Meet the makers: Claire Mant

Claire Mant’s urge to go travelling meant that she had to postpone her plans to set up a glassmaking studio – but now she’s pursuing her creative dreams with Mantisglass

1. How did you get into making glass?
I started off doing stone sculpture in Australia. Then my teacher persuaded me to go on a glassmaking weekend. I was a bit reluctant because it was quite expensive, but I’m glad I did – I became hooked! I became good friends with the woman who ran the workshop so I used to go and help her out, and in return she let me put small pieces in the kiln. I started to sell these to friends, but I knew that if I wanted to make bigger items I would have to have my own kiln.

2. So you went off and did that?
Well, I also really wanted to go travelling, and I couldn’t afford to buy my own kiln as well as a visa to the UK! I figured that if I didn’t go travelling then, I might not get another chance, whereas I could always buy a kiln later. So I arrived in the UK about 10 years ago, and then it was another six or seven years before I could buy a kiln.

3. Was that in Brixton?
No, I was using a studio in Stoke Newington at first. But I was living in Brixton and working in Wimbledon. I had to leave work 15 minutes early to get to the studio and still arrived half an hour late – it was a real schlep. So when this studio in Morrish Road came up a year ago I jumped at the chance. It’s a real mixture of people – there are mosaics and costume makers downstairs and soft furnishings and upholstery next door. We opened the studios for Lambeth Open – it was a good way of getting to know everyone.

4. Tell us a bit more about your work with glass.
I do fusing and slumping – this is known as warm glass. Glass blowing is hot glass, which requires hotter temperatures. I use three different types of coloured glass, which you can’t mix, plus window glass. The coloured glass is more expensive, as they use metals like copper to produce blue and gold for pink – pink glass is the priciest! A lot of research goes into it because the quantities have to be adjusted so that all the different colours of glass cool at the same rate to avoid cracks. The fusing takes place at temperatures of up to 850°C.

5. And why did you decide to join Makerhood?
A friend told me about it so I had a look at the website and joined two days later. I have my own website, but I don’t have PayPal and I’m no expert on marketing and promotion. I like the fact I can just upload photos and text and Makerhood takes care of all the payments and technical stuff! It’s also important to me to be involved in the local community, so Makerhood provides a fantastic opportunity for networking with other local makers. I heard about the opportunity for a market stall through the site and also got in touch with a photographer, Nicky Cast, who is going to take better photos of my products.

6. Can you give us your top tip for an unmissable Brixton experience?
I love having breakfast at the Lido Café. I usually go for the eggs Benedict, but last time I had granola. I hear they also do a mean burger, but I haven’t managed to get there in the evening yet!

You can see the full range of Claire’s work at http://www.mantisglass.co.uk/ and buy her wonderful glass creations at http://brixton.makerhood.com/mantisglass.

Claire is also running a one-day workshop on 17 December where you can learn the basics of fusing and slumping glass – see Makerhood for more details.

Meet the makers: Ray Stanbrook

Graphic artist Ray Stanbrook extols the delights of south London, especially the chocolate Baileys cheesecake at Brazas restaurant

1. The screen prints you sell – Brockwell Park, Ritzy Cinema, Brockwell Lido – are very much inspired by the local area.
I lived off Brixton Hill for 1.5 years and now in Herne Hill for 3 years. Most of the ideas for the stuff I do are generated by local people and places. That’s why I also love Makerhood – the idea of hooking up local buyers and sellers. I’m exhibiting a print of Brockwell Lido at the Lido – they’re going to put it up after redecorating. My Ritzy print was inspired by a competition they ran to celebrate 100 years of the Ritzy.

2. So you’re a great promoter of this area!
I’ve always lived around here, apart from one year I lived in north London. I spent all my time there explaining to north Londoners how great south London is – they have no idea!

3. What was your graphics training and background?
I’ve been a graphic designer for 15 years, since graduating from the Surrey Insitute of Art and Design in Epsom. I’ve worked mostly on magazines as well as posters, brochures and so on. I’m currently working for Camden Council – it’s always a surprise to be walking around the West End and suddenly seeing a poster or something I designed!

4. How did you get into screen printing?
I did some screen printing when I was at college, but now everything is digital – I just sit in front of a computer all day. Then I found out about Bainbridge Studios in West Norwood, about 10 minutes from my house. After doing a refresher course I can now book space to use the print studios and equipment there. All I have to bring is paper and ink/paint. For me it’s a way out, a release, from my day job. It feels really good to be using my hands and getting dirty, covered in ink!

