Spring Market Round Up

We had a brilliant time last weekend at our Spring Market in the Dogstar, Brixton. We welcomed over 2300 visitors through the doors over the weekend. All our designer makers did a fantastic job with their stalls and the hands-on activities proved popular.

First Floor Stalls & Tea-Room

6 year old Jamie FJ with his 40p portrait booth

Downstairs Market in full flow

The girls from Boom Nails hard at work

Wil's Origami Fox Workshop

Thank you to Martha Love for the photos. More to come soon on our facebook page.

Spring Market Showcase: Fashion

One more day to go until the Crafty Fox Spring Market arrives at the Dogstar and the excitement is building! We continue our showcase series with the 'fashion' category - from bags to knickers and everything in between....

Saturday 24th March

• N'damus makes beautiful quality handmade leather bags and accessories. You can also find the full range at United 80 in Brixton Village. 
• The Love, Peace and Harmony Project source their blank garments from a wind powered factory in India. The garments are then delivered to the UK by boat and are classified as carbon neutral. They are then hand-printed with quirky designs. Eco-friendly fashion for sure.
• Blonde Fox Vintage will be joining us on Saturday to satisfy our vintage cravings. They always have a really interesting collection of well selected stock to browse. 
• If you've been following Mary Portas's latest TV series 'The Bottom Line', you will be well versed in the importance of buying underwear handmade in the UK. Love Baby Grand produce beautiful  lingerie, handmade in London - catch them tomorrow at Crafty Fox!

Top Left: N'damus, Top Right: Love, Peace & Harmony Project, Bottom Left: Blonde Fox Vintage,                              Bottom Right: Love Baby Grand

Sunday 25th March

• Key Lime Pie was "formed out of a shared love of baking and making (and a bit of booty shaking)" ...and who can argue with that! Don't miss their fab range of capes, t-shirts, jumpers and accessories. 
• Eddie and Mabel will be bringing their amazing vintage collection to Crafty Fox this Sunday - cherry picked accessories from the 1950's - 1980's
• Gitas Portal blends different textures and types of fabric - from ethnic prints, hand designed tie dye and batiks to leather. We look forward to checking out this colourful range of clothing and bags. 

Left: Key Lime Pie, Top Right: Eddie & Mabel Vintage, Bottom Right: Gitas Portal

• Carol and Rachel designed and produced a small number of one off raincoats in two styles and six colourways.  They made the outer waterproof fabric, hand printed the lining and got them produced by a small manufacturer in London. Perfect for those pesky Spring showers! 
• Velo-re handcrafts belts and accessories made from recycled bicycle tyres and inner tubes. Each one is an individual and has its own history. The tread bears the scars of every mile travelled, every unauthorised skid. Look out for their quirky bike seat stool too.
• We look forward to welcoming Fortune Brixton on Sunday with their great range of unique vintage clothing and handmade accessories. Outside of Crafty Fox, you will find Fortune in the fab Seven at Brixton bar in  Brixton Market.

Left: Carol Boland, Top: Velo-Re, Bottom: Fortune Brixton

Spring Market Showcase: Eclectic Selection

The final instalment of the showcase continues with 'eclectic selection'. Ok....so that's isn't really a great description but the uniqueness of the remaining lovely things meant they were tricky to categorise. I hope you have enjoyed the showcase series and will enjoy browsing the real-life stalls this weekend even more!

Saturday 24th March

• Monika of Wool Stories is originally from Poland and makes a range of beautiful accessories from spun wool yarn. I love the colour of the beautiful yellow flower below - perfect for Spring! 
• Love Cosmetics is a range of organic skincare made using local ingredients where possible. Kristie, is passionate about living a healthy, organic lifestyle and brings this philosophy to her products.
• Vanessa from Lovely Gorgeous Things makes natural and nature inspired handmade skincare products using quality ingredients, including: exotic oils, natural butters and lots of other yummy ingredients that are kind to your skin. I can personally recommend her fabulous foot scrub.

Left: Wool Stories, Top: Love Cosmetics, Bottom: Lovely Gorgeous Things

Sunday 25th March

• On Sunday, handmade cosmetics come courtesy of Robin & Rose boutique, purveyors of handmade bath bombs in very lovely packaging. 
• Check out Maudie Made's range of beautiful quality handmade stationary and paper accessories. Maudie describes herself as 'a book conservator in training' - skills which shine through in her work.

