I've been off...

...on holiday!

So sorry for not posting anything here for a while! I've been busy though, so lots to post about in the coming days...

Sunday

The sun is shining, it's warm and I've already been for a 10k run. We ran out to Limehouse Basin, which is my favourite running route, it feels like you leave London for a while. Now I'm off to visit a friend's market stand down by Brick Lane, then a couple of pints in the pub this evening.

What a lovely Sunday! Hope yours is too.

Screen Printing Tote Bags

Yesterday was a great day! I spent it at the print studio and it was one of those days when everything went smoothly - I absolutely loved the whole process and the studio was filled with friendly happy people. I managed to print 100 tote bags in three different colours using my very own brand new screen. I bought the screen from a very friendly, reliable and cheap place called London Screen Service. They're based in Bermondsey, but it's well worth the trek.

The bags are for my friend Maria's new bakery school over in St John's Wood, I designed the logo and am printing a few pieces of merchandise for her. You should check out her website and visit her bakery school when it opens sometime in September.



First you coat the screen in photo emulsion, leave it to dry, then expose your image onto it using a special light box. The emulsion that has been exposed to light dries, whereas the emulsion that was protected from the light by the image stays soft and can therefore be washed off.



Mix your ink with fabric medium and pour a generous amount on to your screen.



Use the squeegee to push the paint down over your image. The dried emulsion has closed the tiny gaps in the screen, therefore the paint will only be pushed through where the emulsion has been washed off.



Leaving you with a neat image on the fabric.



Leave to dry for a couple of hours.



The ink needs to be heat fixed in order to be permanent. Set your iron to the maximum heat setting, protect your image with a thin piece of fabric and iron for a good 3 minutes.



Done!

London Fields

Love these screen prints from Shelf featuring my neighbourhood London Fields in Hackney. I've lived here for over 8 years and have seen it go through lots of changes, most of them good...until last night's riots. Luckily it seems to have quietened down here tonight and it was very heart warming to see everyone gathering to help with the clear up this morning and also how the Turkish Community stood up to the rioters to protect their shops. Maybe every cloud does have a silver lining?

Sing For Hope

I love this project, Sing For Hope, which mobilizes artists in volunteer service programs that benefit schools, hospitals and communities. Creativity is such a great way to bring different people together, change the way we see things, give confidence and a sense of achievement.

I truly believe that the act of producing something just using our hands, voices or minds along with materials that surround us, is one of the greatest things we can do for ourselves. So much time is spent in front of the computer, in the virtual world, where we make things, but they are often so abstract and intangible that it doesn't quite bring the same sense of achievement. Plus they're often designed or thought up by someone else, or for a cause we don't believe in - it just doesn't bring the same sense of satisfaction. I could go on and on about this subject, I believe so strongly in it, but I'll save some for another time...

Just look at this recent project by Sing For Hope, where they placed a crocheted piano under the Manhatten Bridge in NYC, which people could stop up and play. How amazing and inspiring would it be to pass by on your way to work and hear someone play a tune - just because they can.

Letterpress Print

Letterpress from Naomie Ross on Vimeo.

Lovely video showing how a letterpress works. I definitely need to try this one day.

Embroidered Vintage Photos

These embroidered photos inspired me and made me want to go to a car boot sale.

Found here.

Everything is going to be alright

Love this poster from Eva Juliet on Etsy

It's nice to remind yourself that everything will be alright, because it's true, it always is. And when you look back, you wonder why you wasted so much time worrying.