24th to 26th May - Merton Abbey Craft Market

Last weekend was my first at Merton Abbey Mills Craft Market, which is held every Saturday and Sunday in Wimbledon.

Based on the edge of the river Wendle, the market has some lovely scenic aspects... a pottery with it's own waterwheel, a lovely restaurant and a bandstand for the Sunday musical events. It also has a lot of history... part of the buildings were used to print the famous Liberty silks and was also a home to some involved in the Victorian Arts and Crafts Movement of William Morris, who apparently owned the factory downstream.

I've had my eye on this market for a while, so was really pleased that I took a chance to show there.

They have some building work on at the moment, as most markets do... they are building a new (in keeping) building for studio spaces and shops, so in the meantime the stall holders and casuals (moi!) are all in a marquee.

I didn't mind... it was right by the entrance, so hopefully we wouldn't be missed.

I was a bit worried at first, as a casual you don't want to step on anyone's toes by selling a similar craft and feltmaking is becoming more popular... but my fellow stall holders were very happy for me to be there... they all thought my work was very different and would be a good addition to the dozens of other artists already in residence. Phew, I thought... I'd already taken a chance and advertised myself!

My boyfriend helped me set up for the weekend and stayed with me, just in case I couldn't cope with the rush (a mixture of wishful thinking and panic at the size of the place!)

This is me feeling a bit tired and nervous, but ready to go.

I took some items I had left over from my exhibition in March... the ones you can mail order from me on my website... under the Boutique tab and I made plenty of extras too. I also took along plenty of my Mystery Bags... I'm using them as a way to encourage customers and to advertise some of my favourite on-line shops!

I wanted to keep the stall simple and let the product speak out for it's self... but it's always difficult to know exactly how to present yourself. I decided in the end on simple one colour sheets as a base and then bought in some stands for my earrings and rings... I took the three handmade jewellery rolls for displaying my boutique collections... you know the ones I made for my exhibition back in March. I thought they would be easier to see the pieces that worked together. I topped the stall off with a handmade banner... using some of my Craft Shop's computer printable fabric. Oh and don't forget the business cards Sara!!

Saturday the weather was fine, but when customers were far and few between I was told that there was an event on at Clapham Common, so maybe the day would be slow... oh poop, trust me to pick the wrong day! Never mind I thought, I have had lots of interest and given out cards... there always tomorrow! Sunday came and so did the rain... torrential! Fortunately it cleared up by 11am, so we had only lost an hour and the customers did start strolling in. Sunday was the day for selling it seemed and I made my rent money... yay! Now I didn't have to worry if Monday was rained off... which of course it was!

Overall the reception was good. I had lots of wonderful compliments and met some really nice people... I think I need to take something along to make next time if I can... people will understand my product better, if they can see the process. The main area of confusion was the fabric for the bags... customers knew it was felt, but thought I had bought it in, rather than spending hours needle punching the coloured roving onto the base felt before embroidering and beading. 'Oh, my God... wow I never realised. Now I understand!' they'd say... Note to self: never assume the customer knows what you know about what you do!

I also had a bit of interest from a group of artists, who came to me with an idea after I spoke to them... hopefully I will have more news on that soon!

So what were my observations about the customer base? Well it was difficult to say, because the weather and the Clapham event did hinder a 'normal' weekend of trading... having said that I did notice a real mix of people. There were local regulars who use the market to pick up handmade cards, or a length of fabric and then there were out of town visitors who came because of the historical and arts and crafts connection. This gave me an idea... I need to connect to both types of customer right?

Now that I've been asked back... I am running around getting some more bits together and am working on a one weekend experiment... a bigger stall; half with my Boutique collection and half with a selection from my Craft shop. I want to see what works and what doesn't before I commit to a summer of selling.

If you get chance this weekend (31st May-1st June) to pop over... do come and say 'Hi', I think I will be in the marquee again.

Sara x

Spotlight #32 - Chloe Powis

Today I wanted to share a wonderful find, full of colour and texture... here's Chloe our spotlight artist.

1. Tell me a bit about your background and how long you have been an artist/crafter.
I have always been creative and loved making and designing things from a young age and so studied design at college for two years. I started my first business in 2002 and it has changed very much along with my knowledge for different crafts.

My initial passion was in wood work, making hearts, birds, letters, stars etc and painting them in a whole array of different colours and designs. Gradually I developed new skills in sewing also and now make soft accessories for the home. I like to combine vintage and contemporary prints and use them on hearts, elephants, birds, cushions etc.. I felt that my wood work became limited and by gaining new sewing skills, there are so many different patterns and fabrics out there that my designs could be end less. I now try to incorporate as much colour and character into my work as I can.



2. Where do you find your inspiration?
I read many interior magazines so that my work is as up to date as the current trends. I am often on the internet looking at different patterns and fabrics and I visit charity shops for buttons and vintage piece of material.

I can find inspiration in anything really, but often one of my pieces influences another. I talk to other crafters about their current projects, knowing that other people are following their dream and creating like me really inspires me to create more.

