The London Beer Lab

Saskia spoke to Bruno and Karl from the London Beer Lab about the opening of their micro-brewery later this month, and about exciting local beer plans with Brixton Buzz.

Why open a brewery in Brixton?

Bruno: When I moved to London I could not really find a wide variety of beer and I started to home brew. Back in my home town, in Lyon, it is possible to do home brewing courses. I was surprised to find that there were no brewing workshops in London, and I thought to myself “we should do this in London”. This is how it started. I use to work in finance, this is a bit of a transition for me. The first home brewing workshop took place in my flat last year. My entire flat got taken over by brewing equipment, so we decided to look for a place to open a micro-brewery.

Karl: We looked at possible sites across London, Brixton was the best location we could find. We are close to the Brixton high street,…

Bruno: …other businesses, and the community. The other possible sites were hidden in industrial parks. We are close to Brixton Market and the Tube, making it easy for people to find us.

Karl: We moved in February this year, in June we held our first brewing workshop here. The workshops have been great. People have been returning to bottle their beer and have been very happy. A couple brewed wheat beer especially for their wedding.

What type of beer will you be making?

Bruno: We just brewed some Bavarian wheat beer, and some amber ale. The brewing workshops we do every week will determine what we brew next. It can really be any type of beer, we will see what requests we are getting. In the fermentation room we have some Belgium styles, some altbier and pilsner. We want to experiment, that’s one of the guiding principles of the London Beer Lab. That’s why I wanted to open a brewery really, to brew different beers.

Karl: For the moment we will be focusing on bottled beer. We are also doing a collaboration with Brixton Buzz, they will crowd source the recipe for a beer from local internet forum Urban75. It is great how they get people involved. It looks like people are going for a medium strength pale ale, with something that gives it a bit of a buzz. Brixton Buzz will probably be available in local pubs from mid August. More will be revealed soon.

Will you cater mainly to the South London craft beer connoisseurs, or are you planning to win over a new audience?

Bruno: In fact we are planning for world domination.

Karl: It is not like we have different opinions… We both feel that people should not be drinking bad beer. We also don’t think that craft beer should be the preserve of the beard and sandals brigade or yuppies, it should be accessible to people and hopefully we can contribute to that locally.

Bruno: We will definitely cater for the beer connoisseurs, but also introduce beer to a new audience through our workshops. There are now in the region of 50 micro-breweries in London and we are planning to stock beer from other micro-breweries, for people to buy. Alongside that we will be selling our own beer. If we get a feel for the local taste, we may get local pubs interested.

Are you currently working with other local businesses?

Bruno: We are very much focused on getting up and running, and ready for our official opening later in August. We need to get some shelves, and cardboard boxes for the bottles. We are currently looking for a local bakery to work with. The spent grain we have left over from brewing can be made into bread. Do you know a local bakery?

Saskia: Sure.

To be continued. The London Beer Lab micro-brewery can be visited at Arch 41 Nursery Road (row of arches across the street from bar SW9). More information about the London Beer Lab brewing workshops can be found at http://londonbeerlab.com/

Rachel Stanners: Why I am involved in Makerhood

Rachel runs a letterpress business from her Brixton studio, is a member of our Makers’ Club, and volunteers on Makerhood’s events. Rachel explains what brought her to Makerhood, and why it’s been great for her social life and her business.

I began to teach myself how to letterpress using a hand-operated 8×5 Adana press about four years ago, and I quickly fell in love with the medium. Prickle Press was officially established in 2010 when I got my first wholesale order from a beautiful bookshop in Copenhagen.

gege

Last year I came across a much larger, foot-operated treadle press called a Chandler & Price on ebay. I left like I’d won the lottery when we got it! The press meant I could print larger sizes and much more easily.

I’m at the point now where I am launching a full range of greetings cards, approaching more shops for trade orders and receiving regular requests for bespoke work: wedding invitations, business cards and birth announcements.

