And the winner is... me!

Designer Crafts 2011 got off to a great start for me at the packed Private View on Friday. I was presented with the SDC TSB Award for Excellence. The award is made to a new Licentiate and automatically promotes that person to the status of Member. The selection panel was made up of Chairman of the SDC, Fiona Zobole, along with curators Carol Naylor and Heidi Lichterman, my thanks to them for all their support. There was certainly stiff competition for the award; I will be revealing some of my favourite makers from the show in my next post, along with further photographs of the exhibition.

The exhibition is open to the public until next Sunday (16th Jan) at the Mall Galleries, London (right next to Trafalgar Square and just down the road from Buckingham Palace). For full details, see the catalouge here.

Best New Graduate

I've just returned from a very successful Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair. My work received a hugely positive response from the public and I was lucky enough to be awarded "Best New Graduate" from the lovely people at Pannone LLP.

As well as big sales at the show, I have had requests for commissions and lots of interest from galleries. Thank you to everyone who came along and saw my work and to Pannone LLP, Kelda, Ann-Marie, Angela and my fellow exhibitors  for making it such an enjoyable show! Hopefully I'll be back again next year.

Pictures and full details to come in the next few days as well as a selection of my own favourite makers from the show.

I would also like to announce that work is beginning on my new website which should be up and running by the new year. Check back here for details...

Great Northern Contemorary Craft Fair 22-24 October

I have been awarded a stand in the Great Northern Graduates section at this years Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair in Manchester.

I'm working on new pieces especially for the show including this embroidered film piece:

This is going to be my first major show after graduation and hope it will be one of many to come.

The show will be at Spinningfields in Manchester city centre from Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th October. Come along to see me and over 150 other contemporary craft designer-makers.


Further details can be found on their website here: Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

George Jackson Travel Award

Earlier this month I was selected as the winner of the George Jackson Educational Foundation Travel Award. This is an annual award given to students from Birmingham Institute of Art and Design based on their academic achievement and proposal for travel. I will be using the award to fund a research trip to Sweden to broaden my knowledge of both historical embroidery and contemporary textile art. I will visit Stockholm to view cutting edge art and design with a focus on textile work, before travelling north to more rural locations to explore traditional Nordic craft and folk art. I will use inspiration from the trip to develop on from my final degree project.

London Midland Rail Poster

My work is to be displayed as a poster in 70 rail stations across the midlands as part of Made in the Midlands; a public art initiative between Birmingham Institute of Art and Design and London Midland railways. The work will be on station platforms and in booking halls. The posters are up now until October.

http://www.biad.bcu.ac.uk/madeinthemidlands/