- hellojenuine -

new blog!

2011-04-29T21:20:00.002+01:00

it's been a few weeks coming, but i'm finally moving blogs. from now on you'll be able to find updates here. remember to update your google reader & blogrolls!

it's been fun over here, but a fresh start feels good. thanks for taking the time to keep up with my occasional outpourings.

café blackboard

2011-04-17T15:27:00.003+01:00

alan & i are doing some blackboard's for his mum's café & this is one i did today. it's not perfect (that's what i get for not stepping back every so often), but i like how it turned out. was pleased to discover that because posca pens dry matte, the black ones are like tipex/white out for blackboards. perfect for tidying up little mistakes & straightening edges.

weekend

2011-04-11T13:57:00.004+01:00

every weekend should be as good as this weekend. the sun was out in full force (for scotland, in april) on sunday so we headed to a car boot sale (where i found the tea tray above) followed by the beach. today we chillax. apparently it snowed this morning, but the sun's out again so i'm going to pretend it never happened. i've also squeezed in some time to work on a couple of fun jobs, so this weekend gets 10 out of 10. same again next week please.

since people are asking where the mugs are from; i picked them up in fishs eddy in new york. i don't know if they still do the graph paper mug, but i found the memo note one online.

new prints

2011-04-07T22:03:00.003+01:00

been pretty quiet on the blog front lately, apologies. though i'm still planning on moving my blog i'll be using this one in the meantime. just a quick update to let you know about a couple of new prints in my shop: we did good & [waves crashing].

also, hello to new followers, all 500+ of you. my blog came to the attention of blogger after it was compromised, & they graced it with the title 'blog of note'. getting 8000+ hits in a day is kind of daunting. but hello nonetheless.

[waves crashing]

2011-03-27T11:44:00.005+01:00

went to see submarine last night. so nice to see a film that i've been looking forward to for ages & not be disappointed.

on an unrelated & disappointing note, my blog account was once again compromised. i'm currently undecided as to whether i'm going to move my blog elsewhere or give blogger a third & final chance, but i'll update you when i know. if you notice anything unusual in the meantime, you can check other online avenues (twit, flick) for info.

charity shop challenge - march

2011-03-25T23:08:00.005Z

the charity shop & second-hand rummaging i did in march further cemented my love for recycling via clothing & avoiding fast fashion. as well as the above shoes & the trousers seen here, i added two cardigans & a top to my wardrobe (perhaps i'll share them next month - i'd done my photos by the time i found them this morning). i'm starting to think i might have to have a one-in-one-out policy with clothing if i keep finding things. it's nice to think that if some items from my wardrobe made their way to a charity shop, someone might like them as much as i like my finds.

studio sweet studio

2011-03-24T21:53:00.001Z

meg lewis & tuesday bassen teamed their superpowers to create studio sweet studio, & they also very kindly did a feature on my little workspace today. so pleased to be invited to share. if you've not got sss on your blogroll yet then add it now. not only is it a great way to get a peek into other artist's studios, there's interviews, tutorials & other excellent snippets too.

mini celebration

2011-03-24T00:08:00.004Z

the last 24 hours have been a headache in terms of the internet. you may already know, but someone managed to hack into my blog yesterday, revoking my admin access which meant i had no control over my blog - i was later deleted from my blog altogether. fortunately the internet gods must've taken pity on me or something as this little space of the internet is mine once again. lucky girl. hooray!

ps. there's just over a day left to bid on my print okushon print - go!

print okushon

2011-03-22T11:16:00.005Z

in light of recent and tragic events in japan, i'm really happy to be a part of print okushon, an auction of artist's donated prints organised by ciara phelan, where all proceeds raised go towards the red cross in japan.

i donated the above print, which some of you might remember. my fox gocco print has been sold out for over a year, but i put the print that i'd kept for myself up for bidding. you can put an offer on mine here (three days to go!) or peruse the work of others up for grabs; there's a jaw-dropping selection available, lots that i'd be happy to give some wall space to (but i keep getting outbid - good for raising funds!)

new books

2011-03-18T11:11:00.003Z

i'm one of those people who saves for a rainy day. i'm no scrooge, but i'm definitely not frivolous. one thing that can always nudge me into loosening my pursestrings, however, is beautiful artist's books. above are a selection that i've added to my bookshelf recently. if you're looking for some new things to pour over, i'd recommend any one of these.

clockwise from top left: pebble island by jon mcnaught (£10 from nobrow press) / strom by nigel peake (£12 from nigel's online shop) / onwards by kaye blegvad (purchased from kaye's online shop) / temporama by clayton jr (birthday gift from boyfriend, available from nobrow) / rain day by hannah waldron (£15 from duke press, also came with a beautiful risograph print by hannah) / toska by lizzy stewart (£6.50 from lizzy's online shop)

misprints packs

2011-03-14T18:36:00.005Z

whilst tidying up my desk yesterday (pictures of my clean tidy space soon), i found a pile of misprints from printing sessions - prints that, for one reason or another (the reason often being me being a perfectionist), i hadn't considered good enough to make the cut when finalising the edition for sale. so i decided to make up five misprints packs for selling.

the pack inclues three prints & one postcard, with "mistakes" being ink being too thick/not coming through in small parts & misalignment. it's possible that someone who wasn't me might not be able to spot what was wrong with some of them. but anyway, i'm not going to use them for anything so i thought i'd offer them up as a small pack that meant someone could fill up some wallspace quickly & cheaply. the editioned prints & postcard would be £30/$47+ altogether, so i figured £10/$17 was an alright sum!

find out more (including image examples of why they're leftovers) over in my shop.

we did good

2011-03-10T19:51:00.002Z

all quiet on the blog front, so here's a piece i completed at the weekend (which will become a submission for lovely pigeon's beards & tiaras exhibition). this is the only project i'm working on at the moment that has nothing to do with food (unless he's hiding a banquet in that beard, which is entirely possible given the size).

charity shop challenge - february

2011-02-22T21:13:00.003Z

here's a charity shop challenge post for february. i'm a bit low on the ol' funds so should probably leave further shopping until next month. this image isn't of something i actually bought in february however. i picked up this dress for £3.99 in a charity shop a few years ago - the only difference is that it was about twelve inches longer. i finally fulfilled my intention of taking it up this weekend, & bust out my new sewing machine for the first time in the process. hurrah all round.

you can see a couple of my other purchases from this month over in the charity shop challenge flickr group. need a reminder of the guidelines? see a couple of posts back, or click here.

ten fingers issue #2

2011-02-17T12:08:00.001Z

back in may last year, helen entwisle (aka memo aka screen-printer extraordinaire) compiled ten fingers issue #1, a collection of illustrations based on contributer's hometowns. now she's gone & done it again; ten fingers issue #2, again hand-bound & hand-printed, contains a series of prints/postcards depicting childhood memories.

alongside jay cover, will bryant, mia chrisopher, anthony zinonos, lesley barnes, gemma correll & helen, you'll find a drawing by me illustrating my three childhood imaginary dogs. their names escape me now but i do remember their breeds: an australian shepard dog, an italian greyhound & a chihuahua (dog breeds are my secret skill).

i have a few copies up for sale over in my etsy shop. this is definitely a good 'un to add to your zine collection.

charity shop challenge

2011-02-09T12:45:00.004Z

one of my goals for this year is to cut out high street fashion and to instead soley buy clothing direct from makers or second-hand. thanks to twitter, a small group of some friends came up with charity shop challenge yesterday, where people are encouraged to find new clothing in charity shops & post about their finds at the end of the month. fancy taking part?

guidelines:

1. your outfit must comprise of a key-garment from a charity shop plus any other pieces/accessories etc to make up an 'ensemble'
2. annotate your outfit. include a description of the garments/where you bought or found each piece/price of charity find
3. upload your image onto your blog by the last friday of each month
4. on the last friday of the month tell everyone about it & tweet with the hashtag #charityshopchallenge
5. extra credit for those who customise their charity shop find

the image above is a few things put together in spirit of the challenge: the dress (as well as being my first purchase for myself of 2011!) was found in a charity shop in liverpool on monday, the belt is a charity shop find from a couple of years ago & the cardigan is from ebay. hooray for second-hand!

update! charity shop challenge can now be found on flickr - so if you don't have a twitter account, no worries.

uppercase eight

2011-02-08T20:20:00.003Z

happy to have another submission accepted for uppercase magazine, this time the open call for modern matchbox labels in issue eight.