I wanted to get involved in my community

I heard about Makerhood at a Christmas fair in Brixton a couple of years ago. I was immediately interested. At this point I had just started working four days a week on Prickle Press from home, and although I loved it, I was missing those day-to-day contacts and colleagues. I’d been living in Brixton for four and a half years but it was only once I started working from home that I realised how disconnected my life was from my local area. I wanted to get more involved in my local community and meet people with similar passions – to create and make – and Makerhood seemed like the perfect place to do that.

Volunteering and Making Uncovered

When I attended my first Makerhood meeting I enthusiastically volunteered for just about everything! I’ve since started interviewing local makers for the ‘Meet the Makers’ section of the website. A few months later went along to an events planning meeting. At this stage the idea of the ‘Making Uncovered’ event was underway but none of the details were set. I remember being so excited about it.

I’d originally trained as a designer for dance and theatre and also done some event planning on the side. Although I’d decided I didn’t want to pursue a career in theatre design I missed aspects of the event planning. Over the next few months I got as involved as I could, taking on small jobs which I knew I could manage like organising the volunteers for the event. We spent months planning Making Uncovered but it wasn’t until I walked into the venue – the Brixton East gallery – that I started to really imagine what it would be like.

In addition to organising the event, I ran a letterpress workshop on the day. I was terrified setting up the night before. I was sure I would be standing there alone looking like a wally all day trying to persuade anyone to have a go – how wrong I was! At about 11.15am a little boy with his sister and parents came by and said he would like to print his name – and I was away.

I have no idea how the rest of the event went because I barely had a moment to sit down. After six hours of solid printing I was shattered, but elated to have so much interest. I purposefully didn’t charge a set rate – I wanted everyone to have a go and not be put off by costs. And it turned out I sold so many cards and prints that I really didn’t need to!

It wasn’t until I watched the video of the event that I caught a glimpse of the event as a whole. The open and inclusive nature of the event meant there was such a variety of people who took part – and it felt like a real reflection of Brixton. I feel so proud to have taken part in a creative, positive, local event.

New connections, new friendships, new skills and… new sales.

I think through the amount of publicity the event had my profile must have been raised because since the event I’ve had further requests for workshops and more bespoke requests than ever! I’m not sure but I wonder whether running workshops and being generous with your craft makes you more approachable so that customers are less nervous about contacting you for work. Either way I feel like since the event my business has really improved.

I went to my first Makerhood meeting about nine months ago and it’s done everything for me that I hoped: I have new friends who live locally and share a passion for creativity and I feel connected and involved in Brixton. The fact that it’s also boosted interested and sales is just an added bonus!

If you’re interested in getting involved with Makerhood drop us a line at hello@makerhood.com. We’d love to hear from you! Or, you can find out more about our Makers’ Club and how to join on this page.

Meet the makers: Anna Jackson

Anna Jackson of Black Cactus London describes the delights of living in south London and producing one-off printed bags and purses

1. Tell us how you got started in printing.
I did a fine arts degree in printmaking and sculpture at university in Australia – and always preferred printmaking to sculpture. Then I went travelling to Japan, came to the UK in 2000 and got very frustrated doing office work as a project analyst. So I did another printmaking course at Central St Martins, which reminded me how much I loved printmaking and helped me to realise that I wanted printmaking back in my life!

2. So you prefer printing on fabric to paper?
Printing on fabric is more versatile. You can frame a paper print, but with fabric it’s more flexible – you can make other things from it. They have to be small things like bags, because I work on small-scale pieces – I don’t have the facilities to produce large pieces of fabric with repeat patterns. I use real leaves in my prints, so every piece is different and unique. I love printing the fabrics – I’m less keen on making up the bags. It would be great to pair up with a seamstress!

3. As well as selling through Makerhood you’re stocked by independent retailers.
Yes – I have an Etsy shop and I also sell my bags through Diverse Gifts in Brixton and Lovely and British in Bermondsey Street. I’m not interested in John Lewis – I prefer independent retailers. I want to get to the point where people like my stuff enough to commission one-off pieces, so I keep experimenting rather than just becoming a production line. For me it’s about wanting to do it – otherwise there’s a danger it just becomes a chore.

4. Have you always lived in south London since coming to the UK?
No – I used to live in Hackney, but then I moved to the Camberwell/Brixton borders about four years ago. I wasn’t sure about being south of the river at first, but I like it now! It’s spikier than Hackney – people watching here is so much better. I wouldn’t move back!

