It's My Birthday!

So, TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!

I have had an awesome amazing incredibly fun filled weekend, which if you follow us on twitter, instagram or facebook (or all three) then you will have seen all the fun I had! (I may do a blog post of all the fun I had, if you think this is a good idea then right in the comments box, if you ignore my question then I might do it anyway...)

Now that is all out of the way, I got a pretty cool present for my birthday by a pretty awesome jewellery designer.

The designer in question is ROCKCAKES aka Sarah Meredith, who is a Brighton based lovely who just happens to be married to LOMOKEV, if any of you know how cool that is...

HOWEVER, even without being married to lomokev this wonderlady makes FANTASTIC jewellery, and I got a piece for my birthday!

I was so overwhelmed with how beautifully it was wrapped that I didn't open it straight away because I wanted the light to be nice so I could photograph the packaging. (that's how good it was!)

So here it is, packaging and all.

"The ring is angled in a way that the wearer can view the silver screen, a perfect silent cus if you are sitting in a boring meeting" 

Gorgeous little hand drawn TV

Apparently this is how Sarah wraps all of her orders!

Not too much raving Karli!

LOVE IT!

So much detail even a tiny little plug!

I also have a Rockcakes silver bracelet with a diamond pendant on it which is TOTALLY AWESOME too! Jacques bought that for me at our second Craftaganza and I never take it off. 

I have a few items on my wish list including the "Every Cloud" (has a silver lining) Bracelet! Check out her website, so you can fall in love with her jewellery too and follow her on twitter to find out when you can find her at a craft fair next!

ROAR!

Karli

I've got mega talented friends - 3. Matty Evans

So I have mega talented friends and this time it's Mr Matty Evans. We have just got back from Cheltenham (races) and visiting Matt so thought this would be the perfect time to big him up!

I was looking for a photo of matt and I found this one of the two of us. It made me laugh so now it's here...

He is a super genius with a spray can. Normally Matt runs around at 100 miles an hour chatting nonsense to anybody that will listen, but somehow, he manages to sit still enough to create incredible stencils to make awesome "graffiti" art.

Check out some of his shiz...

I think this is Matt's backgarden but I can't be sure because I didn't go out there...

Monkeys with KFC

A stencil Matt did for one of his friends who is a teacher, classroom

All of these photos have been stolen from his facebook, but walking around Cheltenham you can find quite a few Matty Evans pieces!

If you live in Brighton then you can check out his Cillit Bang Whale, let me know if you find it! I'll give you a hint that it is the Jubilee Street end of town! (I have been searching high and low through my photos for a photo of this but I can't find one... FAIL)

Matt doesn't have a website, or a twitter or anything that you can look him up on, mainly because he is currently studying a Masters in Landscape Design, but he's going to be famous so best to support him whilst he knows who his friends are ;)

ROAR!

Karli x

Life's Big Canvas - Pesky Chloe

So this is kind of a stockists post.

We are stocked in the fantabulous Life's Big Canvas, Bird's Yard, Leeds. This lovely little indie store is run by Chloe who is just so nice it makes your teeth itch! 

Life's Big Canvas was one of our first stockists and Chloe found us on Twitter (when we were new to twitter and didn't understand hashtags or @'s - Yes that long ago)

Chloe recently asked us to make one of her drawings into laser cut maquettes of her latest design.

All the cats!

Necklace cat!

Chloe is crowd funding on Indiegogo here so that she can get her designs made in enamel to sell in her shop. Chloe loves her cats, so if you love cats too you should follow her on instagram



It's awesome because if you give just £8, Chloe will send you a necklace! Chloe has been really great to us, she loves designosaur and isn't afraid to tell us if our products aren't working. 

We just wanted to say "YOU CAN DO IT CHLOE" so go and pledge some money immediately.

Chloe has 21 days left to raise the money so go go go!

ROAR!

Karli

All the photos are Chloe's and I have used them without permission... oopps. But maybe you shouldn't do that?

Plastic Fantastic - It Happened!

So I didn't blog on Monday, I don't know if you noticed or not, but yeah I'm here now instead. 

SO PLASTIC FANSTASTIC HAPPENED... and it was AWESOME!

The goodie bags!

If you don't know what plastic fantastic is then I blogged about it before - look it up (no seriously look it up lazy bones, I refuse to repeat myself)

So it started at 6pm, Jacques and I weren't completely ready and the first blogger came early! Ahhh! Then the rest of the bloggers arrived dead on 6pm so it was all rather overwhelming!

We had thought that most people would drift in and out, throughout the night so next time we will try and make it so there is more space and utilise the two floors rather than just the downstairs. It was pretty rammo for the first hour!

It all went past in a literal blur! We saw Toby and Kieran from INSIDE magazine and had a quick chat with them, HelloDODO turned up (because they are super nosy) and we waved across the room to them! Jane Postlethwaite who is an up and coming comedian supporting designosaur, was there picking out new pieces for her collection and we were able to smile and nod towards her. Along with a whole lot of other bloggers who I am unfortunately I am going to group together into the blogger category.This is because I did get lots of names and I did chat to lots of lovely people but I feel like you guys might be getting bored of my listing.