5. You seem to like combining photographic and hand-drawn images.
That’s true. Sometimes I digitally alter photos or change them by drawing over the top. Then I have to decide which elements will be in which colour and separate out each colour. It’s very time consuming, as you have to wash the screen and recoat it for each colour.

6. So why did you decide to join Makerhood?
I was interested in selling locally. I heard about West Norwood Feast first and liked their approach and the fact that they were generating interest in the area. But I didn’t have enough work to take a whole stall. Then I found Makerhood through Twitter and went to a local meeting to find out more. I was attracted by the idea – and here I am!

7. Finally, what’s your favourite place or experience around here?
Brazas is great. It’s lively but relaxed and friendly, and I can always get a table. I love their desserts, especially the chocolate Baileys cheesecake. However, they seem to have taken it off the menu recently, so I’m campaigning for it to be reinstated!

You can keep up with Ray’s work on his blog. His colourful local prints and bags are available at http://brixton.makerhood.com/ray-stanbrook.

You can also see one of Ray’s prints on show as part of a Makerhood exhibition at the Lounge in Brixton until 26 November.

Meet the makers: Rebecca Blow

How on earth does interior designer, painter and fascinator creator Rebecca Blow of BekyBoo Hat Designs find time to do everything?

1. How did you get into making hats and fascinators?
I’m an interior designer, but I’ve always loved dressing up and collecting hats. So I did a couple of hat-making courses at Chelsea and Kensington College and then started making them for myself and friends. Then I set up a stall on Etsy, and now I’m on Makerhood.

2. So you have an artistic and design background?
I have a degree in fine art, and an MA in interior and special design – I work full time as an interior designer. But I also paint – I suppose you’d call it abstract expressionist style. I should push my hats more, but I like painting as well – I’ve been at two painting exhibitions in the last two weeks!

3. What kind of hats do you enjoy making most?
I make hats and fascinators that I enjoy wearing myself. I get a lot of ideas from fancy dress parties – for example, masks with feathers, or a James Bond theme. The stuff I do feeds well into the current trend for vintage fashion, and I can also design custom-made hats. I enjoy working with different materials, like felt, straw, and silk flowers, though my favourite is sinamay, a natural straw-like fibre. I have three moulds at home, including one for a top hat!

4. Do you source your materials locally?
I use a lot of beads and recycled materials. There’s a charming shop in Clapham that I buy old jewellery from, and Brixton market stalls are great for fabrics. Of course, I also get a lot of offcuts in my job. I love recycling unusual items, like some antique metal roses I found – things that you know that you won’t see anyone else wearing!

5. What do you hope to get out of joining Makerhood?
I get a lot of interest from the US in my Etsy stall, but I like the idea of selling locally, especially from a market stall in Brixton. When Brixton Village was just starting up last year there was a shop that stocked my hats but they didn’t really sell any.

6. How long have you lived in Brixton?
I’ve only lived here for four months, but I was in Clapham for 3-4 years before that.

7. So what’s your Brixton recommendation for people who don’t know the area?
I love Brixton market. It’s a nice mix of young nerdy cafes and old Brixton flavour, with the meat stalls and fish stalls – a really good balance. I’d definitely recommend Okan, a place in Brixton Village that serves okonmiyaki, a kind of Japanese pancake or omelette.

Enjoy Rebecca’s beautiful hats and headpieces at http://brixton.makerhood.com/bekyboo-hat-designs

Meet the makers: Lucy Moseley

Designer-maker Lucy Moseley of Moseley’s Giftware suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome and chronic migraine, but loves creating jewellery, cards and knitting when she has the energy!

1. Would you mind telling us about your disability?
I was studying philosophy at Cambridge University three and a half years ago when I contracted chronic fatigue syndrome. I had to drop out for a while, but I went back and pushed myself to finish the course and graduate. Since then I’ve been trying to come to terms with the condition.

2. How has your crafting helped you?
I can’t go to work, as I would end up falling over! But I had always been interested in photography, so I started making cards from photos I had taken. Then I started making cushions, as I’ve always collected fabrics, which I buy from antique and vintage stores from all over the country. I’d also been making jewellery for six years, so I thought I’d try to sell some of it. Again, I buy gemstones on my travels, such as when I went to visit my sister in Australia on her gap year.