5. So can you share some of your favourite places in the area where you live?
There are events like the Chelsea Fringe Festival, where a garden designer has created a secret garden in the yard behind our studio block in Vanguard Court. I also like the Hermit’s Cave pub, a real hole in the wall place with stuffed weasels – no gastropub nonsense here! And there’s a new farmer’s market with a great berry stall, and the Camberwell Arts Festival (15-23 June 2013).

6. And why did you join Makerhood?
I heard about Makerhood through picking up a flyer in Burgess Park and thought why not? It’s provided useful relevant local information that’s hard to come by elsewhere. I’ve made some online sales, met other makers and got stocked in Diverse through Makerhood.

You can see Anna’s stylish, versatile bags at http://brixton.makerhood.com/black-cactus-london

PJ’s Café

Rachel Stanners spoke to Preethi Sundaram and Jo Chevalier at her home in Brixton about their first endeavour to run their own café called PJ’s at the Making Uncovered event in April at the Brixton East Gallery.

Preethi and Jo both started out their lives in Brixton by renting a room from me and now have found their own flats with their partners nearby.

In a planning meeting I attended about Making Uncovered I heard we needed someone to organise a café for the event and immediately thought of Preethi and Jo. Both of them are fantastic hosts. Preethi has always wanted to set up her own café and is always creating new delicious recipes, and Jo is the baker in my life and another fellow creative. I knew together they would make a perfect team.

I proposed the idea over dinner one night but asked them to think carefully about whether or not they could manage it around their demanding jobs. Jo is a primary school teacher at Sudbourne Primary School and Preethi works as a women’s rights campaigner for the Fawcett society. Lucky for us, they agreed!

How long have you lived in Brixton?
Preethi: One year, since March 2012.
Jo: Nearly four years now.

Why did you decide to do the café?
Preethi: Because you asked us to!
Jo: Because you bullied us into it!
Preethi: No seriously, Making Uncovered sounded like an exciting, fun and creative event being run in our local community and we wanted to be a part of it.

Have you ever done anything like this before?
Jo: Never
Preethi: Not before this event, although lots of people at the event thought we did run a café full-time and asked us where it was!

What were you most looking forward to?
Preethi: Making a relaxed and fun environment for people to hang out in.
Jo: Making a pretty space. And the cakes!

What were you most nervous about?
Jo: Giving someone food poisoning!!
Preethi: Managing to organise it well when we are both so busy.

What went into organising the event?
Jo: We had a couple of meetings in which we delegated tasks.
Preethi: It was actually quite relaxed. We overlapped our jobs quite a bit but generally I was in charge of finding bakers and Jo was in charge of the aesthetics.

So who made all the delicious cakes?
Preethi: We tried to get some of the Makerhood bakers to help but unfortunately they weren’t available at the time so we ended up recruiting everyone we knew! Each of us baked…
Jo: … and I recruited fellow teachers, even a mum from school and lots of my friends. We also had friends and family of the Makerhood team. We were overwhelmed by how kind everyone was to volunteer and their refusal to accept payment for their ingredients. We are really grateful to them.

How did you go about decorating the café?
Preethi: We emptied our houses and put it all into the space! The design idea was to be simple and pretty.
Jo: We had a grey and yellow theme and lots of decorations but when we got to the venue we realised it didn’t need very much. It was a dream venue that really spoke for itself.

How did you feel it went?
Preethi: We loved it! It felt like a raving success. I was surprised by how much we sold. We sold everything – except some sweeties.
Jo: We were so pleased with how pretty the space looked and surprised how well it went, considering we had no previous experience. I was amazed at how much people love tea and cake.

Would you do it again?
Both: Yes!
Jo: We made a happy space and it was lovely to see friends chatting over tea and cake and really appreciate it.
Preethi: It made me want to open my own place. I can see there is a lot of joy in serving people a simple cup of tea. I loved interacting with strangers and meeting people from Jo’s school.
Jo: I think almost the whole of Sudbourne showed up!

