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Must See Exhibitions This Summer

6/29/2023

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Get out and about and see some great art, craft and design this Summer. Here's this year's Muswell Hill Creatives top picks.
Japanese Aesthetics of Recycling - SOAS
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Over the years our Japanese textiles artist - Rob Jones of Romor Designs has educated and inspired our collective about the beautiful and ancient craft of Boro Mending.  Michele at Wyckoff Smith Jewellery has been to check out the Japanese Aesthetics of Recycling exhibition at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS. She loved it and says it is well worth a visit.

The exhibition "highlights the beauty of Japanese recycling, showcasing objects made of cotton, hemp, bast fibres, washi (handmade paper) and pottery.  

Exhibiting over 100 objects from the Karun Thakar Collection - mostly dating from the Edo period (江戸時代, Edo jidai) or Tokugawa period (徳川時代, Tokugawa jidai) - the exhibition includes exquisite examples of ‘Boro’ and ‘sakiori’ textiles, washi and kin-tsugi or gin-tsugi pottery."

The exhibition runs until 23 September. 


Summer Exhibition at the RA
Held every year since 1769, the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy displays works in a variety of mediums and genres by emerging and established artists. We were very excited when we found out that two former members of Muswell Hill Creatives - Lito Apostolakou and Jo Angell - had been selected to exhibit this year.
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"Sleep Beast" graphite and oil stick on Khadi paper by Lito Aposolakou. Room V.
‘We’ve never met, but…’ 29 x 21cm by Jo Angell. Gallery IX, (number 1364).
The exhibition closes on 20 August. Book your tickets here

  • ​Herzog & De Meuron at the Royal Academy from 14 July - 15 October 2023. "The exhibition, features 400 objects from architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron's design process, and is a chance to find out how their projects come together. Explore their open archive shelves, sit on their latest furniture design, walk around life-sized architectural mock-ups, and use augmented reality to experience a new children’s hospital in Zurich."
  • The National Portrait Gallery recently re-opened after a transformational building project and we can't wait to check it out. 
  • The formerly named Museum of Childhood is re-opening on Saturday 1 July as the Young V&A to rave reviews. The school Summer holidays will be a great time to visit "the museum where children, young people and families can imagine, play and design." 
  • The Crown to Couture exhibition at Kensington Palace runs until 29 October 2023. "This brand-new fashion exhibition takes over Kensington Palace's State Apartments and Piggott Galleries, featuring over 200 items from ball gowns to court suits and handbags to jewellery. The exhibition draws fascinating parallels between the world of today’s red carpet and the Georgian Royal Court in the 18th century." 
  • Klint and Mondrian at the Tate Modern until 3 September. "This is a unique chance to discover the visionary work of Swedish painter Hilma af Klint and experience Dutch painter Piet Mondrian’s influential art in a new light."
  • Andy Warhol: The Textiles at the Fashion + Textile Museum until 10 September. "Discover the unknown and virtually unrecorded world of textile designs by the influential pop artist and icon Andy Warhol. Dating from his early career as a commercial designer and illustrator in the 1950s and early 1960s, Warhol’s textiles are now considered an important part of his body of work." 
  • Brian Eno/Dan Flavin exhibition of light works and sonic sculpture at Paul Stolper on Museum Street until 25 September.  Dan Flavin also has a show at the Serpentine Gallery from 24 August to 23 September 2023.

Further Afield
Nestled in beautiful Sussex Downs is the Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft showcasing the artists and craftspeople who made Ditchling a creative hub in the 20th Century.
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​Running until 3 September is a great little exhibition - Signs of the Seaside. The exhibition explores "how lettering and typography have evolved to play a fundamental role in our experience of the English seaside providing a historical and contemporary perspective on the role of graphic design in identifying our coastal towns."

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Member of our collective, Rob Jones of Romor Designs teaches Japanese textiles at the Museum from time to time and you can find a selection of his Shibori accessories on sale in the Museum's shop.