mine wasn't so much modern, more a take on old czech & russian matchbox labels that showed pictures of the country's wildlife. the three labels i submitted portrayed three animals found in scotland - a deer, fox & red squirrel - plus their names in gaelic (what i hope it scottish & not irish!). hand printed in three colours, i allowed for mistakes & misalignment, echoing old labels that would be quickly produced, leaving no room for perfection (not that this distracts from how lovely they are - see an amazing collection of vintage matchboxes here). my three labels are also available as a print in my shop, & i'm already halfway sold out of the edition.

us, we

2011-01-31T14:28:00.003Z

so far this year i've managed to see, visit & hang out with so many of the people that matter to me. my family, extended family, all of my old flat-mates, most of my close friends from university, creative types i've met since, my best friend from school, people i've met via the internet. one of my resolutions this year was to visit out-of-town friends, & those who were close by too, & it seems i've managed to get on top of this goal already. i'm looking forward to more visits already lined up in future.

of course, it's not always so easy to be able to visit people thanks to clashing schedules, the cost of travelling and distance. there's always good old snail mail to fall back on however; not quite as great as meeting face-to-face, but one step better than an email or text message. until 5 february, if you buy any two cards in my shop, i'll send along an extra random one for free. good for writing to someone to let them know what you've been up to & how ace you think they are.

january goal

2011-01-18T22:27:00.004Z

i have to say, i'm doing quite nicely with my 2011 to do list so far. made a start on quite a few items, & have even scored off #19 after a quick trip to london with my boyfriend at the weekend. wonderful! however, something i didn't mention when noting my 25 things to do on my blog was that as well as that list, i've also set myself monthly goals. this month's: buy nothing for myself.

i've made an attempt to be a much more conscious shopper of late. i've completely avoided the big guns in terms of supermarkets over the last few months (screw you tesco!) & in perhaps the last half year have bought one item of clothing from a high street chain. i'm hoping to continue these shopping habits in 2011 & beyond, & thought i'd start the year by buying no new things for myself, with the exception of food/art materials/toiletries (all of which i'm trying to buy sensibly/sustainably).

so far, so good! there have been a few temptations in the form of hand-made goodness, but rather than buying things that i know i don't really need i got excited about buying my first tube of 100% natural toothpaste (i know, what a loser). i've also not made up a mental list of all the things i want to buy come the start of february, pat on the back for me. one of the things on my to do list was to buy a plant every month, but rather than buying one, i got a cutting from a co-worker's plant which will hopefully survive our office environment. best things in life are free!

hopefully all of the above doesn't sounds terribly arrogant. i'm in no way perfect in my shopping habits but this is a topic that interests me. if it perhaps makes people question what's right for them then i don't think it's a bad thing.

ps. instances such as gap ripping off gemma correll only cement my decision to avoid the high street.

portrait

2011-01-06T22:50:00.003Z

drawing-wise, i ended the past couple of years with a self portrait. kind of a way to see some sort of progression perhaps. i was a little late with producing it this time around (no time on new year's eve!), but better late than never.

2009, 2008.

& just before it ends: you can get 10% off everything in my shop until 8 january. enter the coupon code HAPPYNEWYEAR at checkout. go!

flossing

2011-01-03T22:53:00.006Z

i know that as an adult i shouldn't need a reminder when it comes to flossing. however, some of us like lists, charts & little notes of encouragement. in hopes of helping with goal #13 on my 25 things list, i've made a flossing chart (inspired by eerika's creativity chart). a copy will hang in my bathroom - laminated - & i'll score off the days as i go. my dentist would be so proud (though probably more likely think me a weirdo).

ps. if you use the code HAPPYNEWYEAR in my etsy shop, you'll get 10% off your purchase if you order before 8 january. only a few days left!

hello 2011

2011-01-01T20:42:00.011Z

happiest of new years to you, friends! 2010 was far & away my very favourite year that i've had. i met so many great & inspiring people, looking back over the last twelve months makes me feel very lucky. i brought the day in with my best friend & good company. we set off lanterns into the new year's sky, then huddled around a fire & ate roast chestnuts. it was excellent.

in keeping with the last couple of years, here's my list of 25 thing to do whilst i'm 25. i'm excited to get started! i'm also setting myself a goal each month in 2011, but will cover that some other time.

1. buy a plant each month - includes houseplants, flowers, herbs & edible things
2. make trips to visit out-of-town friends (& those who live close-by too of course)
3. reach 550 sales on etsy - ambitious, but a good challenge
4. add 12 new items to my shop
5. make a poster print - minimum A3/three colours
6. print tote bags - bought bags months ago, must use them
7. do taxes quarterly
8. learn to use my sewing machine - plus sub-goals:
9. make a lightweight summer dress
10. make a tie for alan
11. make something using fabric printed with my gocco
12. make fabric using spoonflower
13. floss!
14. join the library
15. avoid mass-produced clothing - buy direct from makers/second hand/sustainably
16. buy food from local sources/businesses & smaller supermarkets
17. go foraging
18. massive clear out of workspace
19. visit london with alan
20. make a recipe box
21. read the self-sufficient-ish bible & infuse it’s advice into my life where i can
22. keep lists of all the books i read & films i watch
23. redecorate the kitchen (rollover from 2010)
24. stay in a wooden cabin/tipi (rollover from 2010)
25. get a massage (rollover from 2010)

to give a little help to goal #3, if you use the code HAPPYNEWYEAR in my etsy shop, you'll get 10% off your purchase if you order before 8 january. hurrah!

thanks for all your support, comments & purchases over the last year. 2011 is going to be excellent, i know it.

season's greetings

2010-12-24T12:16:00.003Z

hope you all have a super duper festive season! eat lots of yummy food & have fun with your favourite people. hooray!

petite noël

2010-12-20T23:19:00.004Z

i think i've just about recovered from helping to organise craft markets this december - classique noël, an intimate jewellery event on 5 december, & petite noël, a handmade market just in time for christmas on 15 december.

as you may have guessed, i only took part in petite noël, & trust me when i say i'm not being biased - it was a great night. though we've not had feedback from everyone yet, the general consensus from both sellers & visitors is high-five-heck-yes. the vendors were brilliant, the handmade goods were wonderful & well crafted, the music was great, the crowd was ace & the hall was busy from start to finish - i'm only sorry i couldn't peruse my fellow seller's stalls for more goodies, but i could barely escape from my own table. i had a lot of lovely customers, a few who stayed for a chat & most people i spoke to left with a little something. postcards were the main sellers, but prints, notebooks & cards found new homes too. take a peek at the blogs of my fellow dundee jamboree organisers, nikki & lauren. those two juggle these events with jobs/studies + personal practice - & they do it all so well!

december has been a good one, but a busy one. along with writing approximately a million christmas cards, learning some new skills, having one of the busiest months in my shop so far & all journeys taking an additional ten minutes or so due to all the snow, a project i'd hoped to repeat after the last two years - every day a drawing in december - has fallen by the wayside (though i do have a few images still to upload). but i'm not going to beat myself up about it - one of the things i think i need to do in 2011 is find a little more focus, make more time to see friends/have fun & to remember not to sweat the small stuff.

arrow scarf

2010-12-10T21:50:00.003Z

with petite noël just around the corner (wednesday 15 december!), i've been trying to get a few more products ready in time to fill up my stall. this includes a giclée print of my drawing inspired by hilary grant's beautiful circle scarves. i did the drawing as part of my annual every day a drawing in december project (which i am on top of, i just haven't had time to scan & post the images), & it got such a good response that i've turned it into a print. you can purchase one if you feel so inclined.

little mint-coloured house

2010-12-06T16:15:00.005Z

i've sold out of a few items in my shop recently, which is kind of wonderful. the only downside is a dwindling stock, especially when petite noël is next week (!), but i'm certainly not complaining. make sure you order asap if you're in usa/canada/western & eastern europe/uk if want something before christmas - this weather certainly isn't helping post get anywhere fast.

above you'll find a new addition to the shop. this two colour screen-print is an update - & larger sized version - of my (sold out!) there's no place like home gocco print. i wish i could live in this little house. a porch, a veg patch & a tree. & the mint colour is inspired by a house i spied in gothenburg. dreamy!

christmas postage dates

2010-11-29T16:00:00.006Z

i kind of can't believe it's december on wednesday. the weather in scotland is crazy at the moment, i've never seen this much snow in my life. hopefully it won't get in the way of all the things that need doing (although i didn't go to the print studio today - the thought of trekking all the way there, printing for a few hours, then trekking back was too much). above you'll find the card i've done for this year. i can tell you that at no other point in 2010 have i been so thankful for a good pair of thick socks as this week!

thought i'd just post the christmas posting dates for my shop. i'm sure a lot of you are down with the idea of handmade festive gifts already, so i won't try to coerce you further into picking up some prints & things for gifts. just let me mention that all orders come lovingly wrapped in tissue paper - all year round, not just at this time of year! - & all orders are very much appreciated, more than i can say. thanks guys!

