MADE 08

Today I went to the Made 08 craft fair in Brighton. Lots of beautiful handmade stuff to see and be inspired by.

There were some cute creatures from Abigail Brown (above). Sweet, hand stitched, fabric sculptures of birds and fabric animal characters.



































































I was transported back to the 70's looking at the Clothkits stand. Charming prints and great colours. I was inspired by their 'sew it yourself' message so on the way back I popped into a fabric shop in the North Laines to buy a skirt pattern. I have now got a great excuse to go on a fabric hunt...

Some items really stood out in a designery kind of way. The table below was one, designed by Alison Milner and topped with bespoke Formica was one of a few that she was showing along with some beautiful graphic ceramics combing simple photography and transfers.














Finally, Selvedge magazine (The fabric of your life: textiles in fashion, fine art, interiors, travel and shopping) had a stand and it reminded me what a great magazine it is. The design, photography, Art Direction and print quality are fab. The subject matter is ALWAYS fascinating and beautifully represented. The editorial is knowledgeable and extremely diverse covering all aspects of textile art, printing and manufacture.

Lego

I have a love hate relationship with Lego.
Every day I clear it up. Every day my husband clears it up. We find it on the floor, the window sills, in trouser pockets, boxes, cupboards and beds, on the table and next to the toaster in our house. I love Lego for its mathematical perfection and its precision engineering. I love it because you can make anything with Lego because as you fiddle with the pieces that somehow are perfectly sized for small hands, your imagination takes over and convinces you that small straight edged blocks in a limited colour palette can be transformed into a house, a Star Wars ship, a robot, a jungle scene, a dog… anything.
I hate Lego because it annoys the washing machine and does not come in Pantone colours. I hate it because it is impossible to file (do you do it by colour, shape, size, per kit??). I hate it because it is more interesting than homework, bathtime or going to school. I hate it because it hurts your feet.

I found this image on the wonderful blog Uppercase Journal http://uppercase.squarespace.com/ that records all sorts of things associated with type and typographic art.