Serra Vista Studios...

Calling all hep cats, dolly rockers and all good old rocking rollers...If you're wanting to record your album in the gorgeous sunshine then really you need to visit Lyn and Boz at the Serra Vista Studios up in the Monchique mountains in the Algarve.
Nestled up in the hills this fab music studio has played host to the likes of Murdering Tripping Blues, Richard Dutton and other talented musicians!
For further info take a peep at the Serra Vista Studios blog.

May is Craft Month!!!

As we get closer to the end of month we look forward to the lovely,shiny and very creative new month that is MAY!
After the very rowcus and festivias shinnanigans of April we think that this is positively the best wedding/Bank Holiday(s) hangover cure...

Printing card and fabric work shop
5th of May 7.30pm - 9.30pm
To kick it all off we have a fab workshop featuring the splendidly talented Sarah Butler.
A 2 hour introduction to relief printmaking, learn to make your own unique stamp to be printed on card and fabrics. A skill you can continue at home!
Number of places available: 12
Cost: £15 [includes all tools and materials and you can make two stamps, two cards and some fabric prints to take home with you] Pre-booking advisable.

Felted Flowers work shop
13th May 7.30pm - 9.30pm
Ever fancied trying your hand at needle felting? I can honestly say, needle on heart, that it is so very addictive! Here's your chance to get started with a fab workshop by Gai. Make your own needle felted Flower Brooch/Pin in this fun and creative workshop. She's an amazing needle felting artist and she'll have you hooked in no time. Because May is Craft Month Craft Guerrilla have teamed up with our lovely friends at Creative Biscuit and so get on down and make something!
Learn easy one step free form needle felting. No applique moulds used to create your very own original piece of wearable art.
If you have never tried needle felting this is a good workshop to get started. Your kit will contain everything you need, foam pad to work on, instructions, wool, needles etc.
Number of places available: 12
Cost: £15 [includes all tools and materials and two cards to take home with you]
Pre booking advised.

Make your own owl work shop
19th May 7.30pm-9.30pm
We're very pleased to announce that Zeena Shah is hosting a very special and very cute workshop for craft month! I absolutely love her textile designs and here's your chance to make a gorgeous little owl to take home with you!
Print your owl, stitch & stuff and hey presto you now have your very own little plushie!
Number of places available: 10
Cost: £18 [includes all tools and materials and a very cute hand sewn owl to take home with you]

Jewellery Making/Wire Wrap work shop
26th May 7.30pm - 9.30pm
This is the last Craft Month work shop but it's a good one.
Learn a new skill or brush up on your technique at this fun and
very useful workshop with Jeweller extraordinaire Ellen Jones!
Students will learn the basic technique of wire-wrapping for jewellery making as well as an introduction to the tools and their usage.
The wire and components used will be either silver-plated or gunmetal, and there will be a variety of crystals, pearls etc. freely available to create your own personal piece of jewellery. By learning the wire-wrapping technique, students will be able to make charm drops and continuous chains.
All abilities welcome!
Number of places available: 10
Cost: £28 [includes all tools and materials and at least one piece of jewellery to take home with you]

East London Craft Guerrilla Crafternoon!
27th May 6pm - 9.30pm
Come celebrate the end of Craft Month with a fabulous "Craftea Party". As we bid a fond farewell to our lovely hosts Creative Biscuit we definitely leave with a full heart and so we'd like you to come and share the LOVE!
We'll be offering a selection of quirky and cool Craft Guerrilla signature craft packs which can all be done quickly and easily. Or you can take them home to do in your own time. In house tutors will be on hand should you need some help or some crafty tips.
It's what it says in the title: Craft,Tea and Party with a cocktail thrown in into the mix! There's a great selection of tea, coffee and delicious cake.
Cost: £5 - includes tea and cake
Small charge per craft pack.

The Venue:
Creative Biscuit
61 George Lane South Woodford, London E18 1JJ

Please contact and book your place on the workshop with Creative Biscuit directly on: 020 8532 2824

Are you the next Crafty Super Star?

Once again we're launching the Craft Guerrilla NEW* Designer Makers Competition! We'll be working with Twisted Thread the organizers of the Knitting & Stitching shows to showcase the best new talent in British and Irish Arts & Crafts!
We're looking for talented Designer Makers who are passionate about all things hand made, have a high level of craftsmanship and make beautiful, modern, high quality, hand made Designer Maker items!
We have 6 stall spaces up for grabs in each "Knitting & Stitching" shows in London, Harrogate and Dublin.


