Lucys Latest News

Ring Me - Folksy Friday

2012-03-09T00:25:00.022-08:00

I've finally got an engagement ring! So its official. Its a taken 2 months to get the ring sorted but we got there eventually.

Its a white gold art deco style ring with a sapphire and diamonds. Its took so long to get as i had a few problems with the sizing so its been re-sized twice - don't ask.Anyway this has inspired this today's Folksy Friday post a selection of unusual and eye catching sterling silver rings:

Hope you like the selection. Byeeeeeeeee!!

New In Store

2012-03-07T03:40:00.024-08:00

Howdy folks. Today i want to share with you these three new card designs that are now for sale on my Etsy and Folksy shops.

Easter Kids (Easter card)

Mama Oak (mother's day card)

Bird House (new home card)

Also i'm now offering bespoke illustration via Etsy and Folksy. This could be a special gift for someone close to your heart or an affordable way to get a piece of very personal art for your home. I'll create a one off, entirely unique illustration of whatever your heart desires, whether its a family portrait or something wild and fantastical. You will receive an high quality A3 print and the high resolution image file in an email which will allow you to reprint the image or use it digitally. To find out more check out the listing.

Folky Friday - Spring green

2012-03-01T09:00:00.018-08:00

Its starting to feel like spring is in the air. Yippee that means not long till barbeque season, not that my internal clock revolves around food or anything.
To celebrate the coming of the sun (hopefully), lush green leaves on the blossom heavy trees and sitting on soft, warm grass here are a selection of handmade delights that ooze that spring thing. Just take a look at the 'S' in Folksy on their home page, to me thats the colour of spring.

A zesty little coin purse from MillieMishMash & pretty corsage by Made With Love.

Cute scented bunnies from Pouch followed by a lush felted wool bowl by That Fuzzy Feeling.

Spring pastels garland made by Emma Lamb & Wee Buns Plaque by Leanne Woods.

Gorgeous 'Wild Things' pinafore dress & eye catching art by Teodora Paintings.

Fingers crossed that it will be a sunny, springy weekend.

Oh before you go i have a little request. I've applied for some business funding to help me spread the word about my work and promote my little illustration business.
To secure the funding I need 400 votes. If you like my work I would really appreciate it if you could vote for me & spread the word. To vote visit: www.enterprisenation.com/funding-applications/lucys-happy-place

Thank you :)

Half Baked

2012-02-28T00:59:00.012-08:00

Be warned this is a silly, self indulgent blog post, but i'm compelled to share this with you.

It stems from a realisation that I have had so many ideas that haven't really gone anywhere i've successfully amassed a list of half baked plans and projects. We've all been there - whether its a plan to write your auto-biography or take over the world. Okay they're extreme examples but you know a mish mash of ideas for projects that never quite make it off the page or out of our heads.
Now i feel its time to fess up about these and who knows perhaps it will give you a laugh.

This is my list below, what's yours?

1. Much a Zine About Nothing - a free zine/fanzine about precisely what it says on the tin - nowt really, just stuff.

2. The Caretaker - this is a children's story, of which i have approx written 1/2 of, at a push. I won't giveaway the storyline in case one fateful day I actually finish it. Unlikely given its been in it's half complete state now for 4 years!

3. Make cushion covers from a vintage fabric - I've had the fabric for over 18 months. Need I say more.

4. Do a painting - This would seem strange being I like to call myself an artist and all, but I've not painted in a hell of a long time & very much want to get back into it. I even asked for a set of water colour paints for Christmas just gone. The box is yet to be opened. Think i'm scared to try its been that long.

5. Finish illustrations for Dizzy Dandy - This is a wonderful and very nearly complete Children's story written by a friend. I would just like to point out (in case my friend Andy who wrote this story is reading) that this list is not in order of priority. Andy I promise I will finish this!!

6. Do some street art - The basic premise of this little idea is to produce some sticker art and plaster them all over the city - yeah right. Needless to say I doubt it will happen anytime soon.

7. Make 2 A line skirts - In my possession i've two lots of gorgeous fabric and a pattern, but as yet no skirts. HOWEVER i have cut out the pattern - now thats a start.

8. Baby bunting - I had planned to make some bunting for a friend's nursery as a present for the birth of their baby boy. That baby is now 4. Too late, i have to wait for another baby.

Right now its your turn to confess....

Oh I just remembered i missed one off the originally published post, so this is a little update -

9. Documenting John Snow's ties - A blog dedicated to the ties of John Snow and maybe the odd sock. Simply a daily photo record to show what tie he is wearing today.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz

2012-02-24T00:38:00.005-08:00

Yawn and stretch....
Dragging my carcass out from under the warm duvet this week has been particularly difficult this week. Its possibly due to a cold that i can't shift or perhaps working too hard - but more likely a love of my bed.
These days bedtime is definitely my fave time of day. So as you've already guessed no doubt, this Folksy Friday is dedicated to all things sleep inspired.

Luscious lavendar sleep pillows by Suzie & Me & super cute sleep mask from Hotch Potch

Two lovely mugs one by Julia Davey & one from Julia Smith, suitable for pre-bed horlicks.

Beautiful 'Bedtime Story' print by Victoria Brook & cosy hot-water bottle case by Selvage

Cloud sweet dreamer pack from Rustic Kitsch and dreamy art from Claire Barone

Thats all for this week. Hope you have a happy Friday and an equally happy weekend.
Is it bedtime yet?

More, more, Polyvore

2012-02-20T09:09:00.026-08:00

Being that I’m about 5 years behind everyone else technology wise I've only just discovered what Polyvore is. I keep seeing the word mentioned around and about the place on tinterweb but didn’t actually know what it was. Yesterday however I decided to take a gander and now I think I may be hooked. What a great idea!

It reminds me of being little and intently pawing through the glossy pages of my mum's newly received mail order catalogue marking any items along the way which took my fancy, with the intention of purchasing these with my imaginary unlimited piles of cash.

Well once in Polyvore i couldn't leave without creating a collection and my first one is modeled around this handsome devil below. A naughty impulsive purchase bought from Lucie Ellen's shop on Etsy that i could not resist. Sorry purse!

I tried to import the image from Etsy but unfortunately it wouldn't let me. Perhaps I haven't quite worked out how to use Polyvore properly yet. However considering my luck with technology stuff, its a miracle I was able to do this at all. Heres the set, the first of many i'm sure. Hope you like it. Oh and if you've created any Polyvore sets do please add a link in the comments as I would love to see them.

Etsy Bunting Necklace Set

Yard Sale Heaven

2012-02-18T09:15:00.000-08:00

Today Dave and I went to a vintage yard sale, house clearance which was an absolute Aladdin's cave of wonders.
A big thanks to the lovely Rachael who set up Made In Newcastle for inviting us to such a fab sale. We arrived to find two rooms packed full of awesome vintage finds. 20 years worth of charity shop hunts has done her proud. No surprise then that at 10.30 this morning, 1/2 hour before the sale opening a queue of people had formed outside to grab a bargain... and i mean a bargain.

Now i'm sorry if this makes you jealous but along with a vast amount of ace vintage fabric purchased for a mere £1, I also acquired this beautiful set of Studio Meakin crockery for, wait for it................£3!!! WOOO HOOO! I think you can tell i'm a little bit pleased :D

You can expect to find this crockery popping up in many a product photo in the future.

A collection of ear muffs

2012-02-17T00:43:00.013-08:00

On an icy cold walk to work yesterday morning my ears burned as the chilly air whipped round them. Damn! I’d neglected to wear my much loved ear flap hat purchased from my favourite knitter Brigid Campbell of Irish Granny Originals. On passing the bus stop I jealously spotted a wise girl sporting a pair of ear muffs. When was the last time you wore a pair of these? I think I had some red furry ones when I was about 15.

Upon reaching the office I was given the disappointing news by a workmate that there have been blizzards forecast for the weekend. Definitely an occasion for ear muff wearing if ever there was one, so here is a collection of my favourite gathered from Etsy and Folksy. Admittedly most are from Etsy as Folksy have a serious ear muff deficiency. Oh and I warn you there are bad puns incoming!!

Somewhere over a rainbow I found this piece of awesomeness -

These ear muffs are so hoot right now -

Mary had a little lamb and then she turned him into these beauties. How cute are these kawaii style ear muffs?

Take a walk on the wild side and sport a pair of these -

Adorable teddy ear warmers. Not quite a muff, but close enough!

Or get a personal with a pair of custom made lovelies -

Have a cosy weekend all and keep your little lugholes warm :)

Whatever happened to Made In Newcastle?

2012-02-13T07:43:00.000-08:00

Many moons ago I blogged about the beginning of my involvement in Made In Newcastle or MiN for short, an empty shop project come artist/maker collective which began back in the summer of 2010.
For ages i’ve not really posted anything much about this collective as other things always seem to get in the way, but now seemed like a good time to do a little update about what has been happening. Many people must think its disappeared off the face of the planet. Well it hasn’t and the group, or whats left of us are still very much alive & kicking and in the process of restructuring the way the project works.

In May 2011 our second empty shop finished its temporary occupation of 79 Grainger Street in Newcastle City Centre. For a fair while the group was quite disparate and many of the original members have now left to do other things (such as little things like having children), but there are still a hard core of us left and what we’re working towards could be very exciting indeed.
Unfortunately and I don’t mean to be all 'Secret Squirrel' about it, but I can’t say that much at the moment because nothing is set. However we are at the moment on the look out for a permanent home which we call can our own for more than just 6 months.
If all works out and our master plan goes ahead then MiN will no longer be an empty shop project but hopefully a more permanent fixture on the Newcastle high street.

If you fancy finding out more about the collective and what we do/have done check out the website and blog. Oh and what self-respecting collective wouldn’t have a Facebook page too.

Long live MiN!!

MiN 2 at Grainger St premises.

The original gang outside MiN 1 on Nun Street.

A Folksy Treasury

2012-02-09T12:17:00.000-08:00

As I haven't yet got back to doing Folksy Friday posts as time keeps getting in the way or more appropriately lack of time, I decided instead to create a Folksy treasury. Essentially its the same as a Folksy Friday blog post but with much less text and more lovely pictures, which is the important bit anyway.
Here are my picks. Can you guess what the treasury theme is?

I'm sure you've guessed it although perhaps the swan put a spanner in the works, but doesn't it remind you of a beautiful ice sculpture?
Yup 'Ice' is the treasury theme in homage to the slipping and sliding into work yesterday morning on treacherous sheet black ice. I only just managed to stay upright.
Hope you enjoyed the ice inspired selection. Time to warm myself up with a hot cuppa me thinks. Have a good weekend!

Spread your wings and fly

2012-02-03T05:32:00.000-08:00

No ladies this isn't about sanitary towels ha ha :) Sorry! Crap joke over.

Okay in my last post I warned that I was going to milk my new illustration 'In Flight' as much as possible given the sheer amount of time and graft its taken. I want to use this extended blog post to show you how the image was created and share some more detailed pics of the illustration. I promise once this is out of my system I won't bore you to death and go on about it anymore ; )

The image was inspired by watching a nature documentary some time ago which explained how birds of prey navigate through the trees and the fly through dense forest. As you can imagine it was pretty impressive. I began by sketching the image out in pencil on A4 paper.

Once the pencil drawing was complete I hand traced owly in black fine liner and scanned this into the computer. The girl was left out at this stage as the original drawing of her was quite small so it didn't allow me to add much detail. Instead I opted to blow up the sketch of the girl on the Mac, print it out and work on this larger image. It could then shrunk back down later. After scanning the owl tracing the arduous task of refining the black outline began. This took around 6 hours - ouch >__< Once i was happy with the drawing of the girl, she was also traced in fine liner, scanned onto the computer and the outline refined. Then she was shrunk to her original diminutive size. Ta da! The completed outline:

At this point i managed to deceive myself into thinking that the main bulk of the work was done. Then realised adding the detail in the wings would be a MAMMOTH task. After experimenting it seemed the best way forward was to create a single detailed feather which I could copy, paste and manipulate to fit into each wing feather. The result was this:

Next was owly's body. An altogether different kettle of fish as i soon found the previous method used for the wings could not be applied to the body. Starting with the head first I copy pasted a less detailed feather tip in a circular pattern from the face outwards and used a similar process for the chest and legs but with the feathers more spaced out. The result wasn't that convincing as i didn't feel there was enough detail in the body and head compared to the wings making the style look inconsistent. So i tried applying a pre-made, fur-like texture (created for the Autumn Rain illustration) under the feather pattern. Thankfully it worked. Don't know what I would have done otherwise - cried probably. After adding colour the owl was finally done.

The girl was a LOT more straightforward. I added the colour, then some pattern/texture was pasted into her coat and tights - nice and quick. This was the complete foreground image:

Now all that was needed was a background. I suppose this should have been something I'd thought about when working on the sketch, but hey that would have been too easy. The composition of the owl & girl is arranged as if the viewer is looking up at them from below. This meant whatever was in the background had to be something that would be positioned above the characters ruling out anything on a ground level. Sky was an obvious choice but this would be quite plain on its own. After a brainstorming session mountains seemed the perfect fit.
Eh voila 'In Flight' was complete almost three weeks from when I'd started it - YIKES!!
Quite honestly a ridiculous amount of time to spend on an image. I swear it doesn't normally take me this long to finish a piece.
The illustration is now available on Etsy as an A4 size or larger A3 size glossy print.

Back to business

2012-01-27T07:19:00.000-08:00

Ah well as you can probably see by the lack of posts i've had a little hiatus from blogging.
Christmas was a busy period as i'm sure it was for pretty much everyone, so i feel my December absence is fairly justifiable. However i admit i should have been back to business as usual by January but things just kept coming up.
I've been working on a wedding invitation for two lovely people who are getting married in May.
This is the finished design and i will post a pic of the printed invite when i get mine in the post (i hope).

On that note - i had an extra lovely surprise on my birthday on 17th Jan, that being my boyfriend Dave of 7 & 1/2 years proposed. It was by a loch in Aviemore, Scotland - it should have been very romantic and it was, only i was pretty surprised as i never thought it would happen my initial response was 'are you joking?'. I feel pretty guilty about that now but once i recovered from the shock of course i said yes. There is no ring yet as we're hoping to get one made but when i get it i will post a pic.

Okay what else has held me back from my blogging activity mainly this mammoth illustration which i just had to finish -

Unfortunately this small image doesn't really do it justice as you won't be able to see all the detail that has gone into the wings, which frankly had me pulling my hair out. Therefore over the weekend i'm going to do an extended post on this illustration to show you the work in progress. Basically this is so i can milk it as much as possible haha ;)

Okay so i'll be back soon, promise.

Time Out & Christmas Fairs Ahoy!

2011-11-27T02:04:00.000-08:00

AHH! My Christmas market preparations have reached critical mass.
I'm afraid for the next couple of weeks my blogging antics will be even more thin on the ground than usual. No more Folksy Friday for a bit - sorry.
Next weekend is a BIG weekend for me with two major Christmas fairs which i'm getting stuff together for:

On Sat 3rd Dec from 11am - 4pm, i will be at the Designers Marketplace. Its a well established and well attended event and is my first time at the one in Middlesborough. I've heard great things about it so i'm very excited. I've even planned my stall layout - for me thats super organised!!
The on Sun 4th Dec from 11am - 4pm, you can find me at Made In Newcastle's Christmas Fair at the Royal Station Hotel in Newcastle city centre. The other MiN collective members (special thanks to Judith) and myself have been working really hard to get this ready for a while.
It should be a great day and i'll try & post a couple of pics from the 2 events.