3. Do you sell your work, or is it purely for pleasure?
I sell my work and have done so for many years. You can view this at www.something-lovely.com where I design 90% of the work and sell the work of a few of my favourite crafters.

My other website which is textiles only is at http://www.chloepowis.com/

I find someone buying my work a great privilege. Its so nice to know that something you have created will be displayed in someone’s home where others will see it and comment on it too.



4. If someone was looking to take up this craft should they have any related experience before they start?
You do need a passion for what you do and should really practice at your skill if you want your work to stand out and you want to be the best at it..

Talk to other crafters and get to know good tips.

If you want to do it professionally, then try your projects out on family and friends and see what they think.

5. What would be your top 5 tips for a beginner?
Get to know your skill.
Show your work at fayres, on the internet, locally, and get your product known.
Get talking to other crafters, you could learn so much more.
Don’t give up if things go quiet, be persistent.
Enjoy it, its what you love doing.

6. What would be your top 5 items of essential equipment?A wood cutting machine.
Sewing Machine
A good quality digital camera (good pictures sell)
Good PC Software
Good packaging - essential



7. Can you recommend a technique or ‘tips’ book ideal for a beginner?
I can recommend going onto craft forums to talk to others that are creating similar things to yourself.

There are so many of these and can give you tips on almost anything.

8. Can you recommend any brands to look out for, when buying equipment or kit?
It really depends what you specialise in. Its best to look for the best in the long run, even if it costs you more.

Again, do lots of research in the best equipment for your skill and the work will pay off.

So who's in my first batch of Mystery Bags?

The first batch of Mystery bags was contributed to by the following lovely people...

1. http://www.hmsdesign.etsy.com/
2. http://www.janicej.etsy.com/
3. http://www.5fingersup.etsy.com/
4. http://www.timeless.etsy.com/
5. http://www.meplusmolly.etsy.com/
6. http://www.atelierdesoyun.etsy.com/
7. http://www.tisserande.etsy.com/
8. http://www.beadsme.etsy.com/
9. http://www.weirdbuglady.etsy.com/
10. http://www.valmade.etsy.com/
11. http://www.guerillaembroidery.etsy.com/
12. http://www.littlechook.etsy.com/
13. http://www.pouch.etsy.com/
14. http://www.healinghouse.etsy.com/
15. http://www.birdlandcreations.com/
16. http://de.dawanda.com/shop/steinbienchen/
17. http://en.dawanda.com/shop/glamasaurus/
18. http://en.dawanda.com/shop/vocisonnesse/
19. http://de.dawanda.com/shop/unikateausderlueneburgerheide/

Thanks guys for your contributions... I hope they bring you some sales.

Sara x

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If you would like to send something for the Mystery Bags, please see this article... http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com/2008/05/what-is-saras-texture-crafts-mystery.html

Sara's Texture Crafts - Post Day Changes!

Due to my weekend Craft Fair sucess I will now be changing my post days to Monday, Wednesday and Friday... this will allow me time to visit as many fairs across the year as possible.

Thank you,
Sara x

What is a 'Sara's Texture Crafts Mystery Bag'?

What is a ‘Mystery Bag’?
A Mystery Bag is Sara’s Texture Crafts’s way of rewarding special customers. So if you find me at a fair and spend over a certain amount you will receive a bag as a ‘Thank you’ gift. Or if you stumble across my latest blog competition here at Crafts of Texture - Blogzine Giveaways you could be in chance of winning a bag as a runner up prize.

What can I find in a ‘Mystery Bag’?
A few free gifts handmade from some of my arty friends and a selection of business cards from my favourite on-line artists and crafts people.

How can I donate items to the Mystery Bags?
Simple... Here's what I need;

each seller provides some or all of the following;
-Business cards
-Small promotional samples/free gifts
– no breakables

Enough for 10-20 bags to start. Each item you send should be clearly labelled with your on-line links and all items should fit into a small bag approximately 15cm deep and 10cm wide.

Wanna send something? Then email me for details!

Sara x

Off to the Fair!

My Craft Fair is tomorrow... 24th-26th May 2008, at Merton Abbey, Wimbledon (10-5pm). See you there!

Little book of Etsy, a promo idea.

I stumbled across this great promo idea from http://www.artbymimi.etsy.com/ and thought I ought to share it with you. It's very similar in idea to my up and coming 'Mystery Bag', but none the less is a great opportunity for sellers to grab buyers attention...

Sara:What is 'The Little Book of Etsy' all about and how did you come up with the idea?

The Little Book of Etsy I feel is a great way of reaching the UK audience. Etsy is a based in the US and even though they do a great job advertising, sadly not many people (i.e. buyers), know about it over here in the UK.

The Little Book of Etsy will be presented professionally inside a drawstring bag (handmade of course), along with a little promotion item.

It all began with me wanting to figure out ways of encouraging people to start spending at the craft fayres.

Lately with all the money worries of 'the crunch' going around the UK and also I think most of the world, getting people to spend money, (in person and online) is a major issue for all us sellers.
I looked into getting something made for me with my etsy address on it but nothing felt right or made me think that it'll encourage people visit Etsy, let alone my shop. So I stopped searching and did a bit of thinking.