last dates for ordering:

uk: sunday 19 december
western europe: sunday 12 december
eastern europe, usa & canada: wednesday 8 december
south/central america, caribbean, africa, middle east, asia, far east (inc. japan), australia & new zealand: sunday 5 december

a year in prints

2010-11-28T19:52:00.003Z

i know there have been a lot of calendar round-ups on blogs recently, so here's another to add to the mix. two friends of mine, hilary grant & nikki mcwilliams, organised a little project called a year in prints. twelve artists created an edition of fifty prints for their designated month to make fifty calendars (i'm january - you may recognise a certain bear). find out more about the artists here, & you can pick one up here. at £24, that's a measly two quid per screen-print. bargain.

cool things girls make

2010-11-25T23:10:00.004Z

some busy weeks lately - a few days off so my boyfriend & i could have some mini-adventures to celebrate five years together, plus squeezing in doing lots of little bits of work around normal day-to-day things. for now, i thought i'd show you some ace things i've been liking, made by some talented ladies. above, a new addition to our little flat. at first, my boyfriend thought i was putting up festive decorations early, but this particular item will be staying up year round - joie de vivre from banter banner, run by angela deane.

found kaye blegvad's website a few weeks ago, instantly hooked. quite a macabre (sometimes tongue in cheek) series of works, a nice change. i snapped up a copy of her 'onwards' book/zine, about an army of girls who go to war. heck yes.

you may already be aware of verity keniger's work, but you might not yet have seen her new (& utterly incredible) thirty-four layer screen-print, congeries. i shall never weep with frustration at making a three colour print again (though screen-printing hasn't brought me to tears for a few years, fortunately).

i'm largely a pens/pencils/print kind of girl, but i love danna ray's paintings. one of my particular favourites is the above piece, campfire. if i were to find a print of this under the tree this year, i'd be one happy bunny.

january bear + radio times

2010-11-06T15:40:00.004Z

new print in the shop - this bear is fighting the cold weather with a large scarf. it's getting pretty chilly around here, so it feels pretty fitting (also, this photo has made me realise that my carpet needs a bit of a clean).

on a slightly more random note, i was asked by bbc radio scotland to talk to them about zines. you can listen to the show, which aired on friday, on their website (i'm not sure whether or not you need to be in the uk to listen). the zine part starts 00:36 mins in. please excuse my multiple 'umms'. i've never done radio before - a little bit daunting, but nice to be asked to do.

foto di gruppo

2010-10-31T10:01:00.005Z

teiera (teapot) is a diy publishing collective organised by illustrators giulia sagramola & cristina spanò. as well as producing self-published titles, they publish the work of others. i was asked to take part in their latest venture, foto di gruppo (photo group), where all invited participants were sent a photo from the 60s of a group of boys and priests. each person was assigned one of the photo's subjects, & had to produce a comic based on that person - the finished comics have been compiled as a book. above is one of the pieces that became part of my comic. i'm pretty excited to receive the finished thing in the post.

ps. nearing 200 sales in my shop! all sales up to 199 will get a couple of added extras, number 200 will get a few more.

automobiles

2010-10-30T17:50:00.005+01:00

i was very happy to be asked to exhibit in manchester exhibition toy shop in october, alongside an amazing array of artists & illustrators. my piece was this simple three colour screen-print of those red & yellow cars i'm sure some of you are familiar with. how i'd have loved one of these for real. available in my shop, a limited edition of 10.

speaking of cars, my boyfriend passed his driving test! we're now embarking on the daunting task of finding a car. i can't wait for weekend adventures to places that buses & trains don't take you, car-boot sales and coastal drives.

ps. i'm nearing 200 sales in my shop - numbers 191 - 199 will get a couple of added extras, & the big two-oh-oh will receive a few more. hurrah!

göteborg

2010-10-18T12:01:00.004+01:00

back from gothenburg! it was ace, perfect for a few days away. the weather was chilly but sunny, we ate good food (favourite was a vegetarian restaurant called solrosen in haga), had lots of café stops, beautiful autumn trees everywhere, lovely city buildings & countryside houses, & everyone was so helpful. our hotel (hotel cosmorama) was central but pretty inexpensive & really nice, i'd definitely recommend it.

wonder where we'll go next?

suitcase

2010-10-12T12:19:00.002+01:00

we're off to gothenburg! looking forward to exploring somewhere new & hopefully uncovering a few of the kinds of places that make you want to return somewhere asap. see you after the weekend!

trying to buy less

2010-09-28T23:02:00.004+01:00

lately i've made a pact with myself to try buy less new things (the ipod touch was a big slip). the idea is to spend less, to think before i buy & to not bring as many brand new products into my home. i'm allowing myself to buy recycled, handmade & second hand so if there's something i'm thinking of buying, i'm making myself hunt it down via etsy, ebay & charity shops. on the one hand, this has been great. for example, i was looking for a mustard yellow cardigan, & ended up getting one on ebay (after a week or so of searching) for a lot cheaper than i would have if it were brand new, & it was exactly what i was looking for. however, the terrible loophole is that i'm basically using 'oh-it's-recycled/handmade/second-hand' as an excuse to buy things. i can't win!

giveaway winners!

2010-09-27T23:20:00.002+01:00

i know, i know, it's the moment you've all been waiting for. due to a super awesome number of entries, i've picked two runner-up places alongside the main prize winner. the numbers are:

winner:
75. kathy tran

runner-up:
35. sophia
46. julie peach

i'll be getting in touch. thank you to everyone who entered, if only everyone could win!

good & bad

2010-09-25T18:03:00.003+01:00

things that are rubbish: having the cold.

things that are ace: all those things above. & the fact that my cold is on its way out.

remember, giveaway ends tomorrow!

little giveaway

2010-09-20T17:56:00.006+01:00

a slightly delayed giveaway (i'd hoped to tie it in with my shop's birthday) but a giveaway nonetheless. to enter, just leave a comment saying hello, & i'll pick a winner at random on the evening of sunday 26 september. the winner will receive a life is good print, one of my new notebooks & three hello cards, so you can send the fun onto friends.

just to share a little more, i've finally finished making my notebooks! it's available in a range of colours, & is hand printed & hand bound. check out the listing for more information. they were quite therapeutic to make, i'll be making more in future.

update, 26 september: thanks for all the entires, comments are closed & winners will be announced tomorrow!

bake a cake

2010-09-18T14:38:00.003+01:00

new print in the shop! after enquiries about the bake a cake postcard from my nice advice postcard set, i decided to turn it into a screen-print. it's proved pretty popular so far; after only listing it a couple of days ago, 20% of the edition is gone. i'm glad people like it.

i'm currently in the middle of making some notebooks, i can't wait to see them finished. i'm going to spend a couple of hours binding/trimming them on sunday & monday, then they'll be pretty much complete.

i love mondays

2010-09-13T19:07:00.004+01:00

i love mondays. they are my favourite day of the week. i let myself have a little lie in, then lazily started my day. this morning i had a bowl of cereal with yoghurt whilst i caught up with online things. i sorted out some spreadsheets so i can keep track of stock i have in shops better, then posted a couple of orders at the post office before heading into my local print studio (which is in the building i work in, but it's not so bad going into work on your day off when it's for pleasure). i finished off a series of prints before chatting with a couple of friends, then headed home. i went via a lovely little teashop called tlc, chatted to the owners for a while & got one of their new teas -caramel rooibos - to go. i stopped by my friend's greengrocers (where i was sad to find the last of the season's raspberries, no!) to pick up some veg then headed home. more online things, then read lucy knisley's new mini-comic while i ate veg pasta. now i'm posting this before getting a little more work done before my boyfriend comes home from a weekend away.

it's a shame tomorrow is tuesday.

ps. my shop sale ends on wednesday. be quick!

one!

