It’s with a heavy heart that we’ve decided to cancel Design@HEART this year. It just wasn’t going to be possible to present our usual standard of fair with all the restrictions and rules that the venue have to abide by.
But the good news is that we are going to take it all on line for the whole of November, so do keep an eye on our Social Media posts and sign up to the mailing list.
I wanted to give you a quick update about what measures I’ve put in place to reassure you with regards to the Coronvirus Pandemic. I know we’re all in limbo at the moment, and it’s difficult to make plans and commit resources to future events when we don’t know what’s round the corner. And that means that artists and makers are going to be struggling to make decisions about applying for Christmas fairs.
As an artist myself, I know what it feels like to not have the kind of cashflow or indeed overall income that can stand a loss of even the smallest stall fee. So with that in mind, I’ve decided that all stallholders will, in the event of further lockdowns this Autumn, receive full refunds as soon as possible. This will of course be at the expense of paying myself for work already done on the fair, but as it’s unlikely I’d get any kind of insurance to cover this kind of eventuality, it’s the only way. Those refunds might not come immediately, and speed of refunds will depend on how far ahead we can predict a possible cancellation of the fair(in terms of venue fees being refunded etc). If you are applying for a stall at this year’s fair please do read the Terms and Conditions carefully, and see clause 13 in particular.
It has been a difficult few weeks. As I have been in ‘Sheilding’ measures for a month as we speak and haven’t been beyond my garden gate, my view of the world is very much through a screen and looks likely to be so for some time to come. We don’t know exactly what the world will look like at the end of the lockdown, let alone the end of the pandemic. But I do know that this creative community I am part of will come out of this with new vigour and perhaps with a renewed perspective on life, and I’m looking forward to seeing you all in the flesh, with maybe even some tentative hugs! So please do apply to 2020 Design@HEART, and lets make it the best fair yet.
Stay safe, and love to everyone.
Becky Moore
As we get through our second week in lockdown, it seems like every day we’re hearing of another event being cancelled. Earlier in the week it was the Potternewton Carnival. My heart sank. Of course it was inevitable, and of course it had to happen. To all the organisers and crews this must have been a heartbreaking decision to have to make and it will leave a huge gap in the lives of many this year. And it seems like each day there’s a new “oh no….” moment of disappointment. But, BUT… we must and will remain hopeful. The crisis is likely to last a lot longer than we want, but it will pass. We will be exhausted and battered, and for many of us our lives will be changed irrevokably. But life will go on, and GOOD TIMES ARE ON THE WAY.
So, in an optomistic spirit, plans for Design@HEART 2020 are beginning. Today applications for stalls opened. Contingency plans are being put in place as I write, to ensure that financial risks are minimised. Art work has been done. Publicity materials designed. If we’re out of this pickle by November we WILL bring you Design@HEART!
If you would like a stall please apply here, after reading our Terms and Conditions of course.
Lucy is bringing ferox et ferus back to Design@HEART. Her colourful clothing and accessories for children were very popular last year.
I started making things for my children when I struggled to find clothing that they liked on the highstreet. They wanted bright, fun clothes in colours other than just blue and pink, so I found some fabric online and taught myself to sew. What started as a hobby then became business once my children started pre-school, leaving me with a few spare hours a week.
I only pick bright and colourful fabrics – things you wouldn’t often see on the highstreet. I also only buy fabrics which are made with organic cotton (produced without the use of harmful pesticides/chemicals and produces up to 94% less CO2 than conventional cotton growing) and all the packaging I use is either recycled or recyclable to reduce my environmental impact. I have also started making zero waste products using the offcuts from making clothes, so I now also make reusable cotton face rounds and baby wipes.
Shoppers at Design@HEART have been enjoying Badgers Garden pickles and chutneys for the last few years, and we’re happy to tell you they’re back again this year. But did you know how they got their name? Here’s Jo to explain:
We used to have a naughty dog called Badger and if ever he didn’t come when called, we knew he would be eating the best raspberries from the canes. We started to make jam from those raspberries to gift to friends and family. As time past we grew more fruit and vegetables and that’s how we started.
Badger is no longer with us but we still grow produce in his garden that we use to turn into jams and chutneys. We have a wide selection of flavours to suit most tastes and we love to experiment with new ingredients.
Our spoon full of wonder is from garden to jar.
It’s a while since we’ve had a soap making at Design@HEART and so we’re really pleased to be welcoming Fiona Smith of Saltaire Soap and her environmentally friendly, skin friendly products.
I began making soap more than ten years ago, because skin problems since childhood made it hard for me to use commercially-produced scented soap and I wanted to design products that would be suitable for me. After experimenting on myself, friends and family for eight years, Saltaire Soap was born.
My soap is skin-friendly, made of high-quality natural ingredients, and scented with my own lovely blends of essential oils. It is made completely from scratch, the traditional cold-process way, without a pre-made base. All the recipes are my own. The ingredients I use are picked for their skincare and soap-making properties and include goats’ milk, orange juice, ground oatmeal, coffee, kelp, cinnamon and sea salt, raw tussah silk, powdered clay. I also use locally-brewed beer, which would otherwise go to waste, and local honey.
My processes are as low-waste as I can manage, and my packaging is eco-friendly.
You can now apply for a stall at our Design@HEART Fair on 9th November 2019.
Please make sure you read all the blurb and answer all the questions. We have a new application process this year, both in terms of rules and the tech. We’ve tested the tech and it all seems to be in working order, but let us know if the form isn’t working (after you’ve checked you’ve filled in all the boxes and that your internet is on, obviously !)
