Have a Merry Christmas!

We're all set for Christmas! We wanted to say a big thanks for all your support this year! We're off to put our feet up now!
Here is a little treat for you.... sorry couldn't resist. a bit of Wham! Have a Merry Christmas all! x

Elphicks

Hope you enjoyed your weekends. Not long till Christmas! Today, we strolled down to Columbia Road, to do a spot of Christmas shopping. As we were down there, we also popped into Elphick's, a gorgeous art/print shop that also stocks some of our Tree series products (Tree Towels, cards, postcards and Tree prints). Sharon Elphick, the owner of this cute shop, found us at the recent Bust Christmas Craftacular Fair. We're so pleased to have Elphick's showcase are work. The shop is packed full of goodies, from limited edition prints, tea towels, cards, ceramics and books. The perfect weekend mooching day.

BUST CHRISTMAS CRAFTACULAR!

Hi, it's that time of year again, and to kick start the festive period, we're taking part in tomorrows Bust Christmas Craftacular! At York Hall, 5-15 Old Ford Road in Bethnal Green. 1 min from Bethnal Green tube station.There will be lots going on, from 70 stalls, DJ's, drinks and DIY workshops! Pop by and say hello!

BLOG CHAT 13_LAURA SPRING

We'd like to introduce you to Laura Spring, a textile designer from Glasgow. For the past eight years Laura has been involved in the field of fashion and textiles. She graduated from The Glasgow School of Art in 2002 with a degree in Visual Communication and went on to work for various t.v and theatre companies in their costume departments before embarking on a career as a textile designer in 2007.

This year has been very busy and interesting for Laura, as she was selected to take part in a craft residency at Cove Park in Scotland during the early summer. Here she developed her interest in the relationship between a pattern and it's function as she continued with explorations about the British obsession with the weather. Once back in her studio in Glasgow she completed a weather inspired luggage collection and was invited to take part in 'Spotted by Charlotte Abrahams' at Top Drawer in September. Now Laura's back in her studio and preparing for "Spotted Plus" in January 2012.
We have also got Laura's Weather range of tote bags, make-up bags and wash bags on Our Shop, check them out, here.

1. WHY ARE YOU WHAT YOU ARE?
It's a bit of winding story..... I did a degree in graphics at Glasgow School of Art which was great but I always knew it wasn't quite right for me, especially after I spent more time avoiding the computer than using it! I began to do some screen printing as part of my course and instantly loved it, but  after graduating I took a theatre design course and from there became seduced by the world of costume as I loved sewing and learning about all the techniques etc. After five years working in the costume industry I began to miss making my own work regularly, so I took an evening course in screen printing to refresh my mind and then realised it would make sense to combine my love of printing with fabric so a friend and I set up a design collaboration called Mouse and Bean. We set up a printing studio in Glasgow and worked together for three years printing fabrics by the metre and making cushions but decided to call it a day last year. We still share our lovely studio though and I decided to make a suitcase last Christmas after receiving a lovely old pattern from a friend in Canada and my current practice just grew from there....

2. IF YOU WEREN'T A DESIGNER WHAT WOULD YOU BE?
That's hard because I've always loved working with fabric.....and designing things! I used to work in the wardrobe department at Scottish Opera before I set up my printing studio which was lots of fun and very interesting, so maybe something along those lines....?

3. HOW DO YOU OVERCOME A DESIGNER'S BLOCK?
A cycle round Maxwell Park near my studio. I love being on my bike and the fresh air really helps clear the mind!

4. WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
A couple of new designs for my luggage collection to be shown at Spotted Plus in January 2012.


5. EARLY BIRD OR NIGHT OWL?
Early bird, every time! Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day!

6. WHAT DO YOU TREAT YOURSELF TO FOR ELEVENSES?
A dark chocolate digestive.


7. MY FAVE COLOUR IS...?
Orange, for now....but it's open to change!

8. MY FAVE SMELL IS....?
Freshly cut grass...mmmm.


9. IF YOUR HOUSE WAS ON FIRE, WHAT 3 THINGS WOULD YOU SAVE?
My photo collection, my dandy trailer tent (although technically it lives at dave's mums, but I would be distraught if it got burnt!) and my great grandma's jewellery.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVE BLOG?
Fine Little Day, a total treat! i love this lady's work!