If any of you my lovely followers are around these areas on this day, i would LOVE, LOVE LOVE it if you pop bye and say hello. Stop by & mention that you're a blog follower i'll give you a little freebie to say thanks :)
So its bye from me for a while.

Folksy Friday – Pick Me Up

2011-11-17T08:08:00.000-08:00

I don’t know about you, but this time of year often makes me feel pretty low. The pre-Christmas rush preparing for markets and the festive onslaught, the short days, dark skies and the winter cold make me feel like I want to get away from it all. From mid-October I’m willing for Christmas, just so I can have a holiday and see my folks.
I get the impression that i’m not the only one who feels like this. These last couple of years with the recession and all, have been pretty tough I think for a lot of us who run/try to run small businesses, so there is quite a lot of pressure during the festive season to do as much as possible to make up for it being slow the rest of the year. I imagine a lot of us are stressed and tired and could certainly do with a pick me up.
For this Folksy Friday i’ve picked items that just looking at them makes me smile and gives me a warm feeling. I hope this selection picks you up a little too:

1. Things to make you smile -

Yay this Sweet Suzy plushie is soooo cute:

As is this happy little chap from picture of Grace:

2. A couple of things to make you laugh -

Tee hee i love this:

A Konnie Kapow special, no beating round the bush, ha!:

3. Some things to help you relax -
Perfect for a nice hot bath. Mmmmm:

A chocolate treat without the calories, yum:

4. Maybe you need some motivation -

Gorgeous bookmarks for inspiration:

3. Not feeling any better how about a hug?

5. When all else fails:

Ahh i feel better already, thanks Folksy. Thats a great new look you have by the way!

Etsy Photo Critique

2011-11-16T01:03:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I joined the Etsy Success team on the Etsy community in the hope to get some useful tips on how to help grow my shop. Yesterday when looking on the team's forum i noticed they were asking for volunteers to have the photos in their shops critiqued as part of an online live lab. The idea is to help people create better photos to increase their chances of getting featured in blogs and the such like.

So i volunteered thinking there was no way mine would get picked. Then i got an email saying thanks for volunteering and they'd picked my shop as one of the ones to use.
Woo Hoo!! I was over the moon.

At 9.30ish yesterday night i watched the live labs and pathetically i know, when mine came on i turned into a 6 year old at Christmas. I don't think anyone has ever been so pleased to have someone point out their flaws. It was really constructive and useful. I've learnt about a new function on my camera, got some really good tips on improving my photos and noticed something about my shop which was not apparent before.

You can watch the recorded lab by visiting this link http://www.etsy.com/community/online-labs then from the video library at the bottom of page selecting 'Etsy Success' and 'Michelle Photography'. In case you're interested (i'm sure you don't give a monkeys) my shop comes in at about 22 seconds ;o)

I think the Etsy success team are still looking for volunteers, so who knows you could get your Etsy shop photos critiqued too. Definitely a team worth joining.

Festive Freebies!

2011-11-12T03:08:00.000-08:00

The season of giving is almost upon us and in the spirit of sharing i've created some free festive digital downloads. I've created 3 super cute, kawaii style gift tags and a simple & elegant, modern style, A6 sized Christmas card.
You can print these, email them, use them for your site etc. Pretty much do whatever you wish to do with them, except selling them on please.
This is the 1st time i've every created any digital downloads of my own and i enjoyed it so much i may even put some more freebies your way! So you better follow the blog & keep check or you could miss out ;) Haha sneaked that little plug in there.

Printing instructions for card:
The card design is the full length of a landscape, A5 size sheet. So when you print either copy the image and print 2 cards length-ways on an A4 sheet, or print 1 card length-ways on an A5 sized sheet. The idea is that when folded you'll have an A6 card with an image on front that continues around to back of card. I have also rounded off the edges of card so you can cut round the printed card and have nice rounded edges.

To download the images - click the link(s) below, zoom in to its full size, then right click & save target or save image - its all yours.

Free download-able Christmas gift tags here.

Free download-able Christmas card here.

Folksy Friday - Sleepy Time

2011-11-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

Today its a short and hopefully sweet post featuring a selection of items themed on creatures that hibernate. This time of year makes me want to hibernate too so I'm quite envious of these little critters. Just think, they'll all be snug as a bug in a rug right now and won't wake up until Spring. That's the kind of holiday I want.

1. Hedgehog
First up is this rather brilliant mini world, featuring our spikey friend:

2. Dormouse
This adorable print of a cuddly curled up dormouse perfectly depicts their hibernating state. I love the little feet!

3. Froggies!
Representing the frogs is this beautiful badge from Inspired Naturally:

And this sweet organic cotton baby t-shirt:

4. Bats
I choose this simple but lovely, hand stitched, longeared bat card

and i couldn't resist this cheerful little chap from the fabulously named 'Gosh Darn It'.

5. Butterflies (did you know some fully fledged butterfiles hibernate?)
Wowser look at thats gone into this! A beautiful bargain me thinks:

6. Ssssnakes
This Rainbow Serpent illustration by Studio Two caught my eye, i think it will catch your's too:

and 1 more for luck - these fun little Adam and Eve door hangers. Watch out Adam!:

Actually that post turned out to be not quite as short as I intended. Probably because I found it almost impossible to select only 1 item for each creature. Still, i hope it was sweet though.
Don't forget to check your bonfire piles before you light them this weekend for sleeping hedgehogs.
Byeeeee!!!

The weekend that was

2011-10-31T03:42:00.000-07:00

Having managed to cram quite a bit in this weekend, I thought I would bore you all and give you a little run down on what I got up to ;)

Firstly I put 2 Christmas cards (Snow Globe and Gingerbread Forest) and a new coaster featuring my 'Autumn Rain' illustration on Etsy and Folksy:

Sat afternoon we visited town to source some more bits for my spider costume and find something for Dave's get up - a last minute effort. Town was heaving with people and judging by the long queue for the fancy dress shop most had a Halloween night out in mind.
For Dave’s zombie costume (if all else fails go as a zombie) we began a hunt for fake blood. Unfortunately everyone else in Newcastle seemed to have the same idea so there was none to be found anywhere. Luckily we managed to find two phials of the stuff left over from previous years, gathering dust in a cupboard at home.

Our resulting efforts looked like this:

All set we headed off to ‘Fright Night’ at the Baltic, where once again there were some pretty awesome costumes. The best for me (even though he didn’t win a prize) was a guy who went as Jack Torrance in the Shining. The scene when ‘Jack’ puts his head through the door after chopping through it with an axe. He spent the night with his head through a constructed piece of smashed up door and an axe in his hand. Inspired! Wish I had my camera.

Despite drinking too much at the Halloween bash I managed to wake up on Sunday with only a mild hangover and felt surprisingly motivated. So I added the selection of makers and artists getting involved in an online handmade Christmas gift trade, which I wrote about in this post. The trade is now on!
It should be lots of fun and a great way to get some gorgeous Christmas gifts. If you would like to take a peek at the traders taking part click on the 'Maker Christmas Trade (North East)' tab. Also the more the merrier, so if you’re a maker/artist in the North East & would like to take part please read how it works: http://lucyfarfort.blogspot.com/2011/09/maker-christmas-trade-for-north-east.html and send me your info. I’ll only be adding new submissions until the end of this week, so you will need to send me your details asap of you’d like to take part.

So that was my weekend. Hope you all had a good one too.

Happy Handmade Halloween

2011-10-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Rather than a Folksy Friday this week this is an extended post featuring lots of Halloween themed goodies I’ve discovered from a variety of online handmade retailers.
I’m a fan of Halloween as I love the atmosphere, colours and imagery associated with this time of year. I also enjoy a good spooky dress up if I have the energy and time to make a costume.

This year I’m planning on going to the Baltic’s ‘Fright Night’ do. I went for the first time last year and it was a really fun night out. Everyone was dressed up and some of the costumes were brilliantly creative. My personal favourite was a scary version of the milk bottle cartoon character from Blur’s music video for Coffee and T.V. Yes it was random but that’s what made it so wonderful.

When it comes to dressing up for Halloween I’m a firm believer in home-made costumes. Buying/hiring an outfit from a fancy dress shop to me defeats the point. Half the fun is making it yourself and coming up with weird and wonderful ways to get the desired effect.
I plan on going as a spider this year, so I’ll post some photos after the event if poss.

The picks in this post are based on things which would go toward the perfect Halloween party. Here’s a selection of some of the creepy creations I found:

1st things first, you need to get some friends in for the party. These invitations are sure to catch their eye:

or how about this party pack, which would be especially good for a kids event:

To conjure up the right atmosphere decorations are a must. Heres some i found earlier. Spooktacular window decals:

A nice touch for your creepy (or crappy if it was my baking) cupcakes:

If its a more sophisticated Halloween bash, how about a nice wreath for the door?

or

Or what about this for a feature? Wowee!

Now for the party food.
Finger food is always popular....mwahahaha.

Cute chocolate treats. Yum!

I love these fab eye cake balls. They're sure to be a talking point.

Hmm what to wear? If you're as tired as me of seeing sexy witches and cats then its time to opt for something a little less cliche. If you have to buy a costume here are some good options (cash-flow dependent).

A stunning day of the dead costume. You'll be the hell, belle of the ball!

If you need some wings for your costume then these are pretty flipping awesome:

I found a shop on etsy called PoshFairytaleCouture. Go take a look. Some of the stuff on there is out of this world. Unfortunately my dressing up budget at the moment wouldn't stretch that far. However if money wasn't an issue then i'd be getting this:

Okay its not spooky, but it would certainly win you a few fancy dress prizes for the most obscure and wonderful creation.

For those friends who can't make it along to your most fabulous handmade halloween bash, poor sad folk that they are, they'll just have to make do with a Halloween card. These will go someway to help compensate:

Have a good one. If anyone else is going to the Baltic Fright Night, say hello to the friendly spider.

Folksy Friday - wrap up

2011-10-20T12:40:00.000-07:00

Getting out of bed these past couple of days has become increasingly difficult due to the arctic conditions that exist outside the safety of my duvet cover. In my part of the world, up in that there Northern place - Newcastle Upon Tyne, it is flipping cold. Its only October and it feels like mid-winter already. To top it off our house is freezing and I sit here typing this post in a huge old parka, relegated for use as a house coat. It may be tatty but its warm and I call it my sleeping bag coat.
Sorry to be the harbinger of doom but judging by the last few days I'm guessing this year's gonna be another freezing winter. So in preparation for the bitter onslaught, I've themed this FF post on things to help you keep warm this winter.

1. The hat to have in my opinion is this gorgeous beret hat from a knit for all seasons who have loads of lovely items:

2. I‘ve fallen in love with the knitting style and colour of this lovely scarf. Its simple and elegant.

3. Still on a scarf tip as you can never have too many, i found this fab neck warmer. I'm a sucker for anything teal/turquoise.

4. This eye catching shawl from shawl the crafty bride will add some colour to your winter wardrobe. Fab!

5. Keep your hands warm, with these cute powder blue mittens:

6. I can definitely see myslf sat in front of the fire with a good book and this blanket over my knees. You must check out the crochet in this shop its seriously good.

7. I love these cute knee length woolly socks, they look sooo cosy.

8. Last on my list is a coat. An essential bit of winter kit and this one is beautiful. Its got such a flattering cut, so you can be stylish and warm at the same time.

Keep cosy everyone.

Calendar follow up

2011-10-17T05:08:00.001-07:00

I have now put my calendars into production and you can purchase them from my Etsy or Folksy shops. Each is cut with rounded edges and bound, so you can flip over the pages for ease and hang them from the wall. After looking into costs i have put the price up to £11 so not much more than the orginally planned price of £5. Also i have jigged around a couple of the images as my boyfriend pointed out the bunny balloon illustration would probably be more fitting for April because of Easter, which made sense.

The first batch of calendars i'm printing will be on linen card stock. There will be a total of 9 of these made. I wanted to print all of them on this but unfortunately the company where i get it from has now run out and won't be getting anymore in. So the 2nd batch will be on satin photo paper, which will also look great.
I'll be printing a max of 20 and will list only a few at a time online, as if possible I would like to take a few to the markets i'll be taking part in over Christmas. If you would like one and can't find any left on Etsy or Folksy, please email me (lucyfarfort@yahoo.com) and i will send you one from the market allocated batch.

Below are photos of the printed calendar, using the linen card stock. There is also one image of the calendar cover design + a montage of all the calendar months (except December as this is show in the photo).

2012 Calendar

2011-10-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

Yippee!! I've finally finished enough illustrations for my 2012 calendar which i'll soon be putting into production. The 12 images will be a mix of some of my older illustrations and some new ones which i've been creating recently. I'm only going to produce around 10 of these and possibly a few more on request only, so they will be very limited edition.

The format for the calendar will be A4 portrait and i'll be printing this and binding this myself, rather than getting it done at a printers, so it will have a nice handmade feel. It will be some kind of spiral binding as its nice to be able to flip the pages over.
Also i'm not sure about the cost yet as i guess it will depend on what paper is used, but i was thinking about £10. Anyway the most important thing has been decided - that being the images, so here are the 12 images:

January - Home on the ice

February - Robot Love (valentines)

March - Whale

April - Love bird

May - Home sweet home

June - Craft is sweet

July - Bunny Balloon

August - The Journey

September - Tree house retreat (autumn)

October - Autumn rain

November - Resting place

December - Snow globe

Looking forward to making them up and i'll put a few online once done. Fingers crossed they'll be ready by mid October. If i get the chance i may even make a couple up for the Make Ends Meet market which i'm attending on Sat 15th Oct. If you're in the area on that day (Newcastle that is) you should drop into Heaton Perk Coffee Shop where i'll be from 4pm - 7pm. Its on Heaton Park Road in yes you guessed it 'Heaton'. Not only will there be some lovely arty folks selling their wares, there will also be free Tunnocks tea cakes and wafers. Get in!!

Folksy Friday - Time flies if you’re having fun or not

2011-09-29T07:15:00.000-07:00

What?! Its October tomorrow, already?
It occurs to me that once you reach a certain age, say 18, the concept of time begins to change. When once waiting for the arrival of a holiday, your birthday and Christmas seemed like an eternity, it increasingly starts to feel like Christmas comes a lot more than once a year. Tomorrow is October, yes and I can scarcely believe it. More worrying still is that at the age of 32 and having been told on many occasions that time will only move quicker, I estimate that in about 20 or so years, it will feel to me that an average year will last about 3 months. Well that’s depressing isn’t it (sorry) :-/
On a brighter note lets look at some lovely things I’ve found on Folksy with my chosen theme of time this week:

1. This time next year I’m going to be a millionaire! My first featured is this colourful, framed, collage artwork by 100 percent delicate

2. The workmanship in this beautiful, pine, country house style wall clock, is pretty special. Available from Cheshire Woodware.

