Emotional Baggage Exchange

'Emotional Baggage' have been handling different kinds of baggage and helping people feel a little lighter since 2004. Set up by myself and good friend and colleague Belle Tidswell, our check in boothe has appeared at a diverse range of events and we aim to be 99% exclusively inclusive.

Alongside our handling service we have also developed a range of thought provoking gifts including the Emotional Baggage DIY kit and Controversial Debates game. Each year we participate in the Art Car Boot Fair in Brick Lane, creating a different experience or game alongside the boothe including - Controversial Debates (live version) the Lost & Found Tombolla and last year year we encouraged visitors to plant seeds of change with our 'Tree of Life' exercise.

At the year's Art Car Boot Fair, which is taking place this Sunday, we will present our 'Emotional Baggage Exchange'. We will invite visitors to offload their Emotional Baggage at the boothe (or in the privacy of their own home), feel a little lighter and win a limited edition, positive piece of baggage, all this for a mere £5!
Belle and I have been busy designing, screen printing, cutting and stitching to make a collection of amazing types of baggage you can acquire including "Handy Bags", "T-Bags", "Clutch Crutches" and not forgetting those "old Bags"

Meet Paul Gardner, our proud sponsor! Paul has kindly provided the cotton bags, which we've printed our designs onto. Paul is a very warm character and provides an excellent service to all us local traders. His family have been supplying bags and market sundries since 1870, making his shop the oldest family business in the Spitalfields area.

Stitched + Told

I found the 2 'Stitch + Tell' workshops over the weekend very interesting and moving. I met a group of lovely women of all ages and walks of life and 1 man visiting London, who participated, stitched, shared stories, memories and emotions around the table.

As you will have seen in my last post, participants were invited to choose a pre prepared hexagon patch and stitch into and leave behind a secret, memory, a piece of emotional baggage, an affirmation. The 'Handmade Tales' exhibition at the the Women's Library also contained a lot of nostalgia and family memories for participants which they drew on.

Here are some of the stories behind and contained on the patches:

"The lilac design is in memory of my great grandmother Olga and her beautiful hand embroidered screen of lilacs. Olga is also the name of my grandmother and my friend who currently has breast cancer " (Barbara)

" I have just found my birth mother" (Lindsey)

" Be useful Be happy" (Amy)

" T + G " in memory of my music teacher Thora who taught me tatting and lived with her sister Greeba (Dita)

" A Christmas pudding in memory of making steaming Christmas puddings with my grandmother" (Natasha)

"BE WITH" Learning to BE but also BE WITH (Anna)

At the BUST Christmas Craftacular the stitching and telling continued to flow on the Sunday. 2 people made complete flowers, which was a pleasant surprise for me!

" I have an illness" was stitched into the central hexagon with "But my illness doesn't have me" on each of the outer petal hexagons (Caroline) This was very touching for me as I know Caroline and admire her strength and generosity of spirit even when she is feeling a great deal of pain.

"Love stinks, unless you act!" (Sarah)

"Nancy Jackson" (Sarah) In memory of the embroider, who Sarah visited twice a week as a support worker. She continued to embroider into old age and inspite of her health and movement in her hands.

This is a detail of one of Emma's patches "Actually it is easy to say but it is difficult to do". Emma who is a stitcher and also teaches at RCA and Bournmouth Arts University is currently researching into the recent resurgence of craft and I enjoyed the discussions she brought to the table on her own personal observations into craft.

Some of the finished flowers ready for planting in the Handmade Tales exhibition at the Women's Library, so if you haven't visited already, I highly recommend a visit! You've got until April 2011. If you'd like to contribute a patch or even a whole flower then just pop in to Fabrications to get your patch! (s)

Summer of crafty fun!

Dates for your diaries! Get out and about with Fabrications and friends! We hope you can join in our FREE! (thanks to the councils listed below) workshops and fun activities at the following events this summer:

Sunday 6th June, Art Car Boot Fair (Trumans Brewery, Brick Lane) 12 - 6pm
Join Belle + Barley (Emotional Baggage handlers) at the Art Car Boot Fair and become a winner at their 'Lost + Found' tombola. Over 200 prizes including one off artworks and quirky, entertaining or gaming inspired curio.

Saturday 12th June, Make do + Mend Cafe (Southwark Park, Rotherhithe) 12 - 6pm

Join Fabrications + Good Old Days hair salon for a 1940's experience within this year's Bermondsey + Rotherhithe Carnival.

Create a fascinator, have your hair styled 1940's or bring along an item of clothing in need of repair or transformation on our make + do tables, full of inspirational re used and vintage haberdashery thanks to Southwark Council and LMB.

Saturday 19th + Sunday 20th June, Paradise Gardens (Victoria Park, Hackney)

We will be in the activities tent within the family area at the lovely local Paradise Gardens event. We will be offering our giant knitting and french knitting (create a lovely scarf, boa or knitted jewelry) and rosette making. All materials provided thanks to Tower Hamlets Council.

Saturday 17th + Sunday 18th July, Newham Mayors Show (Central Park, East Ham)

Newham Mayors show is a great family event. Come and find us in the 'Craft + Hobbies' tent where we will be offering giant knitting and French knitting and the opportunity to create a fabulous festival fascinator to wonder about in and be wondered at!

We will also be setting up our 'Make do + mend' tables to bring along your clothes for surgery or revamping in the 'Heritage/wartime history area'. All other materials provided thanks to Newham Council.

