Makerhood exhibition at the Lounge in Brixton

Don’t miss an exhibition of work by Makerhood artists whose work is inspired by urban landscapes around Lambeth!

The exhibition will be on display at The Lounge in Brixton from 17 October to 25 November 2011, and includes the following artists.

Brockwell Park illustration by Elena Blanco of Dreamy me Brixton

Elena says: “This illustration is my personal homage to the wonderful Brockwell Park. This is a view of the park in spring, when the grass is at its greenest. It has a melancholic, contemplative mood and lots of details that tell stories within the story.

“This is a print from my picture book When Nothing Happens. This book tells the adventures of a girl and her bird friend.

“This book is a celebration of the power of imagination, and the illustrations through it try to inspire a creative and appreciative view of the world. Inspired by 19th-century Japanese prints, they are painted in bright watercolours and a well defined ink line.”

Brockwell Park photo by Rosie Morland of Rosie Makes

Rosie says: “Photography is my main love but I like playing around with various crafty things.

“All my prints are from film (in date, expired, abused, but always loved). I love old cameras and often try to make them do things they perhaps shouldn’t! I take photos of things that catch my eye, regardless of what they are, and every photo has a story.”

Walk the bike print by Pam Williams Studio

Pam says: “I have lived five minutes from Brixton for over 20 years. A library of sketches of Brixton has been collected….while assisting the Brixton Market street traders………..going to meetings of local groups, a little designing here and there…..it is time to share them with you.”

High Noon screenprint by Kerry Eggleton of Mashka

A childhood existence in London’s schismatic commuter belt has inspired Kerry to explore and express the juxtaposition of nature and metropolis through the medium of print. Her pieces capture the inherent yet unassuming beauty of the spaces created by the convergence of both worlds.

This duality is reflected in the multi-layered process of creating Kerry’s prints, where photographs and found imagery are first digitally manipulated, then the image split into colour layers and manually developed onto screens using light-sensitive emulsion. These screens are then used to print with inks onto fabric or paper, layer by layer, to recreate the images by hand. Through this process Kerry transforms the initial precision of the digital image into a vibrant piece of art, using a wider range of colours, techniques and finishes.

Incognito photo by Josie Dixon Photography

Josie says: “I am a photographer living in brixton who loves her ‘hood. I first moved here 30 years ago and my daughter was born here. I really do ‘heart’ Brixton – it’s therefore such a pleasure to be involved with Makerhood.

“I started taking photographs over 20 years ago, using my boyfriend’s Nikon camera and by setting up a dark room in the attic. I now tend to use digital and take colour photographs mostly because i find them more immediate. This photo was taken in Brixton market the day after the riots.”

Lambeth print by Jack Noel of Sweet View

This limited edition print of Lambeth shows Brixton market where Atlantic Road meets Electric Avenue.

Jack says: “I love London and particularly my own little corner of Lambeth and knew others were affectionate for their local area too. I felt I could offer them affordable artwork that was unique, non-cliched and would allow them to display that affection on the walls of their homes.”

Bus Stop photo by Laura Ward Photography

Laura Ward is a photographer from Herne Hill who is inspired by local people and neighbourhoods, and makes use of available light. She a member of Makerhood and local photography group Effra FC.

The image Bus Stop was taken at one of the many bus stops that surround Brockwell Park. Laura says: “I’m a local photographer who absolutely loves local community projects. A lot of my photography here has been taken in local places.

“I like working with expired film, instant film, and digital. My nostalgic and quirky photography is very much inspired by daydreams, my grandmothers, my love for photographs in record sleeves, steam trains, tea drinking, listening to music and beautiful natural light.”

Brockwell Park Girl screenprint by Ray Stanbrook

Ray is a graphic designer from south London whose prints are inspired by local people and places. He’s always lived in this area, apart from one year in north London, “which I spent explaining to north Londoners how great south London is. They have no idea!”

South London plants textile print by Gillian Arnold

Gillian is an artist based in south-east London. She is originally from Belfast, then studied Textiles in Liverpool before moving and settling in London in 1996, where she completed a Masters degree in Textiles at Chelsea College of Art.

Gillian prints her own fabric for wall art, fashion and furnishing accessories, as well as working on private commissions.

