Coriandr Sellers

Today is all about sharing with you some of the beautiful goods you can purchase from talented artisans through Coriandr. This site is fairly new, but it has lots of style and has attracted some amazing artisans to set up shop there. It's still looking for new sellers, so if you are creative and looking for a new venue to sell through, check it out.

I have been looking longingly at Katcha bags for some time. This lady makes the most amazing bags that tick a lot of my boxes when it comes to buying. They are stylish, well designed for purpose, made from recycled rubber, car seatbelts and they are hand sewn. No electricity used. Fabulous!

The Shy One doesn't need to be shy about her work. It is gorgeous! This Autumn thistle print of a watercolour is one of a limited print run of 30. I love the colours, textures and feeling of motion in the picture. If you look in Carols shop you'll see her talents don't stop at watercolour painting.

Miss Bumble is very talented in a craft I have tried and failed at. Needle felting is very hard to do well and Miss Bumble does it amazingly well. This giraffe is proof of that. I'm somewhat jealous. I chose to show you a close up of his head so you could see the intricate detail.

Sarah Watkins Fairbourn is the designer of this beautiful wardrobe. It would be perfect for a nursery or young girls bedroom. Sarah collaborates with a local cabinet maker who builds her designs. I think they do a fantastic job. Click on the photo so you get taken to the listing where you can see close up's of the pretty details.

Kaytea grabbed my attention instantly with her purple and orange coloured blocks. What baby could resist playing with these? Beautifully soft fleece makes them cuddly as well as fun to play with and they are fully washable, which as any mother knows is very important.

There are many other really talented, creative people selling over on Coriandr. Have a visit and a little surf around the shops and see if you can resist buying or recommending goods to other people. I couldn't! I hope you enjoyed my choices.

Cambridge Handm@de fair

Today I’ve chosen a gorgeous selection of handmade items from sellers attending the Cambridge Handm@de fair. This is takes place on the 4th April, in the Guildhall and will include a range of different handmade crafts from sellers all over the UK.

This adorable bracelet is made by Poor Robin. The stacks of colourful buttons, tied together with leather makes a great accessory. As well as wonderful bracelets, Poor Robin also makes felt cuffs, pendants and hair clips.

Namolio makes a range of different items, including this blue and pink hand knitted scarf – it look so soft! It’s still pretty cold out there, so just looking at this makes me feel all toasty again. I’m really looking forward to seeing some of the beautiful fabric covered buttons by Namolio’s– I’m not sure I’ll be able resist!

This fantastic cubic necklace is the perfect thing to brighten up an outfit. The turquoise cubes alternated with grey and clear beads creates a striking effect.
Made by MomentsByMartha, it’s only one in a range of beautiful pieces of jewellery available in her shop.

I don’t think I’ve ever owned a clutch bag, but I’m extremely tempted by those on offer from Cloudhopping. I adore the retro fabric, and the brown hand crochet woollen strip really brings it together! As well as clutches, items also include beanies (for men and women), brooches, belts, shrugs and ipod cases. I simply can’t believe how talented this seller is! I’m becoming extremely jealous already!

Aha, buttons again – I just love them! Well two buttons and a pendant which is even better! These ceramic hearts are made by Hodgepodge arts. Perfect for adding that extra unique detail to bags, purses or clothes. I’ve got a feeling that crafters won’t be short of things to treat themselves too at this fair either!

I hope some of you will be able to come along and check out the amazing variety of stuff on offer. It’s a great opportunity to get some unique handmade gifts at reasonable prices. I’ll be there with a small stall, trying not to spend all my profit on all the lovely things! Feel free to say hello!

Written by Rose of Felt Giraffe

Protect Your Artwork

I’m going to deviate a bit from the actual mechanics of photography and talk instead about protecting your artwork on-line. There’s a conundrum that all visual artists face when we decide to share our work with the on-line community: how do we post our images without running the risk of having our art stolen (thought right-click downloads, high-quality screen shots, etc)? I’ve read a number of posts in the Etsy forums about this very topic – new artists always want to know how to protect their work.

Tip #1: Only upload small files at 72 dpi for use on the web.

While it is frustrating for photographers and other visual artists to see the low-resolution files on a monitor that don’t completely convey the true crisp images and saturated colors of the original file, it will prevent potential art thieves from printing your work in large format (the quality will be too low).

Tip #2: Watermark your images.

Another conundrum: do we ruin our work with a huge watermark splashed across the center of our image? One solution is to make your watermark very subtle:


or to move your watermark to the lower corner of your image:

Both styles allow the viewer to see the central image, but it requires some serious Photoshop skills on the part of a thief to remove or obscure the text.

Tip #3: Do not sell digital files of your original artwork.

I see this question frequently: people ask if they should offer digital files as an option for customers to purchase. Unless you are licensing or selling the rights to those images, do not sell digital files of your work. Once a high-quality, un-watermarked digital file leaves your computer, you no longer have control over the reproduction or distribution of the image.