What I really wanted was to help people on Etsy reach out to the UK audience.

Every time I mentioned Etsy to someone at the fayres, they just looked very confused. I can easily recommend stall holders/sellers to visit Etsy but trying to convince buyers is another matter.

So the next idea was to give away little promotional items from other sellers: every time someone spends over so much at my stall, (because everyone loves a freebie!) they would get a goodie bag with the freebie inside.

I thought this would benefit all: I can encourage people to spend, while the promos will advertise others on Etsy.

After about 6 Etsians joining I was struggling to find any more. I could understand that not everyone could give away their items or pay for the shipping to the UK but I still wanted to help advertise others and include those who couldn't send the promos.

While talking to someone about this matter, I had a sudden idea. Within about 2 seconds flat I came up with an idea of a promotional booklet.

I had the image of a professional, informative booklet, full of Etsy shop's business cards. This way I could give out other people's business cards but without them being loose in the bag and annoying my customers, which usually would end up with them throwing the cards away any way.

I live in Cornwall, which is right at the very tip of South England. Being very touristy place; well know for its sea, sun and surf so we get lots of visitors from all over the place. So in one small place we could have visitors from the next county (Devon) to the visitors from the highlands in Scotland. Ideal for advertising!

I suggested this idea in a reply to this particular seller to who I was having the conversation with at the time and to my amazement, she loved it! So I started working on 'The Little Book Of Etsy' and it's been going great ever since.

Sara: So how many members are there?

From the 6 members original members, numbers soon grow to 64 Etsians being involved with The Little Book of Etsy!

I have received within the last couple of days 8 members' promos and business cards. The postman is going to love me over the next few days ;)

The great thing about The Little Book Of Etsy as well is, even though I have got many sellers involved from the USA and all around the world, a majority of these sellers are based in the UK. Which I think will appeal to the UK audience to Etsy.

Sara: How do you see this idea developing in the future?

Well...because there are so many of us now and I needed to keep track of everything while keeping everyone up to date with how things are developing, I have set up a blog: http://www.littlebookofetsy.blogspot.com/. This is a great place for members to meet and I have had some great positive feedback so far.

I hope to start giving these little booklets away at a major village craft fayre happening on the 24th of May and see what happens from there.

If successful and everything goes to plan, I hope to recruit more members and help get the word of 'Etsy' out with a second edition.

But I am just going to go along with it and see what happens. It'll happen if it's meant to be. But it's been a pleasure working with everyone so far and thanks to everyone for all the encouragement received.

Sara: Thanks Mimi for this wonderful opportunity... I hope the show goes well and let us know how your little book of Etsy idea goes.

The Textile Directory, a DIYer’s Resource

The Textile Directory can be found on-line at www.thetextiledirectory.com
I came across The Textile Directory about 2 years ago now, when I was starting my own business and have always thought it to be a wonderful resource site for DIYer’s in the UK and even those abroad. I interviewed Sara Drinkwater, Editor of The Textile Directory on-line to help fill us in on what the directory is all about.

Sara Millis: What is The Textile Directory and how did you get started?
Sara Drinkwater: The Textile Directory is an interactive textile community for everybody with an interest in textile art, craft, fashion and interiors. The website includes a fully searchable directory of textile artists, suppliers, exhibition organisers, courses and a range of other textile-related companies; latest book reviews; local, national and international events; a bookstore and much more. The directory was originally set up in 2002 by Sue Richardson and for 6 years was published in book form. Sue was hoping to set up a company offering fabulous weekend breaks with well-known textile artists in luxury country house hotels. While doing her research for the business plan for Creative Escapes, Sue started to look for resources such as suppliers interested in sponsoring the weekends, artists to teach on the courses, colleges at which textile students might be interested in the opportunity, etc. It was in the early days of the internet and there appeared to be no printed resources of any kind. So, having spoken to various textile people that she knew, Sue decided to put one together. The first Textile Directory was published in October 2001 and consisted of 60 pages. It was initially focused on providing people with information about educational opportunities, so most of the suppliers listed were people offering courses or evening classes. It was sold for £5 at the Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace, London and was a huge success. As soon as it came out people started sending us information about contacts we'd missed and it grew from there. In 2002 the book was more than double the size of the first one and in 2003 we launched the website. As more and more people wanted to be included we realised that soon it would become like the telephone directory! We also learned from a major customer survey we did that the web version was more useful and easy to search than a book could ever be. So we decided to put all our efforts and resources into developing The Textile Directory online and since that time the running of the directory has been my responsibility.