The Lounge is at 55-58 Atlantic Road, Brixton, SW9 8PZ, http://www.loungebrixton.com/

Meet the makers: Laura Ward

Laura Ward takes atmospheric, rather mysterious photographs. She tells us why the creative community around Brixton and Herne Hill is so important to her

1. How did you get started in photography?
I’ve been taking photos for about 15 years. My dad gave me a second-hand Pentax camera to take on my travels around Europe, and I became hooked. I’m totally self taught – I just like to experiment.

2. What sort of subjects do you like to photograph?
I love taking photos of local places and using recycled materials wherever possible. My preferred style is quite nostalgic and quirky, but for paid work, like weddings, the photos obviously need to be technically perfect! I don’t mind taking pictures of people, but it can be difficult to make them stand out – I prefer a more abstract approach.

3. You were involved in setting up a local photography group, Effra FC. How did that come about?
When Flickr started, I put some photos up, and someone in Brixton started following me because they liked the pictures of Brockwell Park. So we met up and talked about the local area. Since then it’s gradually grown to around 100 people! We meet up in the pub every month and we’ve organised exhibitions of our work, including one that ran for three months at the Sun and Doves in Camberwell. We now have our own website, http://effrafc.co.uk/.

4. Being involved with the local community is clearly important to you.
My dad was in the army, so we moved around a lot when I was young. When I moved to London 10 years ago, I felt a bit disconnected from my family and wanted to connect with local people and put down roots. So meeting other local photographers and talking about the area through Effra FC has made me feel more connected with the local area – I love it! And Makerhood is part of the same thing – connecting with other local makers.

5. Photography is still more of a hobby for you – do you have a creative day job?
I work for a charity during the day – it’s all numbers, strategies and databases, not creative at all! But I quite like the balance between this and my photography – yin and yang, if you like. And it’s useful when we’re putting an exhibition together – you need some business skills and knowledge as well as creativity!

6. So what’s your recommendation for a bit of “hidden Herne Hill”?
I love the walled garden in Brockwell Park. It’s wonderfully peaceful and quiet – whenever I go there I completely forget I’m in London. And it’s different every time I go there – I love it!

You can see Laura’s greetings cards, including a set of Christmas cards featuring Brockwell Park, at http://brixton.makerhood.com/laura-ward-photography.

You can also keep up with her activities on her blog.

October Brixton Makers’ Market

Lots of new and familiar faces turned up yesterday for the second Makers’ Market at Brixton. Coinciding with the We Love Brixton event in Windrush Square, it meant that there was a fair number of people around.

As well as the Makerhood stall, there were lots of individual Makerhood makers, including delicious cakes from Picakes and Wolfe, fascinators from Bright Side, Dark Side, chilli jam from Red Ant Hot Chilli Jam, art and felt from Aiste’s Art, cards from Eight B Design, and lots of yummy goodies from Brixton Cornercopia.

Other Makerhood makers dropped by to say hello, including Galavant and Laura Ward, who also posted some lovely photos on her own blog.

The next Makers’ Market is on 12 November (second Saturday of every month). Other new markets include a food market every Friday, a flea market on the first Saturday of the month, and a retro and vintage market on the third Saturday of the month. For more information, contact Lisa Watson on info@makeitgrowitsellit.com.

Help improve Makerhood – and win a £20 Cornercopia voucher!

The Makerhood website has been live for nearly three months now, and we’ve ironed out the technical bugs. Now we’re looking at the next phase – how to make it easier to find specific items or makers, how to streamline the checkout process, what new features to introduce.

windmill festival 005 — Fill in our survey to help us improve the Makerhood website

You can help us by filling in this short survey. It’s only six questions, and shouldn’t take you longer than 10 minutes. And if you give us your email details, you’ll be entered in a draw to win a £20 Brixton CornerCopia voucher! (We promise not to pass your details on to any third party.)

So help Makerhood take the next step now, and fill in our survey.

Makerhood round-up: new makers, markets, 6 October Social, what’s next?

Our first newsletter is out! It gives a round-up of what’s going on on the project, new makers, events, offers and asks.

Is it really only two months since www.makerhood.com, a new website designed to help people in and around Brixton to find locally-made goods, came to life? It seems much longer – especially as there are now 37 stalls and more than 300 local items for sale, from T-shirts and tea cosies to prints, purses and pottery, to refurbished PCs!

Spreading the word

There’s been quite a buzz about Makerhood, which is fantastic – lots of great feedback on Twitter, and pieces in SE22 Magazine and online on UK Handmade, Handmade-Crafts, and Brixton Blog. Our involvement in Make It Grow It Sell It was also picked up by the South London Press, Lambeth Weekender and others.

