes you cut out, or the shapes themselves. These earrings could have been made by scissors but using a craft knife means you get to keep the outline too, as you’ll soon find out… 

First all you need to get your materials together. To make paper earrings you need: 

• Scrap paper – any type is suitable. For professional papercutting  a coated paper is normally used but for this project, anything goes!
• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Craft knife and mat
• Marker pen
• Round sequin
• Earring finding
• Inspiration

For my design, I was reading a magnificent book about hedgehogs at the time so decided to make hedgehog earrings. I started by drawing hedgehog silhouette on the back of my chosen paper and then cut them out using a craft knife. The trick to using a craft knife is keeping it flat, not at a point. And always place a cutting mat underneath to protect the surface.

I then used scissors I cut out spikes from various mixed papers and glued them on using the glue stick– adjust the design according to the animal or object you make. You can use marker pens to draw on features.

To turn them into earrings, make a small hole using a pin at the top. Then the important part. Glue a sequin over the back of the hole to prevent it from tearing, otherwise as soon as you add the earring finding, it will tear through. Leave to dry before adding the earring hook. 

 

Before wearing them paint the front side with a layer of PVA glue to secure the design and give it a gloss.

I used the outline to make a matching bookmark.

Paper crafting and jewellery making couldn’t be more easy - give it ago, you probably have the materials at home already to get started!

Origin Contemporary Craft Fair 2011

Lindsay Taylor

Origin is one of the most prestigious contemporary craft shows in the UK. Supported by The Crafts Council, it used to be known as the Chelsea Craft Fair, then travelled around before last year finding a new home as part of the London Design Festival held inside Old Spitalfields Market. This used to be a space where on Sunday mornings you could browse handmade arts and crafts (my sister had a stall here many years back) but these days Spitalfields is much more built up with a smaller market and plenty of chain eateries. Yet right in the middle there's a huge expanse that was converted into a craft event with over 200 of the UK's finest designers showcasing their talents.

Getting a stall here is the hard bit. It's the show everyone wants to be at but most don't make the grade...if you like handmade couture craft, it's the place to visit and shop at.

Katty Janneh Millinery

This year I was extremely happy to see that my old hat making tutor Katty Janneh made the grade and was showcasing her beautiful collection of handmade wedding fascinators and headwear. I attended Katty's class at Lewisham Community College back in 2006. We worked inside a tiny hut, but despite it being a cheap course, held at a local centre, the facilities were fantastic and I made two magnificent felt creations for winter and a bright pink fascinator.

Inside the show

The space was pretty impressive and I'm told it's the largest Origin there's been so far. I could certainly detect a difference. When I visited the Chelsea Fair some years ago, exhibitors had small stands and the type of craft on show was extremely 'professional looking' reflecting traditional disciplines like glass and ceramics. I returned to its new name of Origin in 2009 when it was held at Somerset House, along with the camera crew of the BBC show I took part in called Mastercrafts. We were shown around by my weaving tutor Margo Selby who is a regular exhibitor, to get an idea of what weaving and other professional crafts are like in the real world. At the time it was overwhelming (I also had a diva fit because I was extremely tired and hungry.....it was 5pm and I needed tea and chocolate having had a stupidly early start, long journey and lunch hours ago...so I refused to speak on camera until they got me a Mars bar!)

Anyway back to Origin...some of the same exhibitors were still here two years on but what struck me was the fair is no longer anything like its old Chelsea guise. The focus and meaning of craft has changed in contemporary culture and also at the event. Alongside the classical disciplines of metalwork, woodwork and textiles were 'handmade' crafts using more contemporary materials like paper and plastic. Birds seemed to be an (overly) popular theme and there was so much jewellery; precious and non-precious. 

A small part of me felt that the standards had dropped. It's no longer the finest example of 'craft' but a showcase of handmade things. At the same time it's good that the show is no longer as 'snobbish' that newer designers and disciplines are welcomed. But it has got me thinking alot about a project I'm working on called The Shape of Things where we are trying to answer the question 'What Is Craft?' It's certainly something that is fluid and constantly changing.

Every exhibitor had a uniqueness but some I liked more than others and so I've selected my favourites to showcase here. First up I was amazed that knitting books Best in Show (the dog and cat versions) had a whole display. I reviewed the dog book and while back and the cat one was recently featured in the Guardian. Pictured is one of the authors.

The books were on sale alongside the stars that feature inside.

Dogs Are Everywhere!

I wanted them all!

Abigail Brown

Keeping on an animal tip, as I mentioned there were many birds on display but the ones that stood out the most where the incredibly beautiful, colourful fabric birds made by Abigail Brown. They were all stunning and made from cotton fabrics. If I had lots and lots of money I would commission her to make me a whole avery.

Danielle Gori-Montanelli

Danielle's collection of felt jewellery and accessories had my name all over it but strangely this hat doesn't represent it as it's best - I find this a bit hideous, it's too much...but her necklaces and scarves were stunning.

