A-Z Silhouette Series

Yesterday I posted the final papercut that completed the ongoing A-Z silhouette series, almost 4 weeks after I posted the first silhouette of David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust. His familiar face was cut from black card; the simple image proving more effective than I had anticipated.

Ziggy Stardust - Lana Del Rey

Ziggy was shortly followed by a 1960's Bob Dylan, with distinctive shades and harmonica, and singer Lana Del Rey. Originally cut from black card, I decided pink card with glitter details would better convey Rey's girlish naivety.

Bob Dylan - Alex Turner

By now I was finding it more interesting to cut contemporary faces (we've all seen endless products covered with the faces of Audrey Hepburn and James Dean) such as Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys. I could've cut infinite faces (there are many writers, musicians, and artists who I admire greatly), but I knew I needed to narrow the project down.

Daniel Glover - Mikaela Evans

I cut out the faces of musician Daniel Glover and writer Mikaela Evans, who I have contact with via twitter. This allowed me to share the papercuts with them and receive immediate feedback. Their positive responses (Glover shared the papercut on his facebook page) confirmed my intentions to continue with the project.

I settled on an achievable A-Z series and made a list of current popular figures, balancing it almost 50/50 male/female. Who would I cut out for X?! I decided to figure that one out later...

  Harry Potter - Jameela Jamil

I photographed all of the silhouettes in the same style: against a white background beside my gold peacock scissors. I knew consistency was important to tie all of the images together as one complete series.

My favourite papercuts of the A-Z silhouette series:

 Queen Elizabeth ii - Stephen Fry

  Taylor Swift - Idris Elba

The complete A-Z silhouette series is made up of 26 28 papercuts (2 D's and 2 Lana Del Rey's). The series can be viewed in full here.

Which are your favourite silhouettes of the series?

Until next week...

-Karen

Derby's Sadler Gate

On a recent move back to Derby (my home town) I was convinced there were no interesting shops, no where to while away a saturday afternoon, and certainly 'nothing going on'.

Derby is no Bristol or Leeds, but on my quest to find independent shops selling products I was sure only existed on etsy I've come across a few hidden gems...

This post is a love letter to Sadler Gate in the Cathedral Quarter: a street I fondly like to think of as Derby's Diagon Alley. (And with shops with names like Scraggy and Finch, who can blame me?)

The best treat-filled shops:

Design @ 44
26-27 Sadler Gate

Design @ 44 has a variety of original items made by over 35 local designer/makers, including jewellery, prints, and greeting cards. Since March the first floor has been dedicated to furniture and interiors, with lots of vintage pieces to add character to your home.

Left: work by Letterbox Lane 

Ink & Thread
28 The Strand

While not technically on Sadler Gate, Ink & Thread can be reached by walking through The Strand Arcade (entrance next to Good Green Cafe). All of the products sold in Ink & Thread are made in Britain by small creative companies who understand the importance of well made products. Top of my wishlist are these cocktail coasters!

Right: work by Stuart Gardiner Design

 

BPM Records
8-9 Sadler Gate

BPM Records is an independent record shop filled with good quality second hand vinyl and a lovely man called Dave. I've picked up Zeppelin, Bowie and McCartney LPs in this shop - get digging!

Sadler Gate Market 
Sadler Gate

Sadler Gate Market takes place on the first Saturday of every month, with stalls including a variety of items. June's market featured gourmet chocolate, silver jewellery, handmade cards... The third Sadler Gate Night Market will take place on Thursday 19th November between 5pm-10pm, in time to stock up on Christmas gifts!

Left: faux taxidermy by the Tweed Queen

What are your favourite independent shops in Derby?

Image credits:

All photos are my own, apart from...
Sadler Gate Market, right photo: facebook.com/SheenaHollandMarkets

Until next week...

-Karen

Father's Day Gift Guide

With Father's Day looming on Sunday, I've done some of the leg work for you and put together a little gift guide. 

I don't know about your dad but my dad doesn't like football OR golf, making a lot of those generic Father's Day gift guides pretty useless. And I've never actually met a dad who wants a tie hanger as a gift at any time of the year, so give that one up M&S...

I've divided this post into things you can buy, and things you can make. And thankfully everything is under £25.

Part 1 - Throw money at the problem...

