To Have and to Hold... Wedding Registry (Part IV)

1. Woven Felt Rugs by feeldesign
2. No.1 Screwdriver Set by Elementary Design
3. Grey Glacier Votive by Cursive Design
4. Blue Deep Water Chestnut Hill Quilt by CarolinaPatchworks

"Don't stop believin'..."

1. There is Only Make by groundwork
2. cruz by pamkesito
3. wish necklace by Laurel Denise
4. there is nothing wrong with you by SuspectShoppe
5. building blocks - little thoughts for your day by palomasnest

To Have and to Hold... Wedding Registry (Part III)

1. Lovebirds in a Bell Jar by constantgatherer
2. Blue Home by michalrowse
3. Baby Block Pattern Copper Bowl by coreyackelmire
4. Snow white bell by mykonos

To Have and to Hold... Wedding Registry (Part II)

1. Red and White Love Tree by gypsyandtwink
2. Family Time - set of 6 screenprinted placemats by 12gypsies
3. Personalized Thank You Cards by lepapierdesigns
4. Royale - Original Map Painting by rachelaustin
5. Ferris Wheel and Russian Dolls Votive Duo by maryink

Megan Price

Megan Price, Norfolk, UK Brand: MrPS Website: mr-ps.co.uk Blog: meganprice.typepad.com, flickr Shop: etsy, allthingsoriginal.com, notonhighstreet.com, threepotatofour.com

Megan is what the entertainment industry might call a triple threat! Not only does she make the most adorable silk screened tote bags, but she also has a line of kitchen tea towels and creates wonderful collages like this one below.

She also just recently got plucked from hundreds of other hopefuls and won the "win a great start for your business" competition over at notonhighstreet.com. Congratulations Megan!!


1. How would you describe your style?

I use the best media I can to get my message across, be it drawing, photo, printmaking or collage.

2 How long have you been doing this and how did it all begin?

Mr.PS was launched in 2004. But in the grand scheme of things I’ve been sitting quietly drawing and making things since I was little. I then went on to study at college and University.

3. How is it working with your husband? Most people advise against working with family. Could you give us some tips on how to make it work?

Well I guess the most important thing is that we both have our own projects on the go. Robert works as an illustrator. When you’ve got loads of ideas and potential solutions buzzing round your head, it’s good to have someone to talk it all over with.


4. What inspires you? How do you get past crafter's block?

I start by researching a nugget of idea, then seeing where the drawing and designing process takes it. Sometimes, a walk to the corner shop is all it takes to jig an idea around your head. Then you can get it down on paper when you get back.

5. What tool(s) can't you live without?

Screens, squegees, sewing machine, sunshine.....

6. Do you do this full-time? If not, what pays the bills?

I do have a part-time job. It can be a bit of a juggle, but it 's good to be with other people sometimes and let your brain work on something else.

7. The handmade community is such a close knit group. I notice that most people are either mentors to aspiring crafters/designers or have mentors who have already been in the business for a while and are eager to share their experiences with budding crafters/artists. Do you have a mentor? And are you a mentor yourself?

My first printing job was for the textile and lighting designer, Helen Rawlinson. Working in her studio really gave me the belief that I too could run my own business. It was a great experience and we are still in touch, checking out what each other are doing. Although she wasn’t strictly a mentor, she has certainly given me good advice.

I’m not a mentor myself, but I do try to be helpful when people ask for my opinion.

8. Who is your idol or current craft-crush?

Umm that’s tricky, there’s so many great makers out there.
I recently came across the Finnish designer Outi Martikainen. I love the way shes makes small artworks out of everyday items and also works with architects to cover major buildings with her delicate imagery.

I really like Abigail Percy’s jewellery, and my most favourite recent etsy purchase is a clutch purse made by Rowena Dugdale.

Customized tea towel available at threepotatofour.com

9. If you could put your products on the shelves of any 3 stores, which ones would you choose?

I’d love to do some design work for somewhere like Habitat - It’d be good to have my imagery on other homeware products. Recently we made a trip to San Francisco - I loved shops like National Product and Doe, and wish I could go again and check out Rare Device. I also love the look of Madam Andre’s shop in Paris - it’s always a thrill to see Monsieur A’s graffiti around other cities.

