D&AD Don't cha know!

So, I got a really brilliant email this week from the hardworking, innovative & generally great gals at Laqa & Co letting me know that The D & AD have just announced this years winners and the packaging project that I am very proud to be a part of has won a book award! Huge congratulations to everyone involved!! Oh and while i'm on the subject of the wonderful Laqa, not satisfied with producing brilliant ways of getting colour on yer talons, they've now got lips covered too, so i'll be posting a blog about my new artwork for their brilliantly named 'fat lip' pens soon.

Screenprinting is a pretty simple process and like most things in life I've always had the best results when I've taken more time to prepare everything properly before starting. However, sometimes you forget to put the paper down and you end up with this - a printed vacuum bed. All those little holes carry air and when they're covered they hold the paper in place so once you've pulled the ink through the screen and onto the paper the paper stays where it is and the screen lifts upwards with ease. Without those little holes the paper would stick to the other side of the screen and once you've peeled it away you'd more than likely end up with a soft image, which ain't good! The image here is a brand new version of my little 'you complete me' prints - I wanted to make a more substantial print of it so I drew a border and decided that the words should be lowercase so they could have a more flowy feel - they're meant to look like ribbon and the border is a kind of hybrid of rikrak & pinking shears, if only I'd included a couple of buttons in there the print could have been a homage to my old friends from my sewing days.

Well, my epic eggventure has ended, it was a tough old journey and lots of hard work (along with tears at times) but i'm pleased to say it was all worth it as my egg sold for £2,300 - you can have a look at the lots which are still available to buy here .
This money along with all the other humungous sums from the sales of the other eggs & various merchandise will go to help two amazing charities - Elephant Family & Action for Children.
I'd like to send out a huge thanks to everyone involved in this incredible project, everyone I have met along the way has oozed enthusiasm, dedication & diligence, none of this would have happened without all their thousands of hours of grafting.
I feel deeply honoured that I was invited to be a part of it.
Pictured above is one of my favourite photos of my egg, if you have any of you standing beside it or if you know anyone that has please email me at reapwhatisew@gmail.com as i'd really love to see them.

I'm super gutted to be missing out on this sale - it's gonna be a goodun!
If you're in the area please do pop by, although I won't be there in the flesh I will be in spirit because the beauty & the brains behind Mercy & Pearl will be selling my teatowels.

The Elephant Family have supplied selected artists with ostrich eggs so they can replicate their giant eggs. They're being sold at the pop up shop in Selfridges alongside mugs and lots of other merchandise produced to help support the Big Egg Hunt.

Epic Eggventure

Well, here it is... over 25,000 little sticky dots, three coats of varnish and a heck of a lot of woman hours later my egg is finally complete.
Not long now til the official launch date - such exciting times and I really still can't believe I was chosen! Please do pop along to the to the The Big Egg Hunt . for more information on the event and to see who else is taking part, there are some seriously big names! I will post some better pics of my egg soon.

Nice Art Fair

If you're in London and happen to find yourself at a loose end then why not pop along to the London Art Fair . TAG Fine arts. are showing my work on stand 40. They've got a great range of work from lots of brilliant artists and will also be showing my new GIANT Nice screenprint (pictured above)
Opening times are as follows
Tues 17th January 6pm – 9pm (Invited guests / Preview & Six Day Ticket Holders)
Wed 18th & Thurs 19th January 11am – 9pm
Fri 20th & Sat 21st January 11am – 7pm
Sun 22nd January 10am – 5pm

Eggstravaganza

Ok, so I still haven't had a moment to even upload all of my photos from Japan (there are around 700) onto my computer, never mind sitting down to tell you all about what an amazing and brilliant place it is. I will do though before the year is out! That's a promise.
Not only have I been stressing over my tax return, i've been really busy sticking little dots onto a two and a half foot high fibre glass egg. It's all for a really good cause which you'll find out more about here .
Here's a few sneak pics of my egg which has around 25,000 dots and has taken an absolute age to complete. I'm really looking forward to the actual egg hunt! Will post more details nearer the time. x

Lucky Lady

I have just got back from a truly incredible trip to Japan. I promise to blog all about it as soon as i've caught up with my sleep - I feel that if I were to start writing about it now I wouldn't do it justice. So, more soon!
In the meantime, I think it's worth mentioning i'm looking forward to taking part in the Mangle Christmas sale tomorrow even though i'll be bleary eyed and a bit worse for wear.

Not long to go til I bust!

I feel really lucky to have been given a place in this year's Bust Craftacular. Please come along and say hello if you're in the area, so many great people will be selling their wares so it'll be a good opportunity to buy handmade goodies.

Printed envelopes

Well, it's that time of year and I have committed myself to taking part in 3 sales. Although they're generally a lot of fun, the preparation for them can be stressful.
So, in an effort to spread the workload out a bit I've been doing little things here and there. I printed these hardback envelopes for my prints on Friday.
The design features my funny hands and fingers which my boyfriend lovingly refers to as twiglets as i've got quite big knuckles, nice huh?
For those of you who don't know me you won't know that the ring on my left hand has been there for the last ten years so it seems as much a part of me as my wonky fingers.
Sorry the photo isn't great - will take some proper photos as soon as I get a chance.

mini cards

Recently i've been keeping myself busy with making little printed cards. One of the great things about screenprinting things yourself is that you can produce a wide variety of colours easily.
I bought lots of different coloured envelopes to put these cards in too, so here's to an abundance of colour!

It's What's Inside That Counts

I've wanted to produce a bag of my Russian doll design for ages now but have been waiting for the right opportunity to present itself.
Well good things really do come to those who wait as I was recently approached by the very lovely Naomi of NV London Calcutta.
They're an award winning ethical accessories company specializing in handmade leather bags and luxurious silk scarves. You can see their full range here .
The cotton totes will be hand screenprinted each side and easily folds up to fit inside a matching handmade leather purse, all that for only £25. Available from mid November, to pre order please email me at reapwhatisew@gmail.com

Friday November 4th

In less than 3 weeks I'll be taking part in a new monthly market at the Arts Depot Finchley. I'll be selling screenprints, teatowels, cushion covers and some new things i'm currently working on. Find out more about the market here .

New Prints in My Etsy shop!!

New Prints

Time to stop

I've got a bit of an addiction to casio watches - especially the little plastic ones - they're so light and easy to wear - you hardly know they're there. Anyone might think I've too much time on my hands!

Ive felt better

I've done something really weird to my shoulder/neck and the result has left me in total agony all weekend - it's even disturbing my sleep, no fun at all.
On the plus side I managed to finish off these illustrations. I wanted to make something that felt (excuse the pun) handmade, homely with a sense of warmth.
My original idea was a lot more complicated so i'm glad I decided to strip it back and keep it simple.