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MHC founder and original Sussex girl, Rachael spent a windswept afternoon visiting the excellent Barbara Hepworth Art & Life exhibition at the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne.

This exhibition, which has garnered rave reviews....... displays some of Hepworth’s most celebrated sculptures including the modern abstract carving that launched her career in the 1920s and 1930s, her iconic strung sculptures of the 1940s and 1950s, and large-scale bronze and carved sculptures from later in her career.

Open until 3 September.

Our street photographer Barry Bottomley recommends the fantastic Soutine/Kossoff exhibition at Hastings Contemporary - "major figures of 20th century painting: one a master of the School of Paris, the other a master of the School of London."
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Happy World Bee Day

5/17/2023

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United Nations World Bee Day is on Saturday 20 May and aims to raise awareness of how we can all make a difference to support, restore and enhance the role of pollinators.

We depend on bees and other pollinators for our existence. They play a vital role in agriculture and global ecosystems by maintaining our food supply and contributing to biodiversity and other ecosystem services. In many areas, bees, pollinators, and many other insects are declining in abundance and diversity.*       (Source United Nations)

Members of Muswell Hill Creatives, Jess Albert and Isabelle of Isabee are both passionate about nature and Bees feature in their art and kidswear.

To mark World Bee Day, from Saturday 20 May until midnight on Saturday 27 May, Jess and Isabelle will donate 10% of profits from all BEE orders to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. 
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The Bumblebee Conservation Trust does great work in raising awareness of the plight of the bumblebee, running conservation projects and undertaking research to increase the bumblebee population. (Registered Charity No. 1115634)

BEE Brilliant and Order Now

Create a buzz with a gorgeous Baby Bee Sleepsuit by Isabee. A busy bee motif design is hand sewn on the front in grey, black and yellow with reflective detail on the wings. Poppers around the leg opening make it easy to get your little one in and out. Available in 3 sizes for babies: 3-6, 6-12, 12-18 months. Grey Melange - 85% cotton/15% polyester.

Unisex Kid's Bee Applique t-shirt with reflective detailing in deep grey 100% cotton. Available in sizes: Age 6-7 years and 8-9 years.

Orders will be fulfilled from 30 May onwards (due to holiday).
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Jess Albert's collection of four hand-painted Bumblebees, are available as limited edition 25cm x 25cm giclee prints on Hahnemuhle photo rag paper.

See all four Bumblebee prints here.

Email illustratorjess@gmail.com to order a framed or un-framed print. All four would look great together on a wall.
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Must See Exhibitions in August

7/31/2022

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We've put together our top picks of exhibitions to go and see this month. Our makers love visiting exhibitions to explore colour, shape and form and to inform their creative practices. Our list includes their recommendations as well as those from our supporters. We hope you feel inspired to get out there and enjoy all the brilliant art on offer in London and beyond.

Eternally Yours: Care, Repair & Healing
Somerset House, London
until 25 September 2022


Rob of Romor Designs and Michele of Wyckoff Smith Jewellery both recommend a visit to the Eternally Yours exhibition at Somerset House. Rob is an expert in Japanese repair and teaches these techniques in person and online. Michele has enjoyed practicising visible mending techniques over the last couple of years.
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Free Exhibition. More information here

Althea McNish: Colour is Mine
The William Morris Gallery, Lloyd Park, Forest Road, Walthamstow, E17 4PP
Until 11 September 2022


Our weaver Cecilia of By Cecil spent a morning recently at the William Morris Gallery seeing Althea McNish's work. She says of it "the colour and print work are exquisite and I thoroughly recommend a visit".
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Free admission. More information here.

Sheila Hicks 'Woven Wonders' Installation
Coal Drop's Yard, King's Cross
Until 16 October 2022


Cecilia is also drawn to the Sheila Hicks Installation - Woven Wonders - at Coal Drop's Yard.

"Woven Wonders is a vast and floating sculpture transforms the space into an explosion of colour and moving forms, responding directly to its unique setting."

More information here

Small is Beautiful in London - A Miniature Art Exhibition
79-85 Old Brompton Road, London 
Extended until 4 September 2022 due to popular demand!