Musicians card - £2.60 - Ink & Thread (Derby)
Beardy Man egg cup - £11.50 - Donna Wilson

 

Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti double LP - £20.63 - Amazon
Guy Martin: My Autobiography - £3.99 - Sainsbury's

 

 

Bees Knees card - £2.80 - Ink & Thread (Derby)
Motorbike pizza cutter - £8 - Debenhams

Peaky Blinders: Series 1-2 box set - £17.50 - Amazon
"The Sergeant Peppermill" - £15 - Debenhams

If non of the above suggestions peak your fancy, in my experience you can't go wrong with a big box of Maltesers...

Image credits: all images from the respective websites

Part 2 - Feeling crafty...

Left: For the dad who prefers sweet treats to beer. Fill empty bottles with his favourite sweets and chocolate. Apply your own hand drawn label.

Right: DIY chalkboard mug, for the dad who drinks more tea than is frankly necessary. Really easy tutorial here. Personalise with a silly message.

Left: Summers here (well, kind of), time to let your dad loose on the bbq... Fill a bucket with sauce, tongs, and possibly a beer or two!

Right: Load a kilner jar with fresh, homemade cookies. Finish with a bright ribbon and a handwritten tag.

Image credits: all images from pinterest

What will you be buying/making your dad for father's day?

Until next week...

-Karen

The Big Show

The University of Derby's degree show "The Big Show" 2015 showcases creative innovation across "the strata of art and engineering". With work including visual art, textiles, photography, architecture, and creative expressive therapies (to name but a few) the exhibition certainly lives up to its name...

Being a textile design graduate naturally my interest was focused on the work of the students graduating from the BA and MA Textile Design courses.

I was struck by the focus on presentation, with many students moving away from the usual covering of stools and chairs. Mariana Pavlovic's printed scarves (right) were draped over carefully constructed bird cages.

Another print student created a cohesive presentation by displaying her brush stroke fabrics alongside paint brushes and tumbling from paint cans.

I particularly liked Lauren Vernon's presentation: knitted fabrics were neatly packed in identical cut out boxes (below). This allowed her to display lots of fabrics, whilst maintaining a tidy, eye catching display.

Having specialised in machine knitting during my degree, I can't help but be drawn to an interesting knit. Rachel Hogg's 3D chevron knits (below) were an immediate attention grabber. Hogg's repetitive pattern and colour palette were inspired by "natural forms, such as coral and markings of animals and sea life, as well as from art and architecture".

Visit Hogg's blog for a more in-depth look at the collection: designhogg.blogspot.co.uk

Dawn Jackson's devore knitted fabrics (below) were inspired by artist Kandinsky, and were knitted from 100% lambswool and cotton. Many of Jackson's fabrics were embellished with fringing and mini pompoms, and presented in hoops of varying sizes.

More photos of the collection can be seen on Jackson's website: houseofknit.com

  

"The Big Show" is open to the public at Britannia Mill until Saturday 13th June.

Have you been to the exhibition? Whose work caught your eye?

Image credits:

All photos are mine, apart from...
Rachel Hogg, right photo: designhogg.blogspot.co.uk
Dawn Jackson, right photo: houseofknit.com

Until next week...

-Karen

Pennine Sinfonia Spring Concert

Pennine Sinfonia is a 'scratch' orchestra of professionals, students, graduates and teachers. Biannual concerts are held in aid of Jessie's Fund, a charity that helps children with complex needs through music.

"Music is a powerful way to interact, particularly for kids with communication difficulties."

Saturday's spring concert was held in St Paul's Hall in Huddersfield. As with the previous concerts, I designed and made the tickets, along with a few other decorative pieces...

For this concert I hand cut a sea of silent silhouette trumpeters. I also made a number of custom tickets, cut from purple card and embellished with gold glitter initials, for audience members who RSVP'd.

"I've never seen more attractive tickets for a concert!"

For front-of-house table decorations I hand cut purple flags in a similar design to the poster above, and stood them in glass jars beside handmade paper flowers. I finished the jars with mini tassel bunting. The colour palette throughout was black, purple and gold.

The front of the table was decorated with a handmade tassel banner. These banners are really easy to make, Pinterest has lots of tutorials! (Tip: cut the strips nice and thin.)

I was really happy with how my pieces looked (I received some lovely feedback!) but as always there are a few things I would do differently next time...

Below you can see the fully decorated table. That's my friend Fliss being all smiley and front-of-house!

The concert was a success, raising lots of money for Jessie's Fund!

Do you like my designs and colour palette? What would you have done differently?

Until next week...

Karen