3. Could be something to help slow down time - a luscious sounding anti-ageing cream from NOG. I admit I 'm a bit of a lotions and potions addict and this sounds lovely so I may give it a go:

4. I love this sweet little felt brooch made to look like a pocket watch by Kaela Mills. What a lovely little idea.

5. This cute rocket clock from Jigsaw Wooden Products, would make a wonderful addition to a children’s room.

6. I really love this rustic looking, Time Flies metal hanging from Kettle of Fish, who have lots of very lovely things in their shop which you must go see.

7. The Bookity folks have created this super cool wallet, created from the ‘Brief History of Time’ book. What an inspired idea!

8. My final pick for today is this innovative and functional pin master pin cushion, available from the Cajame Creations shop.

Before I say toodle pip, I want to sneak in this extra little item. It has nothing to do with time (except when I was searching for time themed things strangely it came up), but it is so intriguingly geeky and wonderful that I decided just to put it in anyway:

Now I better get back to work, no time to waste!

Welcome in the winter

2011-09-27T04:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry for mentioning that word (winter *whispers*) when its only just turned Autumn, but it is round the corner and if you can't beat it, join it.....or something like that.

This is just a mini post to show off 2 new illustrations i've just completed that are very appropriate for the winter season. I've mainly produced them for the December and January images in a 2012 calendar which i'm making and hope to have on sale by mid-late October. However they will also be available as a print and a Christmas card once i've got round to putting them on my Folksy and Etsy shops. Even more exciting, the card will soon be available in the Well Read Bookshop, in Northumbria University Student's Union, as the lovely buyer lady has asked to stock my cards - yippee!!

So here are the illustrations. The first one 'Snow Globe' will be a card:

This next one 'Home On The Ice' will be available as a print:

In the meantime, as we've been told by the weather predicty folks that its supposed to be a heat wave this week (eh?), I hope you enjoy whats left of the sun.

Folksy Friday - Rainbow Bright

2011-09-22T05:27:00.000-07:00

I intended to have this theme for my Folksy Friday post last week but didn’t get a chance to post (sorry), but this week it’s getting an airing. I’m going down the rainbow road (a little nod there to Mario Kart fans) simply because my eyes are always attracted to bright, multi-coloured stuff. I've never really been one for pastel shades or muted subtle tones. Although saying that, I do admire artists who can restrain themselves and limit their use of colour, as i find it incredibly difficult to do this in my work.
This theme is more about the use of colour than rainbows themselves. It may be a little out of season now the nights a drawing in and the chill is in the air, but hey I hope it brightens your day.

1. I Love this fun and stylish rainbow cubes t-shirt by illustrator Alicia Yolanda, currently on sale for a bargain price of £7!! She has some brilliant stuff in her shop, go take a peek.

2. There is not much i need to say about this stained glass panel from Dimo Glass except that it is simply stunningly beautiful:

3. Another eye-catcher is this simple and sweet little glass rainbow ornament by Abunda. Very pretty.

4. One of my favourite Folksy shops is the Rainbow Room from Clara Luna and I couldn’t possibly have a rainbow themed FF post without featuring something from this shop. This little beaut is inspired:

5. Look at this piece of awesomeness from Emma Farnworth. I’ve seen some lovely necklaces incorporating stamps, but this really is something else:

6. This luscious and hypnotic art print from Dig the Earth would look great in my work room. Unfortunately there seems to be no stock in their shop today, although when i began writing this post there was, so perhaps check back in the future to see their lovely stuff.

7. I came across this cute tote available at the fabulous bags shop:

8. Check out this amazing collage artwork by Caroline Rose who has some absolutely beautiful work in her shop -

All these colours have inspired me to go forth and create. Bye y’all.

Maker Christmas Trade. NorthEast based makers, artists, crafters

2011-09-17T01:24:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all those who have shown an interest in this so far. So here is how it works.

Firstly this is a trade rather than a swap. I know theres not much difference but a swap suggests you're giving away items you no longer want. The trade ethic is rather than using money to purchase something, you use your skills and resulting creations as currency.
PLEASE NOTE: The blog is merely to facilitate the process and enable makers to contact each other in the knowledge that they are potentially interested in trading. It is not moderated & I won't get involved in anyone else's trade.

To take part you must be a maker/artist/photographer/crafter (all disciplines welcome) & have:
1. An online shop on Etsy, Folksy or another online craft retailer. OR
2. Work on Flicker, Photobucket or similar site, which allows others to see photos of your products and more detailed descriptions of product. OR
3. A website, blog, or portfolio of work online, which has images of products & full descriptions.
AND
Have an email address.

~~The Trading Process~~
A categorised list of all those willing to trade will be posted on blog from 30 October to 30 November (by when exchanges should be complete). During trade month the participating crafters & artists can look through the list and if they wish to contact a fellow maker(s) to offer an exchange it is entirely up to them. There is no obligation to trade.

For each trader listed there will the following info which you will need to send me:
a) Their name and business name.
b) Brief description of what they make, i.e. digital artworks, jewellery etc.
c) A *link(s) to the maker's site, online shop or page where people can view images of their products, including full descriptions, item costs, and postage costs.
d) If relevant details of product types that the maker does not wish to include in trade.
e) What items the maker is interested in trading for, e.g. bag, necklace, print etc.
f) The maker's email address for contact from potential trade mate(s)

*If you're linking to Etsy/Folksy shop etc, be aware that if this product sells from that site during trade month, potential trade mate(s) may no longer be able to see that item.

Exchange of traded items can be done in person on a day arranged by those involved, or through the post. If posting please agree a date when item(s) will be sent so you both know when you can expect to get them. All items must be in post by 30th November at latest.

Important note on postage costs:
Depending on the kind of item you're offering the postage cost may be more or less than that of the item you're proposing to trade with. Therefore you'll need to negotiate with your trade mate to work this out. E.g. it may be best to meet up and exchange in person, perhaps offer an additional item to cover postage difference, or even pay cash to cover difference. It is entirely at trader's own discretion & something you should consider when looking for trade(s). We don't want anyone left out of pocket.

~~ Trade tips ~~
1. Please keep it friendly and be considerate. If you get an offer to trade and for whatever reason you don't wish to do so, please be nice and bear in mind this process is not moderated. Remember to think about difference in postage cost so no one is left out of pocket.

2. The process should be negotiable & flexible and please be realistic when offering a trade. Hey if you’re feeling brave you may even want to do a three way trade.

3. The trade contract is based on trust. You must have faith in your trade mate(s) to send their item(s) & vice versa.

4. You & your trade mate may wish to send items recorded delivery to ensure you can claim back cost if lost in post.

To take part email me your details for the list as outlined previously to lucyfarfort@yahoo.com or fill out the form for your trading info here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/V9YXDVS as soon as possible (Further traders info will no longer be added to list after 1st week in Nov).

Trade anyone?

2011-09-14T00:39:00.000-07:00

I got talking to a fellow crafter at a market earlier this year and we agreed it would be a good idea to do a craft trade with other makers/artists for Christmas gifts. With the economic downturn many of us are struggling at the moment and Christmas can be an expensive time of the year.

When discussing this idea originally the thought of organising a venue and stall holders, was quite off putting. Then it hit me - we don't need a venue. Most crafters sell online, so they effectively already have a stall, all thats needed is a central point to host it from = the blog, perfect!
Sorry to exclude people, but I'm proposing this be a regional/local trade, for North East crafters. As this would make numbers more manageable (depending on who's interested) and would also allow the possibly, once all the swaps have been agreed, for us to meet for a drink and actually hand over items in person. It goes without saying that makers outside the NE can set up trades on their own individual blogs, for their region.

At the mo this is just an idea & before I go about setting this up your input is needed:

1. Firstly is anyone actually interested in taking part? Please can you ask your fellow NE crafters if they'd be interested too. Because there is no point if only a few peeps are interested.

2. How to do it. My plan is to list all the makers/artists taking part on my blog & put links to their items online, prices and what they are wiling to swap and for what kind of items.
**BUT how can the swapping process work so that its diplomatic, friendly and makers don't end up falling out because someone would rather trade for a diff item etc, etc? I guess the simplest way would be to leave it up to individuals involved to contact their potential trade mates by email, but could this also cause problems if say 'Maker A' isn't interested in any items on offer from 'Maker B'.**
Does anyone have any suggestions?

Please post a comment on my blog or face book wall: http://www.facebook.com/LucyFarfortIllustrator if you're interested in taking part &/or have suggestions on how to run it.

Folksy Friday - Harvest Time

2011-09-09T00:37:00.000-07:00

This year has gone so incredibly fast, i blinked and missed most of it. Its Autumn already?!
Well this means it will soon be Harvest Festival time. I'm not exactly sure what that means, except for when i was at primary school, all the kids had to bring in tins of food to be put into a giant decorated box destined for a third world country. The box was usually filled with the tins of string beans gathering dust from the back of several mother's kitchen cupboards. Looking at it now it seems pretty harsh that people generally donated their most unwanted tins of food, when it was going to be sent to a starving child. I guess it all counts.

**Actually harvest festival is is an annual celebration which occurs around the time of the main harvest of the region. Harvest is from the Anglo-Saxon word haverfest, "Autumn". It then came to refer to the season for reaping and gathering grain and other grown products.
Harvest festivals are traditionally held on or near the Sunday of the Harvest Moon, the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox.**
I don't really know if this information is accurate, as i'll be honest i got it from Wikipedia and we all know what thats like for reliability

1. An absolutely fab and functional present for someone with an allotment is this set of 5 veg tags. A great little idea from Krafts4Kenya:

2. Perfect for the theme today is this very cute 'Acorn Harvest' illustration, by Lucy Consolo. She has some lovely work in her shop, go see.

3. take a peek at this gorgeous Autumn leaf brooch from the 'By Sally' shop. Love the colours

4. Wow these little fellas are awesome. A needle felted pumpkin bowl with lid, so creative and cute to boot!

5. These veggie moustache greeting cards available from 'Kikichoo' made me laugh. Anything with a moustache is okay by me ^__^

6. I found this really beautiful poppy bangle at the Cassiopi shop. I choose it because of the lovely autumnal colours:

7. The detail in this teeny weeny vegetable basket is incredible. Grandma's Miniature Market is really a feast for the eyes. Makes me want to start growing my own veg, although i don't think my 8ftx 8ft back yard would agree.

8. The final pic of today is this lovely autumn art print from LauriePunzzle Land. Love her style and the pattern element in her art work:

I just wish we could trade in some winter months for some more Autumn months so i can enjoy those beautiful warm colours for a bit longer.
Byeeeee!!

An invitation for the BIG day

2011-09-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

For a while now i've been thinking about offering my illustration services for wedding invitations. Such a lovely thing to be involved in don't you think? Creating a piece of work for such a special and personal day.

The plan is to produce some stock designs for my site, Folksy & Etsy shops, that can be customised for individual couples. As well as these stock designs, I also want to offer people a bespoke service, where a one off invitation is created exclusively for that particular couple.
The only very slight set back is that if i'm going to print the invites myself it will need to be for a limited number of invitations as i don't think my printer would be capable of producing the number of invites required for a 'Kate and Wills' style wedding ha ha. Not that i expect to be designing for the stars, nor particularly want to. Hey who knows if Jordan gets married again i could be in there!

Although i had thought about this earlier in the year, one thing or another got in the way so i didn't get time to put my plan into action properly. However i produced the 'Bunny balloon' illustration below with this in mind and i intend this to be one of my stock designs.

I seem to have quite a few friends getting hitched in the near future. Congratulations to all of you! Looking forward to dancing around like an idiot at your receptions.
It is from here that i will have first commission. I'm delighted and honoured to be designing the invites for my friend's Erin Hill-Parks and Dave Phillip's wedding as my first commission. I'm very excited to start the invites and of course go the wedding which is in the beautiful setting of Lake Orta, Italy. Need to start saving now!

I've noticed that some of the prices for wedding stationery are exorbitant and i really want to make my designs as affordable as possible, because i'm pretty sure weddings aren't cheap affairs ;) Also as a fan of the DIY budget wedding, i would like my service to be accessible for these as well. So if anyone has friends, family or are themselves thinking about doing the deed and are on the look out for some wedding invites with a difference i would love to hear from you.

Once i've completed the invite for Dave's and Erin's big day i will definitely show it off on here, so keep your eyes peeled.

Feast Your Eyes on this - Etsy artists

2011-09-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

One of the things I like most about Folksy and Etsy is that they're a gold mine of some absolutely fantastic artwork.
I'm always coming across new and beautiful works from really talented artists. Some are so creative and beautiful that I must admit as well as making my heart flutter, they also make it sink a little in the knowledge that I will probably never create something as lovely. I know, i know... i shouldn't think like that and of course i'll keep striving to produce a piece as wonderful. However I just can't help being a teeny bit jealous. I do hope its not just me that gets this way.
Anyway i'll get over it ;-)

This awesomely stunning work has inspired me to create an Etsy treasury to show off some of the beauties i've found.
I'll let the work speak for itself: 'Captured my heART, Etsy Treasury'

Folksy Friday post - A good bake!

2011-09-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry been a bit slack on the old FF posts for a while. Mainly because I was on holiday one week and had a project to finish off following the break, so i’ve not had the chance to post for a while. I was planning on doing a little bit about the holiday, however that intention was slightly scuppered since I was unable to take any holiday snaps. This was due to a water based incident which led to Dave’s camera (purchased as a birthday present 2 months prior) getting an unwelcome bath in the Portuguese waves. Writing about a holiday with no pictures to accompany the tale seems a bit pointless, hence no holiday post.

Anyway back to the grind as they say. One of the fab things to return to though is my fave t.v. programme ‘The Great British Bake Off’ (Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC2). Yum all those tasty baked creations. Just wish I could bake a cake to save my life! I blame our crap oven, ahem. As you may now have guessed it is this programme which has inspired this weeks Folksy Friday post.

1. To kick off the list i've chosen this fab 'Bake More Cake' letter press print. I've always been a fan of letter press and its elegant simplicity, even though its something i've never really got into myself. I always managed to make a complete mess when printing, getting more ink on myself than the page.

2. This very fitting 'Great British Biscuit Apron' just had to go in. This would make an ace present for an avid baker. Love it!

3. Check out this awesome bread board from the Earthome shop. Stylish and functional. It looks like there could be some other fab boards available in their shop in the future judging by the pics in their shop banner.

4. I'm a bit partial to crocheted food items and on Folksy there are certainly many to choose from. This wonderfully random crocheted jammy dodger tape measure holder takes the biscuit... ha ha (sorry).

5. Clever, functional and recyclable this cardboard cake strand would make a fab feature at a birthday party. You can find this at the Card Tiers shop.

6. Yum yum. A very delicious looking lemon meringue pie soap. Definitely looks good enough to eat, only you probably shouldn't or you'll be blowing bubbles for days (from both ends).
The SoapyLicious shop has some other very scrummy looking products too.

7. I couldn't resist this perfect little iced doughnut pin cushion from Woolly Duck. In the words of Homer 'Mmmm dooouugghhnuts' *drool*.

8. Finally i stumbled across this lovely 'Home Baking' fabric covered notebook, made by the talented Jane Lightfoot. The lady has serious sewing skills. The ideal place to note down all your baking recipes and secrets.

