Exhibiting at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 9-12 October 2014

The GNCCF is recognised as one of the leading selling events for contemporary crafts in the UK, attracting over 6000 visitors annually. October 2014 sees the award-winning GNCCF move to an exciting new home in the iconic Granada TV HQ in central Manchester. Over 160 exhibitors have been selected for their excellence in ceramics, jewellery, textiles, glass, wood and mixed media.  Curator Victoria Scholes has chosen the best work from the class of 2014 for the annual Great Northern Graduates stand and the Hothouse showcase also returns featuring some of the best emerging talent from the Craft Council’s development programme.

An exciting new addition for this year is Ornament, an exhibition of high-end collectible craft. Curated by Kelda Savage, in conjunction with curators of major public and private contemporary craft collections in the northwest, 'Ornament’ aims to help build the market for collectors through exposure and education. It will focus on the presentation of beautiful collectible objects, the stories of the people who made them and the history of the collections they feature in. With all work from the makers on sale, it will also provide the opportunity for visitors to start their own collection or add to an existing collection. 

I am very excited to be exhibiting my work at the event. I am busy producing new works which will be for sale at the event. Please see below for a sneak peep! For more information please visit www.greatnorthernevents.co.uk

Summer 2014 Press: Featured in QEST Magazine Issue 30.

I had the pleasure of visiting the Johnstons of Elgin textiles mill in Scotland. I am very excited to be  working with Johnstons of Elgin on a textiles project, which will be launched in Autumn 2015. “It was a fantastic opportunity to see in person the whole process,” enthused Mandeep Mann during the tour of the mill, “the woolen fibres taken through a number of processes to arrive at finished woven lengths of fabrics. The different weights of fabrics being produced were so inspiring.”

In 2013 Johnstons of Elgin received the Royal Warrant of Appointment for Estate Tweed to HRH The Prince of Wales.  It has always been an innovative company as illustrated by the experimentation of wool sent back to Moray from a young local man travelling in Peru in the early 1880’s. Textiles made from that Vicuna fleece were included in the Great Exhibition in 1851.  Today, ‘from goat to garment’ is more than a slogan, as cashmere is shot with silk and woven into the sheerest apparel for catwalk shows across the globe, whilst the same looms weave heavy weight winter blankets and popular Estate Tweeds to be used in men fashions.  It is little wonder that it has been standing strong since 1797.  A family led business that is completely independent can adapt, evolve and innovate.