Left: Robin & Rose Boutique, Right: Maudie Made

Spring Market Showcase: Sewing Stars

The next category in our Spring Market showcase is 'Sewing Stars'.  Below is a selection of some of the unique creations you might discover if you visit us at the Dogstar this weekend.

Saturday 24th March

• The Seaside Sisters will be bringing their treasure trove of seaside inspired and vintage goodies to the Crafty Fox Market on Saturday 24th March. Their varied stall is always a riot of colour. They will also be running a 'Sew an Easter Fox Egg Cosy' workshop in their ground floor window nook all day on Saturday.
• Miwary, originally from Japan, will be selling her quirky creations from the sideboard on the ground floor. Look out for her carefully crafted fabric teacup and saucers (shown below.)
• Gumi, another seller originally from Japan, is new to Crafty Fox. She donates 10% of the profits from her shop to the Japan earthquake and tsumani relief. 

Left: Seaside Sisters, Top: Miwary, Bottom: Gumi

• "Forgotten Stitches recreates the romance of bygone eras using vintage textiles and materials and is dedicated to keeping forgotten arts alive." Rebekah's beautifully laid out stall always inspires with new creations. 
• Be-Bop-A-Luala stocks a varied range of accessories, soft furnishings and greetings cards. Although you will find some of the range stocked at Heals and Liberty - why not visit Crafty Fox to make your purchase directly from the maker.

Left: Forgotten  Stitches, Right: Be-Bop-A-Lula

Sunday 25th March

•  Tugba Kop is an illustrator who turns her creations into a unique range of accessories, cards and textiles using machine embroidery and her talent for sewing. We love the 'Hung up on You' sloth card shown below!
• Crafty Fox regulars Stuffed Nonsense will be travelling from Cheltenham to bring us their lovable cast of characters. They will also be running their popular 'make a monster' workshop over the weekend.
• Jess Quinn Small Art is new to Crafty Fox and will be joining us from Bristol to showcase her unique minature creations. We look forward to checking out her range.

Top Left: Tugba Kop, Top Right: Stuffed Nonsense, Bottom: Jess Quinn Small Art

Spring Market Showcase: Gifts for Children

Our Spring Market showcase continues with beautiful gifts for children.  At our Spring market you will find a facepainter, lots of fun workshops, yummy cakes and even a dedicated parking area for buggies!






Saturday 24th March

• Joy Nevada is a talented illustrator who turns her creations in a lovely range of clothing for your little ones. Her range includes cute gear for tiny babies right through to t-shirts for older children.
• IwishIwasa... is a really unique range of handmade dressing up accessories. Tamsin is a costume designer who was inspired to start IwishIwasa... after observing her son's love of dressing up. 
• Carolina, the creative force behind Lunamano is originally from El Salvador. She uses untreated cotton ethically sourced in El Salvador to create her beautiful designs featuring hand embroidery. You can read more about Lunamano on the Creative Happen blog.
• New sellers Butterscotch & Beesting follows the adventures of two characters, "Betty Butterscotch & Bumblewick Beesting who are best friends and run the quite remarkable and ever-so magical Butterstings Circus. Lovely, kind (and sometimes slightly moody) Betty Butterscotch keeps the Circus Sweet Shop stocked full of delights, while the ever-eloquent and dashing Bumblewick Beesting pedals his magic potion kits, wands and spells in the Magical Supplies Shop". Sounds exciting!

Top Left: Joy Nevada, Top Right: IwishIwasa... Bottom Left: Lunamano, Bottom Right: Butterscotch & Beesting

Sunday 25th March

• On Sunday, we will be joined by Babybandito. Suzanne's signature product is a bandana bib for babies which comes in a range of lovely fabrics. We have also been charmed by the felt watches for little ones shown below.
• Crafty Fox regular Hope and Eden will also be there with a beautiful range of soft toys, ceramics, cards and homewares. You can read more about Yvette and her business in a recent Mother's Day feature on the Creative Happen Blog.
• We also look forward to seeing Magic Joys again. This creative Mother-Daughter team produce a delightful range of accessories and knitted creatures, including a very lovable 'groovy fox'.

Top: Babybandito, Bottom Left: Hope and Eden, Bottom Right: Magic Joys

Next Showcase: Sewing Stars

Lots to discover at our Spring Market

This weekend, visitors to The Crafty Fox Market at the Dogstar, Brixton, are in for a treat! We have a jam-packed schedule of activities and workshops alongside over 40 unique designer makers on each day. We will be using all three floors of the Dogstar so don't forget to climb the stairs to get the full Crafty Fox experience.