Thanks to everyone who’s helping to spread the word. It’s really important in these early stages to establish trust with local users – so please continue to help! You can:

Provide a link to Makerhood from your website, blog and Facebook page
Tweet or post a Facebook status update with a link when you see an item or workshop you like
Tell your friends, family and neighbours about the project – word-of-mouth recommendations are really powerful for building trust.

Out and about

Despite the rain, we met many of you at the numerous events we attended around Brixton over the summer. These included stalls at the Urban Art Fair, the new Make It Grow It Sell It market and the Windmill Festival, and workshops at the SW Craft Summer Pop-Up Event and Lambeth Country Show.

Some of you may also have taken part in classes run by Viv Moriarty and Elena Blanco of Dreamy me Brixton at the Crafty Fox market on 1 September.

We’ll be having another stall at the next Make It Grow It Sell It market on 8 October, so come and meet some of Makerhood makers in person and say hello!

What’s happening on makerhood.com?

Since the website went live on 16 July we’ve made several improvements, based on your feedback. For example, you can now click on an pictire of a good to see the original image size, you can sort goods by price and date. You can also see a list of public profiles (we now have around 250 users but not all of them create public profiles) and tweet and share a link from the bottom of every page.

Our intrepid developer Andy will be working to simplify the check-out process over the coming weeks. And we’re also thinking about redesigning the home page to show a wider range of goods and explain more what Makerhood is about.

We will then be looking at the next phase: what improvements to make, what features to introduce? Please help us decide by filling in a short survey short survey. Not only will you help to improve the website, you will also get a chance to win a £20 Brixton Cornercopia voucher! Please do spend a few minutes on it, your input will be very much appreciated.

Makerhood Social on 6 October – come along!

We’ve had several social events over the summer, including a picnic in Brockwell Park and drinks in the Dogstar. These informal get-togethers seem to be very popular, so we’re planning more!

Our next social is on 6 October at the Dogstar. It won’t just be drinking this time.

We’re going to make stuff. Some of you suggested that we bring knitting, sketching or whatever our projects are, so we can all have a bit of fun and learn about each other’s work. We’ll ask some of our makers to share a few tricks of their trade.

We will also talk about the project, and share ideas about future directions.

It’s very informal, and you don’t need any experience – everyone is welcome to join!

And finally

As you know, Makerhood is run entirely by volunteers – we all make the project what it is, and we have day jobs as well! You’re welcome to join us, whatever your skills. In particular, we’re currently looking for help with

co-ordinating events and exhibitions,
looking after the Workshops section on the site
fundraising,
helping administer the site as a “power user”

If you’d like to get involved, please email us on hello@makerhood.com.

New makers

A big welcome to some of the new makers who have set up stalls on Makerhood in the past couple of weeks.

Claire Mant creates Mantisglass: unique, handcrafted, kilnformed glassware with bold, distinctive designs that create a focal point for your home.
http://brixton.makerhood.com/mantisglass

Youngfox, the menswear label from DK Darlington, offers an eclectic mix of formal style and street fashion, making this label the right choice for men who are looking for a blend of smart and casual.
http://brixton.makerhood.com/youngfox

Aiste’s Art sells paintings, cards, bags with hand drawn graphics on them and felt scarves and accessories.
http://brixton.makerhood.com/aistes-art

Alice of Alice Maplesden Ceramics makes pots, mainly pots with creatures on “doing stuff”, like this monster drinking tea!
http://brixton.makerhood.com/alice-maplesden-ceramics

Carrycouture designs and hand crafts a range of luxury knitted accessories, including handbags, hats, scarves, gloves and cushion covers, usually in organic cotton, wool or mohair.
http://brixton.makerhood.com/carrycouture

Make It Grow It Sell It

Don’t forget that tomorrow (Saturday 10 September) is the first of the new monthly markets in Brixton featuring local makers and growers.

Make It Grow It Sell It is a real community event – as well as Makerhood, the Brixton Market Traders Federation has worked with London Youth Support Trust, Incredible Edible Lambeth and the Brixton Pound, and the event is kindly sponsored by Veolia.

The market will officially be opened by Lambeth Mayor Christiana Valcarcel at 10am on Station Road. Join us for the start of something great!

New makers

We’re a bit behind on the blog due to holidays and the like, so a belated welcome to new makers who have set up stalls on Makerhood in the past couple of weeks.