10. Can you share any of your favorite sources for supplies?

It's great to discover independent retailers when we go away, for instance in France and Italy. I just worry that when I next go back they're not going to be there anymore.

Closer to home, I love going to rummage at Barnett and Lawson for wholesale ribbon and trimmings near Oxford Circus, in London

11. What are your top 3 favorite blogs?

1. 3191
2. Design*Sponge
3. And it’s not really a blog, but I can get really sucked in to Flickr. I love looking at my contacts’ new photos.

Thanks Megan!!

To Have and to Hold... Wedding Registry (Part I)

I have a handful of friends tying the knot this summer, so here's some inspiration for both givers and receivers!

1. Wisdom Paper Wreath (you can also add a message) by haru
2. Gray Vessel Set by Up in the Air Somewhere
3. Lets Grow Old Together by ground work
4. His and Hers Wall Decals by decorette

Feeling Fruity

1. The White Apple by La Pomme
2. Fresh Blueberry Creamy Goats Milk Soap by Cozy Moments
3. Orange Slice Coasters by The Paper Peony
4. Lemon Quartz Briolette Pendant Necklace by Blue Tulip Designs
5. Mango Mango by Crochet Girl

Twiggy

1. The Anti-Bangles (set of 3) by kateszabone
2. Twiggy Kitchen Towel by nutnutgoods
3. Long Gold Twig Earrings by cursive design
4. Wedding/commitment band by bmjnyc
5. Creamy Twig Clutch by brookegalardi

English Country Garden

1. Damask Treasure Boxby LittleEmpress
2. Black Tea and Tobacco Fields Mens Bath Soap by mysgarden
3. Handmade Porcelain Toothpick Holder by sumiko
4. Geranium Sachets by lottahelleberg
5. English Garden Porcelain Plate or here by Maggie Weldon
6. Lacey Edge Milk Glass Tray Pink Roses Mosaic Tile by hillspeak

Hanna Melin

Hanna Melin, London, UK Website: hannamelin.com Shop: allthingsoriginal.com

I first spotted Hanna's work while browsing around allthingsoriginal.com. I instantly emailed her, crossed my fingers and hoped that she would agree to do an interview...

1. How would you describe your style?

My style is often being described as "naive" , which I think I can agree with. I like to call it "naive humor". I am from Sweden, and I think that sometimes comes out in my images, pure and isolated but with a heart.

2. You've been commissioned by a number of top names (e.g., Guardian, Top Shop, Elle, Paul Smith, Daily Telegraph, Televisual, Bulb Magazine, Hotel Intercontinental), can you share your top 3 favorite projects and why?

Just Jack, an English "pop star" video. My drawings where mixed with live photage to make this video. My drawings became animated, which was a first, so very exciting. Loved to see them being handled by some one else, to see how he saw them and made them work with the surrounding.

>> click here to continue reading Hanna's interview

Hotel Intercontinental. My handwriting was made into the sign for the hotels cafe. menus, pens, pads, boards etc were made. It was put on the window and made into a plaque for the cafe door. It excites me every time I go pass it on a bus in Marble Arch.

Guardian jobs. All of them really, they sometimes phone me up, and I got three hours to make a picture. You draw it feeling the adrenaline pumping and fighting against time. Its fun,

3. I know that you've been part of a handful of exhibitions including the Hidden Art show and your work has been featured in a number of galleries. What advice could you give aspiring artists on the best way to get noticed and invited to be part of a gallery exhibition?

I think first make a good series of work. A series is always better than one image, and then just send it out. maybe go around and look at galleries that have similar style as you and try them first.

4. Can you pinpoint the exact time in your life when you decided to make a living out of creating art? Or an exact time when you started to believe that you could actually make a living doing what you loved.

I think I still haven't made that decision. Its a scary business.

5. One of the hardest things for artists to do is to stand apart from everyone else. How long did it take you to come up with your own style and signature look? What advice can you give aspiring artists struggling to find their own voice and look?