Amy at The Idle Bindery says the Small is Beautiful exhibition is "excellent". MHC supporters Lynsey and Bethan have been and loved it too. 
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“Small is beautiful, Miniature Art” is the most important European exhibition to compile the work of 34 local & international miniature artists and present 143 miniature artworks to the general public. After the undisputed success of the #MiniatureArt phenomenon on social networks, the exhibition offers exclusive access to the magical and sometimes unusual worlds of some of the greatest artists in the movement."

Book via the website.
Thanks to MHC supporters Lynsey & Bethan for the images!

WEIRD SENSATION FEELS GOOD: The World of ASMR
Design Museum, London
Until 16 October 2022


Ros at Papershades recommends the fun exhibition at the Design Museum about the sounds which make you feel a bit weird or really happy! Ros says "Apparently Bob Ross, artist, has a voice which has that ASMR whisper and the sound of brush on canvas is a sound which invokes great pleasure - well, I agree!".

Design Museum: "Millions around the world are part of an online community who experience ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response): a physical sensation of euphoria or deep calm, sometimes a tingling in the body, triggered through sound, touch, and movement.
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This is the first exhibition of its kind to lift the world of ASMR out from your screen and into physical space. Step into an acoustically tuned environment and understand how people are using new and existing tools and materials to navigate our complex world."

Tickets from £7.20. Online booking essential.

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Ruth Asawa: Citizen of the Universe
Modern Art, Oxford
Until 21 August 2022


Michele Wyckoff Smith describes this exhibition as "inspiring, majestic, iconic and powerful. Ruth Asawa overcame adversity and racism in her life, but continued to be true to herself and her art, all whilst raising a family."  

"Citizen of the Universe takes a unique look at the visionary artist, educator and activist Ruth Asawa (b. 1926, Norwalk, CA – d. 2013, San Francisco, CA). The exhibition features her signature hanging sculptures in looped and tied wire, and celebrates her holistic integration of art, education and community engagement through displaying prints, drawings, letters and photographs."

Free entry. More here.


Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts
The Wallace Collection, London
Until 16 October 2022


Amy of The Idle Bindery enjoyed visiting this exhibition which "displays American 20th-century hand-drawn animation alongside French 18th-century art to reveal the surprising and enchanting connections between these two artistic movements."

Book here

Cornelia Parker 
Tate Britain, London
Until 16 October 2022


MHC supporter Karen recommends a trip to the Tate Britain see the Cornelia Parker exhibition. She says there's something for everyone.

Tate Britain: "Cornelia Parker is one of Britain's best loved and most acclaimed contemporary artists. Always driven by curiosity, she reconfigures domestic objects to question our relationship with the world. Using transformation, playfulness and storytelling, she engages with important issues of our time, be it violence, ecology or human rights."  Book here.
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And there's more....

Isabelle of Isabee: "I have visited The Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy this year. I thought the exhibition was very well curated, with over 1400 works of art. It invited the viewer to look up, left, right and all around. I spent over two hours and thoroughly enjoyed it. I always find artists I have photographed in my early career, and that is great fun!" 

Amy's looking forward to visiting the Gold Exhibition at the British Library which features 50 spectacular manuscripts from around the world. On until 12 October. Book here.

Thanks to Mollie of Art With Mollie for spotting that Queer Britain, a new museum, has just opened in Granary Square, King's Cross. We Are Queer Britain - marks the 50th anniversary of the UK's first Pride March. It is a riot of voices, objects and images from the worlds of activism, art, culture and social history covering over 100 years of queer life.  More here.

Michele has her eye on The Rana Begum: Dappled Light exhibition at The Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery. The exhibition "presents a solo exhibition of work by artist Rana Begum RA, with striking works which explore the perception of light, colour and form and blur the boundaries between sculpture, architecture, design and painting." Open until 11 September 2022. More here.
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Our Pick of Father's Day Gifts

6/8/2022

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Father's Day is coming up on Sunday 19 June. Here's our pick of Father's Day Gifts - all handmade in and around Muswell Hill by members of our collective. .
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Father's Day Cards

Colourful Daddy and for Dad designs handmade in Bounds Green by Art with Mollie using gel printing.