Toby and Kieran checking out their goodie bag!

Hello DODO - wanting to sneak a peak of designosaur's new collection!

A bit about the collections...

So Maggie Angus jewellery belongs to designer Anna Evan's (OMD her name isn't Maggie Angus that's crazy - no it's not guys, breathe)

I loved the giraffe bracelet from Anna's 'High Summer '13' range, so that's what I'll be getting when it's available. All of Anna's jewellery is bang on trend with monochrome and geek chic inspiration. 

Anna and her beau

The awesome amazing giraffe that I want!

Rosa is so annoying because she's buff, photogenic and her jewellery is awesome. I am very excited because we are doing a jewellery swap which means I get a ROSA PIETSCH! (and Rosa gets a designosaur obvs)

Carla of Sugar Jones and Rosa Pietsch of Katze Shop

Rosa's new collection, the gorgeous Light Bulb collar clips and the mega amazing lantern necklace!

So this just one of Sugar Jones' many beautiful designs, (see above for photo of her face). I love it! It's all bright and colourful and nostalgic and YEAH! I think spending the evening with these guys as well as the couple of hours previous to set up I realised that although they seem very composed, they are nearly as mental as me, they just do a better job of hiding it...

Super Cool!

and finally, our new stuff!

Jacques obviously isn't part of the new collection I just thought this photo of him was funny.

Just a few...

snapshots...

...because I will do a proper blogpost on the new collection soon!

The event overall was awesome. We loved seeing everybody's new collections which are now all on sale at Porta (yes already! QUICK! RUN!) 

So here are some wonderful more photographs by the amazing Bob Prosser (this entire blogpost's photos are the handy work of the wonderful Bob)

Jade who blogs for VICE and on her own blog http://berudy.blogspot.co.uk/. I totally love this photo because you can see SUGAR JONES on Jade's tablet.

My hands, I had beautiful green glitter nail varnish on that decided to flake off in huge chunks at around 5.55pm. My finger farm still rocks though.

Hooting Miss Owl lovely a bit of Sugar Jones

Sugar Jones, Hooting Miss Owl and themummydiary

If you were at the event then please #hashtag your designosaur photos with #designosaur and your event photos with #plasticfantasticporta. If you were there and you loved it, or loathed it, let us know! If you weren't there then keep your eyes open for more events coming soon!

ROAR!

Karli
designosaur

I've got mega talented friends - 2. Hannah Clare

So this is my second talented friends post, and this time it is Hannah Clare.

This is a real Holga Photo not a fake instagram...

I used to work with Hannah, she is totally awesome and completely insane. It was her birthday at the weekend so I thought she should be on my blog today. (haps birth hannah)

So what does Hannah do that makes her so awesome? She's an illustrator. Except that doesn't necessarily mean that she draws. (she can draw, but people get this children's book illustration thing into their head and that's not where we are going with Hannah's work)

Hannah creates INCREDIBLE collage type pieces, that make you happy. I have two pieces. One of them is the "All my rabbits got Kids" original and the other one... hmmm I'm not sure what it's called. But I've found a picture of it...

Hannah is also part of the collective "To the Power of 8" which is a group of 7 artists doing their thing, the website is very lovely, so take a LOOK!

To The Power of 8!

Hannah is super cool creating posters for bands, and album art work as well as working on commissions from one of Brighton's coolest crafters, I'm not sure how secret this is so I'm not going to say anymore...

However, as I have said before these posts are about my friends that don't rep themselves enough, so hopefully Hannah will have her etsy shop up and running soon, with lots of products for you to buy, until then check out her portfolio and "To the Power of 8"!

Photo of a Light House... Genius.

ROAR!

Karli

Oh yeah, all images are mine or Hannah Clare's no stealing, it's nice and it's not cool.

the BEST craft fairs around...

This is based  entirely on our opinions only. As craft fair season starts up again we thought we'd give our opinion on the BEST craft fairs there are.

So what does BEST mean to us - it is a mixture of atmosphere, footfall, standard of other sellers, promotion and how well we do at the craft fair!

We did a lot of craft fairs last year and here is the pick of the best ones!

Brighton Craftaganza

Our first ever craft fair. EVER. 

The deets:

When? Several each year, Normally around Easter, June and Christmas.

Who? Organised by the wonderful Zoe, who does a sterling job of standing outside the venue ALL DAY, in all weathers. It really is ALL DAY, I think sometimes she even misses lunch - Zoe is Hardcore for the cause.

The Wonderful Zoe, Inside?!

Where? It is normally held at Fabrica which is in the centre of Brighton, on the outside of the South Lanes with a huge footfall of tourists as well as shoppers. 

The lowdown:

In total I think we did three Craftaganza's, and they just got better and better. The first one we did was our FIRST EVER CRAFT FAIR EVER EVER, and it couldn't have gone better. Looking at photos from that first fair makes us realise that we really didn't have very much stock at all! We did however do well despite this and got lots of positive feedback.