Olympic Posters 2012

The Olympic posters for next year 2012 have been released. Designed by british artists, Ofili, Martin Creed, Anthea Hamilton, Gary Hume, Howard Hodgkin, Bridget Riley, Rachel Whiteread and Tracey Emin. The artists brief was to celebrate the Games coming to London and to look at the values of the Olympics and Paralympics. They are all pretty abstract, which we like. Our favourites are Tracey Emin, Sarah Morris, Martin Creed and Howard Hodgkin. It's unusual for Olympic posters to not have the hosting country's landmarks in, which we found quite refreshing! (tho Sarah Morris' Big Ben is evident, though very abstract too!)
Via BBC

BLOG CHAT 12_GEORGIA BOSSON

We'd like to introduce you to Georgia Bosson, a textile designer from Greenwich, London. Georgia graduated last year from studying Embroidery at Manchester School of Art. She has been working on a variety of projects, which include:
The Floating Cinema- creating structural curtains for a critically acclaimed cinema which toured the London canals this summer and will be used during the Olympics. Working for a successful textile collective Puff and Flock, including exhibitions such as designers block as well as projects with Elisabeth Buecher including costumes for the V&A- Siamese monsters, and a Music video- costume production for Saint Saviour. Georgia is currently setting up a new London studio practice developing new print designs and continuing to explore structural textiles. Georgia has created some gorgeous printed cushions for Our Shop, please check them out here.To see more of Georgia's work, please click here.

1. WHY ARE YOU WHAT YOU ARE?
I have always made things, from peg dolls to extravagantly decorated rafts, I love being creative and making things, whether it is to make a living or just for fun. I’m not sure I could do anything else!

2. IF YOU WEREN'T A DESIGNER WHAT WOULD YOU BE?
There isn’t really anything that I wish I was doing instead however if I had to choose another job it would be an air hostess but one who worked about twenty years ago when it was mandatory to have a weeks holiday before flying home again.

3. HOW DO YOU OVERCOME A DESIGNER'S BLOCK?
The only thing that ever works for me is drawing. If I look at other people’s work I get frustrated that I am not working but if I draw I find the ideas eventually start to flow again.

4. WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
Developing my work into more commercial products and continuing to explore the architectural side of my work that I started to develop with the Floating Cinema.

5. EARLY BIRD OR NIGHT OWL?
Early bird, I am rubbish at night, my brain stops working properly past 9!

6. WHAT DO YOU TREAT YOURSELF TO FOR ELEVENSES?
Oatcakes with nutella on.

7. MY FAVE COLOUR IS...?
All of the colours between yellow and orange!

8. MY FAVE SMELL IS....?
Baking cakes.

9. IF YOUR HOUSE WAS ON FIRE, WHAT 3 THINGS WOULD YOU SAVE?
My cats, My portfolios and My Nana’s engagement ring.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVE BLOG?
verydesignersblock.co.uk they always have an insight into the new designers coming out of degrees and MA’s.
 
puffandflock is great for new technologies and exhibitions.
 
The designboom newsletter is pretty good too.

Mary Mary

We were mooching around town last week, and decided to pop by and see Mary Portas' shop in House of Fraser. We've been watching Mary's 3-part tv series, on her creating a fashion collection for women. As we arrived on the third floor, it was very buzzy in Mary's shop. Mary's shop felt very quite different to the rest of House of Fraser, it even had it's own shop signage by the entrance. What struck me was how edgey and modern this was and I loved the little details, like the small area where you could have a perch and drink a Mary coffee and flip through some fashion magazines while you wait for your friend/partner etc shop or change in the changing rooms. It felt like a lifestyle store, abit like Anthropologie, but on a much smaller scale. Selling coffee, gorgeous notebooks, ceramics, beauty products as well as clothes, shoes and accessories. The branding of the shop was great, really consistent and still quirky. There was even a 'moan phone' so that you could pick up and call and leave a message on Mary's voicemail. If you had a complaint or wanted to voice your opinion you could, and apparently Mary picks up the messages herself at the end of each week. I thought that was a nice idea! The mannequins made were fun, they're all Mary clones, with her trademark orange burst hair and statuesque frame. I came away thinking, this is a great shopping experience and also all the products were of high quality too. It's true, Mary is the queen of shops!

Pinocchio!

We've got some great products coming into Our Shop in the coming weeks. We especially love this Pinocchio pencil sharpener!
Watch Pinocchio's nose shrink as your sharpen the pencil. Keep your eyes peeled, more goodies to come.