£4.50
Buy Here
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Personalised Candle

Pick your Father's Day message and choose a scent you think he'd love.

From £23 from Crouch End Candles.⁠
Buy Here
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Handmade leather cardholder

From £60.

Available in a range of leather colours and stitching by Steph Rubbo Saddlery⁠
Buy Here
​Guntai Shibori ring indigo apron

£55

Romor Designs ⁠
Buy Here
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Open Oval Silver Cuff Bracelet

£140

Wyckoff Smith Jewellery ⁠
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​Giclee Print of the Maid of Muswell Pub

From £28

Hilary Sketches ⁠
Buy Here
Buy Here
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Organic Cocoa & Olive Hand Cream

60ml £9.00. 50ml £7.50⁠


Queenie Organics ⁠
Buy Here
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Expresso Cups

Handmade in Muswell Hill

​Contact Jeremy for prices at jeremyornstin@hotmail.co.uk

Ceramic Justice
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​Papershades of Place - created by Rosalind Freeborn

3/7/2022

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Ros with her Shrewsbury and Ludlow papershades
Ros Freeborn is a paper collage artist based in Muswell Hill who uses all kinds of paper to create her art. She found a way to turn her work into a product - paper lampshades which come as a flatpack in an A4 envelope with five panels of special paper printed with the design she’s created and held together with two wheel-shaped supports. She sells the paper lampshades via her website www.papershades.co.uk and they cost just £30 including postage and packing.
 
During lockdown Ros was at home in her studio and, like everyone else, longing to visit places, see people and explore the world. So she decided to go travelling through her creativity. The result is a range of Papershades Places, paper lampshades which celebrate a wide variety of places in the United Kingdom. 
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London
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Oxford
At first she made designs of places which had personal meaning. She says: “I sat down in my studio and started channelling all the places I’ve lived in in my life and have a special connection with. I began with Oxford where I was born and spent some of my childhood; then I created two towns in Shropshire, Ludlow and Shrewsbury which I ‘discovered’ as a teenager while youth hostelling along the Welsh border. Then there’s Yorkshire where my grandmother was brought up and Kent where my grandparents lived. A cousin of mine lived in Cornwall for years and we had so many wonderful family holidays staying with her and exploring the beautiful countryside near Falmouth. I have a daughter in Cambridge and friends in Edinburgh. Once I started thinking about it there was no end to the places I’ve had a connection with and really wanted to celebrate in my paper collage way."
 
But Ros didn’t stop there. Once these Places Papershades were on the website, local papers and radio stations got in touch and she was invited to talk on local BBC Radio station and be featured in regional papers.

​Ros says: “During lockdown, when the shops were shut, online retail became quite the thing. I loved getting orders from people wanting to send Papershades as a present to someone special whom they couldn’t visit. I’d pop in a cheery note saying that my Papershade of Norfolk, for instance, came with love from a daughter to a mother, and I’d send it off to someone in Norwich or Cromer who loved the thoughtfulness of the gift and they they, in turn would send one to someone they loved.

The next thing that happened was that people got in touch with me suggesting I should make designs of places where they lived. So I created designs of places like The Wirral, South Shields, Aberdovey in Wales, Plymouth and Derby. I haven’t lived in those places but it was wonderful to research the area and create an impression of the countryside, the towns and cities and all the important landmarks."
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The Wirral
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Edinburgh
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Norfolk
Ros continues to create her own impressions of places in paper which are turned into lampshades. She welcomes suggestions from people who’d like to commission a design, with the promise that they’ll buy several of them.  She says: “I have a particular palette of paper which I use for these design so that there’s quite a ‘family resemblance’ within them and no doubt at all that they are in my style.”
View the Places Range
Contact Ros with a Place idea
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Ros is still creating other Papershades designs. She launched a new range earlier this year - The New Floral collection - which were inspired by a trip to Northumberland at the end of last year.  She also has a collection of designs under the banner of Nostalgia, Culinary, Literary and Pick and Mix.  