Why do you love Brixton?
Jo: It’s an eclectic cocktail of people and places, and no day ever feels the same.
Preethi: It’s so vibrant! It feels like a place on the brink of something big and exciting happening.

What are your favourite Brixton spots?
Jo: Rosies. It was the first place I went to in the village. It had bunting in it and I knew straight away I would be happy here in Brixton.
Preethi: My favourite spot is at the top of Brockwell Park – you can see all of the city of London. It’s a fantastic view!

PJ's Cafe at Making Uncovered — PJ’s Cafe at Making Uncovered

Meet the makers: Clare Smith

Rachel Stanners meets Clare Smith of CAS at her flat on Clapham High Street, where she explains her unique painting technique and how she keeps painting around her fulltime job.

1. So when did you start painting, Clare?
Well, I always loved painting as a child. I was always drawing ornaments and things in my grandparents’ houses and then I did art at school. When I got to A-levels I decided to do art as one of the subjects. I really enjoyed it but my family wasn’t convinced about the job prospects for an artist, so I left after AS level and began a full time job in the Court Service. But I’ve always kept it up on the side, even with a full-time job.

2. Where do you work and how do you find the time or energy to keep painting?
I really enjoy my job at an investment management company. It’s a really supportive environment, and there are lots of opportunities to keep studying for further qualifications. My colleagues are really supportive of my painting. I’ve been commissioned by a few colleagues to do family portraits or personalised paintings, which has been a good way to keep up the work. I paint in the evenings or weekends – whenever I get a chance really. I used to have a space set up in my bedroom, but at the moment I’m actually sharing my room with a friend so I’ve had to set myself up on the communal dining table. It’s difficult to get started sometimes, but once I’ve sat down you can’t pull me away from it!

3. I can see you are about to start a new painting – can you tell me about it?
The theme of the painting is the Olympics. I’m planning to submit it to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. It might be a bit ambitious but I think it’s worth a shot, as there will be so many people displaying and it gets lots of visitors. It’s nerve wracking, but I want to give it a go.

4. The painting is all blue with some pencil marks at the moment- is this normally how you start a piece?
Yes, I normally begin by finding a good photo of what I want to paint and then I paint the background colour first, which in this case is blue. I paint the whole canvas that colour, sketching the outlines of the rest of the painting on top. After that I fill in the next biggest blocks of colour. I build the piece up this way, getting increasingly detailed. No one taught me this technique – it’s just come about over time. After some years painting I can now see that I have my own style and technique.

5. What’s your current sales strategy for your paintings?
My most recent paintings have all been of London, because I think they grab people’s attention. I’ve also painted scenes of Brixton to sell locally and on Makerhood. Over Christmas I did a market just outside Studio 73 in Brixton and I sold a few box canvases. I realised at the time that people like buying a piece that is ready to put straight on their walls, so I decided to frame some of my paintings. I am really pleased with the results and I plan to sell them for £100 each. I haven’t got any markets coming up but I’m hoping to improve my online sales through Makerhood and also by setting up an Etsy shop.

6. What’s the process if someone wants to commission you to do a painting for them?
I’ve done a few commissions and every process has been different. Some people know exactly what they want, while others have a lengthy conversation before finding the best photo or image for me to work from. I’ve done portraits of family members as well as personalised London paintings. They are always very different and normally take quite a lot of time to get just right. The charge varies based on size and complexity, but at the moment I am charging between £50 and £200.

7. Which artists inspire you?
David Hockney’s exhibition in London last year was very inspirational. I was surprised by the volume and, for example, the iPad paintings, which I wasn’t aware he was doing. I saw Monet’s paintings in Paris and was astonished at the size of them. I haven’t done any big canvases yet, but would like to one day.

8. Why did you join Makerhood?
I joined Makerhood because I applied for Crafty Fox and they recommended Makerhood to me. I’ve enjoyed meeting people through it.

9. What are your favourite places in the area?
In Clapham I love going for breakfast at Breads etc. Brixton Village is a hidden gem, which I’ve only just discovered so I am really enjoying exploring it.

You can buy Clare’s distinctive paintings at http://brixton.makerhood.com/cas.

