Meet our own South West Material Girl

Meet our own South West Material Girl

Emma Purdie is one of our official demonstrators. From Plymouth, Emma specialises in screen printed interior textiles. 

For the past 10 years I have watched the wonderful Contemporary Craft Festival grow and develop.  I have exhibited at the festival every year apart from one when the thought of screen printing was hard to contemplate with a new born! 

For me, each year is full of excitement, amazement at the fabulous makers on show, a little bit of stress all topped off with pure delight when people buy my work. 

This year as well as selling I will be demonstrating, giving an insight into how I work and the techniques I use will be really exciting. I have some new work to show too which explores new materials, processes and technologies

This year’s festival will be fabulous as usual, I will be enjoying a little retail therapy, looking forward to seeing Jane Blease’s wonderful lampshades

 Helaina Sharpley wirework wall pieces

and beautiful jewellery by Helen Noakes

Emma Purdie

Material Girl 

Meet Emma Purdie, Jane Blease, Helaina Sharpley , Helen Noakes and 200 other makers of extraordinary objects from across the UK and Ireland. The Contemporary Craft Festival, June 7-9, Bovey Tracey, Devon, UK www.craftsatboveytracey.co.uk 

Don't Sell Gold for Silver Prices

Sell Gold for Gold Prices

Wool House at Somerset House

Weekends away to London have changed for me over the recent years. Gone has the want or time to go shopping. The trips are short, sharp shocks of culture, washed down with far-too-short catchings up with good friends. The trip was planned to maximise the incredible amount of high intensity craft based activities going on over the weekend.

  

Chugging quietly into Waterloo, we marched over the bridge and straight to Wool House at Somerset House. An incredible display championed by the Campaign for Wool with room upon room decked out in layers of gorgeous wool fabrics expertly displayed in different styles to highlight the incredible versatility of the material.

Onwards, onto Chelsea Town Hall to the Selvedge Spring Fair which was packed with makers, not just of textiles but potters and paper sculptors. Spotted a few Festival exhibitors too including Sam Pickard, Linda Bloomfield and Treefall Design. A red hot Thai curry and white wine followed and a short journey back to the hotel in Kensington.

Next day, we trooped over to the V&A. Love the V&A. Jostled with the thousands of Bowie fans and headed up the Ceramic Staircase, through the Silver gallery to the Lecture Theatre for the Heritage Craft Association Spring Conference. Having got over the shock that there wasn’t any coffee on offer, I sat back and listed to the reason I went, to hear David Hieatt speak.He is the author of this blog's title. Sell gold for gold prices. If you don't know who David Hieatt is, look him up. I defy you not to be impressed and moved about what he has achieved, achieving and dreaming about. David and his company Hiut Denim makes jeans, really good jeans, in Wales. He sells the jeans for gold prices, because they are worth it.  He also changes the way you look at the world. Look up the Do Lectures. A really clever brand or pure integrity? I think both. V rare. He played this film, by Mickey Smith, not about jeans but about doing something you love.  Your life has started, you've chosen it and we need to get on with it, right now. The Talk Tipi at the Festival is entirely inspired by the Do Lectures, founded by David Hieatt and I hope that in a some way, we can change the way people think about craft at the Festival #dosomethingyoulove.

Our inspirational speakers  at the Talk Tipi include: silver smith David Clarke

David Clarke, Silver 

 ceramics & textile artist Zoe Hillyard,

potter Katrin Moye,

metal worker John Grayson,

craft and technology researcher Emilie Grenier and the story of Fine Cell Work,  #imapiece and Plymouth School of Creative Arts. 

Be inspired by craft.

Craft Demonstrations at the 10th Anniversary of The Contemporary Craft Festival

Celebrating 10 Years of the Contemporary Craft Festival

Not quite at panic mode yet but The Contemporary Craft Festival is winding itself up to be bigger and more beautiful this year. I'm new to blogging as usually engrossed with Facebook and Twitter and I'm looking for guest bloggers to write short pieces on the Craft Festival. If you'd like to be part of our comms team running up to the Festival, leave a comment. 

We're not afraid to shout form the roof tops that we love craft and the Festival brings together exceptional work from leading makers from all over the UK and Ireland. We're expecting over 10,000 visitors to the small town of Bovey Tracey in Devon so plans are nearing completion. 

200 makers selling their work, demonstrations, workshops, children's crafts, street food, live music, lectures, debates. We've got it covered.

Including demonstrations by  Gareth Neal and Sarah Kay. 

Sarah Kay

Wheel thrown ceramics by Devon’s Clive Bowen.

Clive Bowen

Leading printmaker from Bovey Tracey, Rosie Sanders,

Rosie Saunders

Matt Dingle Blacksmiths from Chagford, glass blowingwith E&M Glass, screen printing by Plymouth’s Emma Purdie,

Emma Purdie

 inspirational paper artist Jennifer Collier,

Jennifer Collier 

 wire sculpture by Celia Smith 

Celia Smith

and experimental and multiple, award winning weaver Laura Thomas. 

Laura Thomas

And to celebrate InternationalYarnbombing Day and World Knit in Public there are rumours of a Yarnbombing by Graffiti Grannys from Cornwall! More news to come about the Talk Tipi.