Seaside Sisters

               Saturday 24th March

♥ Sew an Easter Fox Egg Cosy with the Seaside Sisters
(11 – 5pm), Ground Floor. Learn how to make a foxy cosy to guard your eggs at Easter.
♥ Letter Lounge (2-4pm), 1st Floor. Letter lounge is a space where you can come along to write the letters you never have time for and enjoy a bit of a social. You bring the address and we do the rest!
♥ Origami Foxes with Wil (11 – 12.30), 2nd Floor
♥ Make a Monster with Stuffed Nonsense (3.30 – 5), 2nd Floor
 
♥ Brixton Makerhood Workshops (12.30 – 3pm), 2nd Floor

Knitting and crochet, with Viv and Shona
Drop by to learn a few basics, ask tricky questions about that technique you’ve been trying to learn, or bring your own project along for the afternoon. All levels welcome, from complete beginners to experienced practitioners.

Making flower essences, with Andry and Sorell
This is a great way to use plants to make remedies which help you through life's challenges. Come along and learn how flower essences are made.

Makerhood Brixton Workshops

Drawing games for adults
Kristina will take you through simple yet powerful ideas about drawing together to free up creativity and remember what it’s like to play with each other. Join this workshop to relax and enjoy yourself – the results can be both delightful and eye opening.
Crafty Social If you fancy doing a bit of craft and have a project on the go just bring it along and join in the fun. Everyone (and any craft) warmly welcome!

Sunday 25th March

Printing Workshop with Mr Wingate

 ♥ Make a Monster with Stuffed Nonsense (12 – 1.30pm), Ground Floor
Join Crafty Fox regulars Stuffed Nonsense for their popular Monster Making workshop and unleash your creativity.
♥ Handmade portraits by Jamie FJ (aged 6!), 2-4pm, Ground Floor
Jamie (my nephew) was very popular at our Easter Market last year and returns with a further year of drawing experience under his belt!
♥ Design and Print a Tote Bag with Mr Wingate (11am – 5pm), 2nd Floor
Using paper stencils, you will be able to turn your design ideas into a printed tote bag.
No need to bring anything along, everything is provided. Cost £5.

^Also....

♥ Pop-Up Tearooms by The Tea's Knees (Saturday) and Relay Tea (Sunday)
♥ Local DJ's spinning throughout the weekend
♥ Nail booth by Boom Nails
♥ Melody from Impro Face will be available for face painting and glitter tattoos all weekend long!
You can let us know if you will be joining us and invite your friends along here.

Homeware Showcase - Crafty Fox Spring Market

The next category for our Spring Market showcase is homeware. There are lots of great gifts to be found at Crafty Fox or perhaps just the thing to add that unique touch to your home.

Saturday 24th March

•  First up is Sally Nencini with her colourful range of machine-knitted toys, blankets and cushions handmade using soft lambswool. Sally studied at the Royal College of Art (MA Fashion) and has designed for, amongst others, Levi's and M&S.
• Emily Bucknell will be bringing her printed textiles to Crafty Fox for the first time. All of Emily’s designs are screen printed and sewn by hand in her small East London studio. The range includes lampshades, cushions, limited edition screenprints, lavender bags and gift cards.
• Cecily Vessey spends her days drawing pictures of London and turning these drawings into beautiful ceramic pieces for the home, prints and cards. I bought a 'Big Ben Teabag Tidy' at the last market as a present for a friend - I loved it so much, I very nearly didn't hand it over! You can read a lovely interview with Cecily in the Frankly magazine.

Left: Sally Nencini, Top: Emily Bucknell, Bottom: Cecily Vessey

• Nom-London is a young business who will bring their range of vintage teacup candles and knitted egg cosies to Crafty Fox. I look forward to checking out their range.
• Heart Zeena has named her business very well as we do indeed 'heart Zeena!'. Check out her range of silk screen printed textiles and paper goods. Zeena is passionate about supporting local business and she takes care to source only local, vintage and found fabrics. You can now find Zeena's goodies in Paperchase too!
• Tobyboo uses free embroidery to create unique pieces of art inspired by London which are then printed onto a range of textiles, ceramics and even sticky tape! Tina recently won the prestigious Mary Portas homeware competition at House of Fraser - we are so pleased and predict big things for her.