2010-09-09T23:47:00.004+01:00

just a little post to celebrate the fast that my etsy shop is a year old. one whole year! the experience has been a good one, & i'm so grateful to all the people who've made a purchase, & to those who have given feedback in any form. it's been great adding so many new things over the past few weeks, & i've got a few other things in the works that will make their way to my stock list soon.

in the meantime, i've got a little sale on. until 15 september, everything is available for up to 25% off. snap up a bargain if you fancy. i'm nearing the end of a few editions, so buy one while you still can!

hello september

2010-09-02T21:40:00.006+01:00

long time no speak! the number of readers of this blog drifted over 300 since i last posted, so i felt i was due an update.

august was a busy one (actually, 2010 as a whole has been rather mental). since joining my local print studio, i've been trying to make it in once a week - i wish i could spend more time there, i've got so many ideas floating around. as well as the prints i've posted recently, i printed the above design in the form of a card, have done two more editions (green & yellow) of my life is good print (there's only one left for sale from the original edition!), & i've also produced a small run of a print for an exhibition, toy shop, in manchester, which i'll post at a later date.

as well as gaining two new stockists (the shiny & new hannah zakari in edinburgh & lovely frank in kent), the next dundee jamboree is almost upon us - as part of n_ilk micro-music-festival at the botanics, we're holding a mini-market, with some previous sellers & new faces. it's looking to be an excellent day, you should come join us if you can - tickets can be purchased here.

in other news, my little etsy shop is just shy of being a year old. august has been my most successful month, which has been a nice way to finish year one. i'm going to be having a blog giveaway & shop sale soon so keep an eye out.

i really ought to update more often; these big monthly updates are long and i'm pretty sure the only person who reads them is my mum (hello mum! x). until next time!

life is good

2010-08-09T18:19:00.005+01:00

mondays are my favourite days. today i had a good driving lesson & got back into the print studio to make the above. you can buy it over on etsy.

yesterday i went through to welcome home in glasgow to help out at the zine workshop marceline was holding. it was a fun little afternoon, & lots of people came & made zines which was excellent. it was good to visit welcome home again, & i met some nice creative types. you can read marceline's account of the day here, & learn how to take part in a zine challenge (go on, sign up).

well, alan & i are about to make mince & tatties. i haven't had it for over twelve years, but we bought some quorn mince so we're going to give it a shot.

anything you can do

2010-08-05T21:54:00.002+01:00

hurrah! at long last, i've started screen printing again. as much as i love my gocco, it felt so good to produce a print that is larger than A6 in size. a simple two colours, i got an edition of eight prints out of this session, with a few extra prints that weren't registered well enough to make the cut, but will be available at craft fairs where people can see the print for themselves. i can't wait to get back into the print studio & print some more. the above print is available on etsy for just over £20. since it was a test as well as a finished print, i feel okay with letting it go at a lower price.

been busy the past couple of weeks. spent the weekend in edinburgh/fife. went to view the new analogue books show, turn up the colour, & also visited edinburgh printmakers and the lovely new hannah zakari shop. had my first ever coffee (yes) at peter's yard, & after wandering around edinburgh with alan for a while, we made a stop on the way to visit my sister to walk along the coast, so nice to be outside by the sea. an ace weekend.

creatively, i've been trying to squeeze in doing work. i'd love to be able to tell you that i managed to prepare a brand new zine for the zine workshop at welcome home on sunday, but alas, my schedule has worked against me. never mind. you can still come & hang out & make stuff with marceline & i. she's been much more organised than me & is unleashing a new zine at the workshop. stop by & say hi if you can.

bison

2010-07-19T11:02:00.003+01:00

here's a little bison to add to your menagerie of bears, foxes, deer & rabbits. new gocco print available on etsy. first time i've used gold ink, it's shiny, i like it.

zine workshop

2010-07-17T22:14:00.004+01:00

hey all. just to let you know that marceline of asking for trouble & i are holding a zine workshop at the wonderful welcome home in three weeks, on sunday 8 august. marceline is a pro & i can do some scribbles & staple them together pretty well, so together we shall show you the wonders of zine making, for free. how about that?

heads up, my 25% off sale on folksy ends tomorrow, there's a few things left so snap up a card or print, all orders receive extra freebies & i ship worldwide. no sale on etsy at the moment, but if you'd prefer a little more choice i'm adding a couple of extras in with all orders from there until tomorrow too.

folksy sale/etsy freebies

2010-07-11T20:59:00.004+01:00

i've been using folksy for a couple of months, & though i've had a few sales, it's just not working out for me in the same way that etsy does. in an attempt to clear it out, i'm having a 25% off sale - everything listed has 25% off the usual selling price. in order to let international buyers take advantage of lower costs, i've added on worldwide shipping to all items.

just to make any purchases even more worth your while, i'm adding a couple of freebies to each order too. if cost isn't something that bothers you, then have a peek over on etsy - there's more items that i don't have listed on folksy, & i'll add freebies to any etsy orders too.

folksy sale/etsy freebies offers end on sunday 18 july. go!

workspace

2010-07-06T19:03:00.005+01:00

i picked up my copy of issue 6 uppercase magazine from the post office today. managed to not rip open the envelope until i got back to work, where i pulled it out then shamelessly flipped to page 45 where my piece i submitted for their open call took up almost a whole page. so pleased.

the call was for illustrations of your workspace. i treated my piece as an in-depth sketch, not getting too precious, trying to include all the random bits on my desk & not tidy up or slip in interesting objects that aren't usually there. at first i wasn't going to fill in the postcards on my wall the way i did. originally i was going to make them less recognisable, so you perhaps couldn't tell who's work it was, but this turned out to be harder than i imagined (especially when the postcard involved large text). anyway, i thought i might use this post to show you who resides at eye-level on my wall. it's a selection of postcards by artists either picked up at shows or sent with packages, plus two photos sent by photographers. i hope people take their being there & appearing in this piece as a compliment. from left to right:

top: anthony zinonos, lucy bridger, anke weckmann, ashley anna brown, jez burrows, gavin mcdougall
bottom: thereza rowe, lizzy stewart, supermundane for anorak, old swiss postcard from a friend, john dilnot, anthony burrill, nigel peake, robert maple, david galletly

weekend away

2010-07-05T20:12:00.004+01:00

feeling good after a long weekend away. spent time napping & sleeping accompanied by the sound of the tide, on beaches, drinking beer & not worrying about how i've barely done any work lately & how much i need to tidy. have given up on a book i was struggling to get into for months & have started reading something new. making pacts with myself to spend less time procrastinating online. funny how just a few days away from routine can make everything feel better.

few little things:
- this illustration by jack hudson is seriously smashing, it's fun to momentarily get lost in a piece of work.
- these hand-drawn badges by ruefive are close to destroying my much needed buy-less-things mentality.
- if you didn't manage to catch the first edition of lizzy stewart's wolfdream gocco print then have no fear, the second edition is just as beautiful.

pikapackage

2010-06-28T17:07:00.004+01:00

just a quick post: i picked up my very own pikaland pikapackage from the post office last week. there is something about knowing you're getting post, but not knowing exactly what it's going to be, that adds a little something to waiting for mail. seeing as there were so many ace artists taking part in this pikapackage, there was no doubt that i was going to like what was inside. i was gifted a print by katie green, a print by lucy davidson, an original drawing by prettylittlethieves and some badges by amy blackwell. good haul!

want your own pikapackage? you can buy one here.

back to blogging

2010-06-24T22:16:00.006+01:00

as usual, i've been too busy to blog. this is a good thing. the past few weeks have been craft-filled, which is splendid. i don't have time to update about events separately, but here's a quick recap. the handmade nation screening at DCA was brilliant. the embroidery workshop with faythe levine was inspiring & i got to chat to the woman herself. she joined myself & helen & michelle (collectively of craftsville, they had come up for the screening & were staying the night with me) for a cup of tea, & we all ate a delicious dinner with some of the DCA education team before the film. was great to meet some other folks too, namely the ladies of the glasgow craft mafia who had travelled through for the show. great night.

another craft-based evening was the dundee jamboree etsy craft party last friday. it went so well! people came, made, swapped skills & ate cake. kind of perfect. you can view photos over here. so grateful to everyone who helped make it what it was.

now that the craft party is over, i feel like i have time to be getting on with my own work. it's literally been weeks since i've managed to work on something of my own. i'm in the early stages of two very different projects, & i'm looking forward to getting my teeth into them. of course, it's not always easy, especially since i'm in the middle of learning to drive & still taking part in other people's ideas, but hey, it's good to be busy.

a few other things you should take note of:

- amy of pikaland has launched her first pikapackage of the year! you can buy a package here. i'm in this round, & there are so many great artists involved, i'm honoured.

- i added my first new item in what feels like forever to my etsy shop. just five bux for four illustrations that i really wanted to see in print.