Meet the makers: Jennifer Levet

Milliner Jennifer Levet discusses dressing Disney characters and making hats for opera and film

1. Have you always been interested in hats?
Not at first! I started out in costume and that led to millinery. I grew up going to sewing clubs and tagging along with my mum to quilting shops. I have always loved pattern and the difference between different qualities of fabric. I studied costume design at Wimbledon College of Art, which included a module with a theatrical milliner. I loved it and I carried on doing other millinery courses after graduation with people like Jane Smith to learn more. It’s addictive, learning all the different skills involved, like blocking felt and strip straw.

2. So did you go straight into millinery after leaving college?
No – I wanted to practise and study all the skills involved properly, and part of my heart was in costume, so I did lots of courses and lots of dressing all over London, for places like the Royal Opera House, the National Theatre and English National Opera. I also spent 14 months working on a Disney cruise ship, looking after the wardrobe for the cast for the on-board theatre and of course one or two Disney characters! The cruises started in Florida and went round the Bahamas and Caribbean. That was a very different world! But these experiences have helped me to do other work better, such as where I’ve been working over the past year, making hats for Welsh National Opera. I understand that how the hats and costumes are worn and needed during the show affects how they are made and how durable and comfortable they are. You also understand more about the individual.

3. What sort of people buy your hats?
I sell through Makerhood and Etsy, but most of my hats are commissions. The work varies – from bridal and casual wear to period millinery. I do quite a bit of freelance theatrical work still: I recently made one for a famous waxworks museum (the display hasn’t opened yet!) and for a workshop at the London Transport Museum. I also help a few other milliners, including Jane Smith. I have helped her make hats for a coronation, Tudor berets for Shakespeare’s Globe and1850s felt toppers for a Charles Dickens movie.
I really love designing casual wear hats that the everyday person can afford, though – I would love to bring affordable, stylish hats back to the everyday person worrying about the pennies in their pocket.

4. What is it about hat making that appeals to you?
I think it’s a fascinating set of skills – working with different materials such as straw, felt and fabric. It’s also an enjoyable intellectual exercise – especially flat patterning [working out how a flat pattern will form a three-dimensional shape when sewn together]. But I still have to remember the rules about how it looks on the head when it’s finished! I can get lost in the jigsaw, designing a flat pattern or how the pieces work together, but at the end of the day it has to be a hat that is stylish and comfortable that someone wants to wear.

5. What are your favourite materials to work with?
I do a lot of felt hats. It’s a very rewarding material to work with. I’ll start with a felt hood that is already made into a cone shape and then steam it for a long time until it suddenly becomes more pliable so I can pull it into shape over a hat block in a crown or brim shape. I either use a wooden block or I carve my own polystyrene blocks, which is a lovely skill in itself – though it’s very messy, as those bits of white polystyrene get everywhere! I also love working with tweeds and interesting patterned fabric. It’s a good excuse to go to quilt shows with my mum and look at interesting fabrics that could be quite versatile, but ultimately produce a lovely finish. I use lots of vintage shades and deep colours but I do have a yellow houndstooth button hat for sale at the moment.

6. Why did you join Makerhood?
I heard about Makerhood through Handpicked Brixton on Facebook, and thought it was right up my street. I like to support local traders who have spent time training in skills and love the idea of connecting them to the community around them. The product photography workshop that you ran was really useful.

7. Finally, what’s your favourite bit of Brixton?
Brixton is the first place I’ve lived where there are three haberdasheries within walking distance of my home! There’s Simply Fabrics on Atlantic Road, Atlantic Silk Fabrics on Electric Avenue, and Morleys. I didn’t find out about the haberdashery section in Morleys for ages – it is very handy. I wouldn’t be surprised if you found me at the Ritzy later in the week either, and I’ve also been in Duck Egg Café twice this week..

You can buy Jennifer’s classic hats with a twist at http://brixton.makerhood.com/jennifer-levet-hats. Jennifer also has a stall at Crafty Fox on 24 March.