I have actually tried to do art without my style, and I cant. it just creeps in to it. so I suppose my style is me and I cant get rid off it. It hard because sometimes my style isn't "commercial" enough for advertising etc, so I had to find an alternative way. You have to wait for the right project to come you way, and spread the style the best you can.

6. Who is your idol/current artist-crush? hella jongerious

7. Can you share with us a couple of blogs that you've recently discovered and love? decor8

8. What can we expect to see from you in the future?

I'd like to do more animation. I am also working on more ceramics, which I love.

Thanks Hanna!

Out on a whim

1. love by kristine mays
2. In the city PRINT by shelbyhealey
3. Butterfly Jubilee Wallpaper by Mod Green Pod
4. you murder all the liars by emilyday
5. Miniature Clay House - A Home For Your Gnome by thelittlereddoor

Heart Lab: Feed the Dog by Carmel Killin

I really hope everyone who owns a Feed the Dog cushion knows how lucky they are. Just look at how much work goes into one of Carmel's one of a kind cushions ranging from $60 to $80... a steal and a deal if you ask me! I love how she effortlessly combines screen and lino printing, top stitching and appliqué, creating the most unique cushions on the market.

Oh and don't forget to check out her blog to see what she's up to and to say hello!

1. Lino cut bird print
- Sketching & lino cutting a variety of bird shapes - 6 hrs.
- Test printing different colors onto fabrics - 2 hrs.
- Cutting out bird shapes - 2 half-watched episodes of The Sopranos
- Stitching onto fabric - 5 mins.

2. Appliquéd scrap fabric trees
- Sorting through bags of scrap material & combining colors & textures - 2 hrs on ipod shuffle
- Cutting free form tree shapes & organizing into neat piles - days, endless days
- Mixing & matching trees to suit other elements of the design & constantly rearranging positions - hours of indecision
- Cutting & tracing fusible webbing & ironing onto trees to hold them in place while machine stitches - approx. 1 hour per group of three

3. Lino cut pattern
- Drawing a grid onto a piece of lino, tracing perfect circles onto grid, cutting imperfect texture into the lino - half a day, including cup of tea & many moments of forced eyesight breaks, ie. staring at the beautiful magnolia trees outside my window.
- Preparing table & equipment, loading the roller & printing onto fabric - 30 minutes...

>> continue reading Heart Lab

4. Multi-layered house print
- Scanning original house drawing by 5 yr old nephew into Photoshop, scaling & touching up the image, separating into 4 different layers to be made into screens
- Sorting through suitable pieces of fabric then printing my own original patterns (both lino & screen) onto them.
- Overprinting each of the four screen images of the house onto these patterned fabrics (when dry).
- Cutting out all the individual parts of the house, windows, doors, etc.
- Mixing and matching different parts of the house then applying double-sided fusible webbing to keep in place
- Matching stitching to cover

ALL OF THE ABOVE - approx 2 - 3 days and cancelled dinner dates/ coffee meet-ups with friends & family

5. Handcut screenprint tree
- Drawing trees, handcutting a stencil - couple of hours of talkback radio
- Test printing different colors on fabric - 1 hour of laughing, smirking, pondering the ridiculous/ enlightening chat of talkback radio
- Printing onto fabric - 20 mins.

6. Lino cut pattern
- Cutting stencil, painting onto fabric - 30 mins.


7. Hand stitching
- Choosing thread color, stitching onto fabric - 15 mins.


GENERAL DUTIES...

8. Making my own custom-fit pillow inserts or adjusting pre-bought ones to just the right amount of "bounciness" - at least 30 mins. per insert

9. Sewing the pillow pieces together
Cutting & sewing two webbing ties, one label & one lino cut bird to reverse side THEN sewing & serging edges together - 30 mins.

10. Heat setting the fabric
(to make the design washable & long-lasting)
Initial ironing of fabric cover with completed design then a blast of heat from an industrial tumble dryer - 30 mins.