Top Left: Nom London, Top Right: Heart Zeena, Bottom: Tobyboo

Sunday 25th March

• If you visit on Sunday, you will find Jillty Drawings with her lovely range of hand printed tea towels and aprons based on her own illustrations. The 'Oranges and Lemons' apron shown below would make a great gift for the chef of the household!
• Parasite Ceramics is a small collective founded in 2010, run by 3 Saint Martins graduates. We love their range of locally inspired limited edition tableware featuring quirky items such as the shopping trolley shown below.
• Tatie Lou is new to Crafty Fox. Her products are all hand screen printed in London, using eco friendly printing inks and where ever possible uses eco friendly fabrics as well as card and paper.
• Another new addition to the Crafty Fox line-up is Siobhan McIntosh with her stylish range of printed make up bags, wash bags, purses, cushions and ceramics based on her own illustrations. We look forward to browsing her stall.

Top Left: Jillty Drawings, Top Right: Parasite Ceramics, Bottom Left: Tatie Lou, Bottom Right: Siobhan McIntosh

Next Showcase: Gifts for Children

Illustration and Print Making Showcase – Crafty Fox Spring Market

In this instalment we showcase the illustrators and print makers who will be gracing the Dogstar at this year’s Crafty Fox Spring Market. This is always a heavily over-subscribed category with a wealth of amazing talent to choose from.

Saturday 24th March

Crafty Fox regular Alice Potter is back with lots of new designs to tempt us. She has cleverly transferred her illustrations to a range of surfaces including textiles and ceramics. Look out for her new large summer shopper.
There is no doubt that we have a love for foxes and who could resist this colourful dancing couple from Stacie Swift. Stacie is new to Crafty Fox and I can't wait to check out her animal focused range.
Sophie Parker's beautiful work focuses on 'animals, friendship and contemplation'. Sophie is a cat lover which shines through in her product range.
Local illustrator Mike Hall produces finely detailed work with a focus on the local area. We love his illustration of our home - The Dogstar.

Top Left: Alice Potter, Top Right: Stacie Swift, Bottom Left: Sophie Parker, Bottom Right: Mike Hall

Next up is the bubbly Amy Hutchings with her Somerset satin printed art.  Amy confesses to enjoy getting dirty when printing her own designs and uses only traditional methods.
Claire from Lil3birdy will present her beautiful range of cards and paper products.  She has recently extended her range to include homewares too! Her coaster sets are great value and we love them.

Also look out for Helen from Wet Paint with more beautiful designs to tempt you. Her work includes beautiful colours and clean lines.




Left: Amy Hutchings, Top: Lil3Birdy, Bottom: Wetpaint



French & Godbold produce a beautiful range of greetings cards illustrated by Michaela French - perfect for any occasion.

Brixton local Lucy is a book cover designer with a love for the printed word. This comes across clearly in her fantastic range of graphic prints. Her Brixton print shown below is sure to be popular.

Martha & Hepsie are sisters! Using a combination of Martha's quirky illustrative design and Hepsie's bright ideas, they have created a delightful range of gifts and cards.



Left: French & Godbold, Top: Lucy Loves This, Bottom: Martha & Hepsie

 Both Days (24th & 25th March) 

Jimbobart is also the creator of the amazing Crafty Fox artwork. He will have prints available for purchase alongside his ever popular range of illustrated plates and cups – his stall is always a roadblock so get there early to avoid disappointment. 

Claudia from Superfumi has created a versatile product range, utilising her colourful illustrations to produce everything from jewellery to coasters featuring all our favourite animals.  These make great gifts and are too cute!



Top: Jimbobart, Bottom: Superfumi

Sunday 25th March  

Locals may recognise this whimiscal view of Brockwell Park by 'Dreamy is Me'. Elena produces a beautiful range which is particularly popular with children. 

Pigeon Illustration are new to Crafty Fox - we look forward to checking out their fun range of cards and prints.

Will Clarke also joins us for the first time, showcasing his varied range of work including these shady looking dogs.

Continuing with the local theme, we welcome Sweet View - limited edition drawings of London by Jack Noel — one for each inner London borough. The familiar Lambeth 'view' is shown below

Top Left: Dreamy is Me, Top Right: Pigeon Illustration, Bottom Left: Will Clarke, Bottom Right: Sweet View

Continuing our Sunday roundup, we are delighted to have Bel's Art World at Crafty Fox.  Bel is a graduate of Central St Martins and she designs a varied range including stationary and brooches.

El Famoso are two brothers, Rich and Chris Fairhead. They list their influences as London, films, screen prints, old pubs, Johnny Cash, unicorns, robots, sailor tattoo's, tacky postcards, Russian fonts, skulls and anything hand drawn.  