If my post has inspired you to bake and you get an irrepressible urge to send some of your tasty baked treats such as cake my way, then that is absolutely fine by me :)
Have a great weekend x

From start to finish

2011-08-17T06:20:00.000-07:00

On several occasions people have asked me how i create my illustrations. I'll always make a point to state that my work starts off as a hand drawing, because i think many people understandably imagine that it is digitally drawn using Adobe Illustrator or another such programme.
The truth is it would probably be a LOT easier if i produced work in this way, but the process i use naturally developed over time and now i'm too stuck in my ways to try something else.
Perhaps it stems from the many years of kicking against graphic software packages, before i realised that if I didn't take the step to use these new fangled technologies, I would quickly get left behind. Therefore it is only after I have the initial pencil drawing on paper that my illustrations move on screen to begin their digital life.
I thought i'd write a post to give people an insight into the process and some current work i'm producing for a competition conveys this process well.

Initial hand drawing (pencil on A4 paper):

Hand traced drawing in black fine liner. At this stage I will scan the image into Photoshop:

Following a long laborious process of essentially refining the scanned line and drawing with the mouse (which is what gave me tendonitis) it looks something like this:

Once I have the black outline exactly as I want it which can take between 3 - 8 hours (yikes!) depending on level of detail/size of illustration, i'll start adding colour and then move onto pattern and texture. Then lastly i'll add in the shading. The final illustration looks like this:

So now you know. Its a really long old process and i'm guessing not the most efficient, but the result is worth it (most of the time).

Thankfully i'm going on holiday tomorrow for 5 days, so i'll get a rest from slaving away on the Mac for a while. I absolutely can't wait to have a break, seeing as Christmas was the last time i had time off. WOO HOO!!

Illustration Giveaway - we have a winner

2011-08-12T04:19:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who entered my blog giveaway. All the names were put into a hat, Dave's sweaty cap to be precise (as that was all I had to hand) and a name was chosen.

The lucky winner is Carol, out of, off of Orange Bird Studio. Congratulations. I will be in touch shortly to find out which illustration print you would like from the following: Resting Place (purple or yellow version), Robot Love, The Classics, Whale and Me, Love Bird, The Journey, Tree House Retreat (autumn or summer version), Craft Is Sweet, Jelly Loves Ice Cream, Home Sweet Home or Bunny Balloon Ride.

Thanks again.

Folksy Friday - What Makes England Great

2011-08-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

Cripes what a week! After all the chaos this week i want to dedicate this post to something I hold close to my heart and I feel others should too that being multiculturalism and diversity.
I know everyone has their own opinions about the causes of riots and i don't want to get into any political debates as I feel like i've ranted enough for quite a while. However i'm concerned that these riots will lead to bigoted people pointing fingers at the black community & other ethnic communities as one of the causes of these awful events - which is bull. They will inevitably add fuel to the fires of those who are just waiting for an excuse to crack open their big box of racism and hate. I'm sure the EDL and other such fascist/racist organisations will be lapping this up.

One of the best things about England, if not THE best thing is its mixed and culturally diverse society. It makes this little Island more vibrant and allows us to take the best bits of all the different cultures and produce great things. This Folksy Friday is about celebrating that.

1. My first find today is this gorgeous snap clutch bag from the Urban Knit Shop. Sure to catch an envious look from your girl friends on a night out:

2. No the summer isn't over yet! Check out this beautiful 'Summer Breeze' bead necklace from the Jova shop. Stunning and very tempting.

3. This original painting of a Geisha from Japan Corner is lovely and its only £22. For some gorgeous original artwork thats a snip!

4. I love the colour and pattern on these matching pendant and earring set from Ama Attea. This is another bargain find at £8!

5. One of the things that really caught my eye is this unusual and wonderful piece of pewter artwork. Its so unique and i've certainly never seen anything like this before. Beautiful!

6. I have fallen in love with this charming ring which i found in the Chikako jewellery shop. The colours are captivating. Unfortunately the seller is away on holiday so you'll have to wait until they return to get your hands on it :)

7. Next is this fabulous cushion available from Batik Batik is awesome. The fabric is amazing don't you think?

8. It took me a while decide between these earrings from Flair Creations or the heart ones also for sale in her shop, which are ace too. You'll just have to take a look in the shop to see what i mean.

9. This rose hair clip by Yoossi Petite is beautiful and i wanted to buy it to take on holiday with me but unfortunately this seller is away too. Oh well, lets see if i have any money left when i come back.

Well thats all. Lets embrace the wonderful vibrancy of England and celebrate diversity in all its forms.
Happy Friday. x

Folksy Friday - Columbus eat your heart out

2011-08-05T00:15:00.000-07:00

Today I am going to be a theme thief because the FF post is all about exploration and this is also one half of the theme for the next issue of Novel magazine and that is where I got the idea from.
I've been working on a new illustration for the next issue of Novel magazine most of this week, so I thought why not tie that in my post today.
I'll also reveal the new illustration for Novel once the said issue is published. Right lets go explore:

1. You can't go trekking without knowing which direction your going in first, well you can but you'll probably get lost, so this lovely little trinket should help:

2. Whilst exploring the land of Folksy I came across this captivating, original painting for sale in the Cheery Deary shop:

3. This vintage style, safari print leather camera strap will certainly help you look like an intrepid adventurer. Right where's my safari suit?

4 .You'll need a Journal to help document your finds so how about one of these lovely classic leather bound journals (they're so fab I couldn't decide between them). This one from Susan Green Books:

or this available at Earthworks Journals:

5. I love this unique map covered toy chest. A great way to stimulate kids imagination - all those wonderful adventures just waiting to be set free from the chest.

6. To me exploring conjures up images of being in the countryside. Particularly walking and rock climbing, as this is something I love doing. Therefore I've selected this beautiful carved walking stick to assist in getting up those steep trails:

7. A must for the modern day adventurer is a GPS. I stumbled across a very cute Sat Nav case by pip designs.

8. My last featured item today is this sweet little trinket box, perfect for storing your cache on return from your adventures. You'll find this in the Aladdin's cave of a Folksy shop 'Zuzu's Petals Altered Art 'n' Stuff'.

Right friends, lets go adventuring!

Illustration NE Exhibition 2011

2011-08-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to the launch of the Illustration NE 2011 which i am honored to have my work in. It is the 2nd year of this event organised by designer Laura Cartwright, who has done an absolutely amazing job. The event is being held for a month at Sanctuary Artspace in St Edmunds chapel, Gateshead.
Not only is it a fab exhibition of around 18 artists work, it is also a pop up shop with a variety of the artists work for sale - such as prints cards etc. I'm selling some handmade notebooks, coasters, prints and cards.

After having a look at all the work which is hung salon style and looks brilliant, i had the pleasure of meeting artist and fellow Folksy/Etsian Alicia Yolanda. I love her colourful and fun work which you can check out on her online shop. I bought one of her whale mugs from the launch event as i've been admiring them for a while and it is going to be a great present for my friend's a birthday. I also met illustrator Katie Chappel and couldn't resist getting a card with her cute Mexican Axolotl illustration on:

Here are a few pics from the launch so you can take a look at the salon style art hanging which i think really makes the work look stunning and sets off the chapel walls nicely.

Thanks Laura for organising such a fab event and giving me the opportunity to take part.

Folksy Friday - You lucky, lucky b!@*tard

2011-07-29T00:43:00.000-07:00

Thank flip its Friday as its been a long week. Dave (my long suffering bf) had an interview yesterday for a job he's wanted for a long time. Its a lectureship based here in Newcastle, so it means we won't have to face the upheaval of moving to a strange new city. Actually I've always enjoyed moving around and I've lived in a few places in England. However its coming to that point now where I like the idea of settling somewhere and the thought of leaving friends behind yet again, is frightening.

To be honest I started writing this post yesterday when Dave was at his interview, expecting to find out the result today. However he found out around 4.30 yesterday and guess what - he got the job YIPPEE!!
With that in mind i came up with the theme 'luck' as tribute to the good wishes I was sending Dave's way. I believe we make our own luck in this world - although sometimes its nice to have a helping hand.

1. I've always admired the iconic and colourful images of Hindu deities. One of the many things that Ganesha is god of is success. I found this wonderful solar lantern made in the Glow Box shop. Check out their other ace lamps.

2. Another striking symbol representing luck and fortune is the Maneki Neko - or lucky cat, which can be seen in many Chinese establishments. Loving this card at the Hello.Konnichiwa shop:

3. I wish the best for you. Next is this beautiful silver, dandelion pendant.

4. Astrid Weigal has produced these striking fabric panels below. her shop is full of lovely things designed and made by her own fair hands.

5. Take a look at Janine Basil's pop art inspired shop chock full of funky head gear. I'm not a fascinator fan but this Aces headband she has created is fab:

6. The luck of the Irish be with you! The penultimate item featured this week are these St Patrick's day, shelf blocks. They'd be a great house warming gift don't you think?

And one more for luck. I've gone of track a little as this one is an Etsy find, but i couldn't resist having it in -

7. This beautiful Seven lucky Gods print of an original painting is one of the many gorgeous prints you'll see in Matthew Mayer's etsy shop:

By the way in case you didn't get it the title of this post is a quote from the dungeon seen in the hilarious Monty Python film 'Life of Brian', for all you MP virgins :)
Oh yeah and if you are feeling lucky today why not enter my giveaway.

Illustration Giveaway

2011-07-22T02:05:00.000-07:00

Hello friends, the usual Folksy Friday post today is being deferred in favour of something more exciting - a giveaway!!
To celebrate reaching 500 Facebook fans I'm giving away an A4 picture mounted print.
One of you lucky folks can choose an illustration print from any of those listed below which can be seen on my Folksy or Etsy shop or on the illustration page on my website:

Resting Place (purple or yellow version), Robot Love, The Classics, Whale and Me, Love Bird, The Journey, Tree House Retreat (autumn or summer version), Craft Is Sweet, Jelly Loves Ice Cream, Home Sweet Home or my latest illustration Bunny Balloon Ride.

Anyone can enter and to be in with a chance of winning all you need to do is either of the following by Thursday 11th August:

1. Briefly comment on your Facebook page wall about this giveaway and include a link to this blog post. Then leave a comment at the end of this post with a link to your Facebook page.

or

2. Tweet about this giveaway via your twitter account and include a link to this blog post. Then leave a comment on this post with a link to your Twitter page.

Then i will enter your name into the prize draw. That's it.

I'll announce the winner on Friday 12th August and i'll ask the lucky monkey to let me know which print they would like and to email me their postal address, so i can post the goods :)

Newbies

2011-07-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a good weekend. I had a great time despite the torrential down-pours, as it was Dave's graduation so it involved lots of bubbly which is always a bonus.

Just a quick update to let you know whats new in my world. Firstly my illustration for Novel magazine has been published. This is the full thing revealed as in a previous post I only unveiled a snippet:

Unfortunately due to limited space in the magazine it was published online rather than in print.

You can find it here and read the article that it accompanies:

http://www.novelmagazine.co.uk/index.php/2011/07/why-do-whales-pee-through-a-hole-in-their-head/

The other thing i wanted to update you on is my exhibition along with 16 other North East based illustrators. The exhibition officially opens on the 2nd August and goes on till 25th Aug. There will also be a pop-up shop throughout the event, selling the exhibiting artist's work . To find out more visit the Facebook page

Here is the lovely poster designed by Laura Cartwright:

I am now selling my work in Winkin Bitsy's Tiny Emporium a lovely little shop in Ferryhill, County Durham, run by a fellow artists Helen Temperley. Visit the Winkin Bitsy Facebook page to get all their latest news.
You can now also buy my framed prints online via the lovely Number 18 Maison Boutique shop website.

Folksy Friday - If you go down to the woods today...

2011-07-15T01:04:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already guessed by the post's title this week the Folksy Friday theme is the woods, although I suppose from the title it could also have been teddy bears or picnics for that matter. Yet it is indeed all things forest related, so today you will find loads of lovely handmade goodies nestling in the branches and Folksy foliage.
The reason for choosing this theme was down to discovering by a wonderful forest themed treasury on Etsy. Plus I love trees which is pretty evident in a lot of my work such as 'tr ee house retreat', so i thought why not.
To make the items as varied as possible I've selected items from as many different categories as possible.

1. I spied this super funky wooden fox pendant necklace available from the Finest Imaginery shop. A piece of jewellery thats sure to get your friends asking where you got that from.

2. I love the colours in this vegan soap. Its at times like this when I wish someone had invented smell-o-vision. Unfortunately there is only 1 item in the shop at the moment but hopefully there will be more soon.

3. I couldn't possible have a forest theme without featuring the work of one of my favourite artists and Folksy/Etsy sellers, seeing as so much of her work depicts woodland. This print by Hidden Eloise is one of my favourites in the Hide and Seek shop:

4. There are loads of great items in the Superfumi shop and this woodland fawn brooch of theirs is soo cute I just couldn't resist having the little thing in my feature. Adorable!

5. Found these little chaps in the ZM felt store. I can see these making a great decoration in a living room. I love the warm earthy colours and the way they've used the real caps from acorns.

6. Take a goosey gander at this gorgeous forest green skirt with its huge feature side pocket and golden zip. I love that the design is so innovative and incredibly stylish. You'd be sure to turn heads with this: could wear it during the day or e think its so stylish and the design is so design.

7. Another item swiftly added to my favoutites is this lovely little red riding hood cushion available at the Whistling Cowgirl shop. Hm think I'm gonna need some more paper for my Christmas list. Shame its so far away as i imagine this lovely will be snapped up way before then.

8. Tea lovers take note - your tea pot needs this! I don't think anyone would fail to be captivated by this amazingly intricate forest green tea cosy by Andrea Lesley. Absolutely beautiful:

9. One last one for the list is this eye catching green striped knitted bag . Okay its connection with the forest is fairly vague, but it is green and its so stunning i had to have it in :)

Thats all folks, have a great weekend. Over and out!
And by the way if you would like to contribute to my 'Lucy Needs That Green Skirt Fund' feel free ;-)

The pains of product photography

2011-07-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

Today I worked on taking some new product shots.
Photography is really not my strong point and i find taking pictures of my work for Folksy and Etsy incredibly challenging. They're either slightly blurry, dull looking, too dark or flat. Photoshop always helps to enhance the images, but if they're not much cop to begin with then its not worth a thing. Light is always an issue too. Its a lot easier when the sun is out, but reflection on the frame's glass is often an issue. Then of course if the sun hasn't got it's hat on & i have to use a flash, the light bounces off the glass & obscures the print. Grrr can't win!

Anyway its something that i am trying to improve at, as i'm sure it will make a world of difference to my online shops. I was pretty please with what i came up with today i think they're a big improvement on my previous ones, so i thought i would share some of them with you.

I Heart Amsterdam

2011-07-10T05:39:00.000-07:00

Afternoon folks. I got back this morning from a short trip, or 'mini-cruise' as it is titled, to Amsterdam. Approx £60 will get you a ferry overnight from North Shields, followed by a Saturday morning and afternoon in the Dutch city, then another evening and night on the ferry back to England.
A great way to spend £60 of your hard earned cash! Of course it does end up costing more when you add on food and sight seeing (depending on what you want to do), but well worth it. The ferry is fun too and pretty entertaining if you don't mind settling in with a load of cheery, drunk Geordies dancing to 'Aga Do'. Not exactly my scene, but they sure know how to have a good time.

