Hemp Dog Collars

Well I've been dyeing some more hemp and have created a lovely green which I'm going to use on a new bag design I'm working on hopefully it will be in the shop for new Spring fashion.

Also I decided to use the hemp webbing to make some dog collars, the first one is in the natural hemp but I have also made another two with the webbing I hand dyed. So far the trial has been a success, the dogs have been up to their usual antics, rolling in mud, dragging eachother about by the collar, dragging me to chase cats and generally being Border Terriers! So far so good.

Brick Lane Vintage

Well I finally got to Brick Lane last week as leading up to Christmas got a bit hectic. We went on Saturday as it seems to get get very busy on Sundays and we were more interested in looking at vintage this time. There was a lot on offer with quite a few pop-up vintage markets running as well as the vintage shops and the regular markets. I must say for me most of the vintage clothes was not to my taste, much of it is 80's and to me was not very nice first time round and has not really improved with age. However, if you are looking for a real or mainly fake fur coat get yourself along as you will be spoilt for choice. Also there are loads of vintage sunglasses. Had a good look around Rokit, which seemed to be doing great business, where there was an abundance of cardigans. If you haven't been to Rockit it's like an up market charity shop where all the clothing and accessories are displayed like a high street shop in sections such as satin blouses in one, jeans in another as well as upcycled products. 

I'm planning to go back on a Sunday to go to the other markets and also to Portabello Road market so will let you know about these.

Fifi's Christmas Market, Brick Lane

On Saturday 10th December 2011 I'm going to be at my second craft market. This is the Christmas market organised by Fifi's Markets just off Brick Lane in East London. See the flyer for details. I'll be taking all my Christmas items plus some new decorations and gifts that I'm still working on! Also a first outing for my new hemp bags. I'm really looking forward to it.

I really need to work on uploading flyers if I make the ones above any bigger they go blurry. Click on the link if you can't read it properly.

I'm going along to Brick Lane tomorrow to look around the other markets that are there every weekend. They are meant to be really good for craft, fashion and food so I'll post a review for any of you that haven't been before.

Hemp

Well I've finally got around to photographing the bags I've made with the hemp which I blogged about in my last post. I've been waiting for some sunshine so I can take the photos. I've been looking to work with hemp for a long time, as it is such an enviromentally sound fabric. Hemp grows really fast, needs no pesticides and very little water. Once harvested all the plant can be used and the fabric properties are very similar to linen in that it draws moisture away from the skin etc. So an all round great fabric. The fabric used for the bags I've made are 100% hemp canvas (blue) and a hemp cotton mix denim (plum).

These bags should be in my shops soon. I've just bought some more hemp one of which is 100% hemp twill. The colours I've bought to dye them are grey and olive green. I can't wait to get started on the dyeing but I have another craft market coming up so I'll have to wait!

I'll post details of the craft market in the next couple of days.

Dyeing Fabric

After getting quite frustrated at not being able to get the fabrics in the colours and weights that I wanted I decided to take matters into my own hands (literally) and try dyeing fabric myself. I have been experimenting with hemp recently as it's a great eco and versatile fabric and I love it. Here are some photos of before and after. It was great and I've made a couple of bags so far with the results, they should be in my shop soon.

Remember Movember

November is the month for the charity Movember when men all over the world grow their moustaches to raise funds and awareness for men's cancer. I was contacted last month by a fund raiser in the Netherlands, Lilly Lam. She is supporting the charity by opening a shop to raise funds. The moutache market bag I printed caught her eye as the perfect purchase for women to support the charity. I printed up some more bags and sent them to Amsterdam (I do hope they have arrived safely!). So encourage the men in your life to hone their hairy upper lip! I'm told it's very fashionable.

Stour Space Designer's Market

We finally made it to the craft market! First one ever and the weather was lovely. Stour Space is in a back street in Hackney Wick, although it looks like a an industrial estate, I was told that lots of the warehouses are flats. This was bourne out by the number of people who walk to the cafe for breakfast. It has a great atmosphere, buzzy and yet very relaxed.

The market was smallish about 15 stalls with a good variety of makers. For a few it was also their first market.