11. Making my own labels
Designing in Photoshop, getting labels made into a screen, printing onto fabric and cutting out the labels by hand - approx. 2 days

12. Making own sewing tags
- Designing, printing cover of tag onto cardboard
- Cutting, gluing & sewing fabric scraps
for reverse of tag
- Hand cutting final circle shape
- Hole punching each circular tag
- Attaching string to tag then tag to cushion

ALL OF THE ABOVE - life is just way too short to be engaging in this! (but they do look fabulous & I get so many appreciative comments)

13. Equipment clean up
Thoroughly washing tools, screens & other printing materials - a lifetime of feeling guilty for contributing to current national water shortage

14. Creating new colors
- Mixing fabric colors by eye to get just the right shade & tone
- Experimenting with different color palettes
- Experimenting with the different effects of colors on different fabrics & textures

ALL OF THE ABOVE - days, weeks, who knows?

15. Designing on the fabric itself
Endlessly arranging & shifting shapes on fabric - days/weeks until satisfied with the composition

16. Journeys to suppliers
Driving to fabric, ink & accessories suppliers -
2 full tanks of petrol per week, 3 hours of small talk, 2.5 liters of water consumed on journeys, a couple of headaches when I've forgotten my water, 324 minutes stopped at traffic lights, and x milliliters of carbon emission

17. Taking photos to promote & advertise products
- Another two tanks of petrol & x milliliters of carbon emission driving pillows to the homes of wealthy friends & families who have exquisite interiors that do justice to my pillows (ie, enhance their beauty. look more beautiful = will sell more pillows)
- Taking photos
- Bottles of wine, chocolates & other small gifts to thank friends & family for the use of their interiors
- Downloading & touching up images in Photoshop
- Producing two versions of images: web-friendly and high resolution print-friendly
- Uploading images to various online shops & directories & printing for catalogs & other advertising material

ALL OF THE ABOVE - a missed weekend or two playing with my nephews

Thanks Carmel! Thank you so much for taking the time out to give us such an in-depth look into your art. I think you need to increase your prices :)

See other Heart Labs »»

Separating the wood from the trees

1. Woodgrain log pillow by Norwegian Wood
2. Wenge Series 2-C by Jason Linde
3. STRATA Table Lamp by Re-Surface Design
4. Walnut cup coasters by Cinderdesign
5. "Annual Ring" acrylic on wood by Yellow Owl Workshop

Curves in all the right places

1. Bone Votive by sarapaloma
2. Flower Lampshade by Alkamie.biz
3. Mocha jacket/shirt by Ena Daro Couture
4. Textile/Fibre Art Flower Corsage Brooch by sujati
5. Pink Sugar Oatmeal Soap -Blossom by 4thAveSoapCo

It's Your Lucky Day

1. Ellie by Lucky Life
2. Lucky Charm by neltak
3. Small Fortune coin purse by Victore NYC
4. Melamine-Plate Lucky Elephant by selda
5. Astrology Zodiac Cute Animals Blank Note Cards by Cuore

Sail Away

Sail away with these ship-shape finds:
1. The Sailboat from Marseille by lapomme
2. Nautical stripes screenprinted notes by cutiepiecompany
3. Nautical Brooch by 123rainbeau
4. Sailboat & Anchor Key Fobs by preppypetunia
5. Reiter8 Large Black 7 Messenger Bag by reiter8
6. Sperm Whale White (Moby Dick) - 2ft. by Morning Star Design

SIESTA by Mai Araki

Mai Araki, Yokohama, Japan Brand: SIESTA Blogs: English - mairuru.blogspot.com Japanese - d.hatena.ne.jp/mairuru Shop: mairuru.etsy.com

I'm a huge huge fan of Mai's. All of her products are hand sewn and it's clear how much love goes into every single piece. I love everything she makes, but I especially love the hanging doll set and her patchwork bookmarks - the teardrop is meant to point to the line where you left off! How sweet is that?

1. What do you call yourself? (e.g., Independent designer, crafter, maker, artist) I don't really refer to myself as anything, maybe a Hand Sewer?

2. What inspires you? How do you get past crafter's block? I see many beautiful things and books in my life. They inspire me. I have collected many pieces of fabric, they inspire me too. I enjoy hand sewing.