Tree Prints

Hello! We've just launched our Tree Prints on Our Shop. The Tree prints come in the four seasons; Spring (Japanese Cherry Blossom) Summer (Orange Tree), Autumn (Oak Tree) and Winter (Fir Tree). Each tree has a limited run and is printed on a riso press. The prints also come in a set of Tree Postcards too. Have great weekends!

1955-2011

Steve Jobs. Genius.

R.I.P

Bermondsey Street Festival

Last weekend was another busy one for us as we took part in the annual Bermondsey Street Festival. It was our first time to have a stall at this event, and we had such a great time. The festival felt very relaxed and intimate and many of the local businesses got involved too. The day was jam packed with lots going on. From fashion shows on the tennis courts, dog show, chinese dragon dance, kung fu demonstrations, live bands, lots of delicious food stalls and quirky craft stalls too. There was even live performance/plays dotted around the market, total randomness, but all good fun!

Bermondsey Street Festival

It's nearly the weekend! Just a quick post to let you know that we've got a stall at Bermondsey Street Festival tomorrow, by Tanner Street. From 11am to 5pm. Pop by and say hello! More info here.

Calling all designers + Makers!

It's that time of year again, we're starting to think about organising our annual Christmas Pop-Up Market! If you're interested in getting involved, do drop us an email with samples of your work. Also, feel free to forward this on to any friends you think maybe interested too. Date and venue yet to be confirmed.

BLOG CHAT 11_VICTORIA SPRUCE

We would like to introduce you to Victoria Spruce, a footwear designer based in London. Her designs are sculptural, abstract and unique. Victoria has recently graduated with an MA in Womenswear Footwear from Royal College of Art (2011), and has previously achieved a 1st Class BA(Hons) in Footwear Design at Cordwainers, London College of Fashion (2008). Victoria has worked successfully as a footwear designer for a high street wholesaler and supplier but is now keen to develop her own more creatively experimental collections. Find out more here.

1. WHY ARE YOU WHAT YOU ARE?
Weirdly, I've always known that I wanted to design shoes. I can't remember a time that I didn't know! It was only when I finished my A levels that someone recommended to me the Footwear BA at Cordwainers, London College of Fashion and I was lucky enough to be accepted without studying a foundation in art first. The degree was 4 years and it ignited my love for shoes even further, so after working for a year I then decided to complete an MA at Royal College of Art where I was lucky enough to be accepted as one of two students for womenswear footwear. And that was 2 years ago... so now I have just very recently graduated and I'm out into the big bad world of trying to develop my collection into something that I can sell!

2. IF YOU WEREN'T A DESIGNER WHAT WOULD YOU BE?
I think that if I wasn't designing fashion then I'd probably be selling it instead. I've had a few part time jobs within clothing and shoe stores, and I actually find that really enjoyable too... so perhaps I would start my own boutique specialising in new upcoming and undiscovered designers. Or alternatively, people always seem to think on my appearance that I am hairdresser, so maybe I'd give that a go!!

3. HOW DO YOU OVERCOME A DESIGNER'S BLOCK?
Ahh, good old designers block... it happens, and its a nightmare when it does. But I find that fretting over the fact that I can't design what I want to just makes the whole situation worse and the block becomes harder to budge. I find the best thing to do is walk away. There is no point trying to force something. I think creativity is a very fluid organic development and you have to let it naturally occur. So in my case, I take a day off, or maybe two if I can afford to, relax, try not to think about it, and then I find it will gradually come when I do sit down to it again.

4. WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
I'm currently trying to work out my next steps in terms of developing my shoes for production. I have the designs and the samples but I now want to push it further onto the next step.

5. EARLY BIRD OR NIGHT OWL?
Definite night owl... my brain doesn't really function before lunch time!

6. WHAT DO YOU TREAT YOURSELF TO FOR ELEVENSES?
Crisps... unfortunately!

7. MY FAVE COLOUR IS...?
It changes constantly! I don't think I can pinpoint one exactly. I always tend to use quite neutral colours in my designs though.

8. MY FAVE SMELL IS....?
Petrol...!

9. IF YOUR HOUSE WAS ON FIRE, WHAT 3 THINGS WOULD YOU SAVE?
1 - My laptop because it has all my work, music and photos on it
2 - My handbag, because just having recently had mine stolen, I now realise how much I rely on its contents everyday.
3 - My Boyfriend!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVE BLOG?
The Sartorialist, I love the collection of photo's that he posts.