Meet the makers: Jayne Rutland

Maya Kar talks to Jayne Rutland of Hairy Jayne about goats’ bottoms, allergies and the challenge of working in three dimensions

1. Tell us a bit about Hairy Jayne – what do you make?
I’ve been a professional hairdresser for 12 years now. I cut hair and make natural hair products, fragranced with essential oils. There are two shampoos and two conditioners for different hair types, plus hair perfumes for freshening up between washes. Every product comes in three fragrances: neroli (musk), geranium (floral), and grapefruit (citrus). I also sell vouchers for haircuts.

2. What makes your products special?
I hand-make them myself, and as an experienced hairdresser I have a real understanding of what hair needs. Most of all, they smell good! My emphasis is on natural products, since I myself developed an allergy to PPD, a ingredient in hair dye, especially black dye.

3. What inspired you to get started?
Two things. Becoming allergic gave me an interest in creating my own products, and when I discovered the great one-day courses at Plush Folly in making your own toiletries, I twigged that I could really create the products myself. Finally I did one of their courses explaining the legal requirements of this type of business and got started. I started looking into hair oils. I did a trip to Morocco which really inspired me. I started experimenting, creating conditioners with natural plant oils but designed not to be too heavy.

4. Did you go to Morocco for argan oil?
I did try using argan oil, but made the mistake of buying the unrefined version, which smelt like a goat’s bottom! Apparently the oil is obtained by feeding the argan seeds to a goat, and processing what comes out the other end. It’s good but very expensive, and there are other excellent plant oils which I prefer.

5. The name and logo suggest you have a humorous side – how did you come up with them?
I was after a 1960s vintage style, and Hairy Jane rhymes with Mary Jane (shoes). It amuses people, so it’s memorable. I occasionally do a market stall and I always notice that people laugh when they see it. I used to be a graphic designer so I designed the logo myself. It’s strange how hard I found it when I first started hairdressing to deal with three dimensional heads after working so long in two dimensions!

6. What attracted you to get involved with Makerhood?
I was using sites like Etsy, and I really liked the idea of having a local version, and being able to check out what other creative locals are up to. I did the Makerhood pitching workshops last year and found them really helpful.

7. What do you like about living and working in Brixton?
It’s always changing, and so busy! I was brought up in Western Australia and I first heard of Brixton out there and wanted to live here ever since. I’ve been here since 1999, and I feel very at home here. I suspect a connection with past lives, perhaps ancestors, or something more spiritual – my surname is Rutland, and I found that name etched onto an old wall in Effra Road. I hope it keeps its character. I don’t think there are any other Brixtons in the world! It has its own individual style of energy, so many different cultures side by side, letting each other get on with it.

8. What’s your hot tip for a hidden pleasure or treasure in Brixton?
My favourite shop is the stationers hidden away above the Kingshield Pharmacy – I can spend hours in there!

Hairy Jayne’s handmade hair products are available at http://brixton.makerhood.com/hairy-jayne

Meet the makers: Juliet Carr

Top Makerhood seller Juliet Carr of Paperpoms UK muses on why her poms are so popular, and describes taking the leap of turning a hobby into a profession

1. How did the idea of making paper poms start?
A friend was getting married and she asked me to get some table decorations for the wedding. So I went onto Google and saw some poms – I’d never come across them before. I found a tutorial by Martha Stewart, rushed off to Paperchase and bought a few packs of tissue paper. As soon as I opened up the first one I made I was hooked – it was such a beautiful, floaty item. So next day I bought some more tissue paper and started experimenting with different ways of folding and different numbers of layers.

2. And how did you start selling them?
A friend of my sister who’s a stylist saw some poms I’d made and asked if she could use them for a photo shoot. She couldn’t pay me but she gave me the professional shots in return. So I made some from newspaper and old dress patterns, all in black and white – and she kept asking for more. The photos looked really good – shop windows and fashion shoots – so I started buying tissue paper more cheaply on eBay, and set up a website. I also opened an Etsy store in February 2009, and later I joined Makerhood.

3. You are our top seller on Makerhood – why do you think this is?
That’s interesting. Although I’ve been on Etsy for longer, proportionally, more of my sales have come through Makerhood. I think my success has been down to timing – when I started, nobody else in the UK was selling poms – and also the professional photos and the work I’ve put into my website. I worked so hard at getting all the tags and search terms right – and a couple of weeks after I launched I came top in the Google search. And because poms are very popular for weddings, they’re seen by lots of people, so you get great exposure.