SALE TIME!

An indicator that spring has certainly arrived, my annual pilgrimage into the deepest darkest corners of my workshop has taken place. No box or shelf has remained untouched! The outcome....

A colossal clearance sale! Time to pass on some of my stash to you lucky lucky people!

What's in the sale? A mixture of old shop fittings and curios including display busts, frames, cog flowers and greenery (created for London Field cycles window display) fabrics, haberdashery, wool, knitting bags, sewing kits, books, patterns and all kinds of random, useful bits n pieces.

Bags of haberdashery £1.50 each or 5 for a £5

Bags of fabrics, sample / experimental textiles £5 each

or 3 for £10

A selection of my 'Shirt +Tie' cushions are now half price

A range of one off artworks are also half price.

SALE NOW ON! Get here soon while stocks last!!

London Design Festival

Skandium presents....'Knit Wits' with Iittala.

As you can see from my last post, I was kindly invited by Skandium to dress about 80 iconic Iittala products in knitting. I did this along with my friends from Hackney based knitting group 'Knitty Gritty'. We had a lot of fun devising different cosies and covers for items such as glass birds by Olva Toikka, Kivis by Heikki Orvola and the biggest challenge was a curvaseous jacket for Alvar Aalto's vases. To highlight Iittala's great ethos of 'lasting design against throwayism' I used salvaged yarns and reused materials (of course!) Our creations have now been installed in Skandium's windows on Brompton Road and Marlybone High Street and will be on show until Sunday 27th September.

* * Come along and celebrate * * the installation at a free knitting class with me and some of the Knitty Gritty girls at Skandium this Thursday 24th September, 6 - 8.30pm, available on a first come first serve basis. There will also be opportunity to enjoy tea and cakes, giggle at our knitted pieces and have a browse in Skandium's wonderful store. Participants will also receive a free 'Knit-Wit-kit', this is an Iittala / Barley Massey 'Rethink Rubbish' learn how to knit kit. The Knit-Wit-Kits have been in circulation at various locations in the London Design Festival.
If you find one we would love to see what you create with it!
(you can e-mail me or jodi@circle-pr.com )

Skandium, 245-249 Brompton Road, London SW3 2EP.

Saturday 26th September from 10am - 6pm

We will be at 'The Dock' in Ladbrook Grove with 'The Art Car Boot Fair' (or Art Car Bootique, cos it's gone West!)
The Dock event is an emporium of creative talent instigated by Tom Dixon.

I will be joining forces with Belle Tidswell to present our popular 'Emotional Baggage Handling service'. Check in at the booth and once you're feeling lighter try your luck at our 'Lost + Found tombolla'. There are 100 fantastic prizes ranging from quirky found objects with a psychological twist to contributions and recycled products from the following leading ethical designers: Annie Sherburne, Barley Massey (of course!), Hannah Greenaway, Jasper Startup, Jethro Macey, Robert Archard projects, Ryan Frank, Twisted Twee.

We will also have our 'Controversial Debates' game and my 'Rethink Rubbish' craft kits on sale.

Other Festival highlights......

If you're planning to vist Tent, I would highly recommend visiting Katherine May's stand with her new collective Bricolage

Hidden Art kick started the festival with their exhibition 'Transforming Passion into Products' at the Oxo gallery

Have fun!

JULY WORKSHOPS

This month we will be out and about at the following locations:

Saturday 5th July The Big Day Out in Whittington Park. Part of the Holloway Arts Festival

KNIT LARGE knit your own designer scarf using our GIANT knitting needles or BIG french knitting stools. There will be a heap of inspirational chunky yarns to work with.

RECYCLED ROSETTES make a rosette or patch from a pick n mix of reused and recycled fabrics, ribbons, buttons, sequins and more!

We will be in the Arts + Craft Zone (FREE)

Monday 7th July Royal Festival Hall, level 3, 5.30 - 7.30pm

Hyperbolic Crochet contibute to UK's first crochet corel reef which is currently on display at the Hayward Gallery and the Royal Festival Hall. Feel free to bring along your crochet hook and plastic bags! This spectacular collabrative project has been conceived by Margaret + Christene Wertheim of the Institute for figuring in Los Angeles. They've already initiated a number of hyperbolic crochet reefs in America. This is what they had to say about it " when most people see the Reef the first thing they do is laugh. It is woolly jumpers and higher geometry and girlie power and ecological awareness and mad texan housewives all at once"

We will be on level 3 and it's (FREE!)

Thursday 24th - Sunday 27th Secret Garden Party, for info click here

Emotional Baggage Handling Service - Your weekend starts and ends here!

Thursday : Check in your Emotional Baggage (No excess Baggage charges here!) and set your SMART objectives for the weekend (and beyond!)

Friday - Sunday : All day Emotional Baggage Handling + activities including: 'Everyone's a winner rosette making' creating positive affirmations and personal mottos, 'Get your Skelletons out of the cupboard' make your own demon puppet.

Evening activities : 'Tea + Sympathy', 'The Hypothecary' and the 'Debating Society'

Offload your Emotional Baggage

Visit Barley and Belle (Emotional Baggage Handlers) at this years Art Car Boot Fair

and hopefully feel a little lighter!

Check in at our handling boothe. (Payment via symbolic exchange)

All unclaimed items will be destroyed.

We will also be selling our Emotional Baggage DIY kits and launching our new game 'Controversial Debates'