Ros also runs workshops at her studio in Muswell Hill as well as running them at crafts fairs such as  Living Crafts and Crafts4Crafters.
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Book a Workshop
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Beach of Dreams

6/9/2021

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​Beach of Dreams is an epic journey to discover the hidden gems of the East Coast of England. It runs from 26 June - 1 August from Lowestoft to Tilbury. It invites collaboration from communities and artists along the way in Suffolk, Essex, Southend, and Thurrock. Kinetika’s Artistic Director, Ali Pretty, and Guardian journalist Kevin Rushby are walking the entire route, joined by artists, writers, scientists, and local residents. 

Together, guided by strong environmental themes and the challenges of our current time, they will consider the question “How can we creatively reimagine our future?”

The event is run by Kinetica is an internationally renowned company specialising in creating large-scale silks.

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An installation of all 500 pennants will mark the beginning of the walk on 27 June, at sunrise on the beach at Lowestoft, during the First Light Summer Solstice. The route follows the coast, taking in stunning scenery, wild landscapes and seaside towns. Further installations and events take place along the way including Harwich Festival on 10 July and the finale at Tilbury Fort on 1 August.


Find out more about where you can visit the Beach of Dreams here

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Member of Muswell Hill Creatives, Rob Jones of Romor Designs is a specialist in natural dyes. Rob was brought in as a consultant on the Beach of Dreams project. His consultation started with experimenting with different natural dyes, mordant and indigo. 

Wax resist designs by a group of artists were created on the silk before the final dye was applied to the pennants. The designs were inspired by images of sections of the route. 

Rob spent time with the Kinetica team test dyeing samples over in Purfleet before helping to dye the final pennants which you will find along the route. 

He is looking forward to joining the team at the walk and seeing the completed pennants in all their splendour along the coast.
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Book a Romor Designs Workshop
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Welcoming our new Muswell Hill Creatives

4/8/2021

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We're very excited to have three new creatives join our collective.
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Sunbul Akhtar - Night Press

Sunbul runs Night Press from her home studio in Muswell Hill. Working in publishing in the day, Sunbul began printing as a creative after-work outlet before starting an online shop in 2019. Working exclusively with lino cut prints in a series of themes, Sunbul’s portfolio includes illustrated graphic novel posters, whimsical cityscapes, and prints on her Pakistani heritage.

Lino cut art involves carving a design onto a sheet of linoleum or wood, creating a negative space where the surface is carved. Using ink, an impression is made of the block. It is the earliest form of printing and allows the printmaker to reproduce artwork by hand.

​At Night Press, Sunbul produces all of her prints by hand, using traditional techniques such as hand burnishing her prints with a wooden tool.

Read more here

Hilary Masetti - Hilary Sketches


After a career in HR and then a break to bring up her boys, Hilary is excited to be able to follow her passion and focus on her artwork. She has always been a keen artist after selling her first watercolour piece of her schoolbag at the age of 15! More recently she has been drawn to urban sketching through her love of detail and the beauty of local architecture in Muswell Hill and the surrounding areas.

'The process starts for me when I explore and take photos of local buildings. I am spoilt for choice around here! I love recording the amazing detail in buildings we pass by every day but can easily overlook'.

Read more here

Isabelle Blondiau - Isabee


Isabelle Blondiau of Isabee makes beautiful handmade applique t-shirts featuring original designs for babies and children.

Isabelle studied photography in Belgium and came to London to learn English. She worked as a professional photographer for many years before switching her career to becoming a designer maker over 15 years ago.

Isabelle's range is all about colours, simplicity, fun and quality.  The organic and ethically made cottons are gentle and soft to the skin - perfect for little ones.

