Christmas Exhibition - Art Hub Gallery

Please come along to the Christmas collaborative exhibition at the Art Hub Gallery on Creekside in Deptford (designers from studios on Creekside and in Charlton will be joining together). I am taking part and you are very welcome to the Private View on 2nd December.

Rainbow Warrior III passes the print studio!

Typically I'm in bed with flu but thankfully Nick Cobbing can be relied upon to take a good picture! My print studio is right next to the Thames Barrier, the new Rainbow Warrior is pictured sailing into London on her maiden tour, after leaving Amsterdam on Sunday.

Bermondsey Street Festival 2011 - Fashion Show

At 1pm on Saturday 24th Sep, the Fashion & Textile Museum Fashion Show in the Park brings an exclusive preview of work from Zandra Rhodes, Susie Stone and emerging designers from Newham College. This is part of the Bermondsey Street Festival. 

Wall to Wall - Deptford X

I am taking part in Wall to Wall which is a collaborative exhibition for studios at the Art Hub. This takes place 24th September to 2nd October at the Art Hub Gallery at the Deptford site on Creekside. Opening times are Sat/Sun 24th/25th/1st/2nd 12-6pm. The exhibition launches the new gallery but is also part of the Deptford X Festival. The programme looks huge so will definitely be found wandering around Deptford the last week of September!


Art Hub Gallery, 5-9 Creekside, Deptford, London SE8 4SA

Thames Revival - Thames Festival 2011

Vintage Revival at the Thames Festival 2011

I'm taking part in the Thames Revival part of the Thames festival.


Artsmart at Thames pop-up market
Thames Festival 2011 
St Katherine Docks 
50 St. Katharines Way
London E1W 1LA


Saturday and Sunday 10/11 September 2011


There will be 'retro style and glamour' fashion shows at 2pm each day.  There will also be a beer tent and bands and various vintage themed events.  There will also be lots and lots of boats! I've just got back from St Ives and I can never see too many boats.


Thames Revival is from 12pm to 10pm, the market is from 12pm to 6pm.


Entry is free so if you fancy it please drop by.


This is part of the Artsmart pop-up market. 

Vinyl lovers look away now

At the Artsmart market I had the pleasure of a stall next to House of Jamal and Tamara Walsh. Jamal produces signature perfumes which seemed to prove irresistible to passers by. He also produces bespoke perfumes, probably not for my budget, but well worth checking him out.


Tamara creates hair pieces using melted down vinyl. I hope no-one accidentally left their vinyl record shopping by the stand! The hair pieces are primarily red and/or black or bold colours and are very striking. Several are not for the faint hearted and are bold and edgy while others are more feminine (some are very floral) or simple. Her pieces drew lots of attention. An absolute must is checking out her range of wigs.  

Artsmart the festival

Here are a few pics of the Betty's Revenge stall at Artsmart.  So lovely to be outside after hours being inside designing and sewing!  The weather was great and all the stewards and stall holders were helpful, friendly and relaxed.  Due to the weather, several friends visiting/helping out, food and drink stalls and music it felt more like a festival than working...


While there I managed to get a one to one chat with Paula Reed, Style Director at Grazia Magazine.  She thought my bags and purses were on trend and stylish!!  She particularly liked the Sketchy bag and the new 50s Sears range of purses (images coming soon).

The stall

Purse collection

Bag from new range - recycled leather with printed panel

Bright sunshine

A few recycled bags

With a couple of sketchbooks

Ken and Barbie bust up

I'm not usually one for gossip (ok of course I do read the gossip columns and am a secret fan of gossip girl outfits). Anyway I feel compelled to share yet another inspired campaign by Greenpeace. Barbie is made by Mattel which uses packaging causing deforestation in Sumatra. For more info see the Greenpeace International website here and watch the break up in action in California. There is also an interview with Ken where he finds out the news.