I was led to believe that Amsterdam is all smoking dens and an expansive red light district, but that certainly wasn't the case. Sure theres that too, which is part of it's eclectic and diverse charm, but there is loads more.

Its a huge place, with bustling cris-crossing streets offering a visual feast for the eyes. Set off by rows of quaint town houses along the banks of the canals. Almost all are surrounded by pot plants, flower boxes and have a traditional push bike complete with wicker basket, propped up against their front porch.
It is like something straight off a 'Town and Country' photography shoot, absolutely adorable.

Having never been to Amsterdam before I wanted to take in as much as possible, so although initially we planned to go on the canal trip, we opted to save the 15 euros and explore on foot.
At this point rather than continuing to waffle on, ha ha so appropriate, i will give you the Amsterdam trip in a short photographic story with brief descriptions.

No description needed for this one except just to say "mmm...cheese".
Actually, now i come of think of it a lot of these photos involve food.

The queue for the Anne Frank House was ginormous and this photo doesn't do it justice, as it was round the block.
Needless to say we didn't go. Maybe next time.

Me in a room in the Op Art Museum, a gallery dedicated to optical illusion art, such as Morris Escher.
Not exactly the height of cultural sight seeing, but it was fun.

We spied this, whilst sitting outside an extremely popular pancake house, anticipating the arrival of our long awaited poffertjes. From what we could gather, this is a bar on wheels.
The drinkers pedal whilst a sober (i hope) driver steers them round city and hilarity ensues. Brilliant!! Why no one is doing this in Newcastle yet is a mystery to me. You'd make a mint from all the stag and hen dos. I would go on it even if i wasn't on a hen do.

These are the poffertjes (mentioned in previous post)....

this is my face (gimme, gimme, gimme):

Couldn't resist photographing this cute bench outside a very quaint bakery. I was going to post the photo of the delicious looking baked goods in the window, but i'll leave that one to your imagination.
Besides i'll get a reputation for being food obsessed at this rate.

Below are pictures of the most awesome and surprising part of the trip. We stumbled upon a parade through the streets of 100 vivid Chinese dragons. A pretty spectacular sight, accompanied by booming traditional Chinese drumming. I think I heard someone in the crowd say it was a celebration of 100 years of Chinese settlement in The Netherlands, but i can't be sure. What an unexpected bonus though.

After a long day of walking around we were both knackered. Here is a photo of Dave illustrating that feeling very well, in our last port of call - the pub:

The weather in the afternoon, had massively improved since our morning arrival in the city, so back on board we headed to the top deck to catch some rays and wave goodbye.

As the boat pulled out of the port we were amazed to see the coast packed with kite boarders, land sailors and wind surfers taking advantage of the breezy weather. I guess kite boarding is a popular sport in Amsterdam. Who'd 'ave thunk it!

Well there it is. I hope to go back for a longer trip sometime in the future as i only saw a fraction of what the place has to offer. That leaves nothing more to say really, other than if you've not been to Amsterdam before, then what are you waiting for?

Folksy Friday - Blowing in the wind

2011-07-08T01:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday friends. I'm excited today as this evening my lovely boy and I will be going on a weekend trip to Amsterdam. I'm getting the ferry from South Shields dock around 5pm and travelling overnight to Amsterdam for an early 9am arrival.
We'll only have about 6 hours there in total, but we plan to take a canal boat ride, have a nice lunch and a brief stroll round the shops. I'm hoping we can find a pancake house or café that offers Poffertjes. They're these little puffy pancake balls, hot and fresh out of the pan then covered in butter and icing sugar - they're delicious. I also imagine that they're incredibly fattening.
We were hoping to visit the Anne Frank Museum but unfortunately it was booked up when we tried to get tickets 3 weeks ago. It certainly is popular.

To get in the mood for some Dutch delights this week's theme is windmills. Okay I know its a bit trite, but hey.

1. If you're in the mood for baking this weekend, these windmill cupcake toppers could be right up your street. A fab novelty addition for a birthday party and i reckon they'd make a nice cocktail decoration too!

2. Feast your eyes on this stunning paper cut by Suzy Taylor of Folk Art Paper Cuts.
There is so much going on in the image I could get lost in it. That lady sure is pretty handy with a cutting tool, a veritable paper cutting wizard.

3. I'm really liking this felt windmill brooch from Lucky Little Layla Jewellery. It's a lovely simple idea and really effective. I also adore the choice of colours.

4. Hepsibah Designs on Folksy create beautiful textile art from pieces of fabric, wool, thread and trimmings. Their shop is full of gorgeous decorative bits and this enchanting framed embroidery artwork titled 'The Old Windmill' is also available:

5. Look at this super cute 'Kokeshi Girl Bookmark' from the Papercake Print and Make shop. What I particularly love about this item and the shop is that the design is emailed to you and you can print and cut as many as your heart desires. What a great concept!

6. I found these very cool retro sew on patch badges. They really remind me of my days in the brownies and girl guides, when we used to get them as a reward for achievements. Ha ha I remember the first one acquired in brownies was for making a cup of tea. To be fair I was about 7 years old. Hmm I wonder if they still have those.

Hope you enjoy this week's choices. Amsterdam here i come!!

Bye y'all

From Tip to Top

2011-07-05T05:48:00.000-07:00

As drawing is out at least for a little bit, while I give my right wrist some down time to recover from the tendonitis, i’ve been getting on with some other overdue tasks.

For far too long now my work room, or box as it should more aptly be known, has resembled a dusty, thread filled, bomb site.

Given that it is from this little sanctuary where my illustrations and handmade creations are sparked into life, I felt I should really give it the attention it deserves and tidy the thing up.

Therefore after many well meaning promises to myself, to get on it, i’ve now done the deed. To my surprise there is actually space to move around now - albeit two steps in either direction, its a damn sight better than tripping over boxes and trailing floor thread all over the house.

I had the irrepressible urge to document this mammoth task in a cliched before and after stylee, so here it is:

BEFORE check out the desk and how I’ve cunningly shifted the mess into piles around the table edges allowing a small clearing in the middle from where I can draw. NICE!

AFTER Ta da!! Now lets see how long this tidy room lasts.

Folksy Friday - Mini, tiny, teeny and small

2011-07-01T01:34:00.000-07:00

Yuck the cold of all colds has struck and as I sit here snotting over my keyboard I reminisce about the glory days (i.e. Wednesday & previous), when i could breathe through my nose and could actually smell and taste the coffee i'm drinking.
To top it all off i've also been diagnosed with tendonitis which is great fun. Basically my right wrist is swollen & hurts when i move it in a certain way - you know left, right, up, down. Oh hold on - all the ways you can flipping move it! This, dear reader means that I can barely write, type and drawing is nigh on impossible and yippee, i've been informed this will take about 5 weeks to get better. I never thought blowing my nose could be so challenging.

Luckily I began writing the FF post on Wednesday before the wrist issue reared its evil head. The theme is around mini things. Originally this was due to the fact that i was very busy, although now the ltd use of my right hand has meant i've had to write off quite a few plans.
Anyway they say "good things come in small packages" and it turns out 'they' were right:

1. Heres an intriguing little item by Henry Ireland. A hand printed mini illustrated story. I wonder what the conclusion is.

2. A purrfect little lavender filled cushion by Sara Norwood. I love the colours and the cat's curious expression.

3. Is it me or is origami really in at the moment? I've seen a lot of origami inspired stuff lately & why not its a wonderful thing. These have to be some of the coolest earings i've seen in a while:

4. Little houses all in a row. The Pusscats and Pookies shop on Folksy offers the cutest teeny needle felted delights. These mini houses are one of my favourite items in store:

5. Last on my list today are these colourful critters for sale in the Fresh Made shop . My favourite is the blue cat-like one and the mini ninja.

Well that was short and hopefully sweet. I'm keeping my fingers crosses that next week my cold will have disappeared and my wrist might be slightly more use-able.

Have a good one!

Folksy Friday - Hand(y)made Man

2011-06-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

For around 5 years i've been fairly actively involved in the craft community in Newcastle. Hmm i think i'm going to call this the 'Newcastle Maker's Movement' (just 'cause it sounds impressive and momentous). Really this just means i've organised craft markets, been a member of crafty groups and met a lot of makers and artists. From the numerous crafty creative types i've met/know of, I can pretty much count the number of male makers on my hands. Actually to be fair i've probably graduated onto toes now too, but only just.
I've noticed that over the last year or so a few more men seem to have got into crafting, but i'd say its still pretty much an 75/35 swing in favour of the ladies. Take the project Made In Newcastle for example, there are about 6 men involved in a group totaling around 50 people.

In what is a very XX chromosome dominated industry I feel the need to dedicate this post to items made by and for men. This is what I found:

1. Crank Cases is a shop I've stumbled upon a number of times. They make the most amazing i-pod covers and they are definitely very male friendly. Actually i'm not entirely sure this counts because I don't whether the human behind these lovely items is male or female. However as I don't know either way i'm letting it in.

2. Ewan John's emporium of delight is a superb little discovery i just made.
I'm featuring his 'birds badge pack of 4' which I think would go very nicely on the lapel of a tweed or pinstripe jacket. I love the bandy little legs on the birdies. Great style Ewan!

3. These pirate bookends by Andy Wood Craft are a piece of wooden awesomeness. They'd be such a great feature in a boys room or even on a bookshelf in a study for someone who is young at heart - namely 'me', only i'm not a boy.

4. Yippee a guy who knits and damn well by the look of this ace chunky cable-knit beanie available from Dave's knitting shop . Also it's a total bargain at £6 and is good for lads and lasses too. Excellent choice of colours!

5. I have absolutely fallen for these flipping marvelous hand painted Russian Dolls by Allistair Burt and practically everything else on the Hole In My Pocket shop.
This would be a genius present for a musically inclined male man. Actually its just a fantastic present for anyone.

6. Another fantastically quirky item is this paper model kit which has come from the creative mind of Hairy Tom (as he seemingly likes to be known). This is a great little gift for a designer toy fan. Move over Dunny and make room for Squat!

7. The Stabo shop is a creative partnership between two designer-makers.
They’ve lots of lovely items on their corner of Folksy and i was having difficulty choosing just one to feaure, but i opted for this stylish belt:

Hopefully all these cracking goodies made by men will inspire more blokes to get out there and make. Go forth little XY chromosomes and get crafty!

Cripes is that the time?! I better go get on with some work.
Bye, see you next week.

Mid week update

2011-06-22T10:04:00.000-07:00

Wow its Wednesday already, how? Is it me or is time passing at the speed of light these days. Since going full time on my illustration work, weirdly i seem to almost have less time to do the work than i had when I was part-time.

My main focus so far this week was creating an editorial illustration for Novel Magazine, to accompany a pretty off beat piece of text written by another contributor, who judging but the piece has a penchant for philosophy.
I've now almost pretty much completed the image and will shortly be sending this off to Novel Mag, which i think will be in either the next issue or one after. Anyway as its not yet published I can't really reveal it here, well not just yet anyway. However i have uploaded this small snippet to whet your appetite.

I'm really looking forward to seeing it in print, i've been wanting to submit something for ages.

Yesterday I received that wonderful news that i've been selected along with another 17 illustrators to take part in an exhibition in August called 'Illustration NE Now' at Sanctuary Artspace in Gateshead. Yay!! There were 50 applicants and I was starting to lose hope that i would be included but the email came yesterday and i'm really excited. It will be so good to meet up with some fellow illustrators too. This is the 2nd year of the event, which is still being organised at the moment so i will post a link to the exhibition once event is up.

Also i've been trying to list regularly, or at least have some more stuff listed on my Etsy shop.
Originally I intended just to stick to Folksy, but i'm of the opinion that i need to get my work in as many places as possible, so thought I would try and maintain both. Its pretty tricky timewise, especially seeing as they both require diff photo sizes. Maybe i'm spreading myself too thinly but hard to know what to do for the best - flip i need a manager damn it!!
Anyway if you get a chance please take a look at my Etsy shop which is now looking nice an full(ish): http://www.etsy.com/shop/lucyfarfort

Oh and another thing, you may have noticed I've produced a list of all the craft and art related markets/fairs in and around Newcastle, well most of them hopefully. I want this to be a useful resource to those new to the area, new makers, or just those looking for alternative places to sell from. I get a lot of queries about markets from people,probably because of my involvement in MiN and from the days when I was co-running the Make and Mend Market. There are loads now, so rather than sending individual emails, I thought it wise to make a list. I'm asking for the help of local makers and artists who have been to these events to help me update it, grow it and ensure its accurate. Check out my extensive list here or click on the new tab just underneath my blog banner.

One more? Why not. I've just got an A1 sized U.S. flag through the post, which I said I'd customise for Unbox Shop for their 'Charity Flag Raffle'.
Hmmm.....remember what i said about a holiday, well i need one more than ever.

Folksy Friday - Greetings

2011-06-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

I don't need to tell you that Father's day is imminent. You know already, its been rammed down your throats by a zillion T.V ads and the AppleMac people are sending emails suggesting you purchase your dad an iPad for Father's day. Yeah right an iPad for Father's Day and a yacht for Christmas. Yep another commercially driven, corporate card company invented occasion is upon us. Yikes I sound like a right miserable git! 'Okay sorry rant over'. Overall I do think it is a lovely sentiment to take a day out and say thanks to your dear old dad and if you do it the handmade way then thats even better.
Aside from that it was also my boyfriend's birthday on Tuesday, so basically as scouting for cards was the order of the week i've decided to theme my Folksy Friday post today on greeting cards in general. I won't bother too much with the dad's day ones as you've probably already got yours by now.
If you haven't got time to make your own or are lacking inspiration here are some good places on Folksy to purchase a card.

1. My first choice is from the It Belongs to Turtle shop. Offering lots of cute cards and other bits, my favourite of the bunch is the Georgio Elephant one which would make a great card for a kid's birthday, but to be honest I would love this as a card, so its good for big kids too!

2. Now for a man's card, grrrr! Well actually this is a unisex card really. I found this on the Tea with Rachael and Stephen shop. Great idea for a birthday card and a lovely print - awesome. Think I will be getting this card for the next birthday on my list. Note to self: 'Probably best for someone who isn't easily offended'.

3. If you have friends or family members who are into cats then getting a card from here will certainly win you brownie points. This would be one for my sister Jennifer as she adores cats. I really love the decorative and quirky illustration style of this artist and use of colour. She also produces some fab art prints.

4. Take a look at the cards created from Sue Woollatt's beautifully intricate wood engravings. The detail is astonishing that's one seriously talented lady and she has some amazing prints as well.

5. If you are looking for something a bit special and are seeking a more elaborate card for a very special occasion there are these great pop up butterfly cards available at the Love Poppet shop.
For the work that's gone into them, I would say they're a steal at £2.25.

6. I love this off beat Valentines day card by Konnie Kapow. I know it's a bit late, or early depending on how you look at it, to be thinking about Valentines day, but this is certainly a good one to keep in mind for next year. One thing I hate is slushy Valentines day cards so this for me is perfect:

7. I can't have a card themed Folksy Friday post without mentioning the wonderful and legendary Storey Shop. Not only is this a great name for a shop, but there are tons of fabulous hand cut cards to choose from. Also if you want something more personal they do custom made cards. What more do you want?