If anyone has other advice to offer on this topic, I welcome everyone to post the information in the “comments” section – the more information we can share with each other, the safer it will be for artists to display and sell their work on-line!

Written by Michelle of MKC Photography

Monthly Creative Challenge:- March

So it's the first Monday of the month and from now on we will be setting a challenge to run for the whole month. The idea is that we will pick a topic and each of you are invited to create something that reflects that topic. You can knit, sew, crochet, weave, photograph, paint, video, compose, interpretive dance, write... pretty much anything creative within that topic. All we are trying to do is encourage people that don't get much chance to be creative to get into making things and for those that are already very creative to try something different, or use the crafts they already use in a different way.

Once you have created your piece, you can photograph or video it and you can add it to our flickr group, or you tube. If the item is in the flickr group remember to mark it as "March Challenge" somewhere in the title. If the item is on You Tube or is a written entry, I will start a thread each month on the Flickr group that you can post a link to your You Tube piece or paste your written work. At the end of the month the items with the largest number of positive comments will get featured here on the blog the first Monday of the month, along with new topic for the next month.

Due to yesterday being the first day of spring in the UK this months topic is:-

"New Beginnings"

If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the feedback on this blog entry.

Artisan of the Week, Neil Collins of Studio23tucson

Happy St. David's day everyone! This week's Artisan of the Week is Neil Collins from Studio23tucson. This mightily talented chap makes paintings, sculptures and really cool tables. So go grab a slice of bara brith, a daffodil and invite Tom Jones round to help celebrate all things Welsh whilst you cast your eyes over the following article.

1. Could you please introduce us to who you are and what you do?
Hello, I am self taught artist Neil Collins, living in Tucson, Arizona. I have been oil painting for about 12 years and working with metal for about 6 yrs. I also create handmade, fine art furniture. Each piece of furniture is truly one of a kind. There is nothing else like it any where. It is an exciting collaboration between my partner, ceramic artist, Christina Devine, and myself. Our work together (usually tables) are made up of Cristina's hand made ceramic tiles and my welded steel.

2. What led you to take up your craft?
I think my first and strongest inspirations toward painting came when I was about 5 or 6 years old. My step father had a huge record collection of rock music and I loved going through them to stare at the fascinating works of art on their covers. They were so creative and mesmerizing! As for welding, I had the opportunity to work at a motorcycle junkyard when I was 22. Staring at all of those interesting metal parts and pieces all the time just seems to make you start to think about sculpture.

3. Which part of your work do you most enjoy?
My favorite part of the creative process comes after I have the concept for the piece figured out and I am just involved in the process of making it happen. When there is nothing really to think about and I am really engaged in the activity of the creation... the work. I must also admit that my other favorite time is when I sell a piece of art. Yes, cash! When some one gives me money for my work I feel like that is the most true and concrete form of compliment that can't be denied. It shows me beyond any doubt that they really love the piece.

4. Which part do you find hardest?
One of the hardest parts of making art, for me, is deciding what to work on. I come up with so many ideas that it can be torture some times choosing which one to make and which ones not. Some days my head is spinning with inspiration, but I can only do so much.

5. Where do you hope to be in 1 year's time?
Next year, I just expect to be further along. I try not to set specific goals for myself, but rather just keep moving ahead. Making the art, exploring my ideas and continuing to put it out there. If I had to focus on something than I would have to say that in a year from now I would like to have my work in a few more physical art galleries.

6. What is the best advice you have ever been given?
I would have to say that I got the best advise from a friend when I was hired to help him remodel his house. He told me to repair some plaster in the wall. I said "I've never actually done this, myself". He told me that the only way that he had ever learned anything was by jumping in there and doing it. Then he just left me to it. After that I've found out that there seems to be no end to what I could figure out with a little confidence. It sure beats waiting until I get around to taking some official class on how to do something.

7. Could you name artisans sites/shops would you recommend are worth a visit?
I would have to recommend www.deviantart.com The amount of genius artists on there is mind boggling! Then I would say my best friend Bryan Crow, he is also a painter/metal worker. We are always talking with each other about our art and marketing ideas. It's very cool to have a good friend to bounce stuff off of.

8. What is your favourite sandwich filling?
I think that sauerkraut is one of the best kept secrets in the sandwich world. Just a little bit of it can turn an ordinary sandwich into something exotic.

Thank you Neil for taking the time to tell us a little about yourself and your artworks. Readers if you have been inspired by what you have seen, Neil has given me a list of more places you can see his work:-

Neil's main website is:
http://www.studio23tucson.com/Home.html

Here are more places to see Neil's work:
http://www.devinetilearts.com/Home.html
http://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/50665-neil-collins
http://www.artistsites.org/studio23tucson/
http://artwanted.com/artist.cfm?ArtID=45813
http://neilcollinsartist.deviantart.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5039854
http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=322

I've spent many a happy hour looking through these sites. I confess I'm a big fan of Neil's and Christina Devine's work. The colours and forms just draw me in. Just stunning!