For the traditional Ringmore Village Christmas Fair 2010 I travelled down with my dog Senta to stay with Alison. You may remember that Alison is my friend and also my partner in “Aliki” bag making crime….. Even our dogs, Zeta and Senta, are good friends and playmates !






Alison and I - Kiki - became friends when we both lived in the village,  brought together by our love of nature, gardening, dogs, all things art&craft and textiles. It was in 2003 that I made myself a large shoulder bag out of one of Alison’s skirts and together we created a “fashion and culture fusion” shawl and silk bag for an English/Indian wedding. We had so much fun and satisfaction sharing the creative time and end results, that we decided we would continue making bags ‘for real’ : the birth of “Aliki Bags”. Here we are at our 1st big Craft Fair at Harbour House in Kingsbridge, Devon.




Alison and her husband Mike live in a beautiful house at the edge of the beautiful village, snuggled into the protective hills and surrounded by her rambling gardens and amazing vegetable plot. We usually enjoy our times together by talking “Aliki” business, bags, bags, bags…..  evaluate ( and admire ) our latest design ideas.

Alison’s Chicken Wire Stable Boy

Alison has been knitting and felting the most beautiful bags, using a book by Bev Beattie, esbn 978-1-4081-1553-4, A.N.C. Black, “Knit and Felt Bags”. Sadly,  for copyright reasons she is only making the as gifts for Christmas,  BUT, we strongly recommend you to look at the brilliant book on amazon if you are a knitter yourself or have someone to give an inspiring craft book to this Christmas.

As you can imagine, Mike is not too impressed with all that but cooks yummy curries, if we behave ourselves.

We walked the dogs, socialized with shared friends and this time I went totally mad and kept a huge bonfire going, burning last summer’s garden debris in the crisp dry cold - absolutely wonderful and therapeutic !

I’m back in Formby now, preparing for the last little Craft Fair here…....x

UK Handmade is launching a campaign to get people buying Handmade and supporting independent designers and makers throughout the UK. Sign our pledge and join the cause!

Why Buy Handmade?

Buying from small independent businesses and individual makers has never been so important particuarly given the current economic climate. A recession can often be a perfect time to start a small business and the current cultural shift towards self-sufficiency means that a huge number of people are setting up on their own.

Not only that but buying handmade has advantages and benefits that you won't get buying from the larger stores on the high street.

• Many designer / makers will happily produce items that are made to order and bespoke so you can get something uniquely personal at surprisingly affordable prices because many designers don't have the same overheads as shops.
• Buying locally reduces your carbon footprint because products haven't been shipped from the other side of the world.
• Buying locally also means the money you spend stays in your area and boosts the local economy.
• Independant makers care about the things they make so building a relationship with local designer makers means you are guaranteed outstanding customer service and exceptional quality.

I thought I would share with you my latest foray into the world of handmaking.

In typical Gilly style, this quilt throw has taken me about 18 months to complete, my only excuse being that I have been running a website in between times :) Couple that with the fact that I'm not very good; all the more reason to admire what the professionals can do. You only need to take a look around this site to see that.

Nevertheless, I love it because I was able to use up some material that I had had lying around for years and it just happens to fit in perfectly with my somewhat OTT colour scheme.

Any constructive comments from you more talented people are most welcome - I think!

Hi

I have now opened my shop on line!  I hope you take a look at my work.  I will be uploading new pieces over the next few weeks so watch this space

about my work

My main mission is to share my appriciation of the natural world which I have found always cheers me up. I choose quite ordinary plants and weeds, for the surface pattern I choose quite ordinary plants and weeds, I hope that the wearer will not only enjoy them as jewellery but also review their appreciation of the natural world. I am inspired both by the modernist approach to materials and enjoy cheap plastic items from places like Hong Kong. I set out to create a marriage between the industrial and the organic.

This method of dying and embossing plastic I call ‘fossilized Plastic’ due to the fine detail which it is possible to capture with in the embossed surface. I use the actual leaves or flowers to create the design. They perish in the process leaving a memory of the relife of their surface on the plastic, like a fossile.