Merry Go Round: How much, if at all, does your geographical location affect your art/craft?

Ok, so todays' question 'How much, if at all, does your geographical location affect your art/craft?' has made me think... I have lived both in London and Devon whilst being a fibre artist and supplier. How have these changes afftected me and my business Sara's Texture Crafts?

I think I will start by drawing a comparision, London vs. Devon...

Mind set (as in how I have changed)
London I enjoyed more when I was younger… the hustle, bustle and general commotion of living in a capitol city excited me and I enjoyed crafting in London for a long time. As I got older this changed and as I craved a more natural surrounding from the concrete jungle I would say my personal ‘art’ work probably suffered and this is when I started to move more into supply.
Now in Devon, I feel much more at peace and after a year’s hard work establishing my new base of business; I’m starting to go back to making and crafting.
This was more of a personal thing though and in no way reflects on geographical location for fibre art in the UK…

Inspiration/Trends
London has many of our national museums and art galleries and so from that point of view, ‘cutting edge’ inspiration, trends and artists tend to stem from there, or gravitate towards there. So this ‘fashion’ aspect is what I drew on mostly for my work, especially when I was freelancing as a fashion and textile designer. However, it lacked (for me) the essence of fibre art, the part that the geek inside me wanted more of… which was concentrating on the fibre it’s self, in terms of where it came from and more historical references to its production into yarn, or fabric.

Now down in Devon I feel I’m more inspired by Mastercraftsmen and the farmers who rear the sheep’s fleece I use. I’m learning to understand the origin of the fibre I use and how to produce different forms/products from it. This has given me a new angle and a new craving to learn more. Rather than producing fashion items based purely on colour, or trend, I’m much more into producing items/products based on learning more technical aspects of fibre and selling these to others to make the more 'fashionable', or 'arty' finished pieces from.

I guess for me this change was key, as after all first and foremost I am a fibre supplier. However, this again is quite a personal thing, as I know many successful fibre artists who live in and around Capitol cities.

Customers, Supply and Competition
When you sell on the world wide web, location tends not to be such an issue with customers, competitors and suppliers. However, being closer to some of the farmers I work with helps me select the fibre I wish to sell and work with more easily. Having said that I do travel!


I guess the effects of my geographical location therefore have mostly affected me personally and my development into the type of crafter I want to become... I've always been fascinated with the more technical stuff, even as a fashion designer. So for me, my move to Devon helped me concerntrate on that and essentially remains a personal choice as a pose to a business need... although the 'influence' of living in Devon has certainly helped improve business!
Sara x
http://www.sarastexturecrafts.com/
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This post was part of a blog Merry go Around, where I have got together with some friends to talk about a similar subject on the same day... a nice way to meet people!
Alison at Tweed Delights - http://idreamoftweed.blogspot.com/
Mitsy at MindArt - http://artmind-etcetera.blogspot.com/
Kim at Vilt a la Kim - http://viltalakim.blogspot.com/
Sara at Crafts of Texture - http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com/
Fabienne at Easterya Jewellery Creations - http://easterya.blogspot.com/
Mariana at Florcita - http://www./florcita.eu/
Agathe at Le Bar du Vent - http://lebarduvent.blogspot.com/
Lily at Lily Pang Art and Design - http://lilypangart.blogspot.com/
Wendren at Wren Design - http://thewrendesign.com/
Ruth at Birdland Creations - http://insidetheartisan.blogspot.com/

Things may be quiet here for the next few weeks...

As I'm moving home and business... I will update as and when I can.
See you soon!
Sara x
http://www.sarastexturecrafts.com/

A bit late for an Easter Egg!

At least that's what I thought when I opened this package from Royal Mail...


Then I realised it was a promotion to show they can handle fragile items... Needless to say I picked that up quickly, so I could eat the egg!

Yummy! Thank you Royal Mail!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.
See you soon, Sara x
www.sarastexturecrafts.com

Still knitting Ds Scarf...

Little bits at a time whilst packing!


I'm in love with the colour!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.
See you soon, Sara x
www.sarastexturecrafts.com

Customer Photos: Melusinchen's handspuns!

Sarah, aka Melusinchen on Ravelry bought a few items from me and has been practising her spinning. I love this one... My Rainbow Merino Blend, turned into, firstly a single...

And then a separate plied yarn...

This first one uses Shetland in Natural Grey and Moorit...

This is Shetland in Natural Black...

This is Shetland in it's beautiful Natural White...

I'm always in awe of what people create with my fibre and Sarah's work is wonderful... thank you for sharing it with us Sarah!

Sara x
Find the Shetland roving and Merino blends at http://www.sarastexturecrafts.com/

Customer photos: Meri Cherry's Felt Ball Addiction!

I have lots of people writing to me asking about making felt balls and always refer them to my YouTube video at How to Roll a Felt Ball. However, what they don't realise is that rolling felt balls is an addictive sport! Take one of my customers, Meri Cherry... she's become very addicted lately as you can see here and here, is now made felting addicts of those around her!

Check out Meri's blog at http://www.mericherry.wordpress.com/

Sara x
http://www.sarastexturecrafts.com/

D wants a scarf!