Timothy Sutton Tim is a professional portrait painter who paints incredibly realistic portraits of both humans and dogs. He also organises the annual Urban Art Fair in Josephine Avenue, Brixton.
http://brixton.makerhood.com/timothy-sutton-portrait-painter

Rosie Makes Rosie Mo likes, well, making things. She takes photos of things that catch her eye, and her black and white prints are done by hand in a darkroom.
http://brixton.makerhood.com/rosie-makes

Rachel’s food Rachel Manley runs a popular food blog as well as a brunch and supper club. Check out her delicious macaroons!
http://brixton.makerhood.com/rachels-food

Gitas Portal For contemporary African-inspired ladies’ and children’s fashion, look no further. Fabulous ethnic prints and hand tie-dye and batik fabrics are turned into ready-to-wear and bespoke items, and proceeds are reinvested in the local economy.
http://brixton.makerhood.com/gitas-portal

Feast with Bron Bron is a professional cook and food lover who makes fresh biscuits and cakes, old-fashioned sweets and savoury muffins to order. Yum!
http://brixton.makerhood.com/feast-bron

Meet the makers: Barbara Weidman

Gardening fanatic Barbara of the Jammery tells us about the allotment that is her passion and how the fruitful results of her labours get turned into jam and other preserves

1. Some people may be a bit surprised that you can grow enough fruit in Brixton to make and sell jam – tell us how you do it.
I live in a flat with a tiny back yard and front garden, where I grow tomatoes, herbs and orchids in pots. But my main pride and joy is my allotment in Herne Hill. It’s got a Victoria plum tree, which produced 20kg of plums in my first year. Then the second year I had 40kg! I got sick of eating plum pie and plum tart – that’s when I decided I had to have a go at making jam! I only make jam from fruit I can pick myself on my allotment, from friends or in the wild. For example, I made some great blackberry and apple jelly last week from brambles I picked on the hill by my allotment.

2. So did you have a lot of previous experience of jam making?
None at all. The first lot I made tasted great but was a bit runny. I go on the internet and find recipes, but I’ve learnt through experience you can’t just, for instance, triple all the quantities. And I’ve had to experiment with different fruit to get different levels of pectin to get a good set.

3. You’re from Chicago originally – they take home-made preserves quite seriously in America, don’t they?
American foodies are definitely into making everything from scratch, like pâté, and bottling fruit and veg (they call it canning over there). I can buy equipment in the States that doesn’t exist over here. And the US Department of Agriculture publishes standards for preserving food, which I follow, though of course I’m also registered with Lambeth Council as a food producer. I boil my jars to sterilise them before filling with jam and again for 10 minutes after filling. I also use a two-part lid so that I can replace the central part if I use the jar again. I do encourage people to return the jar by offering a refund of 30p – the jar is the most expensive part of the product and it’s great if I can reuse it rather than buying more new ones.

4. You sell some of your jam already through Brixton Cornercopia – how did you get involved with them?
When I started making jam I had so much I couldn’t eat it all or give it away. So I saw a flyer from Brixton Cornercopia offering to sell produce from local makers and thought I’d give it a go. They suggested making jams with less sugar, so it was back to experimenting again! Now I’ve discovered a German pectin that lets me use about one pint of sugar to three pints of fruit, compared with the usual ratio of one pint of sugar to one pint of fruit. With less sugar the jam tends to discolour a bit more quickly, but it’s only cosmetic – it still tastes good!

5. So why did you decide to join Makerhood?
I have my own website, but I haven’t worked out how to sell stuff on it through e-commerce, so I would tell people to email me or go to Cornercopia to buy my jam. Now I can link them to the Makerhood site! I also tend to take stuff in batches to Cornercopia – Makerhood means I can carry on selling in between, as it accumulates.

6. What do you like about living in Brixton?
I love the sense of community here. Whenever I’m in my tiny front garden, people will always stop for a chat as they go by – ladies in their Sunday finery on their way to church will tell me to be careful of my knees! And in my local pub, the Trinity, people will always talk to me. I go in on my own with a book and end up chatting to the locals.

7. Finally, what’s your favourite place or experience around here?
It has to be my allotment. There are 450 plots, so there are always people around, but it’s the most peaceful place I know. It gives me a wonderful sense of space – the trees, birds singing, bugs in the grass – as well as views of the London Eye, the Shard and Canary Wharf. It’s completely magical. My husband proposed to me there, on a winter night, in the dark, as we were watering the plants!

You can buy Barbara’s flavour-packed jams and chutneys at http://brixton.makerhood.com/jammery