3. Does this talent come from your family or have you taught yourself?
My mum used to do pottery and painting, and my aunt is a designer-maker. And I went to a half-hour session on making jewellery. But most of it is self-taught. I had this idea that I wanted to make tea cosies that looked like bobble hats, though I couldn’t knit. So I taught myself!

4. Tell us the story behind one of your products.
Lavender bags are one of my latest products on Makerhood. When I was little, I used to make lavender bags for my family at Christmas, with their names embroidered on them. They always seemed to make people very happy, so I made some for my Makerhood stall. I use vintage fabric and lace and fill them with lavender from the same bush at my family’s home in Dorset that I used when I was younger. People seem to like picking them up and smelling the lavender. The first comment I had was “I want one – to smell instead of the smelly people on the bus!”

5. You’ve lived in Brixton for a year – how does it inspire your work?
I love the diversity and multicultural-ness of Brixton, and I miss the sirens when I go away! But the inspiration for my work comes more from inside me and from nature – so I enjoy walking round the parks like Brockwell, Dulwich and Peckham Rye.

6. And what appeals to you about Makerhood?
I love the fact that we as sellers can connect with our buyers. I really enjoyed meeting a lady who bought one of my hand-knitted tea cosies! It is wonderful to be able to showcase your talent in the local area, too, and you get to meet other people who craft and make things.

7. Finally, what’s your top tip for a bit of “hidden Brixton”?
Try Barnado’s charity shop for bargains. I’ve picked up some pretty dresses, including a ballgown, as well as knitting needles, kids’ craft packs and ink cartridges for 99p!

Lucy starts a jewellery course at Holts Academy today – we wish her luck!

You can buy Lucy’s lavender bags, Christmas cards, tea cosies, jewellery and scented candles at http://brixton.makerhood.com/moseleys-giftware.

Meet the makers: DK Darlington

Fashion designer Kimalie Darlington was shortlisted for Best Young Entrepreneur in the Lambeth Business Awards 2011. He tells us how hanging out in Brixton has influenced his style

1. How did you get started in fashion?
I graduated from the London College of Fashion and then worked for several fashion houses, including Paul Smith, Top Man, Helen Fairbrother and Sierra. But none of these companies appreciated my talent! So in 2009 I started my own clothing line for men, Young Fox, and in 2010 I launched Kimalie, my womenswear line.

2. How difficult was it to start up during the recession?
I put a lot of my own money into it, but I was lucky to get premises through the London Youth Support Trust, which also provides advice and support. It helped me apply for a grant from the Prince’s Trust. But with the economy the way it is, I decided to sell direct, online through my own website and organisations like Makerhood and Asos. I was stocked in five boutiques in places like Bond Street, but they take 50% commission and I can’t really afford that at the moment.

3. Where does the D in DK Darlington come from?
The D stands for Damion, my brother. I’m the chief designer and the company director, but DK Darlington had a better rhythm! I have a lot of interns to help me. One of the guys didn’t know what he wanted to do and helped me with design – now he’s at uni studying fashion! There’s just two of us who make up the garments.

4. So how would you describe the style of your clothes?
My clothes are about detail. I take a basic shape like jeans and add leather, or a shirt and add pleating. The menswear line in particular features a lot of leather. My target audience is young professionals who want to look smart but also have a touch of the street.

5. What are your main influences and inspirations?
I was born in Jamaica but I’ve lived in Britain since I was about 10, so I regard myself as British – all my friends are British. I live in Clapham and hang around in Brixton a lot, so I’m influenced by the urban streets around here and other areas like Brick Lane. But I get different inspirations every season – for my spring/summer 2011 womenswear collection I used a lot of blue, yellow and white to give a very girly feel.

6. So what appeals to you about Makerhood?
I just think it’s a brilliant idea, trying to get everyone in the area to buy local, and getting different makers in an area together to help each other. When I joined up there were cake makers and artists but no other fashion sellers. Now there are more fashion stalls and it’s great!

7. Finally, what’s your top tip for a bit of “unknown Brixton”?
Don’t be afraid to wander around the back streets of Brixton – there are some really interesting shops and cafés just waiting to be discovered. My favourite place is Take Two – a Caribbean restaurant that serves fantastic fish soup.

You can see DK Darlington’s menswear at http://brixton.makerhood.com/youngfox. He will be adding his womenswear line before Christmas. See http://www.dkdarlington.com/ for more information.