Although I must day i'm not sure that I love anyone more than cheese, especially a nice bit of brie... mmmmmm.

8. I found a great selection of ace cards and other goodies available in Alexandra Snowdon's shop. Really love the simple but effective folk art style. I very much admire people who can create simple prints and make them look so good,. I guess because my work is always so laboured and no matter how hard I try I can never work in a loose way, I just end up obsessing over the smallest details. So the last Folksy based offering on my listy is this gorgeous item:

Well actually there is just one more sneaky addition. A non folksy one to squeeze in and this one's for your old man (ideally to be sent if you are of the boy variety). I found this cute father's day card, brilliantly titled ' Astro Dad and Astro Lad' on Etsy in the Brittsy shop:

Happy card shopping everyone and happy Father's day on Sunday dad, hope its a good one!
P.S. Sorry its only chocolates and not an iPad ;)

Shiny and New

2011-06-15T03:43:00.000-07:00

For a while now i've been working on a new illustration and threatening to get it out into the public domain. Its another self-initiated one which is intended for sale as an art print. I will be adding it to my Folksy and Etsy shops soon.
I had this idea in mind for a while (as i quite often do) which revolved around having an image with a mountain range in. That and a desire to have a wolf somewhere in the scene. I'm not really sure why, but I just had an overwhelming urge to do so. With these two factors being the basis for the image, I decided to create a narrative based scene where the viewer can mentally conjure up a story behind the illustration.
Anyway after many hours of ridiculous, perfectionist obsessing, my newest creation 'The Journey' is complete and here it is. I hope you enjoy it:

Strangely I feel quite empty now its done, so i'll have to get onto another project pretty quick. Actually I will be doing some work for Novel Magazine which is exciting, so i'll let you know about that soon.

Another brand spanking new thing you may have already noticed is that the illustration page on my website has been given an overhaul. It now looks super swish which is thanks to the help of two friends. The talented Paper Jam Comics Collective artists Paul and Britt, who i know from Made In Newcastle. I'm currently working with them to make some other bits of my site look and work better too, so you should see some other changes in the next few weeks or so.

I would love to hear what you think about my new illustration page and if you have any suggestions as to how I can improve my site.

Folksy Friday - Handmade Holiday

2011-06-10T00:33:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that i'm now making a big effort to try & update my blog regularly, given that in the recent past there have been some cavernous gaps between installments. As part of an attempt to do this have decided to start my very own Folksy Friday posts. For those of you who don't already know, these highlight the beautiful work of independent artists/makers offering their work on Folksy.
There is only one problem with this, i've seen so much lovely stuff around on the tinterweb that i'm finding it incredibly difficult to limit myself just to Folksy goodies. Therefore on a more occasional basis i'm going do a 'Feast Your Eyes' post and gather up some other gorgeous artifacts i've come across elsewhere on the www. for you to see.
Also to help me narrow down my options there will be a theme for each FF & FYE post.

So for my first ever FF post today the theme is 'holidays'. Why? Cause I need a damn holiday and fast, so this will be like a precursor to the real thing. Not that i've got a holiday booked yet, but I intend to soon - even if its 2 days next to the duck pond in my local park with a book & a Mojito cocktail hidden in a brown paper bag. Here's what i found:

1. Firstly if your going away you require a wash bag. That is unless of course you're my boyfriend - then you can dump your toothbrush, paste and shower gel into crumpled supermarket carrier bag complete with holes which is bound to spill out it's wet contents and make a mess of your luggage. However if you wanna do it super cute style then get your mitts on this 'Fleur the Cat Drawstring Washbag':

2. I don't think I've ever been on a beach holiday as I like my breaks to be packed full of cool stuff to do, normally not much of a break really. At the moment what I really want is a beach based trip 'cause i'm knackered. I want some sun and a warm blue sea for a nice relaxing dip. To do this without donning my ride-up-my-rear-end 8 yr old costume, a new cozy is in order. I stumbled across this fab retro style red & white strip bikini swimming costume:

3. Following on from my dreams of sun and sea it reminded me of the lovely Surf and Silver jewellery shop. This lady makes the most charming silver jewellery with stunning sea glass features found on the beaches of the North East coastline. I love the eye catching teal green colour in this black and green sea glass pendant. Its my favourite in their Folksy shop at the moment:

4. Now i need something to put my holiday gear in. Yes you guessed it a suitcase of course. I found this love-able little gem of an up-cycled suitcase by Love by You
Its so cute that i'd be using it all the time not just for holidays, but to carry my sandwiches into work and everything:

5. The likelihood is I'm going to have to wait at least a month or two before I get my coveted break, so in the meantime i'll have to make do with dreaming about getting away. This lovely sun mosaic mirror helped me do just that. It really reminds me of the kind of décor you'd find in gorgeous Spanish villas drenched in the sun:

6. Another item to transport me to far away exotic lands, at least mentally, is this African print bunting by Karen Arthur of Reddskinbags. Its so vibrant and will certainly get you in the summer mood and perk up any room or garden with its vivid colours. It would look great in my garden - well back yard:

7. For my final featured item i'm back on a sea tip. I've picked this wonderful 'Maiden of the Sea' illustration print on sale at the Crumpetty Tree shop
I adore the colours in this image and i'm really into images that use lined pattern at the moment so this is right up my street. I particularly like the cute origami whale on the waves. Don't you think it would look awesome on a bathroom wall?

So that is it for my inaugural Folksy Friday post. I hope you enjoyed it and its got you in the holiday spirit. Bring on the sun!!

10 Creative things to get onto

2011-06-06T10:02:00.000-07:00

Since getting on the Twitter wagon I've found about loads of great creative projects, competitions and ways to showcase your work as an artist.
Initially when Twitter started to get big I was adamant that I wouldn't get embroiled in yet another social networking site/facility, especially given that i'm already having trouble just keeping up with posting regularly on the blog. However i like many others got sucked in and now as a Twitter convert I must admit that of all the social networking thingy-mi-jigs that I've got into, this has by far been the most useful in terms of finding out about cool projects and stuff.

Because i've discovered lots of great projects/opportunities for emerging artists (like me good self) lately I feel I should share these with you. So i'm writing this post and maybe some of you there arty folks who maybe reading this can get involved with too (if you so wish).
For all you list nuts theres no particular order so its not like a top 10 or anything. Here we go:

1. Wall Collective: http://www.wallcollective.com. This is great new way to showcase your work as an artist/designer/ photographer/illustrator/print maker etc. Its incredibly simple and effective. You just get on down there, upload your images and you've basically created your own online portfolio.
I really like this concept because its quick, isn't overwhelming and doesn't try to hook you into investing time on other things such as creating a circles of friends or joining other groups.

2. Art Waffle: http://www.artwaffle.com Another new site I've found is the art waffle
blog, which posts interviews with artists and the lovely AW peoples are currently looking for new artists to interview. Its a brilliant opportunity for new artists to get some exposure for their work. Of course you can also use it to learn about artists who you may not have discovered and get an insight into how they work and what they think about the arty world around them.

3. Craftsville: http://craftsville.co.uk/ I found out about this site sometime ago when the friendly inhabitants of said Ville interviewed lil ol me on their regular feature 'Hello My Name Is...'. This is a lovely looking blog and is a fantastic resource for artists and makers.
They also run a Craftsville Craft Club, so if you live in Leeds and love a good old making session then this is probably for you.

4. Cut Out and Keep: http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/ Another awesome site I stumbled upon a while ago. If you're a craft God or Goddess then you'll love this one.
Not only does it have a million, billion, trillion (well perhaps not a trillion) free to use craft tutorials that have been uploaded by the Cut and Keep community, it also has forums, competitions and the wonderful Snippets magazine which I produced the 'Clangers' illustration for a while back. Definitely one of my favourite sites, with a wealth of crafty resources.

5. Illustration Friday: http://www.illustrationfriday.com An ongoing 'just for fun' challenge, where every Friday illustrator's are asked to submit an illustration in response to a specific topic. They then get until the following Friday to submit their image and have it shown on the blog, along with all the other weird and wonderful submissions. I've wanted to submit an illustration for ages, but (like so many things in life) I never seem to have the time. Still I love looking at all the lovely pics being the visual junkie that I am.
The site also runs artist interviews and some other ace stuff so go check it out.

6. Illlustration Rally: http://illustrationrally.blogspot.com Another fantastic site for illustrators and illustration lovers is the IR blog.
IR announce calls for submissions on Facebook and Twitter, with a specific theme. Illustrators can apply to take part in a rally and if selected you get your art showcased on their beautiful looking blog with a link to your site - yay!! I haven't had the chance yet as i've only discovered this one, but next rally - i'm there.

7. Mencap's Make with Me initiative: http://www.makewithme.org.uk The charity Mencap who support people with learning disabilities have recently launched their brand new craft based initiative Make With Me (there is also one for avid baking fans of a similar ilk called Bake With Me) This is something for all ages and abilities to get involved with to help raise money for a good cause.
They're asking crafty folks to organise their own fundraising 'Make Parties' and invite friends, family and members of the community to take part. I love this as its such an innovative fund raising idea and one which it'll also give artists/makers who are interested in running workshops & community engagement activities the chance to try out the field and hone their teaching skills.

8. https://www.greatbritons.ba.com/ Recently I've learnt about some ace competitions, which I would love to take part in but probably don't have the time. My sister Jennifer informed of a mega competition which is being run by British Airways as part of their Olympic 2012 advertising campaign. They're basically running a serious of contests - one for aspiring artists, one for aspiring writers and one for aspiring chefs.
The art comp invites applications from emerging talent to submit ideas & initial sketches for Olympic and Paralympic themed imagery which will adorn the sides of BA jumbo jets - wow imagine how flipping ace that would be. The winner gets coaching from the world renowned artist Tracy Emin.

9. http://www.dontpaniconline.com/designbrief/protest-placard-poster-competition Here is another competition based opportunity. The super slick Don't Panic e-magazine is running 'Design The Poster' competition in association with fashion label Diesel who have been running various design based competitions on and off for some years now.
The idea behind this one is to design a political slogan it's a great idea for a contest and one which you can have a lot of fun with. If you think you're a slogan whizz and have a spare moment you should give this one a go.
The deadline is soon so don't miss out!

10. http://www.whiteboxcontest.com Ok last one, but as the old adage goes 'by no means the least'. This is another one with an imminent deadline. Run by the Belgium chocolatiers Guylian this a contest for aspiring designers to get their teeth into....hahaha get it, get it (a crap pun sorry) .
Named ‘The White Box Contest' applicants are asked to submit designs for a new look box for their famous chocolate praline shells. A great competition with a $5000 prize for the winner.

Well if all this isn't enough to keep you busy for a while, i'm flipped if i know what will.

BYEEE!

End of an era (well a short era)

2011-06-03T01:55:00.001-07:00

Tuesday saw the closure of the Made In Newcastle shop. Some of you may already know that this is an empty shop project which i have been heavily involved in over the last 10 months.
It began in July last year when a lady called Rachael Streather set up the first incarnation. After its premature closure in October 2010 due to a paid tenancy offer, I went about sorting us out another premises and on 14th December (or abouts) the shop at 79 Grainger Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne opened. We managed to hold this shop for the full intended 6 months and on the 31st May our time there was complete.

I won't bore you with all the ins and outs of the set up and how it came to be, as it is a long story. However if you want to know more about the project you can read the Made In Newcastle (MiN) blog and you may want to read the post 'A tale of two MiNs' which I wrote when the 1st shop closed in July and attempts to sum up events in a more interesting way.

The shop was hard work, but i feel a bit lost now its gone. It was a great place to network meet like-minded makers and artists and also a fantastic opportunity to showcase & sell my work. Still its not all over, the MiN project is still going to continue but i think we'll be doing it in a different form net time - possibly a more community engagement type project, where we have a studio space which we can offer workshops from.

Now that the shop is no more i am looking for new places to stock my prints and cards in, so if you have any suggestions please let me know as i would love to find some new lovely stockists. I've just finished an illustration which i am going to put on the wall of a very cute little coffee shop called Piccolo Coffee in the Grainger Market soon and hope to add it to my Folksy shop too. Here its is hope you like it:

This week i have mostly...

2011-05-20T01:45:00.000-07:00

Yay its Friday!!! Not that i have anything special planned for this weekend but it'll just be nice not to be at my computer 24/7. Although i'm sure i won't be able to resist doing some work and checking my inbox for emails - seeing as i've apparently developed on obsession with doing this lately.
Anyway this week i have mostly been designing logos. Two logos to be precise and i would lie to share them with you.

I was given the brief to produce a logo for a start-up business based in Florida called 'I Hope You Never Need It.com'. It will be a sister company to an already well established business there called 'Florida Flame'.
It is still under development but the basis of the company is a bag which contains everything you may need in an emergency situation - such as a mobile phone, water bottle, a bit of money - that kind of thing. The idea is that if you need to get out of the house fast and you don't have time to pack anything, such as in the event of an earthquake, tornado, fire, etc you can just grab this bag by the door and go. Its mainly for places in the world which suffer from a lot of natural disasters. Seeing as these seem to be occurring a lot lately they'll be a very welcome new product.

So with the business plan in mind i came up with the idea of basing my design around the fire exit 'running man' icon to get the message of across of an emergency situation across. It was quite tough coming up with a design which would be visually interesting and convey the message, but i think this works well.

Next up is a logo for a new handmade jewellery business called 'Forever After...' offering gorgeous vintage inspired pieces by Hollie Cable.
Hollie was very clear on the design she wanted - a blue bird on a crooked branch with a necklace hanging from it.

You can visit Forever After... jewellery on Facebook .
Hollie is currently in the process of setting up an Etsy shop so soon you'll be able to buy her lovely products from there too. I also created an Etsy banner from the logo design:

Well have a happy Friday everyone. I'm off to work on an illustration that has been bursting to get out of my head and onto paper for ages.

New illustrations

2011-05-10T23:59:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me that i haven't posted any of my most recent work up on the old blog so i thought I better get onto it.

Tree House Retreat. This first image was in my head for ages before i finally had the chance to get it onto paper. There are two versions with different colour schemes, one representing Spring/Summer and one Autumn. This is basically because i couldn't decide which i liked best. The spring one was 1st (how appropriate), then i started messing about with the colours and came up with the Autumn version. Anyway i'll stop wittering... here they are:

My second new illustration is the Home Sweet Home image. This wasn't an idea i had in my head for ages, instead it just popped in there one day and said 'let me out!'. Although part of me was reluctant to give it an airing, as it was an image which would (or should) by its very nature include birds and i'm sorry, but i for one am sick to death of seeing and producing illustrations/designs featuring birds as they're ten to the dozen. I love birds and yes the designs almost always look fab, but i strive to create images that are totally out of the ordinary.