- i'm not having much luck over on folksy, & i'm not sure i'm going to stick with it. however, the next two sales get a free mini-zine, so have a nosey.

awesome wednesday

2010-06-16T20:12:00.006+01:00

my best friend never ceases to amaze me. she has travelled far & wide, is incredible at organising & communicating, has helped underprivileged people in romania over christmas and worked with people affected by aids in africa, is training to be a primary teacher whilst holding down several jobs & duties, will do anything for her friends & family & has the biggest heart out of anyone i know.

though it's sometimes hard to meet up due to clashing schedules, we met for lunch last friday to have a big catch up. two of the stories we shared was of how great our wednesdays (that's 9 june) had been: i'd had a craft-filled day, taking part in an embroidery workshop & watching craft films, before dinner with some lovely ladies & meeting creative friends at the screening of handmade nation that night. she told me about her amazing day, in which she helped out at a talk by one of her favourite authors, yann martel (life of pi), & how she went out for dinner with he & his publicist afterwards. we blethered away about how our wednesdays had been so inspiring, & chatted about other things, before we went our separate ways for the afternoon.

fast forward to today, 7.30am. going from the shower back to my bedroom, i noticed a package that i'd been totally oblivious to in my sleepy-state on the way to the bathroom. with no idea as to who it was from, i unwrapped it to find a long string of fabric made of lots of little bits of material, & a note entitled 'awesome wednesday'. reading the letter (realising it was from my best friend, i hadn't recognised her handwriting as she has a broken arm at the moment), it briefly described our equally great wednesdays from the week before. then there was a mission statement: 'to make every wednesday a little bit awesome'. she proposed we contributed something to each other's wednesdays to make them better. the fabric was a belt she'd made from recycled saris. it's not often that my day is already brilliant before 8am (i'm usually still asleep). so, awesome wednesdays it is. as if i'd argue against making a day a little more special. this post is just to share how lucky i am to know this wonderful person.

nice to look at

2010-06-08T20:42:00.003+01:00

i'm avoiding doing some work by posting some amazing work by various & excellent people.

if you're in edinburgh anytime soon i suggest you visit chris bettig's exhibition, 'all i heard was the echo in the light', currently up at analogue books. i was sorry to miss the opening but had the pleasure of meeting him the next day. visit if you can.

lizzy stewart has some smashing new work up over on her flickr. so good, very much enjoying the literary theme of recent pieces.

i love ray fenwick's comics & narratives. the above is an article about converting old soap into new bars that are distributed for free where needed.

ana montiel's patterns are beautiful. such calming colours & compositions. i also love that her website background changes colour depending on which page you're on.

very much liking jack hudson's work. the poster he did for group exhibition he was a part of at here gallery in bristol is a favourite for sure.

handmade nation screening

2010-06-07T17:37:00.004+01:00

this wednesday, indie-craft doc handmade nation is screening at dundee contemporary arts at 8pm, & director faythe levine is going to be there! there are a few tickets left, which you can get by phoning dca box office, or you could try your luck & get them on the day. the crowd coming along so far include glasgow craft mafia, the duo behind craftsville, a large number of folk who have taken part in dundee jamboree evenings plus people behind this summer's craft festival scotland events. i'm really looking forward to meeting some people who, so far, i've only spoken to through the wonder that is the internet. let me know if you're thinking of coming & i'll try to fit in a hello at some point during the evening!

send

2010-05-31T12:57:00.003+01:00

if you happen to be in or nearby sheffield this afternoon, go visit this exhibition at the riverside. curated by sarah abbot in association with no culture icons, it features a number of artists from up & down the country as well as some from overseas. i so wish i could be there, but will have to make do with any photos that will make their way online. i'll post my piece soon.

i hope the weather is as lovely as it is here. for the opening there will be tea, cake & a bbq, by a river no less! i am cursing the fact that i'm stuck indoors, too far north. huge thanks to sarah for inviting me to be a part of it.

etsy craft party

2010-05-30T11:53:00.008+01:00

18 june is online craft community etsy's fifth birthday & to celebrate, they're launching etsy craft party, a global initiative looking to energise local communities & encourage people to get together to celebrate craft & make art. they want people from around the world to hold meet-ups in their hometowns, so that there's as many celebrations across the world as possible.

dundee jamboree, after having organised similar get-togethers, are delighted to be hosting the dundee etsy craft party. eager to spread the ethos of craft & handmade, the night promises to provide a fun & informal meeting place for those who are already DIY-ing, as well as those who want to learn more or support artists. we're encouraging attendees to bring along anything they're working on & do a little work in the company of like-minded people, & we're also setting up several mini-DIY-projects for people to try their hand at. & there will be tea, coffee & cake (of course).

want to come along? we'd love it if you could! here's the details:

Etsy Craft Party Meetup: Dundee

Date: Friday 18 June 2010

Time: 7.30pm - 11pm

Location: Dundee Contemporary Arts

Open to public (under 16s with an adult)

Free!

if we're one of the the top 50 craft parties in the world we'll receive a pack of etsy party goodies for us to enjoy on the night - but we can't do this without your help. help us out by RSVPing on our meetup page - you can still come if you don't RSVP, but it'd great if you could.

ten fingers issue #1

2010-05-24T13:57:00.010+01:00

you might know it, but i like zines. i'm sure you like zines too. hell, i'm pretty sure most people like zines, some just don't know it yet. so when helen of memo asked me a little while back if i'd be interested in taking part in a new zine venture she was embarking on, of course i said yes.

after a lot of amazing organising & screen-printing on helen's part, & with a little help from a bunch of ace artists (& me), ten fingers issue #1 was born. hand-bound & screen-printed in three colours with contributions from eight people, each page can be used as a print or postcard, or you can do what i'm doing & keep it all in one piece. there's only 100 copies in total, & i have four of them up for sale.

before i list them over on etsy, i'm giving readers a chance to snap one up. if you'd like to purchase one, shoot an e-mail over to mail-at-hellojenuine-dot-com, & we can sort out paypal payment (£6.95 + £1.55 (worldwide) or £1.05 (uk) p&p) from there. if you're too late to claim, then don't worry - i'll let you know how you can get yours hands on a copy. as an added little incentive, i'm going to throw in a little something extra that i'll be adding to my etsy shop in the next couple of weeks. hooray for free things!

UPDATE: my four copies have been claimed! will keep you updated as to where else you can get them.

big top jamboree

2010-05-18T21:51:00.006+01:00

i am so very tired right now, but i feel it'd be lazy of me to hit the hay without posting about yesterday's big top jamboree (especially when so many have been nice enough to post about their experiences). in short, it was amazing! to start off the day, there were workshops by catherine of pale face, plus fellow jamoree-ers lauren & nikki, & if you fancied a snack whilst making badges, zines & corsages, loren brand was selling her delicious cakes. & as if that wasn't enough excitement for a monday afternoon, we were also proudly displaying cut-click's mail art exhibition on the first outing of it's tour, meaning more artists than i can count took part in our jamboree.

after a smooth & swift changeover, the evening saw a wide range of handcrafted goods on sale from local (& some further away) artists, including prints, plush, bunting & even bread (as you can see in the above photo by joanna montgomery). i made a couple of awesome purchases; a stitched badge by rosie barthram & the most amazing lambswool triangle pillow by hilary grant (i'm enjoying it's softness as i type). was also very happy to get a zine from illustrator extraordinaire, david galletly. as well as stalls there was more cake, a raffle & sweet musical interludes, plus some brilliant projected animation & film-work. i didn't have a stall this time so took the opportunity to wander round, chatting to both familiar & new faces, vendors, visitors & amazing volunteers.

for more information on the night you can read about the run up over on the jamboree blog & see some feedback over on twitter. if reading about it isn't quite good enough for you, then you're in luck; jon mcgill of superfly kindly recorded the event, so take a peek at his mini-documentary of the night.

thanks to everyone who helped make it what it was!

learning to crochet

2010-05-16T18:47:00.005+01:00

one of the items on my list of things to do this year is learn to crochet. up until now i've not even had time to think about starting to learn! i was quite excited when a knitting & crochet craft class was scheduled at my work, & booked myself on it straight away. the class was today & i learned how to make the above little pouch, & i'm now the proud owner of my very own crochet needle. i'm going to have a little trouble continuing to learn on my own, but at least it's a start.

in other news, the big top jamboree is tomorrow! i hope any locals reading this plan on coming down, there's going to be amazing array of things to purchase, as well as workshops to take part in during the day & cake to eat. find out more over on the jamboree blog.

lake como

2010-05-13T19:26:00.002+01:00

how much do i want to buy 'lake como' by paddy malloy? the answer is very much. another one for the wish list!

new website

2010-05-09T00:02:00.002+01:00

hooray, launched my new website layout. do have a peek: www.hellojenuine.com

fabriano

2010-05-06T21:31:00.001+01:00

beautiful gift from italy from a dear friend: a fabriano postcard sketchbook & double-ended pencil.

uppercase fox

2010-05-05T01:01:00.006+01:00

a few weeks ago, i noticed an open call for submissions to uppercase magazine. the submission theme? foxes. i sent along my little gocco'd fox, & am happy to report that it was accepted. i've waited patiently for my copy of issue #5 to be delivered (thanks, eyjafjallajökull), & today was the day i got my hands on it. aside from all the brilliant fox illustrations, the entire magazine is beautiful, i recommend finding yourself one if you can.