Nawab Gebree

On a scarf tip, this one by Nawab Gebree was made for me. I have the world's most sensitive neck...I didn't used to, it happened after I suffered from a case of pneumonia a few years back. And now the slightest most gentle breeze on my neck gives me the shivers, this is why I am often found wearing scarves. This wrap is gorgeous, it doesn't look particularly comfortable but I'm sure I would look good in it!

Glass Cathedrals

Another image that doesn't do justice to the craftwork. Glass Cathedral made incredible  boxes filled with miniature people and poignant words. If I could buy just one thing from the whole exhibition it would have been one of her works, though the one I liked the most was already sold.

Adam Hussain

I have an appreciation for fused glass after I studied it at Brent Adult Education college and of all the glass designs on display Adam Hussain's work caught my eye the most. Owning a piece of art or craft should be mood enhancing and with one of these bowls around you would always feel in a good mood.

All in all it was an interesting morning, not at all what I was expecting but it's given me lots of crafty food for thought. Craft now is very different to what it was a mere 12 months ago let alone, centuries ago and I'm keen to see how it continues to develop. I still haven't had a chance to see The Power of Making at the V&A which is a major new craft exhibition (it was closed for a private function the day I was there and it's quite a trek from my flat!) but I'm sure that too will change my perception again of what British craft is all about.

Summer crafting highlights

Over the summer months I've been busy spreading the crafty gospel by running an assortment of crafts classes across London for children, young people and adults.


My favourite was the 'boho chic jewellery' course I ran back in July as part of the Greenwich Summer Uni programme which gives young people under 25 the chance to learn new skills for free through a variety of courses.


What I liked about the course is how my students were really inspired by my own work and used my love for bright colours and bling to create their own unique jewellery collections.


The student above became fascinated with acrylic stones and used them to make some amazingly sparkly items! 

Another one of my students who was just 15 created had a natural talent for design and composition and made this beautiful necklace, which I think is so much nicer than a lot of the hand made pieces you get in gallery gift shops.

On closer inspection you can see how she embroidered into each bead to add detail.

This student kept it more simple by adding anything and everything on to ring and earring findings.

On the 'Bollywood Crafts' course my students had the chance to make some of the projects that feature in my book including these gorgeous decorative bowls, handbags, books and photo frames.

One of the fun parts of running the courses was souring the materials. I picked up these rolls of sequin trims for just £1.50 each from Creative Beadcraft - superb value - you get 100m on a roll and if you buy 1m from a haberdashery they normally cost 40p per metre. 

I also ran a textile project over six weeks with mothers from a local school in East London in conjunction with The Women's Library. The project entitled 'My City' was an exploration of each woman's relationship with her local area. 

The best thing about teaching crafts is seeing students produce work they are really proud and getting inspired by their ideas myself! It's been a fantastic summer of crafting but I'm now going to wind down on the teaching front until next year.....come the Autumn, I have some other exciting projects to plan - crafts for my wedding!  

What to do with fabric trims!

My swag!

My sister and fellow blogger Tea with Digestives  recently showed off some fabulous trims that she claimed to have bought from £1 a metre in Walthamstow. Intrigued, I went down to the East End market yesterday and discovered a complete treasure trove of sequins, sparkles, rainbow colours, and shelf upon shelf of Indian trims. 

Where to start?

Disguised as a mobile phone repair shop called 'Wool Shop' (although it only sells basic Double Knit yarns), the store on the market is a long corridor of bling! There is soooooooooooooooooooooo much to choose from, you could be there for quite a while!

There are also rows of sequins, crystals, zips, threads and crystallised motifs. 

But what makes this shop so, so amazing, concept aside, is  the price! This sign is totally true! The trims range from 30p per metre to £4.50 for the most spectacular ones, a FRACTION of the price of places like Barnett Lawson Trimming (who as much as I love them, annoying  don't put the price on a lot of their trims and you get a shock at the till) and the overly extortionate VV Rouleaux who for moral reasons (they hike the price up soooooooo much) I will never buy anything from them ever!

As well as sequin encrusted, there are also some gorgeous mirror and machine embroidered choices.

I also bought a selection of jewelled motifs that were £1.50 each.




So now I have all the trims, what to do with them?


Here's my top 10 ways to use fabric trim:


1. Update clothes by sewing trim along the bottom of skirts and trousers, collars and cuffs. 
2. Wrap and glue trims around a wide plastic or wooden bangle to create a fabric covered piece of  jewellery.
3. Decorate the four raised sides of a notice board by gluing trim around it. 
4. Cover a blank canvas in strips of trim to make a piece of modern art. Either use different trims for each strip or create a pattern.
5. Cut off the thin sleeves on a vest top and replace with trim, make them the same length as the original sleeve and sew in place on each side so you can wear your top as before. 
6. Replace a ribbon with a trim on a straw hat. 
7. Tie up presents. 
8. Join strips of trim together with a simple straight stitch on a sewing machine to create a larger square or rectangular piece of fabric and use as one side of a cushion. 
9. Chop up lots of short strips of trim and sew on to the edge of a bag to give it a fringe, especially brings dull cotton shopper to life!
10. Buy a copy of my book 'Bollywood Crafts' it's contains instructions for 20 simple craft projects, most  which all use Indian trims!