Zoe is the most organised person in the world. She manages to organise a craft fair, promote it and jazz up the venue effotlessly. (This is just the impression she gives, I am not saying that organising a craft fair is easy at all.)  What also helps is Zoe is super friendly :) YAY!

Renegade London

The deets:

Where? In the Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London - Prime Location!

When? Once a year in London, but they travel the USA and hold fairs in Brooklyn, LA, Austin, Chicago and San Francisco.

Who? There are a team of people that come from America to set up the fair and it is very well organised, there is even an "Info Booth" for enquires for sellers as well as buyers (that's how big it is!).

The lowdown:

We hadn't heard of Renegade before but from sufficient stalking it seemed that people we knew were attending and it was the place to be. Unfourtuantly we applied late so weren't included on the printed literature and were in an area that was slightly away from the rest of the sellers. (I'd say it was the late corner) I don't actually think that it hindered us in any way, being placed where we were placed and the section you get given is HUUUUGGGE.

We did really well at this fair, but having to travel to London does have added costs. If we decide to do it again we will hopefully share with another brand to cut the cost of the stall. You still get a more than ample amount of space. The event is two days, but Jacques is from South East London, so we were able to stay with his parents.

  

 

This was a lot of fun watching Jacques trying to put up our sign. He thought he was Indiana Jones.

Renegade is playing with the big boys, so you really do have to have confidence in your product, as well as really put an effort into your stand.

We met Sally from Hand Over Your Fairy Cakes, and got drunk with Hello DODO for the first time. Since then it has happened more frequently... they are a bad influence on us.

It was great to see sellers from all over the country and even all over the world!

Crafty Fox Market

The Door Step of the Dog Star

The deets:

Where? The Dogstar, Brixton (Hipster Central)

When? A couple a year, Easter and Christmas I think, maybe more.

Who? Sinead and Stephan, Brixton locals and lovely people!

The lowdown:

Another London craft fair whose reputation had preceded them. We strolled up on the Sunday, walked down a long road off the high street to the Dog Star (I wasn't sure what the footfall would be like at this point!) and set up on our super tiny pub table. It  was Christmas but we were amazed at how many people came through the doors! Etsy goodie bags were given to early arrivers, which meant that people were streaming through the doors from opening. 

There was a DJ - ( a good one) which set an awesome vibe, we could have a pint and it was all very relaxed. It was also CRAZY BUSY. We did really well, the size of our table made no difference to our sales as customers spent an equal amount of time at each stall, investigating the whole building (there were three floors to explore including a Tea Room and workshops).

Overall we had an awesome time and we have applied to go back this Easter! (fingers crossed)

[The fair was also linked with moo.com which meant that we got 100 free business cards to give out. BONUS!]

So that's that, our favourite craft fairs from last year! 

Please tell me your favourite Craft Fair. We would love to do some fairs in the North but just don't know any! The only one we have heard of Reet Sweet, which is meant to be good but we would love to know more details on this if any of you have done it!

There is also BUST in Bethnal Green which we would like to try from good reviews last year.

As usual this is a very rambly post. I hope it is helpful to some of you. 

ROAR!

Karli

Plastic Fantastic!

Do you write a fashion/lifestyle blog or write for a magazine?

Well if you do then this event may interest you.

We are going to be part of PLASTIC FANTASTIC! at our Brighton stockist, Porta.

The event will showcase ourselves, Maggie Angus, Sugar Jones and Katze Shop by Rosa Pietsch.

Here is a selection of my favourite pieces by this wonderfully talented bunch, who all have different styles but using the same medium. 

Maggie Angus - Cloud Bracelet

Sugar Jones - Octopus Necklace

Katze Shop by Rosa Pietsch - Cat Necklace

Now, because I know that Hello DODO reads our blog, and Ali knows that I am anti-cats (bubye few readers that I have) I have to come clean about the cat necklace. I am not anti-cats, I am anti-cats on the internet/on accessories. I love my home* cat, Cooper, but he looks the same all the time, so I don't need to instagram him. HOWEVER, I know that everybody else loves cats on the internet and there aren't enough GOOD cat accessories so I thought I would feature this piece. Also whilst I am confessing things, I got a 'Rosa Pietsch' for Christmas. It is an incredibly aswesome art deco-esque triangular (hipster chic) shape with gold leaf and pink pigment in resin. IT IS INCREDIBLE, but it got bought for me, so there are no photos of it on the internet. I could take my own photo but it won't be shiny and glossy and white like the ones above, so you are just going to have to dream about it, or come to Porta to see it in real life. 

Well I feel better now, didn't want to be lying to you all.

Where was I?

Oh yeah...The event will be us designers showcasing our new collections and we will all be there so you can meet us and have a chat about our new designs (or old designs - I don't mind). There will also be GOODIE BAGS! YAY!

If you would like an invitation, please email portabrighton@hotmail.com and RSVP by the 14th February.

ROAR!

Karli 

*Home - a Home Cat is a cat that is my parents but also belongs to me by default. Another example of a Home item is Home House - the house where my parents live but I also visit and used to live in.