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.

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

Meet the makers: Sinéad Koehler

Jewellery maker Sinéad Koehler has a packed schedule – she tells us about her hand-crafted wedding and running the Crafty Fox pop-up market at the Dogstar in Brixton

1. You make jewellery from found objects, which fits in well with the current trend for upcycling/recycling. Where did you get the idea for that?
I was looking for a creative outlet, away from my day job. I used to make jewellery when I was a girl, and I’m always buying jewellery, so it seemed an obvious choice. It takes quite a bit of time to track down the different objects – some I buy online, others I get from charity shops or by using bits of old jewellery. I never really expected to sell anything – but I opened up a shop on Etsy and then got some press coverage, which really helped. I still only do it for a hobby, though, as I’m a bit scared about taking the leap into a full-time business!

2. And from that you started the Crafty Fox pop-up market at the Dogstar in Brixton?
Well, organising events is my day job, so setting up a market is actually closer to my core skills than making jewellery! In fact, the jewellery making has been a bit sidelined recently, what with getting married and promoting the Crafty Fox.

3. Where did the name of the Crafty Fox come from?
I love foxes, and there are lots of them around Brixton, so it seemed a good link to the area. I also planned to get my friend jimbobart involved, and he’s great at drawing animals, so I knew he would be able to produce some great fun characters.

4. You mention getting married recently. I gather it was quite a crafty wedding!
We wanted to put as much of our own personalities into it as possible – handmade stuff is what we’re all about. The dress was a big problem – I thought I’d enjoy shopping for one, but I hated it. Then I thought of my mum’s wedding dress, which had been handmade, and used local contacts to find a dressmaker to alter it. And a friend made us an amazing cake – I left it entirely up to her, as I had so many other things to think about! You can read more about the wedding on my blog.

5. Does your husband make things as well?
Stephan doesn’t make things, but he’s passionate about music and he knows about promotion. He acts as my sounding board and is the DJ at Crafty Fox markets.

6. You’re originally from Northern Ireland – how long have you lived in Brixton?
I’ve lived in Brixton for three years now, and was in Clapham before that. We were renting in Clapham and started looking for somewhere to buy. When agents wanted to show us places in Brixton we weren’t very keen at first, but I love it now!

7. So with all your involvement with Etsy and Crafty Fox, why did you sign up with Makerhood?
Makerhood is a really interesting concept and I want to support the idea. Etsy has set up local groups but hasn’t really nailed it. I think there’s room for both – and the idea of encouraging people to buy locally really suits Brixton. I can see it working outside London too – anywhere where there’s a hub or community of makers.

8. Finally, what’s your top tip for a bit of “unknown Brixton”?
Before I moved to Brixton I went on a photo treasure hunt organised by Shoot Experience. We had to solve clues and take photos of the answers, which were then put on display at Photofusion Gallery. It helped me discover things about Brixton I didn’t know about, like the murals and the history of Windrush Square.

The next Crafty Fox pop-up market is on 1 September at the Dogstar, Brixton, 6-10pm.

You can see Sinéad’s original jewellery at http://brixton.makerhood.com/galavant

Meet the makers: Gillian Arnold

Textile artist Gillian Arnold makes beautiful textile prints of ferns and other plants on satin. She tells us about making 20-metre table runners for her wedding and why pregnancy has unleashed her creative powers

1. Your pieces attracted quite a bit of attention on the Makerhood stall at the Urban Art Fair. How long have you worked with this technique?
I started printing from actual plants when I was at art college in Liverpool. I actually enrolled for a fashion course but found I didn’t have the patience to make clothes! So I transferred to the textiles course, which gave me the freedom to experiment with printing.

2. So when did you move to south London?
I moved to London after graduating and worked for a prop-making company in Coldharbour Lane. I was producing “throw-away art” for window displays in House of Fraser stores, like Dickins & Jones in Regent Street. It was great fun – we would produce a Bridget Riley-style 1960s painting and then have to work out how to make 100 copies!

3. And now you work on community art projects?
Well, actually I gave up work about a month ago because I’m expecting a baby in a couple of months! But I spent the past eight years working as an artist with schools and the community, doing things like producing large-scale prints from kids’ drawings. But I’ve also covered jewellery, sculpture, mosaic and photography. It’s really stretched my own skills – but I’ve also gathered lots of ideas to work on myself.