4. Why did you join Makerhood?
I love the whole idea of selling locally, and Makerhood has been great for that. I also have partnerships with local shops, like Beamish & McGlue [where this interview took place]. The shops love it, because they look good, and I get great exposure. For example, a photographer who works for Asda saw some of my poms in a hairdresser when he went in for a haircut and ordered £250-worth to use in a George brochure! South London Press picked up that story, and that was picked up by the BBC, which was seen by a Vogue stylist!

5. So you’re now a full-time maker?
Yes – I used to work for an events company, but when the poms started becoming more popular, my boss was very understanding and agreed that as long as I met all the deadlines I could work as and when it suited me. So if I had a big order for poms I’d spend most of one week making them, and work on events the following week. That allowed me to make the transition to full time production.

6. And now you employ other people as well?
My boyfriend, who’s a carpenter, works for me one day a week, or more if we have a big order. My friend Linda also works part-time and will take over when I have a baby in July. My role now is less making poms and more concentrating on developments like window displays. For example, we’ve been doing the window displays at Gap stores for the past four seasons. One year they wanted a tree with real branches and paper leaves for a Beatrix Potter display. We ended up in Brockwell Park sawing 3-metre branches off a fallen tree, cleaning off all the lichen and polishing them until they looked like something out of a Japanese emperor’s garden!

7. Finally, what’s your favourite local tip?
I love Beamish & McGlue. It’s a sunny place with a great atmosphere, nice energy, lovely owners and fantastic coffee and organic food.

You can buy Juliet’s floaty, ethereal paper poms at http://brixton.makerhood.com/paperpoms-uk

Meet the makers: Maya Kar

Rachel Stanners talks to Maya Kar of Bright Side, Dark Side about the inspiration behind her feathery fascinators and the changes she’s seen in Brixton

1. How did you come up with the shop name Bright Side, Dark side?
I wanted to set up a shop on Makerhood, and Bright side, Dark side was initially intended as a project with my partner, because I love light and colour while he loves camouflage and shadows. He is amazing at making clothes but in the end he didn’t have the time to get involved. But I kept the name as it also reflected two sides to my own work at the time – bright flowery brooches and fascinators, and subtler items in natural materials such as feather, shell & semi-precious stones.

2. So how did you get into making accessories?
As you can see, this room is filled with of bits and bobs I have collected over the years: stained glass, mosaic, fabric, etc, reflecting my lifelong love of making things, so I was prompted into action when Makerhood started up, and particularly when the associated opportunity arose to have a stall at the Brixton Makers’ Market in Station Road. I had so many ideas and materials that I wasn’t sure where to start, but I’d recently bought a bunch of feathers to help a friend make earrings, so I began with those.

To my surprise I fell in love with the feathers and making accessories with them. I like that they are small and easier to handle than large items of clothing. I love creating every one of them. Each one is unique! I like them to be a bit theatrical, but not too formal – I prefer creating items with an asymmetrical, organic feel to them.

3. What inspires your work?
Exploring! For example, I travelled extensively in Asia and North and Central America. I volunteered at the Wolf Park in Indiana and travelled on to Colorado. I saw the Grand Canyon and the Valley of Fire. During those travels I was really inspired by Native American culture, but I also layer the fantasy image of the mythical wild west onto the accessories. But travelling is not the only form of exploring – I love history and volunteer at the British Museum, so I gain lots of inspiration from artefacts and legends from the past.

4. Why did you join Makerhood?
I used to house-share with Kristina, one of the founders of Makerhood, so I was around from the beginning. I took part in the user experience tests for the website and I thought it was a great opportunity to be involved locally with something positive and creative. Since I’ve been involved I have really enjoyed the physical meetups, the markets and the maker’s opportunities. It’s also fantastic how easy it has been to set up my own online shop!

5. You obviously are creative in a lot of different ways – have you got more ideas for Makerhood?
I plan to set up a second shop in Makerhood selling Brixton souvenirs that are humorous and a bit contentious! As well as the opposite – photos of places in Brixton that are unexpectedly beautiful! I have many which make Brixton look like a little country village.