More on artsmart

I'll be exhibiting alongside Tatty Devine and Undergrowth, it's well worth a visit. Hope to see you there!

artsmart

I am delighted to have been selected to exhibit at artsmart - the University of the Arts London's first alumni curated art and design market.  A new collection plus some old favourites will be exhibited by Betty's Revenge in the Fashion and Textiles section.  Exhibitors will wholly include alumni from:


Camberwell College of Arts
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Chelsea College of Art and Design
London College of Communication
London College of Fashion
Wimbledon College of Art 


The market will be at Rootstein Hopkins Parade Ground at Chelsea College of Art and Design (next to Tate Britain).  If you fancy going it's cheaper to book tickets in advance:

Advance tickets
One-day pass £5 (concessions £3.50)
Two-day pass £9 (concessions £5)

Tickets on the day
On the door: £6 cash only (no concessions)

Keep posted on Facebook and Twitter.

Istanbul

Istanbul (Sultanahmet) skyline

Just spent a wonderful few days in Istanbul.  After creating the Izniks Abroad collection I had to go and see the real thing! The Aya Sofya is my favourite mosque, last year I made a series of notelets from a painting of it (sadly from a photo in a book), to see it for real was great and the inside is simply stunning. It was wonderful to see some of the original motifs that inspired my designs.  Naturally I visited the 'must see' spots including the Sultan Ahmet Camii (Blue Mosque), Topkapi Palace, Spice Market, Galata Tower, Beyoğlu, took a Bosphorus boat trip and of course shopped at the Grand Bazaar where I acquired two beautiful scarves and a tile to add to my coaster collection.

Sketch of the Aya Sofya

Inside Aya Sofya

Topkapi Palace - exterior of the Harem

Fair Fares - Craftivist Collective

The Craftivist Collective are collaborating with the Climate Rush campaigning group to fight for fair transport fares and they're seeking craftivists!


They are seeking:
5inch x 7inches wide fabric train coaches (patches like their Mini Protest Banners) with stats, facts, quotes, views on the  effects these train fare hikes will have.  You can use cross stitch, hand embroider, write in fabric pens, or whatever you can.

* make your bunting coaches on the train as in individual or group
* make your bunting coaches in Train Waiting rooms together and talk about the issues with each other and the public
* make your bunting coaches on Train platform stations
* get local groups involved, get your MP involved
* send your patches in (preferably before 16th April) to Flat 2, Heron House, Searles Close, London SW11 4RJ


A few facts are listed here that you could use!


You can also join on Facebook.

All Stitched Up

Hi there, my latest post at Remedy Magazine (on the charity Fine Cell Work) went up today.

Some Like it Hip Hop

Balletboyz

I will be back at the New Ashgate Gallery in the summer, am looking forward to displaying a range of fun for the sumer purses. 


Several of Betty's Revenge designs are influenced by dance. An obligatory date in my calendar each year is the Sampled weekend in late January at Sadlers Wells. I have accrued a die-hard posse who accompany me each year.  'Sampled' is a night of samples from the forthcoming season for a very affordable price. The entire venue is also given over to fringe performances and interactive classes/visuals.  This year the Balletboyz stood out for me, beautiful contemporary dance from 'Alpha'  by Paul Roberts that allows you to switch off and enjoy the fluid movement, the warm brown satin fabrics worn were also very pleasing on the eye. 


The duet choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui allowed you to see just how many muscles these dancers use and the flexibility was amazing, almost unnerving!

Into the Hoods is one of my favourite performances. I saw it at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival a few years ago and again at Sadlers Wells. It's a hip hop take on Stephen Sondheim's musical 'Into the Woods'.  At Sampled, Zoo Nation performed an exclusive excerpt from their new show 'Some Like it Hip Hop'.   Geeky boys doing some serious popping, cheeky girls with attitude and fab singing plus some serious wit running through it. Oh and lovely outfit designs and colours, my favourites were the yellow tartan skirt and the ensemble of burnt orange chiffon blouse with purple leggings). So the cheap dose of dance is thwarted yet again as I'm now going to have to see the full show.


I would love to see a dance choreographed to Metallica or Faith No More next year...any takers?

Some Like it Hip Hop - Zoo Nation

Remedy Magazine - Issue 8

Just two more days at the New Ashgate  Gallery in Farnham, can't believe how the time has flown!


Meanwhile the new issue of Remedy Magazine is out, check it out, there are beautiful images, ceramics and handpainted wallpaper!