Anyway i succumbed and to be semi true to myself i avoided putting a bird in the main part of the image and instead concentrated my energies on making the bird house as perfect as possible. So here it is:

It struck me after finishing this illustration that much of my work of late has trees in. Its really strange as this isn't something i've set out to do purposefully its just kind of snuck in there.
Its fair to say i do like trees a lot and maybe feel i was somehow deprived in my childhood by not having a treehouse. So much so that I've been making suggestions to my other 1/2 that we should make a trip to Kyloe woods in Northumberland, pick a tucked away tree and start getting to work on building a treehouse. I'm sure no one would ever care. But he's not convinced and neither am i after he told me about this story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2117951/Boy-ordered-to-tear-down-treehouse-over-planning-permission-row.html

I guess its just not meant to be, so i'll just continue to make treehomes in my head :)
I've another couple of ideas for illustrations brewing in my teapot of a head. I can't guarantee that they won't have trees in but i can say that there will be many more to come as i've now gone full-time as a freelance illustrator, so i'll have more time to let my imagination run wild.

Thanks for listening.

Sorry for being crap

2011-03-08T06:00:00.001-08:00

This is just a little note to say sorry for not blogging for ages.
I am doing sooo much stuff at the moment its hard to keep up with everything and the blog has just gone by the wayside a bit, so apols.

At the moment i'm working hard with the empty shop project Made in Newcastle (MiN) which i blogged about last year. Its now at a new home 79 Grainger Street. We got in there before Christmas after i slogged my guts out for 2 months trying to get the lease sorted. Check out the feature MiN has in the Spring edition of UK handmade magazine: here I was interviewed over the phone for it - wow i feel famous, ha ha!
There is tons of stuff coming up which the shop is involved including Newcastle Fashion week from 14th - 21st May.

Also i am doing a logo for the lovely Brigid of Irish Granny Originals. She creates lovely hand knitted hats, hoods and head bands in beautiful quality wool, alpaca, and lambswool. You can visit her Etsy shop here
Here's a sneak preview of the logo so far:

I'm also in the process (slow process) of moving my website shop on www.lucyshappyplace.com over to Folksy so that i just sell from there, as its apparent that people prefer to buy from somewhere which is more established...and who can blame them.

Lastly i'm now part of the Newcastle Craft Mafia so i'm getting ready for the Maker Faire which i'm taking part in this Saturday at The Centre For life. I'll be there from 12pm to get making with the lovely folks who come to visit and i'll be selling some little colour, cut and stick kits which i've just made.

Right i'm off to make lunch ^_^
Thanks for not abandoning me, despite being a crap blogger.

Little Miss Delicious

2010-10-12T01:01:00.001-07:00

Yes it certainly is about time I wrote a new post.
Well this is just a mini one to direct you to another blog, that of the wonderful Maxine aka Little Miss Delicious who makes the cutest jewellery i've seen.
This lovely lady has not only modeled my t-shirts for me, which shamefully i've not yet managed to find the time to put them on Folksy (will soon), but she has also written this lovely post about my work and i feel honored.
Please check out the post by clicking here and take a look at Little Miss D's super cute food inspired creations here: http://www.littlemissdelicious.com/

I will be writing a new post soon which will explain all about the adventures i've had and will be having with the empty shop project Made In Newcastle.
Its been an amazing time but very, very busy and its slowly but surely taking over my life. Will update you soon i promise.

I'm still here

2010-08-12T01:16:00.000-07:00

Howdy friends.
I've been slacking off in my blogging activities recently as i'm in the process of making up a big wholesale order of stock for a craft shop.
Which is great, but if i have to make another glasses case i think i may lose the will to live!
Ha ha, no its not all that bad really, but i needed a break from the making so decided to create some party invitations for some respite. Yeah i know, its not exactly a break from the making, but its not sewing.
Sew, (puns ahoy)... here they are (front & back):

I'll be selling these little babies at the Made In Newcastle Shop, 22 Nun, City Centre, Newcastle Upon Tyne. Only £4.50 for ten invitations with envelopes, that's only 45p each - BARGAIN!

So if you're having a birthday bash, a summer garden party or celebrating your new home, these are for you. No one will be able to resist your invitation when you send out one of these little babies.

Hopefully once i've finished slaving away at my sewing machine and got the order finished, i'll get a chance to make up a couple more packs for my website or Folksy shop. I the mean time though if you want to grab a pack please feel free to request by email - lucyfarfort@yahoo.com

Bye for now!

The Sewing Directory Giveaway

2010-07-28T03:58:00.000-07:00

The lovely people over at The Sewing Directory are having a giveaway in which myself and 4 other designer-makers are offering a lovely handmade prize to 5 lucky winners. I'm giving away this one off 'Robot Love' vinyl ring-handled shopper bag, made with recycled vintage fabric (pictured above).

This is a fab giveaway with some really nice bits up for grabs. The only annoying thing is that i can't enter myself!

Ah well if you're feeling lucky get yourself over there and find out how you can win:
http://www.thesewingdirectory.co.uk/handmade-competition/

Fashionistas read on

2010-07-26T04:07:00.000-07:00

I've not managed to write in a while as my time has been filled with lots of little jobs.

One of the best little jobs was to produce a banner (above) for the fashion blog of Carla Benstead aka Messy Carla.
Carla emailed me a couple of weeks ago to ask if i could design a new banner for her wonderful blog and i was honoured. 'Messy Carla: A Fashion Blog in a Size 16', is a fashion blog with a difference as it caters to the luscious curvy lady (real women), moving away from the fading trend of emaciated models and the frightening size 0 phenomenon.

Its a great little read with tips on how to look great and reviews on the latest trends and products. Anyway don't rely on my word for it follow Messy Carla's fashion adventures here: http://messycarla.blogspot.com/

I'm really pleased with the banner as is Carla. Its going to look fab when its up and i've also made her some funky new wallpaper for her blog. Here's one version of it as a sneak preview:

Packed to the rafters

2010-07-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

The Made in Newcastle pop up shop launch party last Sat (10th July) was a resounding success.
It was packed with shoppers, creative types, media types and supporters. Here's the evidence:

The fashion show was fab and the cafe area wall which we used for the doodle jam is looking suitably doodled on.
All i can say is awesome! I'm very much looking forward to going in next Saturday.
To read more on the launch and other MIN news check out the blog:
VISIT THE MADE IN NEWCASTLE BLOG

The secret world of Ravenswood school garden

2010-07-06T01:12:00.000-07:00

So heres the story about how i spent two days with a class of fantastic kids creating a fantasy map of their garden (above).

Back in late April I had a email from Paul Hood the teacher of a year six class at Ravenswood Primary School, asking if I would be interested in working with his class to produce a mural for their garden wall. I had been suggested to him by a lovely lady who is a fan of my work on Facebook (thanks Hannah). I was very pleased to be asked although i hadn't done anything like this before.
I went to visit the school in June and was inspired. Its a large school and they have so much going on including loads of funky clubs the children can get involved in. One of them is the Ukulele Club - so cool!

They also have the Gardening Club who tend to the huge school garden that was developed from a piece of overgrown waste land by Mr Hood a few years ago. The garden is around an acre and is almost split into different sections - a wild area, a herb garden, a story telling area and a pond to name a few. The wall is East facing, approx 3 by 4 metres and i was charged with coming up with something original and something that the kids could get involved with to put on it.
The idea of creating a fantasy/treasure map of the garden popped into my head, whilst i was reading the novel Wicked, as there is a map of Oz at the front of the book. It got me thinking - wouldn't it be great if the kids could come up with a fantastical imaginative name for each area of their garden and it could forever more be known by that moniker.

Paul loved the idea & the kids came up with the following aliases for their garden sections:

the pond - The Black Sea
the hedge running along the east side of the garden - Wild Rabbit Hedge
the wild bit - Hunter's Cove
the yurt/den - Samuel's Cabin
the herb garden - Horrible Herbs (initially horrendous herbs but was too long to fit)
the veg patch - Potato Paradise
the bridge - Banshees Boardwalk
the stepping stones which snake round - Serpent Stones
the greenhouse - The Hut of No Return
the palm tree area - Treasure Island

I went in to work with them all on a very hot Tuesday & Thursday in late June.
The kids worked in 2 or 3s on a particular section and each group came up with an illustration to define their area. A problem that we encountered was as the wall surface was incredibly rough it was v difficult to get a lot of detail into the images.
We managed though and the finished article looks wonderful i think.
The School now have a mural that they can say is completely original and I hope that kids can be heard out in the garden saying things like 'I'll water the tomatoes in the Hut of No Return, while you feed the fish in the Black Sea'.

Thanks Paul Hood and your fantastic year six class for a great 2 days :)

New User Friendly Website Shop

2010-06-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

Just a quickie to let you know i've been making some changes to my online shop.
Quite a lot of of the feedback from my giveaway survey a couple of months ago pointed towards the shop being a bit confusing due to excessive imagery and it being slow to load.

Therefore i have given it a bit of an overhaul. I've made it more simple visually so you don't go cross eyed. +
There are now thumbnails of each item on the shop sections which you can click on individually to take you to the full size pic of item. This means that its a lot quicker for the shop pages to load. +
I've added a secondary navigation system so rather than going back to the shop menu you can go direct to a different category.

Hope you like the changes.
Please take a quick look and let me know what you think: Go directly there to take a sneaky peek

Made in Newcastle Pop-Up Shop, Gallery & Cafe

2010-06-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

A month ago I was asked if I wanted to take part in a collaboration between artists and makers in Newcastle to set up a 6 month pop-up shop, gallery and café in an empty shop space. Of course I said 'YES!' Now the project is well under way and soon to be open to the public.

Here's how it works - we were granted funding from Newcastle City Council to help set up a shop which showcases the work of local makers and designers and offers them a platform to sell from. Designers get the chance to have their work on sale in the shop for no commission in return for contributing time or skills to the project.
There are now around 10-15 people involved so far and its growing.
Take a look at some photos of the shop space here. Its pretty bare at the moment, but the furniture is arriving and believe me there has been some serious charity shopping taking place and some of the display pieces are retrotastically awesome!

The shop will be launched on Sat 10th July and there will be a fashion show, an art jam and a swap as part of the launch, so its going to be 'mint' (as they say in Newcastle). Please visit the blog for more info on the project and check out the flyer (and logo above) which I produced for Made in Newcastle here: www.madeinnewcastle.blogspot.com

Oh yeah and don't forget to join us if you're on Facebook.

Its All Go

2010-06-28T06:45:00.000-07:00

This month i’ve have been up to all sorts of things illustrations wise

In early June i completed an illustration commission to produce 4 images of Newcastle Upon Tyne landmarks for the Albatross Backpackers Inn website.

I was asked to do 4 funky modern illustrations of the Angel of the North, the Tyne Bridge, the Sage Gateshead and the Millenium Eye Bridge.
The images are now being used as a skyline for the background of the hostel’s site check them out here: http://www.albatrossnewcastle.co.uk/ Last week i was working with a class of school kids and their teacher Mr Hood at Ravenswood Primary School, to help produce a mural for their garden wall. I was very excited to be offered the opportunity to do this. It’s not something I have done before and I jumped at the chance.

The kids are 10-11 years old and they were all great and so polite. The brief was pretty open and the only requirements for the mural was that it be original and something that the kids could take part in.

I'd been reading the novel 'Wicked' and it was this that inspired me to come up with idea of producing a treasure style map of the garden area, as there is a simple map of 'Oz' at the front of the book. The school have a BIG garden which is kind of split up into different sections, so I asked the kids to come up with fantastical names for each bit. I loved the idea of areas of the garden forever more being referred to by its alternative name. Such as 'Hut of No Return', 'Hunters Cove' and 'The Black Sea' to name a few.

The mural is nearly finished and the photos will be up put on here once its complete.

Now the other thing i've been working on is sooo exciting that i'm going to put it in a separate post so read on...

Whats New?

2010-06-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

Hello dear followers. This Sunday is market day and i'll be taking myself and a whole load of stock along with some shiny new items (photos above/below), to the Make and Mend Market.

There will be 20 creative types (including me) along with 2nd hand traders from 12noon - 5pm at the Star and Shadow Cinema in Newcastle. The venue is in the district of Ouseburn, about 10 mins walk from Newcastle city centre. The bar will be open for drinks and entry is free.

I also now have some of my artwork and pouches in 'Between the Buttons Vintage', a lovely little shop on Vine Lane just off the main high street in Newcastle.
There is also some very exciting news on the horizon...all i'll say is - 'pop up shop'. More info to come.

Lady Luck

2010-05-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

The lucky giveaway winner has been plucked from my boyfriends sweaty baseball cap.. tee hee.

Congratulations Katie Deacon! You are now the proud owner of a 'Robot Love' shopper bag, a handmade notepad and pencil case and a Whale and Me A3 print. I'm packing their bags and sending them on their way to you very soon.

Thanks to all those who entered and took my survey and signed up for my new newsletter. The feedback recvd was really useful and i will be making some improvements to my site based on your answers.

Keep your eyes open for future offers and giveaways!

Logo a go-go

2010-05-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday i finished this logo for the wonderful Dolls and Molls an independent business who offer a fab range of kitsch and quirky accessories and jewellery.
Emily the founder was really pleased with the final logo and i am to. I love doing this kind of work its always a joy to do especially when it for another indie designer like myself.

I also recently finished the logo above for Puzzle Heaven, a new business who are currently working on their brand spanking new website as we speak. This great little shop offer handmade wooden puzzles. I've had the pleasure of trying one out and believe me they're virtually impossible ...well for me anyway :)

Right onto the next project.

Summer Fun

2010-05-04T05:54:00.000-07:00

Summer is almost upon us, although i must say it doesn't feel like it today in Newcastle.
However despite the crap weather i still feel summery and i have created a suitably bright and breezy poster for the 6th June Make and Mend Market.
I'm really pleased with this poster, its definitely one of my faves - think i must be on about number 12 now. Better still the ice-cream and lolly design is going to make a perfect addition to some of my products. Et Voila!:

The June installment of our beloved craft, art & flea market will be from 12 - 5pm in the Star and Shadow Cinema in out favourite arty suburb of Ouseburn. I'll be at this one selling my wares - pouches, art, glasses cases and the such like.
Check out the market's Facebook group for more info.

Green fingered

2010-05-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

This week i found a really great website: http://www.greeneyed.com which runs an ongoing design competition a bit like Threadless and those t-shirt design sites. This however has a difference its a contest to find a design for eco-friendly cotton shopper bags. A great idea i think as a play on the ongoing contest model which always works so well.
Well i just couldn't resist the opportunity to submit something so here it is below and if you get a chance please (please, please) visit and register your vote here for my design 'Its good to be green'.

Print, cut, pin, sew, done!

2010-04-21T11:28:00.000-07:00

I've allocated the next few weeks to making some new items for two new stockists which i'm really pleased to have recently acquired in Newcastle and South Shields, North East of England.

My first new stockist is a cute little vintage shop called 'Buttons Vintage Boutique' in Newcastle city centre. From here i'll be selling my t-shirts and framed prints. I'll also be adding a selection of pouches and purses which have been made exclusively for the shop using some new fabric combinations.
The second shop is part of an art centre and gallery in South Shields. Here i'll be stocking some prints and pouches also made especially for the shop.

At the moment i've yet to put anything in as i need to get busy and make the new bits so it will be a couple of weeks before my pieces go to their new home. In the meantime i thought i would give you a sneaky peak at 4 new pouches i've created for this purpose as pictured above. I hope you like them.

Right, back to the sewing machine.

Dos thairbaytha por favor (two beers please)

2010-04-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

Well the holiday is over and the gray skies of Newcastle Upon Tyne are back, but i knew it couldn't last forever and despite coming back to reality with a bump it was well worth it.
Had a fantastic adventure filled holiday where half the time was spent eating and drinking copious amounts of delicious food and fine wine and the other half i was Indiana Jones minus the bull whip.