Sheep Couture

While roaming around London, we stumbled across Esprit's collaboration with The Royal College of Art project, The Sheep Couture Collection. The RCA invited graduating Knitwear students to create a collection for Esprit. The outcome was fun and interesting, and the winning entrants had their quirky designs made with british yarns and are being showcased in their stores for a limited time only. Some of the pieces are quite sculptural and the more wearable pieces are available for sale to the public too. Well worth a peek, check out the mini pop-up gallery spaces in Esprit stores around London. The show catalogue is also really well designed and quirky! Illustrations are by Kevin Lyons.

Thames Festival Weekender!

We've had a very busy week last week, what with getting preparations ready for our stall at this years Mayor's Thames Festival. We launched our Tree Series prints at the event too. The location of our stall was amazing, we had the most wonderful view of the Thames. The 2 day event was great fun, and our friends and families popped by to say hi too, which was a nice surprise! We managed to survive some of the rainy showers luckily and had a good time. Meeting lots of interesting people and soaking in the buzzy atmosphere. Here are some pics from the weekend.

Thanks!

Last week was a very busy week for us, preparing for the Thames Festival, which was this weekend gone. We asked Hato press to print our tree series for us. We were amazed by the vibrancy of the colours, and we're so happy with the end result! They featured us on their 'Print of the week' section. Thanks Hato! you did an amazing job printing them. These prints were on sale on our stall at the Thames Festival. They will also be launched on our shop in a couple of weeks.

Come join us at the Thames Festival at the Crafty Fox Pop-Up Market

We have a market stall in front of the Tate Modern and by the Founders Arms pub as part of the Crafty Fox Pop-up Market. The Thames Festival is a 2 day event opening from 12noon until 10pm this weekend. It celebrates London and its iconic river the Thames – there will be market stalls, dancing, live music and to end the festival fireworks on Sunday evening.

We're launching some new cards and prints which we've made for the market. They're not online yet but will be very soon. We'll also be selling some vintage items, our tree towels and other designers products that we're proud to have on Our Shop. We hope you can stop by to say hello! And please keep your fingers crossed it doesn't rain!

Our Shop Summer Sale

The end of Summer is almost here and while that makes us a little bit sad we're looking forward to autumn leaves, hot chocolate and wooly socks. Check out our End of Summer Sale for something else to smile about, why not bag yourself a bargain.

Nido

Hello! we received a copy of Nido magazine this morning, featuring our red apple storage jars. Thanks Nido! Nido is a german family/lifestyle magazine that features lots of interesting design features and stories. We love the design of the magazine.

ROB

We'd like to share with you a funny and clever product that caught our eye. Jemil Saka's eyeglass stand is just so quirky! Inspired by an old teacher of Jemil's, 'Rob'. For the spec wearers out there, now you have a cool accessory to display your specs on when you're not wearing them, so there is no excuse for losing them again! Check out more of Jemil's work here.

The Broom Brigade

We found these amazing photos on The Guardian website. Makes us so proud to live in London! When all the worlds eyes are upon us for something so negative, it's so great to see people pulling together to help clean up our neighborhoods.

Post-It!

Japanese architects, Tato Architects, Yo Shimada has created a stunning installation series of Post-it Note Structures. Created in collaboration with students from Kyoto University of Art and Design. The installation consisted of 30,000 post-it notes in its full neon glory. Each note was positioned onto one another carefully
to form a structural wall, which ran throughout the gallery space.
Via pics via Designboom.com

London Love

It's been an odd week in London. What with the riots going on in London, Birmingham and Manchester. Making us all feel vulnerable going about our normal daily lives. We hope that shopkeepers and people affected by this will get support to help rebuild their livelihoods and homes. Here is a pic outside our studio arch, against the backdrop of the developing Shard building. This is a reminder of what we love about London, the old and new.

BLOG CHAT 10_YIYING WANG

Hi, it's Friday, nearly the weekend! We'd like to introduce to you the talented designer and author, YiYing Wang. YiYing is the brainchild of Noodoll. YiYing created the World of Noodoll as part of her Master’s course - an MA in Communication Design from Central Saint Martin’s, London. She has global experience in character design; licensing; clothing, bag and accessory production; and writing. YiYing has been a guest lecturer on design topics at a number of universities; has written for a wide range of publications; has written six successful books- including two bestsellers in Taiwan - and Noodoll’s debut children’s book: Ricehead’s Revenge published by Blue Apple, New York. Take a peek at her gorgeous world of Noodoll here. We loved her stuff so much, that we've got some of her gorgeous Monster Bookmarks and quirky monster and cloud toys in Our Shop, check them out here!