Kim Thittichai

Sara Millis: What are the key features of your resource site?
Sara Drinkwater: The searchable directory is the key feature of the site, where people can find the contact details for the people they are looking for, whether this be to commission an artist to do a piece of work or to buy supplies for their latest project. We also have lots of other features on the website including book reviews, diary dates and our book shop, which sells hundreds of specialist textile titles. We also have a range of options for artists to showcase their work, which is proving very successful. We are incorporating new features into the site all the time, with our latest development being project pages that will hopefully go live in the next couple of months. Our plan is to feature a different project for our visitors each month so that they can try out new skills. We have also very recently launched an open competition, where people are invited to design a textile or fashion piece based on the theme of magic. We have a fantastic prize of £1000 to spend on Pfaff products for the overall winner and will also be holding an exhibition of the 30 best entries in the early part of next year, so everyone here is really excited by that.

Sue Allan


Susan Cutts

Sara Millis: Yes, I noticed that you have just launched a bookstore… Can you tell me a bit more about that?
Sara Drinkwater: As well as publishing The Textile Directory for 6 years we also help other authors to publish their own books through our publishing company Word4Word. Many of the titles we publish are textile related and we decided that the website gave us a fantastic opportunity to sell our authors books. The next logical step was to invite other textile publishers and independent authors to list their books too. Everyone we invited chose to join us and we have now developed one of the biggest stores for buying specialist publications on the internet. We launched in November and now have more than 700 titles, with more being added every day.

Sara Millis: What is next for the Textile Directory?
Sara Drinkwater: Going forward we would love to see The Textile Directory really embrace the new social networking culture of the internet, which has massive potential. The textile world has a fantastic community and our vision is to make the website a central place for artists, hobbyists, suppliers, teachers, gallery owners and anyone with an interest in this fascinating art form to meet and support each other as they move their careers and businesses forward.

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This review can also be found at as part of my contributions on DIY City Magazine

Laura Sollis, an artist feature

Stumbling across a new artist is always exciting and when I found Laura Sollis’ work at the Knitting and Stitch Show I new I just had to share my find with you…



Sara: Please tell me a bit about you and your background?
Laura: On graduating university last year I was selected as one of the finalist for the ‘Knitted Textile Student Award 2007′ where I was able to exhibit as part of the ‘Graduate Showcase’ at the Knitting and Stitching shows around the country. Since then (at the age of 21) I have set up ‘Random Button’. ‘Random Button’ came from a demand from friends and family to put my degree to good use and make them all kinds of textile pieces like handbags, purses and clothing. The name comes from the fact that I like to add embellishment to whatever I’m creating and most of the time my pieces feature quite a lot of buttons. Ever since I can remember I have had a love of buttons, I’ve continued to collect them and now I have a huge collection sitting waiting to be attached!

On the website I have an online store where people can purchase my unique pieces and I also take commissions and create bespoke pieces. So feel free to drop me a line at http://www.randombutton.co.uk/!

Sara: How did you get into arts and crafts?
Laura: From childhood I have always been interested in being creative especially when it came to fashion and textiles. I was taught how to knit at a young age by my mother after spending countless hours watching her and my grandmother create. I still to this day have my first attempt to knit still attached to the needle and I’m glad to say that I’ve certainly improved since then! For years I used to churn out the classic knitted scarves and when the collection of scarves became overloaded I thought it was about time I used my creativity to create something a bit different.

Sara: Did you train at college?
Laura: I went to college and took an AVCE Art and Design course in Oxford and then went on to do a BA (Honours) Textiles and Surface design course at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College where I specialised in Knitted Textiles.

Sara: Where do you find your inspiration?
Laura: My main inspiration comes from looking at vintage fashions and fabrics. I try to find inspiration wherever and whenever I can so I always keep a pen and paper with me to note down any ideas that come along - my bag is full of scraps of fabric and samples of yarn that I’ve collected along the way. Like many other designers I also find inspiration from looking through countless magazines and books. Recently my work has been inspired by Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ story especially the tea party theme where I have incorporated cutlery and crockery into knit to produce both couture fashion pieces and installations.
Sara: Ooooh that sounds wonderful… I will have to take a peek at your store once we’ve finished chatting!

Sara: Tell me a bit more about your latest collection of works.
Laura: My latest collection of pieces includes a range of unique hand knitted handbags and purses. These pieces rely on texture to form the detail on the outside contrasting with the patterned inside. Throughout most of my work I have used my vintage influence and mixed it with a quirky modern touch. With these useable pieces and my work in general I want to try to help hand techniques like knitting and crochet to get away from the stereotype everybody has of the craft.

You can find Laura’s wonderful work at http://www.randombutton.co.uk/

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This review can also be found at as part of my contributions on DIY City Magazine

DIY Magazine - London Issue Summer 2009

Hi Guys,

As one of the board of Editors for DIY City Magazine I have been asked by Deb and Wendy to spear-head the forth coming London Issue, to be published in July 2009... I am looking for indie designers and DIY shops based in London (UK) to feature. The selection of features will be based on people's/shop's modernity, style and appropriateness.

The categories are;

Indie Designers/Craft makers - based in London
Article number - 96... Subcategories - Anti Factory (handmade Fashion), DIY Media (Photographers/reporters), Eco Remix (Eco, reconstruction, vintage designers), Fabric Constructions (anything involving textiles, including plushies), Pigment and Paper (illustrators and artists), String me Along (Knit and Crochet Designers), Top it Off (accessories, hats and bags), Side Trips (those outside London, who would be a great UKer to include)

DIY Shops - based in London
Article number - 88... Anywhere where people buy and sell handmade items or resources and supplies for our DIY.