to celebrate, i've listed seven little foxes in my etsy shop. separate from the original edition that has now sold out, these prints each have added hand-drawn details, making each one unique. if you missed out on the original fifteen then this is your last chance to get one of these - one has already sold, so there's only six left! go!

one of those posts

2010-05-03T21:41:00.011+01:00

i wish i'd post most often on this blog, but days seem to fly by. yep, it's one of those oh-man-i've-been-so-busy-here's-a-catch-up-of-sorts. i'm sorry, dear readers.

lately, it feels like i'm too tired when i get home from my day-job to do my own work in the evening, & that i'm using my weekends in the way that most people do - spending some quality time with the couch & doing those chores that build up throughout the week. it bums me out sometimes when i feel like i'll never conquer my ever growing to-do list. but then i remember that somewhere in between the couch & chores & job i've managed to start organising another craft fair with the other two ladies on the big top jamboree team, re-do my website (almost done), visit glasgow & the GI festival, partake in a whole bunch of art-trades, do some worthwhile charity shop rummaging, meet friends for drinks, make a small pile of pom-poms... when i take a minute to go over what i've actually done, i realise i shouldn't be so hard on myself.

i know that i'm not the only one who does this, but i think i need to try remember more often that i'm just one person & there are only twenty-four hours in a day.

handmade nation

2010-04-25T21:56:00.008+01:00

there's a few things i'm really looking forward to in the next couple of months, & one of them is most certainly this: handmade nation, a documentary about creativity, diy & the craft community, is screening at dundee contemporary arts, & as if that wasn't good enough, director faythe levine is going to be doing a q&a after the film. awesome.

taking place on wednesday 9 june at 8pm, tickets are on sale & cost £5, which you can currently get by phoning dca (01382 909 900) or by going in & booking at box office, & they'll be available to book online soon. you can read a little more about the film & watch the opening credits (which are ace) over on dca's website. i'm hoping that the screening will be a good way to get artists, designers & crafters from the local area & beyond together (dca is right next to the train station so you can't even get lost!), a lot of events that i would love to go to often take place in cities that are too far or expensive for me to get to, so it's really ace that this one's happening so close to home. if you're thinking of coming, let me know - there's also a bar in the building & outdoor patio, good excuse for a bunch of creative people to sit in the sun with a beer & talk shop!

weekend baking

2010-04-20T23:53:00.002+01:00

i don't think it's too crazy to claim that the world might be a slightly better place if i had time to bake every weekend.

sweet things

2010-04-17T20:55:00.007+01:00

sanna annukka has just designed a line of cards/wrapping paper etc for nineteen seventy three. i love the geometric patterns & the cards that feature various dwellings. they'd look super lovely framed.

i recently bought a timberline pendleton wool purse from welcome home, can't wait to get it in the post. the colours & materials used look ace. the one i bought is slightly different, but there's a few more up for grabs over on welcome home's store.

one of my favourite necklaces is from wildcatters on etsy. they've recently listed this lovely little thing, & i am going to buy it as soon as i have some extra cash.

now that the sun is staying out longer, i'm daydreaming about a pair of shoes that will work for bright days, but will have you covered in case it's not quite as warm as you thought.

johan

2010-04-13T21:19:00.001+01:00

drawn for little brother zine.

i've not had as much time as i'd like for drawing lately, so it's nice to be able to post something finished.

beach in april

2010-04-12T21:16:00.006+01:00

coming back to 7˚c weather after blue skies in new york wasn't great, but scotland hasn't let me down this weekend. it was so nice out today that my boyfriend & i went to the beach, thus getting me one step further in my list of things to do this year: #5 is 'visit three beaches', so that's one down, two to go.

it's been a pretty good week. the organisers of jumpers & jamboree (that's lauren, nikki & me) have announced the date of the next event: big top jamboree is going to take place on may 17, & we're looking for submissions! have a peek at the blog to find out more.

i also scored off #20 from my to-do list by opening a folksy shop earlier in the week. i'm giving it a trial period to decide whether i want to keep it or not. if you missed out on getting a free copy of climbing out of a canyon in my etsy shop a few weeks back, here's another chance; the first five orders from my folksy shop get a free mini-zine!

couple of other things: i took part in now now's zine showcase a couple of weeks ago, but couldn't attend thanks to being away. also, one of my older pieces (bottom left hand corner) was in design week last week, which was my submission to 'how many ways can you draw an apple?' by something to do zine. would have been better if they'd actually credited all the artists properly, of course. sigh.

i think i should probably try to update more often to save having so many catch-up posts!

wanderer returns

2010-04-06T19:36:00.009+01:00

after a bit of a quiet period blog-wise, i'm back! life itself wasn't so quiet though; over the past three weeks i've either been getting some last minute things tied up, or been in another country! i got back yesterday from a short trip with my sister to toronto & new york city, & it already doesn't even feel like i've been away.

we had a great trip though. in toronto we spent a lot of the time exploring (mostly ending up either in kensington market or the west side of town), visiting lots of vintage & boutique stores, plus we met up with my friend ian & saw an inuit art exhibition & an ace jazz band, the happy pals, before i joined him & his friends for a party. my sister wasn't well some of the week which was a shame, & it was sometimes hard to find good places to eat (though when you found somewhere good it was really good), & the weather could have been better (but i got to wear a nice new hat which was a plus), but toronto's a good city if you know what you're looking for & what's going on - NOW is a great local paper to find out what going on. thanks to everyone who recommended places, plus a special thanks to anabela/fieldguided (& to geoff for telling me about it) for her amazing in-depth review of her toronto. i visited a lot of places she listed, & would have gone to more if i'd had enough time!

next stop was new york city, & it was nice to be somewhere a bit more familiar, if only slightly. the weather was awful when we got there, we had to write off our first evening of walking around thanks to the rain, but by the end of the week it was 25˚c & sunny so who am i to complain? we visited central park & the natural history museum, did shopping in uniqlo, anthropologie (four pairs of tights for $25 instead of $92!) & beacon's closet in williamsburg, brooklyn, which i definitely wish existed closer to home. visited a few flea markets, & while we didn't do much of the art gallery scene this time around, we went to MoMA on the free evening (not sure i'd recommend this, it was mobbed) & giant robot, where i met up with the lovely sara of brown paper bag. did a lot of walking, a lot of eating & a bit of people watching whilst sitting in parks in the sun. oh, how i miss the sun.

back to reality now though; i return to work tomorrow & my to-do list has doubled from what it was before i left. it's nice to have gotten away though. will need to start planning my next trip.

long weekend in london

2010-03-17T20:37:00.005Z

i'm feeling pretty sleepy as i got back late last night after a long weekend in london. i had a brilliant time though, & it was so nice to escape my usual routine. myself & my co-workers got the train down on saturday, & i spent the evening with some old friends, eating fish chips & hanging out. on sunday we went to spitalfields market - i'm kind of glad it was impossible to find a cash machine there, otherwise i'd be the owner of a gorgeous new leather satchel, a beautiful chiffon dress & a much smaller bank balance.

i then went to check in at my hotel before heading off to leicester square to meet the lovely thereza rowe, an illustrator based in london who has a wonderful imagination & makes beautiful work. we spent a couple of hours chatting over hot beverages & exploring bookshops. just a short visit but it was great to meet her, i've borrowed the above image from our meeting (where you can see the prettiest little zine that she kindly gave me, plus my new fox friend) & you can see some more images over on her blog.

monday was spent with work friends, mostly on our feet exploring some galleries. my favourite show was one i'd been looking forward to for a few weeks, céleste boursier-mougenot's commision for the curve at the barbican, which you can see above (not my image). in layman's terms, it was a huge room full of sweet & fearless little zebra finches inadvertently playing guitar! you can see a clip here.

back to reality now, but not for long; this time next week i'll be in canada! hooray for adventures.

late night catch up

2010-03-08T23:32:00.006Z

it's 11.30pm & i really ought to go get some sleep since i have to head to the post office before work tomorrow, but i thought i'd ponder a little here instead.

i can't believe how hectic the next few weeks are going to be. within the next month, i'm going to london, toronto & new york, have two films i really want to catch at dca, driving lessons, friends to catch up with, exhibitions that i want to attend, projects to submit to: this doesn't include the every day stuff i have to do, like working, chores, hanging with the boy &, y'know, sleep! i think i need to write it all down to enable myself to process it all, & work out how much free time i have left over. 2010 has been a whirlwind so far. i am low on cash & i am tired, but it's been excellent.