Read more here

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Here's to the women who inspire us

3/8/2021

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To celebrate International Women's Day, members of Muswell Hill Creatives have come together to celebrate the brilliant women past and present who inspire their lives/their work. 
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Laura Knight by Ros Freeborn, Papershades

Laura Knight was a very talented artist and one of the first female artists to study life painting amongst men at art school - a radical thing to do in 1913 when she created Self Portrait with Model. She shows herself painting a nude model, with the model in the background and the work on a canvas - a very clever set up involving mirrors. And it's an intriguing work to see close up with such variety of style and paint application.

​She moved to Cornwall with her husband and was a leading light of the Newlyn School. She depicted women at work in her paintings - especially during WW2 and she was commissioned to record the Nuremburg Trial in 1946, depicting the Nazi criminals in the dock. She never stopped working, right up until her death.

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Patricia van den Akker, The Design Trust by
​Rob Jones, Romor Designs 


Patricia is a force of nature! She has a strong belief in what she does, supporting artists and makers in setting up and running their businesses. Her advice and support has been a critical factor in the success of my business and she specifically saved my bacon last year when she ran her 'How to teach online' classes in 2020 when lockdown had effectively closed my business.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by JC, Queenie Organics

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortzez worked her way up from a poor background with grassroots issues. Daughter of an immigrant in a mainly white male environment, she isn't afraid to speak truth to power.

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Lynette Yiadom-Boakye by Sue Copeland

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye is a British artist and writer acclaimed for her enigmatic portraits of fictitious people - both familiar and mysterious. The colour she uses in her work is wonderful. 

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Frida Kahlo by Jeremy Ornstin, Ceramic Justice

We visited her house in Mexico City. What struck me was her passion. Her indomitable spirit; channelling her suffering through her art and outlook, giving expression to raw experience. She confronted life full on. But I saw that, by rendering it in full colour, she embraced it too.

​What do I take from that? I suppose that in artistic terms, once you find a medium in which you feel you can express creativity, no matter how raw or untutored your skill's level, grab the opportunity. Don't compromise and don't get distracted by comparing yourself with others in your field, and keep focused on your passion.

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Ruth Asawa by Michele Wyckoff Smith

Educated at Black Mountain College by Joseph Albers and Buckminster Fuller, Ruth Asawa developed a style of woven metal biomorphic forms that were both fragile and etherial, as well as commanding and monumental. Despite being born in America to Japanese parents, Asawa was none the less interned in a camp during World War II. Strangely, she has credited this difficult experience with the making of her as an artist.

​I remember a photo spread of a fountain commission she completed in San Francisco in the 1970s. My mother was so impressed by the piece, we eventually made a point of visiting it in person. The large  work resonated with my mother, and brought Asawa's creations to my attention.

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Great Aunt Nell by Jenny Freebury,
​Crouch End Candles


My Great Great Great Grandfather was a door keeper at Eton School in the early 20th Century and died suddenly leaving his wife to bring up a family of 4 girls. She started to take in the washing and mending and established a wash-house serving the Eton School boys and surrounding gentry. My Great Great Aunt Nell was one of her daughters and took on the business after her beau died in the Boer War.

​She never married, but expanded the business into one of the biggest Wash houses in the area. She was a strong woman in a world where most businesses were run by men. Every Friday my Great Aunt Nell would pay her staff, drop the takings at the bank and then make her way to the Grapes Hotel in Slough, walk through the 'men only' door to the tap room, with its sawdust covered floor and order herself a large whisky. She would drink it with her head held high - "respected as one of the men". Her reputation was tough but fair, and she always had bags of penny sweets in her pockets for the local children.

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Judy Murray by Steph Rubbo Saddlery & Leather Work

I think this quote of hers in The Scotsman of 28 Nov 2020 sums it up “I never saw obstacles as barriers that stopped you, I saw them as things that you had to find a way over or under or round because I’ve never let anyone stop me. I’m one of those people that if you tell me I can’t do something, I will go out of my way to prove you wrong and that’s been the story of my life.”

She is well known for her involvement in tennis, not just training Andy and Jamie, but she has done so much more for the grass roots of the game, through to the LTA. She also does a lot to highlight the back stories of what women in sport have to do to be successful. She also picked Oti and Bill to win Strictly.