Make sure you send us good quality product photographs and complete all sections of the application form as fully as you are able, for your best chance of getting a place.
We’re looking forward to receiving your applications.
Becky
Design@HEART
Our new application process requires a bit more information than previously so here’s a guide of how to write your “artist’s statement”. It’s nothing to worry about, we promise. Applications open on the 1st April, so if you’ve never written an artist’s statement before, you can get a head start this coming week!
We know most people hate writing ‘artist statements’. Often, the ones displayed in galleries and universities make as much sense to the average viewer as if it was written in Klingon. And if you don’t even think of yourself as an ‘artist’ how do you even start?
If your application is successful, we’ll use your statement in our publicity for the fair, so do make sure you are happy with it and it says what you want to say about your work.
An artist statement should give the viewer or customer a bit of background to your work. It should say the sort of thing you might talk about with a customer who asks about your work at your stall. Here’s a quick guide to what we’re looking for at Design@HEART, when we ask for one.
There’s lots of ways of writing an artist statement, depending on who your audience is. The important thing to know is to consider your audience. If you’re applying for a Design@HEART fair, we’re not looking for highly academic explanations of what you do. We’re NOT PhD supervisors or an academic journal! Write for your customers in language they will understand and relate to.
This is just a suggestion. It doesn’t have to follow this formula to the letter. Read it back to yourself, does it make sense? Get a friend to read it too. Does it say what you want it to say? Would you be happy to have this description of your work and your business published? If the answer is yes, then you’re good to go.
Here’s a couple of examples. Remember they are copyrighted – you need to write your own original statement, not copy other people’s – but hopefully they will give you an idea of what we are after. The first sticks quite rigidly to the formula above, the second is a bit more freeform. But both contain the information our customers might be interested in, in a style that is easy to read.
I design and make handbags. My bags are all practical as well as stylish, with simple designs. I use only natural textiles and materials, all sourced locally. I hand stitch each bag individually.
I have always had a love of simple style and clean lines. I have combined this with my interest in traditional textile manufacture. I hope that my bags reflect an appreciation of the history and skill that goes to producing textiles.
I’m influenced by the colours I see around me, not just in nature but also in the built environment. I love to spot colours and textures and patterns that go together well.
I’m not a slave to fashion. I’m more interested in style, and practical uses of the bags I make. Above all I want people to be able to carry with them what they need and keep their hands free for the important things in life.
Becky Moore – Becky Moore Handbags (©2013)
I’m a Leeds-based jeweller and printmaker, working primarily in silver and copper which is etched and engraved using techniques commonly found in printmaking.
My work is inspired by the landscape, as viewed on a flat plane through the train window and aerial views, and is influenced by English landscape painters, printmakers, and surface-pattern designers, as well as my background in garden design.
I love the textures, mark-making and unpredictability of the printmaking techniques I use, which I also translate into my jewellery and metal pictures to make pieces which will never be identical. Where appropriate, I like to add colour using traditional materials – patination recipes, vitreous enamels, and sepia ink. Exploring the chemistry of these processes in itself provides inspiration which means life is never dull!
Liz Samways – Inkylinky Jewellery (©2019)
Applications for Design@HEART 2019 open on 1st April. We look forward to receiving yours.
The application process for Design@HEART has changed! We hope for the better, and we hope no more complicated than before. But there will be deadlines, so it will require some forward thinking!
We know that stallholders like to know well in advance what fairs they are going to be doing in November and December, so we will be opening applications in April and May, with notifications in June.
The main thing you need to do is get organised. If you want a stall at Design@HEART you need to apply by 31st May. Applications open on 1st April. You will need to pay for your stall by the end of July.
Applications will be on line as before but with a new format. You will still need to send photographs of your work (even if you’ve sent them with previous applications).
This new system should help you plan ahead to your Christmas schedule and will ensure that we get the best selection of stallholders possible.
Image: Lindsay Thomas Ceramics.Go to Lindsay’s website for more information http://ltceramics.co.uk/
Hi and Happy New Year to everyone!
Just want to give you the heads up about fairs in 2019.
Christmas Fair 2019 I’m moving the Christmas fair forward this year, to November 9th. We always used to have the fairs in November, at the beginning of the Christmas shopping period, and it seemed to work better for both shoppers and stallholders. It will also coincide with Headingley Farmers Market which works well for everyone.
Stallholders’ need-to-know: We’re also going to have a new application system, to give people a fairer chance of getting in and to continue to get the best quality makers. So this year, applications will be a deadline, and stallholders will be selected all at the same time. I know people like to know whether they’ve got in early on though so they can schedule the rest of their Christmas fairs, so we’ll open applications early in the Spring.
Craft Clearout For the past couple of years we’ve had a Craft Clearout/Destash sale in the Spring. Unfortunately I don’t have the capacity to run one this year, which I know will disappoint many, as it’s a great way of getting hold of some lovely crafty goodies and of clearing out your cupboards. But I’m going to set up an online selling event in the Spring for anyone to sell their goodies. You’d have to be prepared to post or have people collect whatever you’re selling, and their will be a few rules about what you can and can’t sell, but other than that, anyone can join in. You will be expected to advertise it like mad to all your friends, customers and followers obviously!
So, that’s it for now. Please keep an eye on the Facebook page and your inboxes for further news.
Becky
Design@HEART
