CHERCHBI took a small, but perfectly formed stand at the CLA Game Fair at Ragley Hall, Warwickshire last weekend. What a fantastic show. Hunting, shooting, fishing galore, and also every other aspect of rural activity and industry imaginable; bee-keeping, ferrets, taxidermy and food food food were our particular favourites. 140,000 visitors over the three days and the atmosphere was wonderful from 7am gates open until late evening. Here’s a few snaps from the weekend.
Our 1571 Herdwick tweed cap was a particular winner at the show. Seen here sported by Ms Kirsty Lee and Mr Mark Devonshire of Eckington Manor Cookery School,[mouthwatering fare on their stand], and also a protege of Mr Rick Stein too.
CHERCHBI’s Herdwyck tweed bag project has been shortlisted for the Northern Futures Fashion Award, click here to see the full list. The latest Herdwyck tweed bags will be shown in a public Award Exhibition at The Civic in Barnsley, 28 July – 3 September, with the awards ceremony itself on 17 August. The competition has four categories – Fine Art, Fashion, Film and 3D Design – with the fashion award being judged by Katie Bain of the British Fashion Council, Stephanie Cooper of Central St Martins, Hester Swaving of Dutch 4 Fashion and Rita Britton the owner of Barnsley’s own Pollyanna.
“The award recognises and rewards the best emerging creative talent in the north of England, showcasing it to a wider national and international audience and confirming the north as a hotbed of creativity.”
The Herdwyck collection is still in development, the first pieces will be available in late 2010, but here’s a few quick images of what to expect.
Rachel Kelly/Interactive Wallpaper exhibiting at National Craft Gallery of Ireland 7th August – 15 October 2010
The annual Kilkenny Arts Festival will be showcasing cutting-edge craft at the National Craft Gallery of Ireland. The show, which runs from August 7th – 15th, includes work by Rachel Kelly among 12 other innovative designers.
Curator Angela O’Kelley writes: This year’s CRAFT strand looks to new directions and dialogues in craft. Craft artists working with cutting-edge technology and materials, conceptual craft and an inclusive, interactive exhibition are some of the highlights of this year’s programme.
The National Craft Gallery Two showcases the work of fourteen makers who are Embracing Technology. These makers push the boundaries of their craft through the inventive use of materials and technology. Combining hand-crafting with new technologies like laser-cutting, water jet cutting, rapid prototyping, motion capturing, textiles set in concrete, interactive magnetic wall coverings and site-specific textiles for walls and windows, these makers expand the potential of craft and challenge our perceptions with new ways of making dynamic forms.
CHERCHBI is showing at PULSE 2010 at Earls Court London June 6 – 8. Here’s a couple of images from the first day.
Our Squires Holdall and Fern Frond Scarf appear in the main entrance display and are being used to promote both PULSE and the TOP DRAWER shows for Clarion Events.
We’re also part of the Product GB and ECO Trail at the show. The Eco Trail is a group of exhibitors hand-picked by Oliver Heath for their commitment to ethical production, fair trade and sustainability.
Kendal Upholstery just ordered some bright new materials to make summer humpties. We’ve chosen some fab, outdoor fabrics so these humpties will be multi-tasking – great for indoors or out!!
Last month whilst in London we got the chance to visit the Barbican Art Gallery and see the Ron Arad – Restless exhibition.
The exhibition explores thirty years of his work including the early products built from readymade items through to those generated using 3d computer technology.
The exhibition focuses on showing the process of his products development from initial idea and fabrication to finished design.
Mark Francis: Arena is the current exhibition at Abbot Hall in Kendal. His paintings have real originality in style [modern, graphic, abstract] and inspiration [scientific images created by electron microscopes]. I admit I wasn’t familiar with his work before visiting, but was drawn to the bold & intense colour and complex pattern. The grid based paintings are his recent work, the more organic ones are earlier.
‘Known for his soft-focus paintings of cellular clusters, Mark Francis has been associated with the ‘Young British Art’ phenomenon while steadily forging his own highly original path. Francis’ work has been collected by numerous public museums – including the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London – and has been exhibited in major venues such as London’s Tate Gallery and the Royal Academy.’
The early May Bank Holiday sees local, national and international printmaking talent descend on the Coronation Hall in Ulverston for PRINTFEST. The weekend is an opportunity to meet 40 leading print artists and view or buy their work. There are also workshops and other activities throughout the weekend.
The reputation of this show is justifiably growing. I visited this afternoon and although my knowledge of print technique is shaky to say the least I was hugely impressed by the quality and diversity of work. These artists caught my eye [some images are work on display, others are taken from artists websites].