Markets/Shows and DIY Events - in the London Area
Article number - 24... Anywhere where people show and sell their handmade items. I would also like to include a few resource markets.

DIY Projects/Tutorials - Location does not matter.
Article number - 10... DIY projects to share with our readers, from knitting to jewellery making I am looking for unique content that can be attributed to you the Designer.

If you are based in London and would like to grab your free feature, then please email me at Sara's Texture Crafts Email and include the following in your email;

Email Title: 'DIY Magazine London 2009 Issue - Interest'
Add a bit about you/the shop and what you do/sell, or details of your tutorial idea
2 pictures of your work/shop for consideration
A link of where I can find you on-line
Shops Only - your address, so that I can visit you.

There is also an opportunity to buy advertising space in the on-line magazine and you don't need to be UK based... for full details please contact Deb and Wendy at diycitymag@gmail.com

I am also looking for a small group of correspondents who will help write some of the articles for the magazine. For this each correspondent will be listed in the front of the magazine under 'contributors'. If you are London based and would like to be involved then please email me at Sara's Texture Crafts Email and include the following in your email;

Email Title: 'DIY Magazine London 2009 Issue - Correspondent'
How much time can you contribute to this project per week/month?
Where in London are you based?
Ideas you may have on articles already.

Once approved I will also require a 50 word bio, an image for you for the magazine and a link to your website/store or DIY blog.

Let celebrate London's arts and Crafts!
Sara x

My existing magazine articles can be found at DIY with Sara/

Sara's Texture Crafts - Work Shops!

You may have remembered reading in my final Diary of a Textile Crafter - The Exhibition about my future plans for Work Shops... Well I am very proud to announce my very first dates!

Felted Bead Art (Practical Project)
The Knitting and Stitching Show
Alexandra Palace, London.
9th and 10th October 2008 at 1pm

Each class last for an hour and has room for 12 students.

'As one of the oldest forms of textile creation, feltmaking is now seeing a revival. Using wool fibres to create 3D forms we will explore focal beads and their application for modern jewellery.'

Each student will receive their very own kit with full instructions.

It's a little early to buy tickets for the class at the moment, but you can find out more about the show itself at Twisted Thread as soon as I hear tickets go on sale I will add an update and full links.

200th Post Milestone!

I just noticed that I have passed my 200th post... yay!

I just wanted to thank all of my readers for passing through and popping back to support me since June of last year... I've had an amazing time and you have all opened my eyes to whole new world of craft possibilities... Thank you!

Sara xx

Mystery Bags and Crafts Fairs

Just a quick note on things up and coming...

Firstly my next Craft Fair is 24th-26th May 2008, at Merton Abbey, Wimbledon. See you there!

And secondly... I'm working on a new idea called the 'Mystery Bag', this product will be available at craft fairs and also in my new competitions here on the Crafts of Texture Blog.

More news coming soon, so do pop back! Alternatively, you can recieve rss feed updates by subscribing on the right hand side column -------->

Sara x

The Orphan Act: Update a/o May 14, 2008, by guest writer Pamela Baker

On April 29, 2008, I had an articled published by Sara’s “Crafts of Texture” regarding the Orphan Act, which I have since copied to my blog: http://magdalenejewelspjk.blogspot.com/. When I first did the Article on The Orphan Act, I was quite unaware of its existence, or more importantly, it’s ramifications to all artists (painters, quilters, weavers, jewelers, potters, knitters, etc), basically anyone whose artistic is a masterpiece unto their own. Another Estian, Diane Clancy, was the first one to bring it to my attention. She also has a few articles which would be of great interest to read for those whose are still in the dark with this issue: http://www.dianeclancy.com/blog/2008/05/orphan-works-bill-update. This link will also provide a petition to sign opposing this Legislation. Diane and I have had our controversy’s with other artists who do not believe that this enactment will be presented as a bill (they feel it is just hearsay!) or that it will affect any of us. Well it has! And it does!


On April 24, 2008, the Orphan Works Act was introduced into the U.S. House and Senate. These two bills are cited as the ‘‘Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008’’, and the Orphan Act of 2008. Markup of this Bently bill is scheduled for Thursday, May 15. You need to act immediately by signing the petition opposing this Legislation (see the link in the above paragraph to Diane Clancy’s blog-bill-update). Currently, copyright is granted the moment a work is created. The Orphan Act Legislation proposes a change in U.S. copyright that would require artists, illustrators, photographers, and any creative individual to actively maintain and defend their copyright by registering each and every work with privatized registrars. Failure to do so would leave everything you’ve ever created as an artist up for grabs by anyone who wanted to copy, reproduce, create derivative works of, or flat out steal your work since the act defines an “orphan work” as any work where the author is unidentifiable or unlocatable, and applies to both published and unpublished works, U.S. and foreign, regardless of age.

