Didsbury Art Festival...

Quick bit of news: the Didsbury Art Festival is running from the 26th of September to the 3rd of October. There's loads of great stuff going on. Check out the website for the full programme.

I have a stall at the Festival Craft Cafe at the Northern Lawn Tennis Club, on SUN 27th 10am - 4pm.

There's a £1 entrance fee, there's cakes & a bbq on the lawn, live classical music and quality crafts (including my own goodies!). It all sounds lovely so get there if you can.

off to London Town...

This Sunday will be my recce for TOP DRAWER! It's the autumn show on at the mo. I need to get a feel for my competitors, the set up, market, etc before I exhibit myself in Jan.

I love day trips to London, apart from getting lost, sweaty & slightly claustrophobic on the tube and so on. When I was a wee nipper of a designer, many moons ago, I remember being reduced to tears of exasperation trying to find some random location in central Londres. I sat on my porfolio and heartily cried somewhere in Hackney.

Now I'm a true city girl, it's a total treat for my senses and always gives me a design buzz.

Will have a market/trend report for you on Monday (written on the train with a long coffee and lots of pics, I'll also be sketching and scribbling!)

Bike of my dreams..

My posts are like buses, nothing for a week then 3 at once.

I just had to add this bike, I keep meeting it by chance. It keeps popping up in various different places to say hello. It always makes me smile, I LURVE the winged mudguards ad the happy grass green and cream paintwork.

Today I was making the most of the sunshine by cycling to the Barbikan for a fat piece of cheese cake (calorie neutral). I just locked up my bike when along it came! I met it's owner and she was lovely too. She has a shop in the Manchester Craft Centre selling perspex jewelry and furniture, studio 3 I think.

It's so nice I might have to honor it's vintage lines by turning it into a li'l ol' design!

I know it's barely September...

...but us card designers do our Xmas selling as early as June! It's hard to think about Christmas designs when you're sunning yourself with a long cocktail.

I sold my Xmas cards as singles last year, I thought I'd offer them as a pack this year - here's the new packaging.

The packs and singles will be on sale in my shops from this evening if you want to have a little shop. I'll also be doing mini stationary sets which will make nice stocking fillers or mini gifts for friends. I'll keep you posted!

I heart cassettes...

Remember the clunk and whir of stopping and fast forwarding cassettes? I'm showing my age when I say I used to listen to Bananarama (who are apparently releasing another album!) and write down the garbled lyrics so I could learn them. My sister even learnt the dance routines!

I'd forgotten about the variety of colours and hand written scribble. And you always knew your boyfriend loved you if he made you a mix tape - my husband used to!

Check out these beauties...hmmm, I feel a design coming on....