D has decided he wants a new scarf for the winter, so choosing his yarn I'm set to knitting!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.
See you soon, Sara x
www.sarastexturecrafts.com

Plying on my spindle

I was given some pencil roving to test for possible future stock, so I thought I should have a go on my spindle...


It span beautifully...


I used Andean plying to set my 2 ply...


And span it back onto the same spindle...


I just need to set the skien and measure the length...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.
See you soon, Sara x
www.sarastexturecrafts.com

Now Stocking Spinning Wheels!

Yes that's right, I'm now stocking spinning wheels! I have an extensive range from Ashfords for you to choose from at competitive prices.


I have tried to list all of the information I think you will need when making your order, but if you think of something I have missed, let me know and I'll be glad to help.

Shortly I wil also be stocking a much wider range of spares/parts in-house, but in the meantime if you need something let me know and I will get a price and delivery estimate for you.

In the meantime feast your eyes on those wheels at http://www.sarastexturecrafts.com/!

Sara x

Changes!

Working with Felt and Spinning web have now joined forces at http://www.flickr.com/groups/workingwithfibres/... do join up!

Sara x
http://www.sarastexturecrafts.com/

Machine Embroidery and Embellishing Kits!

It's always difficult to know where to start with a new embellishing or creative embroidery project... so why not try a special collage pack. Full of colour and texture these fibre, fabric and yarn packs make ideal starting points!

Sara x
http://www.sarastexturecrafts.com/

Now stocking Drum Carders at www.SarasTextureCrafts.com

Fibre preparation is so key to our fibre arts, that drum carders are becoming a pretty essential bit of kit these days... especially with the rise of the art yarn. So I've decided to team up with Ashford's to bring you what I regard as the very best machines.

In the range are;
Ashford 72ppi Drum Carder - for fine fibres
Ashford 36ppi Drum Carder - for heavier/thicker/just washed fleeces
and finally the Ashford Wild Drum Carder, perfect for creating your art yarn batts!


Sara x
http://www.sarastexturecrafts.com/

Georgeous new Hand Dyed Teeswater!

Hand dyed and ready to use in your felt making, doll making, or embellishing... you could also core spin the ends of the curls into your yarn, or make a full boucle!

New colours to follow shortly.

Sara x
http://www.sarastexturecrafts.com/

Coming to Store July thru September!

I know, I know, three months is a long time to wait for everything, but I promise it will be worth it! I have lots of new and exciting products for the shop and thought I'd give you a little taster of what will be coming your way very soon...

• New Zealand Corriedale - 3 new shades.
• Shetland - several new hand dyed shades.
• Batts - I'm carding as we speak to create a whole feast of limited Editions, using not only Merino bases, but Shetland, Blue Faced Leicester and Gotland too. Llyens is another possibility I am looking into!
• Blends - after Woolfest I will repeat some of the best selling lines and include some extras to wet our thirst for fibery goodness!
• Blend shade packs - I've not done these before, but for those who want tasters of my blends, keep an eye out for these!
• Sampling packs - very small tasters of fibres from my range, great for students, tutors and those wanting to experiment with something new.
• Knitting Needles - Bamboo knitting needles perfect for hand spun yarns.
• Yarns - I'm looking at several natural fibre yarns, from Shetland to Merino... could be great for felting too!
• Ashford Spinning Wheels and Drum Carders - These will be ordered in on demand and will ship direct to you from Ashfords, neatly packed and ready to go!

Phew! I'd better get my skates on!!
Sara x
http://www.sarastexturecrafts.com/

Schoppel Wolle Zauberball - now in stock!

I have selected these yarns for knitting socks. They are light, soft and full of colour!

Schoppel Wolle Zauberball 100g – TROPICAL FISH

Designed by Schoppel Wolle, this beautiful soft and airy single ply yarn feels like a hand spun lace weight yarn. The colours are chosen specifically to make the most wonderful self patterning stripe and every pair unique!.

Composition: 75% virgin Wool, 25% Nylon
Weight/Length: 100g/420m 1 ball makes 1 large pair of Men’s socks. (Estimate 450g for Ladies medium jumper)
Needle size: 2-3mm or US 0-2
Tension: 10 x 10cm, or 4 x 4 inches: 30 stitches, 42 rows.
Care instructions: 40 degrees with mild detergent do not spin, tumble dry and do not iron.
Sara x
http://www.sarastexturecrafts.com/

Customer Photos: Needle felted pin cushion Petal! by Alida Bears.

Needle felted pin cushion Petal!
Originally uploaded by AlidaBears

Petal is so, so cute! Do press the link to find out more about Alida's work.

Alida is a hand made artist selling her work under her title, Alida Bears.

Thank you for sharing Alida!
Sx

Some of my Merino Blends from Woolfest

Here's a selection of the blends I took to Woolfest...


Including the Limited Editions I designed... These will soon be on the website too!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.
See you soon, Sara x
www.sarastexturecrafts.com

Limited Edition Batts

Thank you to everyone who bough my Limited Edition batts at Woolfest.


I'm working on carding more for the shop. If you fancy getting your hands on some let me know by emailling me through the website at www.SarasTextureCrafts.com

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.
See you soon, Sara x
www.sarastexturecrafts.com