A great stall for all bird lovers to check out, Birds in Hats is a very appropriate name for Alice's beautiful collection of birds wearing a variety of hats. Have fun choosing your favourite – we love the pigeon in a police helmet shown below!

Also look out for Mashka - Kerry, a fellow member of Brixton Makerhood, who produces a range of urban prints which 'explore and express the juxtaposition of nature and metropolis through the medium of print.'

And now for something a little different - we welcome Black Cat Crafts to Crafty Fox with their collection of vintage letterpress printing blocks. Maybe you will be inspired to create your own prints!
Vicky Scott describes her work as 'a light hearted look at the world through female eyes, often with a warm nostalgic view of the past fused with the present'. She creates handmade paper collages which are scanned into Photoshop before being printed onto high quality epson archival paper.
Finally, we are delighted to welcome another new seller, 'Juan is Dead' to Crafty Fox. Creator Leah Reeves has an illustrative background and uses mosaic to create contemporary one-off pieces of art. Her love of the macabre is influenced by her Spanish ancestry and the Mexican celebration Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead.

Left: Black Cat Crafts, Top: Vicky Scott, Bottom: Juan is Dead

 Next showcase: Homewares

Apologies to anyone whose images got squished in the making of this blog -I'm still learning photoshop!

Jewellery Showcase - Crafty Fox Spring Market

There are so many talented stall holders with exciting products to discover at our Spring Market. Over the next couple of weeks, the Crafty Fox will introduce you to our stall holders using product categories to help you to discover a little more of what is on offer. You will find the full list of stall holders here.

 Saturday 24th March

• Ceramic artist By-Louise is new to Crafty Fox and we are very excited to have her as she is a regular face on the London craft scene. Check out her 'behind the scenes' photos for a really interesting insight into her process.
• Another newbie is Manolo who has created a stunning range of jewellery using her own illustrations and a cast of quirky characters each with their own unique story! For example, Gloria (shown below): 'Her wealthy father wants her to become a lawyer, but her real passion is burlesque. She performs at night in famous Vauxhall Tavern (London), because during the day she is busy studying criminal law.'
• If you are a Crafty Fox regular, you may recognise Avarae17 - I love her new range of men's cufflinks which Sooze can customize to your specifications using vintage maps.

Left: By-Louise, Top: Manolo, Bottom: Avarae17

• Next up is 'From Chaos Comes Beauty' - a beautiful range of stunning silver jewellery created by the very lovely Katherina. Her helpful other half Wil will be running an 'origami fox workshop' in our 2nd floor workshop area on Saturday 24th.
• I will also be opening up my vintage suitcase to offer my own handmade jewellery range - Galavant. Do say hello if you stop by my stall!
• Also look out for illustrated, hand cut creations from 'Stars N'Scars'. Vicky chose this name for her shop because it describes her main creative source - her hands, featuring a white star tattoo and a scar from an operation.

Left: From Chaos Comes Beauty, Top: Galavant, Bottom: Stars N'Scars

Sunday 25th March

• Sunday sees a whole new cast of creative characters descend upon the Dogstar. First up, an impressive hand cut collection of animals from 'Oh My Clumsy Heart' - who could resist foxy below!
• Another new seller is the fabulous Ladybird Likes - Zoe makes her jewellery using 'bits of wood, repurposed vintage fabrics, pretty paper, and lots of love.' She has a varied collection that is sure to be a hit!
• Lui handmakes her jewellery using collected travel keepsakes, from Colonial French stamps, to '60's Hong Kong souvenir slides. Her lovely collection has a very cohesive and distinctive look.

Left: Oh My Clumsy Heart, Top: Ladybird Likes, Bottom: Lui

• In keeping with the current trend for geometric patterns, we are delighted to welcome 'Tri & Gull' to Crafty Fox. Sarah's architectural background shines through in the interesting collection of angular shapes and varied materials.
• Meow Box, another new seller, makes jewellery good enough to eat - I think you'll agree!
• Finally, look for 'Storm in a Teacup' selling from the sideboard on the ground floor. Jennifer is a Crafty Fox regular who never fails to impress. She has lots of new creations to tempt us with - I can't wait to check them out.

Top Left: Tri & Gull, Top Right: Meow Box, Bottom Left: Galavant, Bottom Right: Storm in a Teacup

Keep your eyes on the blog for our Spring Market Illustration Showcase...coming soon!