3. What tool(s) can't you live without? Needle, Pencil and frying pan.

4. Who is your idol, current craft-crush? littlebirds.etsy.com I was shocked when I saw her site.

5. How long have you been doing this? For more than 20 years. I'm always sewing something, always by hand.


6. Where did you learn your craft? I learned sewing techniques by myself with the help of many books. My mother taught me how to knit. I'm currently learning Hardanger Embroidery from a teacher.

7. Do you do this full-time? If not, what pays the bills? I've just begun selling my works. So now my savings pay the bills.


8. How would you describe your style? Natural and easygoing.

Perfect Delivery

1. Lollipop Tree and Little Birdies Pillows by Blue Thimble
2. Baby Boy Pram Flat Cards by LilaB
3. Animal Art - Doggy by bysimple
4. Decorative Wood Mirror by Rowan's Room
5. Just Arrived Birth Announcement Tags by Almond Works
6. Le Bebe French Baby Door Knob Pillow Hanger by The French Market
7. Baby Birth Plaque by Rae Dunn

Queen of Crafts

1. Personalized Crown Coronet Greeting Flat Notecards by OnePunkPosy
2. Queen's Crown necklace by katinkapinka
3. Keep Calm And Carry on Poster - Sunny Yellow by sfgirlbybay
4. HRM Ring - Choose Your Size by dillondesigns
5. Queen Elizabeth I - Pillow by kirby
6. Vintage Opticians Lens Pendant Necklace by luckymebeads

peaceful provisions by Catriona McLean

Catriona McLean, Melbourne, Australia Brand: peaceful provisions Shop: peacefulprovisions.etsy.com

I love how Catriona seamlessly combines screenprinting, stitching and appliqué - creating the most wonderful range of "peaceful keepsakes", from handprinted cushion covers to the cutest toys (prices range from $10-$35).

“Children are particularly inspirational to me - the way they play, what they talk about, and the way they look at the world.”

"I live in Melbourne, Australia. I started my little business - peaceful provisions - in the middle of 2007 after a lot of daydreaming and contemplation. The idea for peaceful provisions grew over a number of years while I was studying for my Arts degree. I was working part-time as an assistant in a kindergarten and simultaneously reflecting a lot on my own childhood. I had come to really appreciate the preciousness of children, and the need to respect and treasure them as much as possible.

Original Papercut/Collage - Starry Night Girl

"Children seem so rushed these days with various pressures to grow up and keep up with the latest crazes, but given time and encouragement to explore their natural world, they will find beauty and fascination in the simplest of things. I make crafts that I hope can be a sort of alternative to the mass-produced and highly commercial products that often dominate children's lives. I value the idea of 'slowing down' and getting back to basics, and I believe that handmade items (in and of themselves) really encapsulate this very idea.

"I am currently studying to be a kindergarten teacher."


1. What do you call yourself? (e.g., Independent designer, crafter, maker, artist) I think at the moment I am a 'maker of gifts for children'.

2. What inspires you? How do you get past crafter's block? I look for inspiration wherever I can find it. Children are particularly inspirational to me - the way they play, what they talk about, and the way they look at the world. My own childhood memories also play a role in my creativity. I just love looking at things - nature, colours, art, textiles, paper, children's books... the list could go on and on.

If I have crafter's block I usually put my project away for a while. I go and have a cup of tea, or come back to it the next day.


3. What tool(s) can't you live without? My screen printing screen and squeegee, my sewing machine, and my x-acto knife.

4. Who is your idol, current craft-crush? Etsy has introduced me to so many amazing artists! At the moment I am drawn to the felt bowls at Papaver Vert and Project Felt, and the beautiful pieces at Hightower Pottery.

5. How long have you been doing this? Around 4 years. But I only crafted sporadically in the beginning when I had no idea what I was doing. Now I do it most days.

6. Where did you learn your craft? I taught myself the basics of sewing. I don't know how to read a pattern yet! Whatever I create, I make up as I go along. I think I will always be learning how to sew. I did a short course in basics of screen printing.

7. How would you describe your style? Sweet, playful, colourful, and of course peaceful!