If you're looking to start your own creative hand made business then this might be the launch pad you need!
One of last year's winners Lindsey O'Harrow of BooBou Designs said:
"Good luck to anyone who enters, I won a place last year and my business is thriving! I'm going back this year so I'll see you there!"


What do you need to do?
To apply simply e mail Louise (louise@craftguerrilla.com) a short description of your hand made business, send a few images of that work (or a web site address which stocks your wares) and a brief covering letter on how this opportunity would help you.
*note: When photographing your work please take clear images, do not use fussy backgrounds and use good lighting. I can't stress enough how important it is to have good shots of your work! Don't send in anything which you wouldn't be happy being used as a representation of your work.

Criteria,who's eligible?
We're excepting applications from British and Irish based Designer makers and also you must work with in the area of the show or near. For example for the London show we're excepting people from London and the South East.
If you've applied last year and weren't successful you are welcome to reapply.

What's on offer?
You'll get a highly coveted stall at the Knitting & Stitching show. With so many visitors we expect you to sell and promote your creative company to thousands of people!

How much will it cost me?
Nothing! All you need to pay for is your own transport (getting to and from the show), your own expenses (like hotels, parking,meals etc), any stall decoration, stall staffing and any personal promotional materials like posters,business cards etc.
Please note that if you were paying for this stall it would cost you over £600 for the four days!

How do we chose the winners?
We'll chose 6 successful applicants to exhibit from all entries for each show. We will choose only designer maker items which we deem to be of outstanding quality and originality. Please do not be offended if you're not chosen. We get lots of applications so we're choosing only items which we think fulfill the brief and represent the ethos of Craft Guerrilla.

What are we looking for?
Though it's called the "Knitting & Stitching" shows Twisted Thread is very keen for us to introduce other craft disciplines like ceramics but all your work must be hand made! No mass produced tat thank you!
Indie crafters, designer makers and artisans this is your chance to take your work from a hobby to a business!

When will we let you know?
The deadline is the 30th of June but...you can start applying now. A full schedule for the competition will be announced soon and winners will be announced mid to late July.

Good Luck!


Also please pass the opportunity onto your friends and fellow crafty colleagues as we want to spread the word far and wide!


*NEW as in non established,in the process of taking your craft business into the next level or even if you've been making for years but you've never taken the step!

POM POM necklace work shop...

Our lovely East London Craft Guerrilla member A Alicia is a very talented designer maker and she'll show you how to make a fab necklace which you can wear with pride...after all it will be your handy work!

"Ever fancied making your own jewellery? Well here's your chance to design and make a gorgeous, on trend, pom pom necklace to add to your summer wardrobe, at this A Alicia workshop!
I'll be running the workshop on Saturday 30th April from 1pm-3.30pm, at Create Boutique's lovely central London space: http://create-boutique.co.uk/
The lovely ladies at Create Boutique have let me offer you a special discount so you can book the workshop for £35 instead of the usual £40 - just mention this email when you book.
Places are limited, and booking is essential - to book or for more info email: info@create-boutique.co.uk

In the workshop you'll get to design your own pom pom necklace using a range of fairtrade organic wool, vintage ribbon and vintage or handmade beads. Once you've chosen your colours and materials, you'll learn how to make wool pom poms and how to assemble your finished necklace - then it's yours to wear and enjoy!

Hope to see you there, and feel free to pass this email (and the discount) on!"

MAY is...CRAFT MONTH!

Well we knew that this was something we just had to get involved with and celebrate and so we teamed up with our gorgeous friends at Creative Biscuit to do a little bit of a shindig!
On offer are: weekly workshops by Craft Guerrilla tutors ranging from needle felting,printing,sewing based crafts and jewellery plus to top it all off we're hosting a very special CRAFTERNOON!
So there...no excuses...pop in and get making!
For all event details visit: www.craftguerrilla.com

Camden Crawl...Craftivista Social Club *UPDATE*

It's with a heavy heart that e announce the cancellation of the Obscuritones at the May the 1st event at the Camden Crawl!
Due to a massive miscommunication we're unable to offer you what is the main attraction of the "Craftivista Social Club" the live music! You'd think people,especially ones in the music business would get the pun...but anyway...let's just say that it's very frustrating when you write a proposal,talk and the phone,email over all the details and then at the last minute someone tells you it's not possible to have a band. Unfortunately the band have given up their time and where expecting to play so that kind of leaves us...the middle person...in the "bad guy" position. Never fear though...we know the Obscuritones pretty well so they will be playing with us again at a later date at our own event.
BUT we do have two very fine DJ's *cough cough* one being myself or my disc spinning alter ego Handsome Betty and Jerome Anderson...or as I like to call him "The Bomber". We'll be spinning some good old vintage tunes with a few trashy tracks thrown in for good measure...it is after all Camden so our eclectic choice of music will fit right in!
We'll also be making a very cute special edition Cassette Badge pin celebrating the right for bands to make a living by a) not paying venues to be able to pay and b)receiving a fair whack of the ticket sales money.
Hasta lo primeiro de Maio! Viva la revolucion!!!