4. It doesn’t sound as if you’ve had much time to work on your own ideas!
That’s true! When I got married last year I did make my own table runners for the wedding reception – four 20-metre lengths of fabric featuring feathers and ferns. I also printed on my own wedding dress and printed my husband’s tie as well! But now I’ve given up work, it’s wonderful to have time before the baby arrives to be able to create my own pieces. My website is http://gillianarnold.com.

5. What will happen after the baby is born?
I’ve got to carry on after the birth – I need a creative output, or everyone around me will suffer! Hopefully I will have enough pieces made by the time the baby arrives to be able to continue selling them online. My husband is incredibly supportive – he takes care of the website and the business side of things.

6. Tell us about the work you’ve done in west Africa.
I’ve been working for five or six years on a project in The Gambia, teaching women how to sew and make jewellery. It’s been hugely satisfying, passing on skills to people who really benefit from them – they sell their work in two hotels now. You can see photos on the website, as there are links to Flickr, Facebook and Twitter.

7. What’s the appeal of signing up with Makerhood?
I heard about Makerhood from a friend at Morley College and hot-footed it to the makers’ meeting at the Sun and Doves in Camberwell. It was just a few days before I gave up work, so I had to hurry up and make some pieces to put on my stall! I think it’s brilliant that Makerhood’s emphasis is on localness – from my community work I know that it’s better to work through connections with people rather than some impersonal online shop.

8. What’s your top tip for a bit of “hidden Camberwell”?
Café No 67 at the South London Gallery is brilliant. They do set menus of really well-made food, with a great balance of flavours. It’s got a glass ceiling and walls, so you can look out on the garden while you eat.

Café No 67, South London Gallery, 65 Peckham Road, SE5 8UH

You can see Gillian’s gorgeous textile prints at http://brixton.makerhood.com/gillian-arnold

Meet the makers: Ellie Laycock

Ellie Laycock, who makes beautiful cushions from vintage scarves and linen, talks to us about hunting, stuffing and the challenges of combining making with being a single mother

1. Tell us about the name – Hunted and Stuffed. It conjures up visions of giant moose heads – but you make cushions!

I liked the cheekiness of the name – I didn’t want anything too serious. It’s quite appropriate: I hunt down vintage fabrics and buttons, turn them into cushions and stuff them!

2. Where do you source your vintage fabrics?

I scour eBay, car boot sales, Sunday markets. It can be hit and miss. Sometimes you don’t see anything, but at one sale I went to on Wandsworth Road there was a pile of vintage silk scarves in one corner and a heap of old linen in another. The stuff I bought there kept me going for months! It’s a bit trickier now with Malakai [her 10-month-old son], as I can’t carry as much as I used to.

3. You’re a professional photographer – why did you move across into making cushions?

I trained in sculpture, and I’ve been a professional photographer for 11 years. But when I had Malakai I was stuck at home and I wanted to do something creative. So I made some cushions from some vintage kimono material and showed them to a friend who is a stylist. She really rated them, so I went ahead and started making more of them.

4. What gave you the idea of using scarves and tea towels?

I kept coming across beautiful scarves, but I don’t wear them myself. I’m more into accessorising a room than an outfit! And tea towels are the same size as a standard pillow. Other cushions made from tea towels usually fold the tea towel in half, so you lose the impact of the full design.

5. Which designs sell best?

The iconic graphic designs, such as Penguin classic covers or London Underground maps, are quite popular. I’m drawn to souvenirs of London or royalty, street maps and illustrations of Britain.

6. You already have online shops on Etsy and Folksy. What was the appeal of joining Makerhood?

I just think it’s an excellent idea to promote local makers to local buyers. I also wanted to meet other people with something in common – not just craftspeople but people interested in buying locally.

7. How can I find out more?

My blog is at www.huntedandstuffed.blogspot.com, and you can see my photographic portfolio at www.ellielaycock.co.uk.

8. What do you like about living in Brixton?

I’ve lived here for 10 years. Before I lived here I kept coming here and then had to get home, so I decided I might as well move here! It has a centre of its own, and I found it welcoming and fun. It’s the friendliest place I’ve lived in and it’s got everything I need – I don’t want to live anywhere else.

9. What’s your top tip for a bit of “hidden Brixton”?

Go for a café latte at Café Tana on Brixton Hill. They’re really friendly and do great coffee.

You can see Ellie’s fabulous cushions at http://brixton.makerhood.com/hunted-and-stuffed.