6. You’ve lived in Brixton for almost half of your life. What do you love about living here?
I like that Brixton is eccentric and original, with a strong community feel. I find the types of people who are attracted to living here are often really interesting and unconventional. I’m proud of Brixton and I like that it has a bit of a bad reputation from the past but I am also really pleased it has changed. It feels a lot safer and happier than when I first moved in.

7. What are you favourite places in Brixton?
The quirky places like the Windmill and Brockwell Lido – I always feel like I’m on holiday when I go there! I’ve always loved the indoor market, even before it all changed – I used to take visitors there to see the giant snails in the African food shop and get a hit of its exotic feel. It had a wonderful feeling of stepping into another country. Last Valentine’s Day I went to Etta’s Seafood Kitchen with my boyfriend and we took a bottle of champagne to celebrate. It must have got shaken up in the journey because when we opened it sprayed everywhere! They’ve remembered me in there ever since!

You can see Maya’s delicate earrings and fascinators at http://brixton.makerhood.com/bright-side-dark-side

Meet the makers: Kim Winter

By Maya Kar

Kim is the creator of the eye-catching felts and indigo fabrics at Flextiles, as well as one of the three directors of Makerhood . Here she talks of the magical properties of felt and why she became involved in Makerhood.

1. What are Flextiles?
The name Flextiles reflects my flexible approach to the definition of textiles, as I use not just fabric but also paper, plastic and other unusual materials. At present I have two main strands to my work, wet felting and indigo dyeing. Wet felting feels an almost magical process… hot water, salt, and a lot of hard work transforms a light, fluffy substance into a very strong and durable but light fabric, with which I can create either two-dimensional scarves or three-dimensional practical or sculptural items such as iPad covers and vessels. I particularly enjoy producing 3D work, as I am interested in form and texture. I use indigo to dye items such as silk scarves and also combine it with my love of wet-felting by using it to dye small felt vessels. These play on the tradition of blue and white porcelain and through this I feel there is a connection with my Chinese heritage.

2. How did your interest in textiles develop?
I used to be a journalist with Which?, and when I went freelance I had more time for
creative activities. I used to knit, and then I discovered a course in creative and experimental textiles at Morley College and I loved it! I still do one day a week there. Morley is a great college and the course is a combination of taught sessions and working on your own projects. It allows access to facilities which are beyond the reach of many makers. It also enables you to spend time with other makers, developing ideas, and there is an exhibition to work towards.

3. What are your sources of inspiration?
Almost anything! I can just be walking along and see a plastic sign, curling at the edges, or the colour of a flower … it has made me see things in a different light. I’m particularly inspired by forms from nature, but living in Brixton, I have to be open to other influences.

4. So why do you live in Brixton?
I moved to Brixton 25 years ago, initially because it was cheap and on the tube, but I loved
it here. Brixton doesn’t care what anyone thinks of it! It’s multicultural and has
good transport links, and there’s always something going on. Waves of people of different
cultures come in and out of the area, so it’s constantly changing, yet it also has a great sense of community.

5. How did you get involved in Makerhood, and what do you like about it?
I happened to take part in an online survey about the proposal, and thought it seemed a
good idea as I had recently started creating my textiles. So I offered to help out with
interviewing makers and writing blog posts. It kind of sucked me in – and now I do all sorts of things along with Kristina, Karen, Andy and our core team of volunteers! Makerhood is all about trying to create links: links between makers, between makers and local residents, between makers and local businesses. One of the unexpected but exciting results of the initiative is the strong physical (offline) community which has developed. The website provides a focus (eg for discussions, organising events etc) and a showcase, so the online side feeds into the offline. Since I got involved with Makerhood I have felt encouraged to go out and sell my work, and we have a stall at Brixton market. In the past I used to use Brixton as a place to sleep between going to work, but nowadays I often see people I know when I’m out and about here – it has really made me feel part of the community.

You can buy Kim’s unique experimental textile items including dramatic indigo-dyed silk
scarves and colourful felt vessels at http://brixton.makerhood.com/flextiles.