I am sure that many of you who are reading are thinking how does this affect me; I am just a self-employed person with artistic abilities who sells my work over the internet. One that piece of work is placed onto an Internet site; it now becomes the full domain of any person who wishes to copy your originality. A good majority of people who see a painting, design, photograph, etc. will not take the time to research its original ownership, or see how long along this work was published. This is where you as the artist should be concerned, and unfortunately the Legislation of the Orphan Act of 2008, does not protect you as an individual. You can and should do your part to protect yourself and your fellow artists by following a few of the suggestions by the:

ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP
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So far over 31, 000 letters have gone out from our Orphan Works advocacy site. You will find answers to a few of the main questions asked:

1. Q: What can we do next?
Write the House Judiciary Committee. We’ve set up a special alert to contact members of this important committee. Go to our Take Action/Alert site: http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home. Look for the sample letter labeled “Contact House Judiciary Committee NOW” and send it.

If your Representative is not a member of the House Judiciary Committee, this will send him a message asking him to contact his colleagues of that Committee on your behalf, urging them to oppose the bill.

2. Ask for support from family and friends who support your creative work to also go to the site. They can follow the instruction to easily send a message of opposition to this reckless bill. Look for the sample letter labeled “For Supporters of Visual Artists - Wrong to Weaken Copyright Law” and send it.

3. Spread the word to the public: Photosharing on Web will now be at risk: Please alert your friends who post photos to the web their personal property will be at risk. Look for the sample letter labeled “For the Image-Making Public - Protect Personal Property”and send it.

We all need to start somewhere and these suggestions are a start to block this Legislation from becoming a Bill. We need to start now to protect ourselves and our work. If we don’t act now, what can we look forward to tomorrow.



By Guest Writer Pamela Baker of http://magdalenejewelspjk.blogspot.com/

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Here are the past articles published here on this issue;
http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com/2008/04/as-artists-are-we-protecting-ourselves.html
http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com/2008/04/new-copyright-issues-for-all-us.html
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A final Thought from Sara...

For a brief what is 'Orphan Works', check out wikipedia's easy to understand explanation at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan_works. They have added a paragraph about the recent bill revisions...

The full text of the Senate version of the 2008 Orphan Works bill (S.2913) is now available and Senator
Patrick Leahy's introduction of the bill has been posted on his website.[9]
Section 3 introduces the idea of a Database of Pictorial, Graphic, and
Sculptural Works and states: "The Copyright Office must create and undertake a
certification process for the establishment of electronic databases of visual
works. Certain requirements for any such registry are prescribed. The Copyright
Office will post a list of all certified registries on the Internet."

I have to say the copyright laws as I understand them in the UK, do already suggest that every design and it's colourway, theme and 'make' variations are copyrighted if you require full protection... Whereas the copyright of an idea always leaves a grey area when it comes to contesting a design's origin, sometimes leading to long and costly court cases (which is an implausible worry for most businesses). So the idea of a copyright register is not necessarily a bad idea... It does however cause problems for the small business or home crafter, who may not have the money to complete registration for every single item they lovingly produce (especially OOAK work - one of a kind).

The problem of copyright infringement is not a new one, although the concept of 'Orphaned Works' has huge ramifications for today's on-line world where technology is fast outstripping laws and safe practises in terms of speed and development. From a fashion design perspective (which is my background), you can already see on the high street alone that 'copying' is rife, even in a looser sense of the term. Therefore as artists are we not prone to 'borrowed' ideas already, as much as it hurts our pride and indeed our businesses?

I do feel the most important thing we can do as on-line sellers of arts and crafts (as well as opposing, or seeking more preferable amendments to such bills/laws as 'Orphan Works), is to start adding copyright 'watermarks' to our product/artwork images (completed or otherwise) before we post them to forums, social networks and shopping sites. That way it is clear where the design came from and the year it was created. Should you then wish to follow through on any unlawful copyright infringement, you the 'originator' will at least have some power to authenticate your claim. At the moment I see far too many photos of works that are unmarked by the artists... these could all easily be 'borrowed' for someone else's gain. Remember even if the text accompanying the photo in question contains details of the author/origin of the work. The photo itself can be downloaded separately from any blog, social network, forum, search engine and some websites... in these cases if a photo is unmarked it could easily be reused in another way without any credit to it's origin, becoming an 'Orphan Work'.

To me the key here is primarily in the education of artsits and crafters who live an on-line existence, to protect themselves and their work first and fore mostly... Copyright infringement does exist and will always exist, regardless of bills/laws. Do not give those who will, an open invitation to your hard work and lively hood!

Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery

A little while ago I received a comment on my blog here about a competition... maybe I would like to enter they said. Thought I'd have a nose, you know just out of interest.

The link lead me to a site at www.hand-embroidery.co.uk and it detailed a prestigious international competition for students called 'Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery', which aims to promote 'the use of hand embroidered surface embellishment within fashion, costume and interiors industries'. The competition I am told attracts students from a wide range of disciplines from embroidery, surface textiles, interiors and fashion. Of course as I've long since left college, I knew I couldn't enter... but I thought, hey... maybe some of my readers could qualify to enter? So here I am posting away... if you do enter, be sure to let me know I would love to show off your entry (Email Me!).