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Catherine Hough by Samantha Sweet

Catherine was one of my tutors on my BA Hons degree in 3 Dimensional Design. She was the first person to emphasise that glass could be a sculptural material. I was very grateful when she took me on as an apprentice in her London studio where I worked there for 8 years learning production glass blowing, cold working and the business of running a glass studio.

​For all the time I have known Catherine she has been incredibly dedicated to working with glass to the highest standards technically while pushing the boundaries with her own, distinctive style.

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Anni Albers by Cecilia Child, By Cecil

Anni Albers is a name that looms large in the weaving world. And while I love her woven pieces, it is her sketchbook work that I find particularly interesting. She was so playful with her design work and continuously found new ways to make marks and incorporate new materials into her work.

​Weaving and textiles have traditionally been viewed as women's work and therefore not as worthy of attention. To see the craft elevated to an art form at the Tate retrospective in 2018 felt like the beginning of a long-denied recognition.

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Kate Fletcher by Tracey Lord, Lord and Taft

I’ve chosen Kate Fletcher because she was the first person who really made me think properly and deeply about the issue of sustainability. Her pioneering book was particularly important to me as at the time I discovered it I was teaching a fashion/textiles degree course and leading the critical thinking module. We spent a lot of time debating sustainability in the industry and Kate’s approach was the first I’d seen that tackled all aspects of the concept of sustainability, from processes, environmental impact, labour, fibres and chemicals to economy and ideology. It challenged and energised me and my students and that urge to question how and why I do things the way I do has remained with me ever since.

Now we are all much more used to thinking this way but she changed my work ethic and informs my approach to this day. She’s an actual proper hero.

Also an honourable mention this year for my grandma Belle for teaching me about grit and determination!

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Philippa Perry by Rachael Booth-Clibborn, Founder, Muswell Hill Creatives
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I come from an artistic background on my father's side. My great Aunt was artist and writer Nina Hamnett who was known as the Queen of Bloomsbury. My grandfather was an artist, my uncle is an arts publisher and my cousin an art dealer and publisher representing artists including Grayson Perry and Damian Hirst.

A love of art is definitely in my genes but I've stayed on the sidelines as more of a cheerleader. After dabbling a bit after I left school, I only really picked up a paintbrush again last year after being inspired to do so by Philippa Perry on the C4 Art Club show she shares with her husband Grayson. Her positive approach to life and great empathy have inspired me to feel braver about just giving painting another go and even sharing what I've created over the last year. I've been reminded just how good it is for the soul and it has helped put all the worries of the pandemic to one side for periods of time. I'm a bit haphazard when it comes to art & craft and when Philippa said the other night on the show "Oh dear, I've just sewn my skin into my embroidery" I realised we are definitely kindred spirits! 

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Muswell Hill Creatives Lockdown Love-In

2/8/2021

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Love in the time of a pandemic.... Love in a cold climate..... we value our friendships and relationships so much right now even when we can't celebrate Valentine's or Galentine's in the ways we might normally.  But, we can still show our love by buying a gift.  Whether for a loved one or just for a bit of self-love, we've put together some gift ideas with local delivery/pick up options to make life easier especially during this cold snap!  
Much Love

Show a friend how much you love them and appreciate their friendship with a handmade lavender-filled heart in a Springlike floral print. Handsewn in Crouch End by former menswear designer for Paul Smith - Sue Copeland.

£15

Contact Sue to order here
Available for pick up in N8 and free local delivery 
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His & Hers

These handsome silver cuffs in a minimalist design by Michele at Wyckoff Smith Jewellery are handmade from sterling silver and are a popular gift for men and women.

Available in polished and matte finish.

£140
Available for Pick Up in N10 or Free Delivery
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Buy here  
A Treat for Lockdown Locks

Whenever Rob at Romor Designs gets to Japan to further his textile education, he picks up beautiful vintage Japanese fabrics.  

