Crown ring by Magasin avaiable in her etsy shop here
Corgi necklace by Finest Imaginary available here
Post box by me! available in my etsy shop amypanda
x x x x
Showing posts with label amypanda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amypanda. Show all posts
Monday, 2 April 2012
Best of British!
The craft world is going crazy for British nostalgia themed stuff, in celebration of the Jubilee and this summer's London Olympics. To be honest I'm not crazy about London, and this summer I'll be busy having a baby, but I'm no fool...this is a great commercial opportunity and I've jumped aboard the wagon! Last year's Royal Wedding may have been a warm-up, as the range and quality of handmade goodness surrounding the jubilee/London is amazing this year. Including some of the sellers at May's handmade; here's a selection...
Crown ring by Magasin avaiable in her etsy shop here
Corgi necklace by Finest Imaginary available here
Post box by me! available in my etsy shop amypanda
x x x x
Crown ring by Magasin avaiable in her etsy shop here
Corgi necklace by Finest Imaginary available here
Post box by me! available in my etsy shop amypanda
x x x x
Thursday, 29 March 2012
handmade treasury
A few of the sellers at the next handmade craft fair have etsy shops, so I've made a nice treasury of their work as a taster of what you can expect at May's fair (facebook event page here. I can't wait!
x
A few of the crafters and makers who will be selling at the May Handmade craft fair at Wharf chambers... http://www.facebook.com/events/252991211456879/
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'handmade folks' by amypanda
A few of the crafters and makers who will be selling at the May Handmade craft fair at Wharf chambers... http://www.facebook.com/events/252991211456879/
 Collections zine issue ... $6.50 |  Blue Bird and Flowers R... $18.00 |  Crochet Red Fox Head Br... $7.00 |  Tote Bag - Bird Head $7.00 |
 I Pad Cover $10.00 |  Wooden Badger Forest Ne... $17.00 |  Darn Hootin' Owl Br... $4.00 |  Printed pencil badge $5.00 |
 Woodland Fox Sampler wi... $26.00 |  owls tote bag $12.00 |  I Dig You Plate $8.00 |  Retro Saddle Bag $30.00 |
 Hello printed badge $4.50 |  Fox Notebook Vulpes Vul... $6.50 |  Custom Rose Plugs 18mm ... $15.00 |  British post box brooch $7.00 |
Treasury tool supported by threequickquestions
Monday, 21 November 2011
new to handmade
The craft fair at the university the week before last was great, it was nice to see lots of handmade regulars selling alongside reetsweet's crafers. Two girls new to handmade were selling at the fair, and will make their handmade debut on Sunday at our Christmas fair. Luckily I've got a few snaps from the fair to share...
The first is Jodie Anna, who makes pretty jewellery using lovely vintage patterns and images of whimsical delights. I love her sewing machine brooches.
And secondly is Rebecca Slow, who makes a huge range of handmade goodies. My favourite items on show at the fair were her jam jar covers, which is such a great idea, and badges and brooches using vintage fabric.
x x x x
The first is Jodie Anna, who makes pretty jewellery using lovely vintage patterns and images of whimsical delights. I love her sewing machine brooches.
And secondly is Rebecca Slow, who makes a huge range of handmade goodies. My favourite items on show at the fair were her jam jar covers, which is such a great idea, and badges and brooches using vintage fabric.
x x x x
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
poster
Our Christmas fair has a poster, at last! Starring a christmassy finger puppet made by me, and put together by Hannah Ramley, who'll be at the event selling her own wares alongside some creative pals.
Hope you can make it! And don't forget the 2for1 tea and cake (details in a previous blog post!!)
x x x
Hope you can make it! And don't forget the 2for1 tea and cake (details in a previous blog post!!)
x x x
Monday, 31 October 2011
two for tea
In the first of many planned freebie giveaway type thingys, I have had an excellent idea. FREE CAKE. Yep, FREE CAKE! If you'd like to come along to the next handmade at the Brudenell then why not invite a friend, and in return I'll give you 2for1 tea and cake at the cake stall. Due to ridiculously low prices of £1.50 for a cup of tea with a cake, that'll make it £1.50 for TWO CUPS OF TEA and TWO CAKES.
All you have to do is "attend" the event on facebook, along with making a friend "attend" too, and leave a comment on the event wall with both of your names and I'll pop you on the 2for1 cake list.