1. WHY ARE YOU WHAT YOU ARE?
For some unknown reason,  I turn everyone into cartoon characters in my head when I meet them so I decided I should make a career out of it. It makes me laugh! After a while I just felt I needed to do different projects to keep me entertained and to avoid boredom so I started to write books... that's how all it started.

2. IF YOU WEREN'T A DESIGNER WHAT WOULD YOU BE?
I would be.... a chef or chocolatier. I would work in anything food related.

3. HOW DO YOU OVERCOME A DESIGNER'S BLOCK?
I feel so blessed and happy to be able to express myself through my works, therefore the things that bother me are not related to creativity or ideas. All of my anxieties are caused by running a business. I just can't yet manage my time and finance properly!

4. WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
I have been working on a new range of stationery called 'Noodoll's friends', collaborating with designer friends like Donna Wilson and Luckyboysunday. It's been an exciting process as I get to use their designs and turn them into stationery products.

5. EARLY BIRD OR NIGHT OWL?
Definitely earlier than early bird! I love mornings!

6. WHAT DO YOU TREAT YOURSELF TO FOR ELEVENSES?
A stretch, a breath of fresh air, some biscuits, chocolate, more FOOD!

7. MY FAVE COLOUR IS...?
Neon yellow in summer, navy blue in winter.

8. MY FAVE SMELL IS....?
The smell of burnt wood and country side.

9. IF YOUR HOUSE WAS ON FIRE, WHAT 3 THINGS WOULD YOU SAVE?
My laptop, my passport, and my toys.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVE BLOG?
I am not a regular blog reader and don't stick to any particular ones, but, I do love lots of blogs like Marimekko, ohcomely, fifilapin, it's nice that and lots more!

AND THE WINNER IS.....

WE HAVE A WINNER! Congratulations to Hannah Davies. Please email us your address to info@ourworkshop.co.uk and we'll send you the whole kit and kaboodle. Enjoy and well done.
Thanks to everyone for taking part!

Vintage at the Southbank

We visited Wayne Hemmingways Vintage festival at the Southbank yesterday and enjoyed a beautiful sunny day pottering around the various vintage stalls. There was a lot on offer from fashion, clothing, design and live music. As always we were drawn to the homewares and the helter skelter of course! Here's a little taster of what we saw. We actually have some of the vintage Gaytime ceramics (bottom left pic) on Our Shop if you like the brightly coloured folky look.

Cake + Art

What a perfect combination, Cake + Art! We do like cake over here at Our WorkShop. So when we found out about artist, Amy Stevens' cake artworks, it made us smile. Amy first started making Martha Stewart's cake recipes, then realised that her cakes didn't look perfect like Martha's, hers looked more imperfect. So she thought they were better off imperfect. It's the cakes imperfections that make them so striking to look at. Amy also uses handmade and vintage fabrics and wallpapers for backdrops for her photos. More of her cakes here.
Via cocandme and amystevenart

P.S OUR SHOP'S 1ST BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY, ONE MORE DAY TO GO!!! Talking about cake....it's Our Shop's 1st Birthday tomorrow! Pop over to our Facebook page and help us celebrate, by giving us a 'LIKE' and you'll be automatically entered into our 1st Birthday giveaway! Click here to enter. We'll announce the winner over at Facebook tomorrow. Good Luck!

New One Stop Gift Shop

Hi there, we'd like to let you know about our new One Stop Gift Shop service. Making gift buying easier for you. Choose a gift, a card, a gift wrap and email us your message. And we'll wrap your gift and write the card and post the gift for you, so no queuing for the post office for you! For more info, please click here.

Vintage Treasure Hunt

We've managed to get a day out of the studio this week to do a spot of antique shopping. Keep your eyes peeled over the coming week for some new treasures that will be cropping up in our vintage section. We have some great utensil pots and storage jars for the kitchen plus loads of other treats. Here are some pics plus a sneak preview of a gorgeous sugar shaker we picked up.

Sunday Market

Hey, we had a stall at today's Sunday Upmarket, Spitalfields. It was a rainy Sunday, however it was really nice to meet some of our online customers, thanks for popping over to say hello! and it's always great to get feedback from the public too. All in all, a fun day!

Say it in a letter

Check out this website that plays homage to letterhead designs for the famous. It's quite intriguing to see what Bowie, Johnny Cash and Marilyn Monroe's personal stationery looked like, to name but a few. Have a peek at letterheady.com for more designs.