A Right Royal hoohah...with bunting!

OK ,OK so I'm being sucked in to all this Will & Kate royal wedding hoo-hah... which is a bit scary as I am not a Monarchist at all!
I guess it's the whole "Street Party", "Charles & Di',"Queen's Jubilee" vibe which is so attractive. Everybody loves a party and more so when it's associated with childhood and "better times".
And though every bone in my body says "NOOOOOOO, it's all a plan to get the masses to take their eyes off the ball so the Torries can get their evil way"!
I've decided to let go of those sentiments and just look at it in a simplistic way: MAKE BUNTING, PRETTY PRETTY, BUNTING!!!
I'm also a sucker for coloured paper flags so here you go...a mini printing workshop which you can just drop in,sit and print. It's £3 per person and we'll be making some Union Jack,Wills & Kate themed banners. Expect some safety pins as I don't want to loose all my street cred... that's why I'm calling it Punk Rock Bunting as it's a homage to the Sex Pistols and their "God Save the Queen" artwork.

Thursday 14th of April
From 8pm
Free entry
£3 per person

Ye Old Rose & Crown Pub
53-55 Hoes St.
Walthamstow E17

TUBE: Victoria Line Walthamstow Central
Rail: From Liverpool Street Station towards Chingford
Buses: 48,55,230,123,W15,69,ETC

It's your WRITE!

IT'S YOUR WRITE! A CELEBRATION OF THE SELF-PUBLISHED
Thursday 07 April 2011, 6 - 9pm
V&A Museum of Childhood
FREE EVENT

Lindsey German will be talking about her career as the UK’s most prominent female activist.
Cool indie band Planet Earth will lead a workshop on protest song writing.
The Women’s Library will share highlights from their collection of women’s zines dating back to Riot Grrrl.
Illustrator and designer David Janes will discuss his political portrait series, 650 Gargoyles.
AND Publishing discuss the wave of book piracy hitting emerging countries and explore text manipulation.
Interventions from The University for Strategic Optimism and Climate Rush.
Plus the It’s Your Write Book Swap and The World’s Largest Knitted Poem courtesy of The Poetry Society.
Craft Guerrilla will also be there with our lovely and talented friend Zeena Shah from "I heart Zeena". She will be captaining the Craft Guerrilla work shop for us.
This event is part of the "Papered Parlour" series at the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green.
It's such a great venue and I'm so glad it continues to open its doors in the evening for such great interactive events.
Come down and have a peep and a print!

Tombola winner announced!

Thanks to everyone that supported our Virtual Tombola. It was fun though we didn't make that much money but it all goes into the pot and has been added to the auction takings to send over to the Japan Animal relief and rescue charity. We sent in total over £100.
We thank you all!
And so to announce the lovely winner...DRUM ROLL PLEASE....
Miss Nelly Barbara.
Please check your in box as we have contacted you via e-mail. Your prizes will be posted to you as soon as we have confirmation of your address. You are a very lucky,lucky lady!!!


*image taken from tattoos for girls

New glorious,beautiful members!

Craft Guerrilla proudly introduce a selection of new guys and gals...oooh yes,didn't you know that we select only the finest most beautacious products and their makers to join? We've been doing it for 3 years now and we can honestly say that it just gets better and better! Membership is only open to designer makers of high quality,hand made art & craft.
Basically if you've got the "Craft Factor" then...you're in!
We pride ourselves in selecting only original,premium, hand made products to offer to you to purchase and enjoy for years to come.
Craft Guerrilla believes that using traditional craft techniques to produce updated and modern hand made premium products is just what's expected...and we encourage our army of artisans to fulfill shopper's expectations.
There's just so much top quality stuff out there being lovingly made by a troop of talented designers....
So if you're looking for a fantastic gift or just fancy a treat for yourself...shhhh we wont tell,everyone deserves a bit of self indulgence now and then...visit our East London Members page and prepare to drool!

*If you think your the next crafty super star get in touch. Please e-mail a few images or a web site address which stocks your creations.