Here are the link details for this year's competition:
The Brief written by The London College of Fashion entitled 'Dimension'... Students have been asked to look at fashion embroidery to create their 3-d work and should consider one of the following topics; WISTFUL HIGHLAND, POETIC EMPIRE, TRADITIONAL PASTIME or NARRATIVE MARK MAKING.

Prize Details - wow let's see what you get for first prize;
$15,000 USD
Entry displayed at The Victoria and Albert Museum, and behind the scenes tour.
One day course at The Royal School of Needlework.
The winning entry used on posters to promote Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery 2009. Dedicated page on the Hand & Lock website, with a biography.

Entry Requirements - You need to have been in full time education on or before 31st of March 2008 primarily.

Submission Guidelines

Sponsors - This competition is sponsored by some of the world leading fashion and needlework names, as well as museums.

Tatiana Pogrebnyak from Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, Israel won the 2007 prize... Here's a link to her prize winning work (OMG... Wow, wow, wow!)

Here are the second stage winners from the same year and you can even buy a book of the finalists

I'm looking forward to checking out the results... I will try to post a follow up article here on Crafts of Texture. In the meantime I'm off to ponder what I would have created if I had the chance to enter... I feel an inspiration board coming on and an afternoon sitting in my craft cupboard playing with fabric and trims!


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This article will be part of the DaWanda Shop Directory - Crafting Women

I just got Featured!!

The Diary Project is back! by Guest Writer Lucy of Fantazya.

This is a fun idea. It is free and it gives you a free publicity. If you are a crafter, artist, or photographer who sells or promotes it's work by the Web, it is an opportunity for you. No purchase is necessary to participate, but participants will be able to purchase the book (+copies for friends, or your shop) for cost price.

To participate, choose a date page in the available list, download the template for the exact size, design, and send your page before the 1 July 2008.

The diaries will be ready around the 1 September.

Information link: http://www.fantazya.ca/diary2009.html

Written by Lucy from www.fantazya.ca
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If you want to find out about last year's diaries, here is the article from Sara's Texture Crafts -
http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com/2007/08/have-you-got-your-diary-for-2008.html

Shipping Dates

Please note that for the next 2 weeks (start w/c 12th May)... I will be posting on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (instead of my usual Saturday).

Annie Sherburne, an artist feature

Annie Sherburne is a talented textile artist, with a deep passion for eco-friendly and fair-trade textile supplies, processes and techniques.

Annie has run her own business since the early 1980's and was a founding member of the International Felt Makers Association, and a pioneer of feltmaking. Annie’s felt work has included felt hats examples of which are in the V&A and the Musee Des Modes in the Louvre in Paris.

For the last 10 years Annie has been incorporating environmentally friendly materials into her design work and has won prestigious awards for these designs and pieces. These include The 'Soft Cobbles' Rug (felted rare breed and organic wool) which won the textile category of the Peugeot design awards in 2001 and went on to reach the finals of the Elle deco first international design awards, and the classic design awards at the V&A.

More recently, Annie has designed new rugs using a combination of yarns, which represent the best environmentally friendly selection of yarns currently available. These include the landscapes, Moon in a boat series, which have been designed specifically for city loft-style rooms with multi functions, which use extra long pile techniques developed initially for Hussein Chalayan. Of these pieces, 'White Horse' has again reached the final of the Homes and Gardens Classic design Awards at the V&A.

Annie’s client portfolio also includes buttons, jewellery, fashion accessories and hats, designed and made for Jean Muir for 18 years.

Other examples of her work may be found in the Whitworth art gallery textile collection, the British Crafts Council collection, Kunstindustrimuseum in Trondheim Norway, The British Council jewellery collection, Lotus software HQ, HM Home office, and many other public, commercial and private collections internationally.

Annie is now completing post-graduate research at Kingston University into environmental textiles from a designer’s perspective, and is developing recycled yarns, which will be available for sale from her shop.

Shop: Annie Sherburne
1:10 Oxo Tower Wharf
Bargehouse Street
London
SE1 9PH

(Opening Hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 11.30am to 4.45pm)

To find out more please visit Annie’s website at http://www.anniesherburne.co.uk/

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This review can also be found at as part of my contributions on DIY City Magazine

Fibre Craft Supplies at Sara's Texture Crafts!

Just wanted to let you know that there are some new things happening here at Sara's Texture Crafts and one of them is the introduction of fibres for spinning, weaving, paper making and feltmaking to my craft shop.

I now stock;

• Merino Wool Top Rovings- natural and colours
• Welsh Wool Tops
• Silk Noil Fibres - natural and colours
• Knops and slub packs - great for adding texture to your work
• Felt making kits for children and beginners
• Variety thread packs in matching and similar colours to the wool top rovings
• Fancy glitter threads to enhance your work

Coming soon... felt needles and a wider range of wool breeds.