onto other things: all ten free copies of climbing out of a canyon that were up for grabs over on etsy have been claimed! i've had some nice feedback on them too. i wish i could give more goodies away with everything i sell, but i don't have enough time to make things! never mind. while we're on the topic of etsy, my giclée print this is tomorrow is currently on sale with 25% off, in case you'd like to welcome it into your home.

bricks-&-mortar-wise, for those of you over on the west coast, there will be a few opportunities to see my work in the flesh soon. one place includes the super duper welcome home, who will have a selection of cards, postcards, zines & the above badges on sale some time in the near future.

okay, enough pondering. i'm going to get myself some sleep.

jumpers & jamboree

2010-03-07T19:00:00.008Z

it's high time i updated about jumpers & jamboree, an event organised by lauren gentry, nikki mcwilliams & myself, which took place last tuesday at kokomo's in dundee. all three of us had no idea how the event was going to turn out - we organised it in less than a week from conception to completion! but with twenty wonderful exhibitors/sellers, several live musical interludes, an abundance of cake & some smashing raffle prizes, our little event was a complete success. for three whole hours the places was heaving, we seriously couldn't have asked for a better evening.

you can see some more photos from the event over on flickr, & read a little more about the event here. thank you to those of you who came, saw, bought raffle tickets, listened to music, supported local artists & sang happy birthday (!!). we're already planning our next little jamboree, & are going to give ourselves longer than a week this time (but only slightly!)

jumpers & jamboree preview

2010-03-01T22:38:00.005Z

here a third of a sneak preview of some of the artists exhibiting/selling at jumpers & jamboree tomorrow night. from top to bottom: filipa oliveira, kieran duncan, jenni mackenzie/frogged, john alan birch & sean mcalister.

you can have a look at the other artists who will feature over on lauren & nikki's blogs. jumpers & jamboree kicks off tomorrow night at 7.30, at kokomo's in dundee. as well as art & craft, there's cake, live music, armchairs, fireplaces (that will be on!), & a raffle with some sweet prizes. excellent combination.

2010-02-28T16:38:00.004Z

got some new thank you cards listed over on etsy. i like these a ton more than the previous ones that i did with this phrase. they're my first products on recycled card, with nice recycled envelopes.

speaking of etsy, there are still two little mini-zines waiting to be claimed for free with a purchase!

jumpers & jamboree - coming soon!

2010-02-25T21:09:00.010Z

lauren gentry, nikki mcwilliams & myself are planning an evening of arts & craft goodness next week: jumpers & jamboree! if you'd like to show/sell your work, we'd love to hear from you. e-mail lauren (laurengentry[at]hotmail.co.uk) with a brief description of your work, plus up to five images or a link to your website/blog. if you're in the area, please do come along & have a browse, + drink & chat.

p.s. only three more free copies of climbing out of a canyon are available over in my shop. next three purchases get them!

climbing out of a canyon

2010-02-22T16:45:00.006Z

remember those mini-zine i mentioned last week? they're now complete! entitled climbing out of a canyon, it's a collection of images & visual metaphors to do with getting out of a rut, something i'm sure you've all experienced at some point. it's sixteen pages long with a murano paper cover, & each little zine contains a unique piece of advice or good idea for it's owner to act upon if they so wish.

the next ten orders in my etsy shop will receive a free copy of climbing out of a canyon with their purchase. if you miss out, don't worry, as there will be one or two other opportunities to get one in future, & i'll give you a heads up. for now though, head on over to etsy!

olive & orange

2010-02-20T18:30:00.007Z

friday's creation, & a thank you for your sweet comments throughout this week, was the above pattern. you can use it as a tiled background if you wish (you can download it here). compared to this time last week, i'm feeling a million times better. it's nice to be able to look back & see what i can do each day with a spare hour or two. high five for making things!

office bunting

2010-02-19T21:42:00.007Z

i often find myself wishing i had more time to sit & make things (i'm sure everyone knows this by now). but, like most people, i have to work a full-time job to get by. so, the above is a little something i made that will hopefully make sitting at a desk (that isn't the one i draw at) for hours on end a bit more bearable!

mini zines

2010-02-18T22:48:00.004Z

it's not so much 'something i made yesterday', more 'something i worked on'. i would have finished these mini zines had my printer decided to cooperate. alas, i'll have to wait until i have time at the weekend to clean the ink heads (again) before i can deem this little collection of drawings to be complete.

once they're finished, i'll be sure to share how you can get yourself one of them.

seven things

2010-02-17T21:36:00.008Z

- finding excellent second-hand bargains
- when the sun shines through my curtains in the morning
- good customer service

- waking up ages before my alarm & going back to sleep
- listening to this american life on long train journeys
- receiving post

- when a drawing turns out exactly as planned, or better

above is listed seven things i love & that make me happy. i was tagged by lucy davidson of peas & needles. in turn i have to tag seven others, so i choose pam of zoetropa, loren brand, thereza of tiny red design, sanna dyker, elise of argyle whale, sarah abbot and lauren gentry.

the above drawing was yesterday's creation. feels good to be making things.

cranberry, oatmeal & cinnamon scones

2010-02-16T20:45:00.011Z

here is what i made yesterday. & while they didn't turn out right, they were still tasty. next time i try this recipe, i will use the appropriate cutter (i don't currently have any, so used a glass that was too big) & i won't roll the dough so thin!

cranberry, oatmeal & cinnamon scones

(makes about 10 scones)

---

175g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

75g unsalted butter, diced

75g caster sugar

50g oatmeal, plus extra for sprinkling

75g dried cranberries

5 or so tablespoons of milk

milk to glaze

---

1. put flour, baking powder & cinnamon in bowl with butter & rub until it resembles breadcrumbs. add sugar & oatmeal & mix.

2. add cranberries & milk & mix until a soft dough forms. add more milk if necessary.

3. roll out dough to 1.5cm thick on a lightly floured surface. cut out scones with a 5cm cutter & place on a lightly greased baking sheet, using trimmings until used up.

4. brush top with milk & sprinkle with oatmeal. bake in pre-heated over at 220˚c (i did 190˚c in fan oven) for 10-12 minutes until risen & golden.

5. scone + butter + jam = yum.

funk

2010-02-15T11:01:00.005Z

i've put off blogging about it hoping that it'd eventually go away, but it's been weeks & i'm still in this weird little funk. this february & later half of january have been strange. i've been feeling so tired, unmotivated & uninspired, despite attempts to dissuade such things. there are a number of factors (mainly day-job & gloomy weather) that are to blame, but i'm getting tired of waiting it out! so, now that it's out in the open, i'm setting myself the task of doing something creative every day over the next five days, & i'll post the results here for all to see. hopefully something as little as having something to show will encourage me to keep on making.

ammo

2010-02-02T21:04:00.005Z

you can find a little drawing of mine in issue #2 of the amazing little ammo magazine. they're looking for submissions for issue #3, show 'em what you've got! you can buy ammo here, & anyone in the area can find issue #1 in dca's shop.

travel tips

2010-01-28T20:13:00.008Z

i can't believe how busy 2010 has been so far, & it's showing no sign of slowing down. one of the things i'm looking forward to (like you wouldn't believe) is a trip with my sister to toronto then nyc at the end of march/start of april. there's a mental list of things to do already (since my sister hasn't been to new york before), but i hate to think i'm missing out on the unique little spots thanks to just not knowing about them in advance. this is where i'm asking for your help: i want to know your preferred eateries, thrift stores, hangouts, recommendations, hidden gems & favourite things to do, for either city. any tips are welcome.

as a sort of continued entry from yesterday, my poster submission for central station's pop-up tour can now be seen around town. for a sneak online peek, you can see all the posters on superfly's (the poster project's organiser) website, plus there's a further preview over on formfiftyfive (which was a nice surprise).

& while i'm on the subject of nice surprises, seabear, the band, found my seabear illustration, & liked it enough to post on their blog. awesome.

happenings

2010-01-26T21:38:00.009Z

on saturday 6 february, central station are holding a pop-up tour in dundee. the day's full listings are available on their site; if you're in the area, i'd definitely check out some of the options available. i'm taking part in the superfly pop-up exhibition at 5pm, so come & say hello.

i also have some work in the current issue of the coveted mag, an independant magazine that supports the scottish fashion industry (& artists!). some of my what i wore today drawings are inside, as well as a little interview (that i apologise for, i was sleepy when i was answering it!), plus one of my images appears on the cover. you can flick through the issue here.

last but not least, i've sent some of my we were a kaleidoscope zines down to one of my favourite shops in the world, analogue books. so if you're in edinburgh, you can have a peek.

giveaway #2 winners!