He uses the
Kimono silks he buys to make scarves but often has leftover pieces. With zero waste in mind, Rob has made a range of hair scrunchies which are perfect for those who are missing the hairdresser!

£12
Free delivery

Buy here
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Love is In the Air

Jenny at Crouch End Candles has the perfect candles and diffusers in scents you'll love. 

Hello I Love You - The crisp freshness of Mediterranean Fig candle evokes Spring dewy mornings all year long. 
 
Big Love - Fall in love at first sight with the heady blend of cassis, cherry, grass and fig, with heart notes of hyacinth, cyclamen, jasmine and pine tree. All sitting on base notes of patchouli, cedar, amber and musk.

From £16
Free local delivery and pick up in N8
National delivery £5

Buy here
​Ethical Skincare for the One You (Self) Love

JC at Queenie Organics' ethical gift set is perfect for you or a loved one. This is a limited edition of 4 sets. Each set comprises: 

1x Hand & Body Cream of your choice
1x Face moisturiser of your choice
1x Cocoa and Olive Hand Cream.
1X Crochet bunny - proceeds go to Hong Kong based homeless charity

£75
Free delivery over £50

Buy here
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Calling all Plant Lovers

These planters in cheerful glazes were handthrown by Jeremy of Ceramic Justice in Muswell Hill. They would make great gifts for a loved one. Now is a good time to plant Spring bulbs and look forward to brighter times ahead.

£20 each 

Buy direct by contacting Jeremy here
Local delivery/collection by arrangement
Show Them You Care

Cecilia at By Cecil's silk eye pillows are handwoven in Crouch End and filled with linseed and lavender so you can lie back and relax during meditation or when taking a nap. They can be heated on a radiator or placed in the fridge to soothe tired eyes.

£35
Free UK delivery. Contact Cecilia about N8 Click & Collect

Buy here
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For the Light of Your Life

Ros at Papershades has a a range of six floral shades for the light of your life. They’re all based on paper collage art and look very pretty in a room whether the lights are on or off. And they don’t need any watering or looking after! Flat-packed with easy assembly.

Handmade in Muswell Hill. 

£25
Free UK shipping. N10 pick up/delivery by arrangement.

Buy here

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Lord and Taft knitwear travels the world

1/21/2021

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Knitwear designer Tracey Lord of Lord and Taft, makes accessories for men, women and children. 

Since studying Tracey has been based in Camden and Portobello Road and she now designs and makes knitwear from her studio on Avenue Mews in Muswell Hill.

Tracey knits berets, beanies, gloves, ties and scarves using vegan and cotton yarn and alpaca wool.

​As an active member of the Muswell Hill Creatives collective, Tracey loves telling us the far flung places all across the world where her berets and accessories have ended up.
Tracey's berets have appeared on stage in the Young Vic Theatre in London and in theatres in Edinburgh, Huddersfield and Sydney. 

Further afield she has sent them to some amazing destinations including all across Europe, Beverley Hills, Taiwan, China, Alaska, Hawaii, Paramount Pictures and our absolute favourite - The Crazy Horse Campground in Arizona, USA.

Tracey has even provided hats for all members of the Belgian Highland Games team!
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​Tracey's designs are inspired by many sources - from an accidental arrangement of gorgeous colours she might spot on a walk in the country, to a clash of textures spied whilst traveling in the city; from the trend magazines she reads about textiles to the wealth of creative galleries and museum collections in London. She gathers it all up like a magpie, pops it into her sketchbook and then starts to play with new designs and colour combinations.
We have had a bit of fun in this gloomy lockdown January and have plotted Tracey's knitwear travels on a Map!  

Tracey says: "I'm reading lots of travel writing books at the moment in lieu of being able to go anywhere. I used to go to a  travel writing course for years. It's lovely to see what I make travelling the world, even when I can't!"

If you love a good map, then do click on the link below and look for the Yellow Stars to see how far and wide handmade knitwear lovingly made in a little studio in Muswell Hill has ended up!  
Lord and Taft Conquers The World - Map
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Shop from Tracey's knitwear range HERE

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