The event page is here
And don't forget to come along to the super sized uni event on Tuesday 8th November too (NEXT TUESDAY EEK!), although the cake offer is just for the Brudenell!
x x x x x x x x
Monday, 3 October 2011
Mr Yen
Today's weekly look at a favourite etsy seller or trend is slightly different to past weeks as I've decided to focus on just one person. And that person is someone I've (and I'm sure many people have) admired for a long while. When I first started handmade craft fairs I used to "shop local" on etsy to see what was being made around Leeds, and stumbled across the amazing papercut artist MrYen. His papercut stationary is so romantic and beautiful. I don't think my words will do it justice so here are some photos to drool over this Monday morning...
If you'd like to buy any of these products then visit his etsy site here...
etsy.com/shop/mryen
If you'd like to buy any of these products then visit his etsy site here...
etsy.com/shop/mryen
Monday, 26 September 2011
introducing amypanda!
Apologies for posting the Sunday feature on a Monday, I can only blame the worst, most frustrating, internet connection in town. So today rather embarrassingly I'm introducing myself! As well as organising the handmade fairs I am myself a crafter and seller under the name amypanda. So, hello! Let me tell you little about myself...
How and why did you start making your wares?
I was always creative as a child/teen, but decidedly more bookish than arty so I continued with bookish pursuits whilst slowly but surely picking up needlecraft and knitting (surely the most bookish crafts of all!). I started making brooches for family and friends in my final few years of Uni about 4 or 5 years ago, and then after graduation picked it up more as gaps in employment left me desperate to fill my time with something other than mindlessly watching tv. I started selling at cute little craft fairs surrounded by middle class mum's selling tea cozies and candles, and at some indiepop gigs. As I've got much neater at the stitches, and better at thinking of new products to add to the collection, I suppose that I've found it more and more enjoyable and more and more worthy of my time.
Do you have any successes and failures you'd like to talk about?
In terms of selling at craft fairs my biggest flops have usually been the most expensive fairs, where not having any items over £5 becomes a big problem when my profit margins are so tiny. I did an outdoor fair at a castle which was terrible...the only people we saw all day was a coach group of tourists who pretty much ran through the stalls to get inside as it was raining. Success-wise, indietracks has been a yearly joy to sell at, and even back in early amypanda days three or four years ago I had a little patch of merch-stall and got to see all the bands walking around with my brooches on all weekend. Infinitely heart-warming. I find etsy a lovely place to be a part of, it's about as nice as a faceless online shop can be. Oh and whenever kids come along and pick up each badge naming whatever object it is, which happens suprisingly often, god that makes me so happy!
Do you craft full time? If not tell us a little about your day job and how you manage to fit your craft into your day?
Alas no, crafting remains very much a hobby at the moment, and attempts to make it into at least a part-time job haven't been very successful. I work at Waterstones as a bookseller, so craft by night and on days off. The dream job-wise would be to work in a library (I've worked as a library assistant before and it was just as lovely and twee as I'd dreamed) or as a teacher and craft part-time. I would love to craft full time though and would love to have a little shop to sell my wares alongside handmade creations by other crafters.
What're your main creative influences and interests?
Most of my influences are children's books illustrators. I find myself constantly inspired to create more items specifically aimed at children because they have such wonderful taste! My favourites are Tove Jansson, Gyo Fujikawa, Shaun Tan, Dick Bruna of Miffy Fame (his posters for a book publisher featuring a brown bear are worth a look), Bruno Munari, Eric Carle, and a whole host of Japanese and Scandinavian vintage picture books. More generally I'm influenced by vague and possibly pretentious sounding things like nature, animals, tea and cake, northern life and cute Japanese and Scandinavian design. Recently I've become concerned with the eco credentials of what I do and have started striving to use only recycled card and bags... I like that crafters promote buying local handmade high-quality goods instead of buying armfuls of disposable mass produced things made in China. I hope to fit my interests in green sustainable living in with my brooches more over time.
Do you have any favourite artists/websites/books/films you'd like to share?
I've mentioned children's books, but my main hobby is devouring novels. I remain bookish. It seems silly to list them all but some of my favourite's (which change monthly) are David Foster Wallace, B S Johnson, Magnus Mills, Raymond Carver, Albert Camus, Chekhov, Gogol, Muriel Spark (my token woman). I'm a disgusting snob and claim to think that almost all films are over-rated. Apart from trashy horror films, Studio Ghibli, and the occasional gem (Go and see "the taste of tea", it's lovely). I try not to spend much time online but there are some great websites I do check every few weeks, fine little day, lab curio(amazing resource for my children's book lust), I like the sneak peaks at people's houses on design sponge
What're your plans/dreams for the future?