2010-01-24T13:58:00.008Z

here are the winning entries to my blog giveaway! there were quite a few entries, so i added a second prize. both winners have been notified so hopefully i'll hear back from them soon. congratulations to them! to everyone else; i'd love to be able to send you all a little something, but as a consolation prize, please help yourself to this tiled background (click image for better quality). let me know if you use it. tipis & campfires!

promoting

2010-01-20T20:48:00.007Z

using the blog to do a little promotion for other nice people around the internets tonight. above is an image by erin gilkes aka atlantic treefox, maker of beautiful things. until february 5, poppytalk are letting crafters & admirers vote in the poppies, an award event recognising craft online, & you should definitely have a look at who to vote for. i'm sending you on over to the crafters nominees list via this link, where (if you like) you could vote for miss gilkes lovey creations on that list.

internet art fans may already be familiar with meighan o'toole's blog my love for you is a stampede of horses. meighan has taken another blog on board in the form of wild horses, which focuses on her excellent taste in adornment. i'm looking forward to the visual treats she has to share.

finally, i wish i could visit bristol at some point over the next few weeks. lizzy stewart & christopher bettig, two artists who's work i love, have a joint exhibition at here gallery until the end of february. how i'd love to see their beautiful creations in the flesh! guess i'll have to cross my fingers that the work will make it's way to flickr at some point.

ps. back to my own blog, don't forget that you can still enter my giveaway. there's three more days to enter, don't miss your chance!

giveaway #2

2010-01-18T18:58:00.006Z

to celebrate my 200th blog post (the very post you are reading), i'm having another giveaway. one lucky winner will win the selection of treats featured below - an assortment of things available from my shop. all you need to do is comment on this post before midnight gmt on january 23. then on sunday morning, random.org & i will pick the winner. good luck!

inside out

2010-01-15T22:46:00.008Z

a selection of envelopes found at the local recycling centre with drawn patterns. called 'inside out', they see the insides of envelopes left blank & the outsides with pattern drawn with various materials.

for cut-click's mail-art exhibition, currently on display at the east coast school of art & design in north east lincolnshire. a larger version of the image can be viewed on flickr.

ps. keep your eyes peeled, i'm having another giveaway soon!

new things

2010-01-12T21:38:00.005Z

as well as getting things done (or making plans) from my big list, i've added a couple of things to my shop. the first is a collaborative gocco print between alan & i, & the second is a new thank you card (since i sold out of my others).

i've not managed to fit much drawing in lately, due to being busy with other things, but hopefully i'll be able to squeeze some in after the weekend.

baked mashed potato casserole

2010-01-05T22:09:00.010Z

most who know me know that i don't particularly enjoy cooking. i just always feel that there's other productive things i could be doing with my time - if i'm making food for just myself, i'll make something easy & healthy rather than something more time consuming. on new year's eve however, i decided to try one last recipe for the year. wanting something with lots of veg, i found this (i can't remember where) & added/subtracted a couple of things.

baked mashed potato casserole

(makes a meal for two, or a side for 6-8)

---

4 medium potatoes cut into quarters

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 large stalk celery, finely chopped

half a red pepper, chopped

broccoli (how ever much you want, i like lots!)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons of butter

2-4 tablespoons of milk

cheese, grated

paprika

---

1. boil potatoes for 15 minutes

2. preheat oven to 230ºc (i did 210ºc in my fan oven)

3. heat 1 tablespoon of oil on medium in a pan, then fry onions, celery, pepper & broccoli

4. drain potatoes &, with the butter & milk, mash in the pot. add vegetables (season to taste if you fancy)

5. spread remaining olive oil in casserole dish. spoon in potato/veg mix, sprinkle cheese & paprika on top, then bake for 20 minutes/until golden brown.

sale

2010-01-04T22:25:00.003Z

a little reminder of the sale that's currently on in my etsy shop: you have three more days to take advantage of it! there's up to 20% off every item - i'm now sold out of my thank you cards, & there aren't many of my fox or home prints left. looks like i need to start making some more things!

hello 2010

2010-01-01T14:11:00.011Z

it's official; happy 2010 everyone! after a quick blog wrap-up yesterday, this post is looking at the coming year. a new year means a nice new list of things to do. i didn't complete that many of the things on last year's list, thanks to some vague plans & last minute additions, but i've been preparing for this year's & i can't wait to start! here are twenty four things i wish to achieve before 2011:

1. learn to crochet (i did do a crochet class... i just didn't retain anything i learned at it!)

~~2. start screenprinting again~~

~~3. visit canada~~

4. do my 09/10 taxes before july

~~5. visit three beaches~~

~~6. exhibit my work three times~~

7. redecorate the kitchen

8. knit/crochet a hat for my friend's baby (due in june)

~~9. clean down sides of cooker~~ though alan did this!

10. stay in a wooden cabin/tipi

~~11. visit the deer centre in fife~~

~~12. make it to 150 sales on etsy~~ & then some! 269 by the end of the year

~~13. (start to) learn to drive~~

~~14. less buying, more saving for adventures!~~

15. pay off my student loan

~~16. clean out inbox & unsubscribe from old mailing-lists~~ done, though it's building up again

17. phone home more often

18. less online procrastinating

19. make wrapping paper at christmas

~~20. open a folksy shop~~

21. make it to 20 sales on folksy (had 14 sales before i decided to close up)

22. get a massage

~~23. read twelve books~~ didn't keep track, but hope i managed this

24. monthly bookkeeping

ps. i'm having a new year sale in my shop! there's up to 20% off everything until january 7.

2009

2009-12-31T16:32:00.005Z

it's december 31, i almost can't believe it. 2009 was a pretty brilliant year. i'm in a much better place than at the end of 2008, thanks to a new job, eating & living better, producing more work & being much more productive. i took part in a nice number of local/internet projects, as well as setting my own. making new friends & trying my very best to see & keep in touch with old friends. a new website layout & the opening of my etsy shop. trying to buy handmade/second hand & attempting to not purchase as much unnecessary rubbish. didn't catch much live music this year & (as someone who has worked for two cinemas) i've seen a measly average of one film a month! i think my biggest (though unavoidable) regret was not travelling more; i did manage a few days on the isle of skye, & both manchester/liverpool & the highlands for a night. other than that, there aren't many regrets from 2009 at all, which is a pretty good feeling.

i've no idea where i'll be this time next year, but i do know that i can't wait to get started on my to-do list. this hogmany will be a quiet one, spent snuggled up with my boyfriend & some red wine. have a lovely evening whatever you're doing, i hope 2010 is even better for everyone than this past year was.

99p

2009-12-21T23:10:00.006Z

this was for this, a contemporary art tombola run by some friends, where tickets were 99p, giving buyers chance of winning a piece of work by one of 99 artists.

other stuff has been going on, it's hard to keep track! close to finishing this year's every day a drawing in december; i feel i get sluggish around this point, but it's good to drawdrawdraw. have been exchanging christmas cards with some super artists & illustrators; i won't want to take them down.

prints charming

2009-12-08T20:01:00.006Z

tomorrow sees the opening of prints charming at welcome home in glasgow, where you can find a few of my prints amidst lots of amazing work - & it's all less than £20! i won't be able to make it to the opening sadly, but if you're in the area you should definitely have a peek. there'll be an online shop soon where all the prints will be for sale, but if you can't wait until then you can always use good old etsy.

& just so you know, here are my christmas shipping cut-off dates:

USA/canada/japan/eastern europe: tuesday 8 december (i.e. today! but as long as your order gets in before 8am GMT tomorrow, you're good)

western europe: thursday 10 december

uk: thursday 17 december

winter fox

2009-12-07T20:06:00.007Z

after a successful couple of days with my gocco, there's a new print available in my shop. there's only fifteen of these available. this print was a time for firsts, being the first gocco print i've produced using more than one screen, & also my first gocco print without any text on it. look out for more new things over the next month.

wishlist

2009-12-07T15:03:00.007Z

birch tree forest print by lisa congdon

jasper chunk necklace by wonderwear

pattern (two) letterpress print by christopher bettig

bicycle ponytail elastic by girlsliketrucks

rainy night print by blanca gómez

lines & arrows cushion cover by bestill

oh etsy, you temptress. these lovely wares are just a small selection of things i'd buy in a heartbeat if i could afford to!

dancing bear

2009-12-05T23:43:00.004Z

every day a drawing in december is going well. as well as it can i suppose, in that i've done a drawing every day so far. a song by the magnetic fields inspired the above image.

e.d.a.d.i.d 2009

2009-12-01T23:24:00.006Z

last year i did a little project called 'every day a drawing in december'. i'm going to try & do it again this year, with the same rules (if you can call them that) applying: as long as i draw something, anything, every day for the coming month, that's great. if i don't manage, it's no big deal. it's just nice to have another reason to draw.

keep up with it here.