The holiday was on the back of a friend's wedding in the beautiful historic town of Vejer in Sapin. We decided to extend our time away and visit the town of El Chorro to get in some crag climbing. The first day began with a 1 & 1/2 hour long traverse around a huge gorge on a "walkway"(in the loosest possible sense) called the Via Ferrata, most of which had crumbled away over the years and involved clipping onto a rope from a harness. This was followed with an unexpected and rather unpleasant knee high wade through a river. Once we'd finally reached our destination we spent a few hours climbing a limestone crag which was severely worn down and very slippery. On the way back we opted for a much shorter trek back through the gorge via the train tunnels. Phew!
Actually i do feel refreshed after the break and despite the clambering up and down rock faces i'm rearing to go....aside from a few aching limbs.

Rather annoyingly and stupidly i left my swiss army penknife complete with scissors and other useful gadgets in my hand luggage and this was swiftly binned by the airport security after being spotted under the x-ray - I'll miss that handy bottle opener and corkscrew :(

Away for a...break?

2010-04-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

That word.. er break. Whats that then?
Wow it feels like i've been non stop working since Christmas and i've almost forgotten what its like not to work.
However at last the time has come for this work-a-holic to have a holiday. My friend is getting married in Spain and me and my better half have decided to make it a holiday and go climbing afterwards in nearby El Chorro for 3 days.
We're off tomorrow, so any of you lovely folks entering my giveaway will experience a delay in receiving a confirmation email. I promise i'll reply once i get back around the 16th.

Thanks to everyone who has entered so far.
Bye for now x

The Super Giveaway and site updates

2010-04-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

The prize draw is now open!
At last i hear you say. Thats exactly what i said in response to the fact its only taken me a solid month to finally sort everything out and launch my first giveaway :/

Still it was worth the wait i think you will agree once you see whats up for grabs. I was debating for a while whether or not keep the robot bag for myself, but decided that instead i'll just make one up in the future - in that parallel universe where i have lots of that thing er what do you call it again? Oh yeah 'time' . Ha ha.

Anyway to find out how you can enter and what you could win get yourself over to my website now and head to the prize draw page which i've made especially:
http://www.lucyshappyplace.com/

A well as launching my first prize draw you might notice a change to my opening page. In keeping with the cute i've done a new illustration entitled Lucy's Happy Place which is my new opening page as well as a very lovely (er yes i am biased) new note pad which you can see on the shop page of my site and i've taken a moment to add below:

I'm also having a big bag sale on my website shop to sell off the last few bags i have in stock. The bags on offer are all one offs, never to be repeated again as i'm not making bags as part of my product range anymore because they take an incredibly long amount of time to make.

The last little update is to let you know i have a new system in place for ordering items from my shop which means that people can purchase an item in the shop from a verified website such as Ebay or Etsy, as i understand that some people are a bit hesitant to buy an item from a relatively new site. To find out more see the delivery and order info section on my shop page.

Well thats all for now folks.
Thanks for watching and happy Easter break!

Celebrate in style

2010-03-24T04:20:00.000-07:00

The Make and Mend Market is now the grand old age of two and to celebrate we’re having an extra special market event this Sunday 28th March. This will be at the new time of 12noon - 5pm in our homeland of the Star and Shadow Cinema, Ouseburn, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 2NP, UK.

We’ll have 20 stalls of goodies for you to feast your eyes on from some of the best creative local talent as well as a host of vintage and 2nd hand traders offering you some retro bargains. Heres a sneaky peek at some of the sellers we’ll have this time round:

Black Flame books will be in residence with a huge variety of 2nd hand literature for all you book worms out there.
Pinnies for Hinnies will be offering their handmade retro chic aprons for the domestic goddess in your life.
Dolls and Molls offering their super-cute kitsch accesories and jewellery.
Artist Emma McClaughlin offering her beautiful original artwork.
Alan Edge will be bringing his great taste in music in the form of all things vinyl.
Louise Bradley will be setting up shop with her enormous array of uber-cool retro and vintage homeware.
Vintage fashion from Coco Love Boutique.

As well as the usual fab stalls we’ll also be bringing some nibbley snacky things to get you in the party mood. Plus we also have a number of guest musicians playing which we're really excited about. Phil Tyler & friends will be serenading us with their beautiful brand of alternative folk and we've just had confirmation that Emil Friis from Copenhagen, a wonderful Folk / Blues / Country artist who is currently touring the UK will also be doing a set.
Also we have some members of the Monster Ceilidh Band giving us a tune as well as Staggering' John Lee and his guitar. The bands will be on some time after 2.30pm.

Entry is free as always so people can come see some fantastic bands as well as scope out the local creative talent an grab a 2nd hand retro/vintage bargain.

Visit our Facebook group for more info: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=8254673140&ref=ts

New t-shirt design and Ammo magazine submission

2010-03-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

Yippee! I've finished my new t-shirt design and potential Ammo Magazine submission (just in time for the deadline tomorrow).
The design is called 'Work Together' and i guess the moral is its not the size that matters its what you do with it that counts....ha ha (oo er Mrs).
I hope it doesn't need explaining but in case it does - basically all the little monsters have come together to vanquish the bigger monster who's trying to eat them...or something like that ;)
Hope you like it. Feel free to leave comments i am especially interested to know whether you think the message in the illustration is clear i.e. do you understand what's going on without an explanation.

Sneaky peek at my unfinished tee design

2010-03-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

Couldn't resist putting up this preview above of my new t-shirt design which i'm still working on. This is also going to be a submission to Ammo magazine (if its finished in time anyway).

Exciting things to come

2010-03-16T13:31:00.001-07:00

These last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. I've been doing so many things-

Finished a pencil case tutorial which you can see on: Folksy.
I've set up shop on Etsy (click to see) which will mainly be selling artwork and my t-shirts.
Had a stall at Make & Mend Market which was fab. You can see more about it on Facebook.
Working on a submission for ammo magazine which will also be a new t-shirt design. There will be more info on this to come.
Done the poster for the next market which is (if i do say so myself) very cute. Here it is:

AND most importantly i'm almost ready to launch my first giveaway which i'm very excited about. There will be a chance for everyone to win the pencil case in my tutorial (mentioned previously) along with a beautiful glossy print of my 'Whale and Me' illustration shown below and a very funky shopper bag which i've customised with my Robot Love design. I actually thought bout keeping it myself ;).

In the next few days i will be posting info about this so keep you eyes peeled and find out how you can be entered into the prize draw.

Tee-Tastic

2010-03-04T05:16:00.000-08:00

Images of me posing like a muppet....oh the things i do for art:

Inspired by some photos of Twinkie Chan modelling her t-shirt (check out her fab work on Etsy), i decided to re-take pictures of my t-shirts with me modelling them properly rather than the headless shots i'm currently using on my website
Hence the above photos of me pulling silly poses whilst modelling my tees.

Okay so its not as cool as Twinkie Chan but hey I think it works much better and gives a better idea of what the t-shirts look like on.
Thanks to my dear old Dave for taking the photos on my crappy camera and putting up with me umming and arring and generally being indecisive over the million & 1 (well it certainly felt that way) different shots he took. It was worth it i the end.....it think :/

I would love to hear what you think and whether or not you feel these shots work better than the ones on my site. So please feel free to comment.

Make and Mend Market

2010-02-28T04:33:00.000-08:00

Saturday 6th March the lovely little Make and Mend Market will be invading the Grainger Arcade in Newcastle Upon Tyne. We'll be in residence from 9am - 5pm with around 18 stalls from some of the best creative talent alongside some wonderful 2nd hand and vintage traders. So you can avoid all the usual high street dross, pop in and say howdy and possibly pick yourself up something unique or a 2nd hand bargain.
I'll be there selling some of my prints and handmade goodies alongside:

Dolls and Molls (http://www.dollsandmolls.co.uk/)
Angelina Charnley offering hand knitted alpaca hats
Jennifer Lilly bags (http://www.jenniferlillybags.co.uk/)
Chocolate Mummy with their yummy yum handmade chocolate
Pet Lamb Patisserie (see their tasty treats here)

Plus loads more great stalls.

Also i'm pleased to announce that the Market is fast approaching it's 2nd birthday and we'll be having an extra special event on the 28th March to celebrate. With some guest musicians/bands to give us a tune or two. Confirmed so far is Phil Tyler and a couple of members of the Monster Ceilidh Band. We'll also have some party nibbles for you to enjoy while browsing the 20+ stalls. This will be at the new time of 12 noon - 5pm at the Star and Shadow Cinema

Heres the new poster below:

Creaturemag banner is up!

2010-02-25T01:47:00.001-08:00

Yippee!! My banner is up on the Creaturemag website and the lovely folks over there have written a little article about my work and the Make and Mend Market (on Facebook: here) which i co run and founded.

Creaturemag is an online art magazine which encourages creativity and aims to develop a network of creative people. Its a great read and is very useful in finding out about other creative projects to get involved with. To take a peek at the article and view other Creaturemag news visit http://www.creaturemag.com/
The banner is on rotation with two other wonderful works of art so you may have to click refresh to get the full effect.
Hope you like :)

New glasses cases for Folksy

2010-02-23T09:59:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update on my Folksy mini-shop which is fast growing into a not so mini shop ;)
I've added 2 new glasses cases to the fold and a very cute rubber duck sponge bag.
Please take a look on the shop for more details: http://www.folksy.com/shops/lucyfarfort

Heres some pretty pictures, which of course is the best bit -

Critter Banner

2010-02-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

FINALLY i have finished my critter banner (as i've just decided to call it) for the online art zine 'Creature Mag'. Been meaning to do one for a while as its an ongoing project they have, but something else always came up and although i probably should have been making up more stuff to sell at my forthcoming market, i just thought screw it this is much more fun.

Not sure when it will be put on the creature mag site as they rotate all the banner submissions, but thought i would post it on here so it can get an airing now.
I have put the initial sketch of the monsters and the finished product for you to view so you can see the transformation and get an idea of how i work.

Sample of original drawings:

Finished banner:

No rest for the wicked

2010-02-17T04:24:00.000-08:00

It was a mega busy day yesterday and one of the things i managed to do was create a mini shop on Folksy. It took me ages to decide which to go for Folksy or Etsy but after much umming and arring went for the UK favourite.
My choice was mainly based on reading one of the Folksy forums about which online handmade retailer to go for and one of the things which came up time and time again was that Folksy was friendlier and easier to use. Also after getting into silly arguments with people on Threadless (US based) as oppose to the UK based t-shirt design contest site - Tee Tonic i decided to stay this side of the Atlantic.
I think the enormity of Etsy put me off a little too as my work might just get lost in a sea of creativity.
Anyway please take a look at my Folksy shop, will be adding more stuff soon:
http://www.folksy.com/shops/lucyfarfort

First illy

2010-02-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

I've now finished the 1st full illustration of one of the main characters for the up & coming children's story . I've uploaded a cropped version of the full size image as a preview.
Now for the other 19 illustrations....yikes! Keep checking for updates and sneaky glimpses into the story itself.

2010-02-10T01:17:00.000-08:00

Victor (rough image)

Good morning. Yesterday saw the start of a massive new project in the shape of doing the illustrations as part of a collaboration on a children's book. The story written by my friend Andy who has been slaving away at it for the last two years is almost ready and its time for me to contribute.
I have decided to publish my progress via this blog. Its is expected that the story and illustrations will finally be ready for submission by this summer, so from now until then i will be updating my blog with the preliminary drawing, partially finished images and maybe even the odd finished illustration (not to spoil the finished thing).
So to start above is the hand drawn original sketch of one of the characters to be the first of many.

2010-02-08T09:36:00.000-08:00

Yay!! The Make and Mend Market yesterday was ace. I had visions with it being a cold grey February and all that it would be a quiet one, but i was wrong - it was heaving.
I sold two of my most treasured makes - my hummingbird clutch bag and Lovebird clutch bag (above). I know they've gone to a good home as they were purchased by two very lovely lasses.
I also ate laid my eyes on some of the most superb cakes i have ever seen in the shape of Pet Lamb Patisserie and sampled one of their yummy rocky road bars mm mm mm. I had to really stop myself from getting a chocolate brownie as well, greedy little git that i am.

Thanks to Dave my long suffering boyfriend and chauffeur for once again waking up early to drag me and my stuff to the market. Also not to forget a big thanks for the markets supporters.

2010-02-04T12:46:00.000-08:00

Heres some of the new t-shirts i've just finished. Hope you like:

And theres more...

2010-02-04T12:15:00.000-08:00

Finally finished adding some new items to my website shop. These funky coasters are 2 of six designs available. Check out www.lucyshappyplace.com/Shopmenu.html and click on the homeware section to see the others.

To zine or not to zine that is the question?

2010-02-03T07:15:00.000-08:00

I have a real urge to start a zine and i've been thinking about it for a while now, but there is no way on this earth that i have time.
I've got the title sorted, well actually i've got about 4 different titles that i like, but thats not really much use with0out content.
Anyway i'm thinking maybe i will start an occassional mini zine on the blog. Would mainly be illustrative stuff not much writing. Probably just a series of doodles depicting something i've seen thats amusing (and theres plenty of amusing stuff to be seen in the toon believe me). Please let me know what you reckon, to zine or not to zine that is the question.
Also if anyone knows of any good e-zines out there that they follow i would love to know. Maybe i could get involved in doing work for another zine rather than starting one from scratch.

2010-01-30T09:02:00.000-08:00

Right well not that i'm a perfectionist or anything, ahem, but i've made a couple of small amendments to my promo flyer. Heres the final product (i think). Hope you like it.

2010-01-29T06:06:00.000-08:00

Hello my one lonely follower..tee hee. Thanks friend :)
I have just finished a new promo flyer above for my work as an illustrator which i intend to distribute far and wide to get the word out that my skills are available for hire. Let me know what you think - be gentle.
Oh you may have noticed too that i have finally got my butt in gear and added a profile picture.

Competition entry

2010-01-22T05:49:00.001-08:00

Howdy
I have just put an entry into Creative Match's Flair competition.
Going to aim to do this on a regular basis just for fun mainly, but of course it would be great if i won :)
You can see my entry on: http://www.creativematch.com/?action=viewflair&fi=4401

Hope you like it its an image i did for NARC magazine for the pub quiz feature.
The illustration accompanies the question: 'What band is associated with this image?'
Hey why not see if you can guess the answer, but don't look at the image description on the Flair entry as it will give the game away!

2010-01-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

I run a monthly art, craft and flea market in Newcastle Upon Tyne called the Make and Mend Market. The event acts as a platform for emerging creatives such as artists & designers, and provides a space for individuals to recycle good quality unwanted items by selling them on.
The ethic is DIY & the entrepreneurial spirit! You can find out more by visiting:
www.myspace.com/ourmarket

I will be selling my handmade goodies at the Make & Mend Market on:
Sunday 7th February from 11am - 4pm,
Star and Shadow Cinema, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2NP.

Map below:

View Larger Map

2010-01-06T12:26:00.000-08:00

Hey There!
I'm now updating any latest news from the Doris Illustrated camp via this blog.