More cats, lots of baking, an allotment, babies. The good life. A career in something where I feel like I'm helping people. Or touting my wares. Writing/crafting a children's book.
Where can we find your work (online or in the "real world")
www.etsy.com/shop/amypanda I blog as myself amypanda.blogspot.com
I have work in a little shop in Ilkly called Cake Walk, I also sell at handmade craft fairs, and sometimes at ReetSweet, and other fairs around Leeds.
So that's me! x
How and why did you start making your wares?
I was always creative as a child/teen, but decidedly more bookish than arty so I continued with bookish pursuits whilst slowly but surely picking up needlecraft and knitting (surely the most bookish crafts of all!). I started making brooches for family and friends in my final few years of Uni about 4 or 5 years ago, and then after graduation picked it up more as gaps in employment left me desperate to fill my time with something other than mindlessly watching tv. I started selling at cute little craft fairs surrounded by middle class mum's selling tea cozies and candles, and at some indiepop gigs. As I've got much neater at the stitches, and better at thinking of new products to add to the collection, I suppose that I've found it more and more enjoyable and more and more worthy of my time.
Do you have any successes and failures you'd like to talk about?
In terms of selling at craft fairs my biggest flops have usually been the most expensive fairs, where not having any items over £5 becomes a big problem when my profit margins are so tiny. I did an outdoor fair at a castle which was terrible...the only people we saw all day was a coach group of tourists who pretty much ran through the stalls to get inside as it was raining. Success-wise, indietracks has been a yearly joy to sell at, and even back in early amypanda days three or four years ago I had a little patch of merch-stall and got to see all the bands walking around with my brooches on all weekend. Infinitely heart-warming. I find etsy a lovely place to be a part of, it's about as nice as a faceless online shop can be. Oh and whenever kids come along and pick up each badge naming whatever object it is, which happens suprisingly often, god that makes me so happy!
Do you craft full time? If not tell us a little about your day job and how you manage to fit your craft into your day?
Alas no, crafting remains very much a hobby at the moment, and attempts to make it into at least a part-time job haven't been very successful. I work at Waterstones as a bookseller, so craft by night and on days off. The dream job-wise would be to work in a library (I've worked as a library assistant before and it was just as lovely and twee as I'd dreamed) or as a teacher and craft part-time. I would love to craft full time though and would love to have a little shop to sell my wares alongside handmade creations by other crafters.
What're your main creative influences and interests?
Most of my influences are children's books illustrators. I find myself constantly inspired to create more items specifically aimed at children because they have such wonderful taste! My favourites are Tove Jansson, Gyo Fujikawa, Shaun Tan, Dick Bruna of Miffy Fame (his posters for a book publisher featuring a brown bear are worth a look), Bruno Munari, Eric Carle, and a whole host of Japanese and Scandinavian vintage picture books. More generally I'm influenced by vague and possibly pretentious sounding things like nature, animals, tea and cake, northern life and cute Japanese and Scandinavian design. Recently I've become concerned with the eco credentials of what I do and have started striving to use only recycled card and bags... I like that crafters promote buying local handmade high-quality goods instead of buying armfuls of disposable mass produced things made in China. I hope to fit my interests in green sustainable living in with my brooches more over time.
Do you have any favourite artists/websites/books/films you'd like to share?
I've mentioned children's books, but my main hobby is devouring novels. I remain bookish. It seems silly to list them all but some of my favourite's (which change monthly) are David Foster Wallace, B S Johnson, Magnus Mills, Raymond Carver, Albert Camus, Chekhov, Gogol, Muriel Spark (my token woman). I'm a disgusting snob and claim to think that almost all films are over-rated. Apart from trashy horror films, Studio Ghibli, and the occasional gem (Go and see "the taste of tea", it's lovely). I try not to spend much time online but there are some great websites I do check every few weeks, fine little day, lab curio(amazing resource for my children's book lust), I like the sneak peaks at people's houses on design sponge
What're your plans/dreams for the future?
More cats, lots of baking, an allotment, babies. The good life. A career in something where I feel like I'm helping people. Or touting my wares. Writing/crafting a children's book.
Where can we find your work (online or in the "real world")
www.etsy.com/shop/amypanda I blog as myself amypanda.blogspot.com
I have work in a little shop in Ilkly called Cake Walk, I also sell at handmade craft fairs, and sometimes at ReetSweet, and other fairs around Leeds.
So that's me! x
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