Here is the link you need to check if you need more supplies for your fibre crafts - Sara's Texture Crafts - Fibre Crafts

Craft Shop Sale!

Many items are up to 70% off RRP. Here's the link - Saras Texture Crafts - Craft Shop SALE

Kleins, A London Haberdashery.

I’ve been shopping at Kleins for years… they have always been my safe bet for sewing and trimming supplies, if I need something I just pop along to the shop and browse through the many products they carry in stock. So what can you find here? Well amongst the candy store of braids and ribbons, you can also find an array of buttons, buckles and zippers in many styles and finishes, different sorts of closures and corsetry materials, eyelets and tools, dyes and glues, bag/purse frames and handles, needles, threads and other sewing equipment.

Kleins
5 Noel Street
London
W1F 8GD
(Opening Hours: Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm)You can also find the shop on-line at

http://www.kleins.co.uk/

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This review can also be found at as part of my contributions on DIY City Magazine

My review was featured...

in the Textile Directory Newsletter! Yay!

Helping to pad out the accounts!

So I needed to find a way to pad out the accounts and help make a bit of cash while I am growing my business, but wasn't sure what else I could do that would work well alongside my current workload... it needed to be something easy to slot into my weekly schedule and easy to do too, but what could it be? I'd been thinking about this for a few months, when completely by chance I noticed a post in the Etsy forums. I think it was called 'Do you love blogging?', or 'Love to blog?' I thought it was another version of the 'Daily Blog Roll'... you know the one... you get to add your daily article link and it's a way of meeting new people and gaining traffic to your blog... then I found it was about a company called PayperPost at payperpost. I hadn't heard of Payperpost before, so as usual my nose got the better of me and I followed the lead!

The Etsy seller who introduced Payperpost told us that this was her new way of making a bit of money on the side of her craft business that allowed her to breakeven during the tougher selling months... so I thought well why not have a go, being paid to blog would work very well for me. So here's my run down of Payperpost and below are a few links that will send you right to the site if you think this could help you too.

Payperpost (PPP)

Here is PPP's Payperpost's FAQ page
Here's where to sign up Payperpost for Bloggers

Payperpost has a number of different options for bloggers;

• you can blog about a website, product or service from a choice of advertisers by category... so far I have seen payment offers of between $5-20 per post.
• you can ask to be hired by a company as a blog reviewer... you get to set your own rate ($) per post.
• you can also review blogs from other people in the community too. Simply look for the logo . My contributions for review can be found under my 'PPP contributions' tab, here on the blog at PPP contributions and I earned $7.50 for reviewing someone else's post.

It's very easy to sign up, you just need to create a username and a password, once you have received and responded to the welcome email, you can then add your account details, including the blog you wish to submit articles for payment onto. This will take a few hours/days to approve, depending on the quantity of other blogs pending approval. Once approved, you are ready to start choosing your opportunities and writing your articles for payment. Each advertising choice will have to be individually reserved and posted within a 6 hour period... you simply tell the Payperpost where you posted your article and submit it for approval. If and when your article is approved you will then be paid directly to your Paypal account in 30 days. Here's a link to Paypal if you need it... Paypal

Some bloggers have reported earning of up to $200 per month, but for this you would need to daily post and be happy to review any product and service on offer... realistically I think I may earn around $50 per month, looking at my chosen category of adverts so far... but hey that's not to be sniffed at, right?! It will all come in very handy! And maybe as I get more involved in the site that figure could increase.

The other great thing about working with Payperpost is that I can work when I want to and when I need to... now I don't know of any other job that could work like this for me!

Here is my official blog post sponsor logo
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Review this post for me at and paid!
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Inspiration Bite!

100_4405
Originally uploaded by Sara's Texture Crafts

More from my inspiration scrap books

Inspiration Bite!

100_4378
Originally uploaded by Sara's Texture Crafts

More from my inspiration scrap books

Craft Fair - Rained Off!

I'm afraid I have been rained out for this weekend, so am postponing my fair until the next bank holiday at the end of May... although the weather forecast has shown an improvement for today I can't risk my felted wool products getting damaged in any showers, or the thunder storms we may get on Sunday and Monday.

I will keep you uodated.
See you soon,
Sara x

Book Review: Wild Women Stitched Art Brooches

Wild Women, Stitched Art Brooches
By Sarah Lawrence
Publisher: Search Press
ISBN 13-9781844483020
Price: £4.99
Reviewed by Sara Millis of Sara’s Texture Crafts

I always look for smaller projects to slot between my bigger art pieces, so when I saw this book, it’s colourful cover really caught my eye. Sarah Lawrence takes us step by step through 20 wonderful brooch projects that make use of a lot of the items we may already have in our art boxes. Each project is purely inspirational, introducing new and fun techniques to make these ‘wild women’ and to take them to the next level. Much more than that this book has many transferable ideas … I can see some fantastic possibilities from card-toppers, to artist trading cards and even jewellery.

This book is great for beginners and occasional projects for those more advanced. What a wonderful addition to a crafter’s library!

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This review can also be found at as part of my contributions on DIY City Magazine and The Textile Directory.