Fairs and affairs

Oh dear, I have been neglecting my poor old blog haven't I.  Well I promise it isn't because I've been a lazy-bum. So far 2012 is all systems go for Red Anchor. I finally sorted out "the room of doom" aka my sewing room and it's a far more pleasant place to be now, with organised storage and everything! As much as I would love to have real wood and vintage furniture it just wasn't practical in the space I have to work with and Ikea came to my rescue with a massive shelving unit that fits perfectly along one wall to house all my fabric, haberdashery and supplies. I also managed to bag myself a matching computer table/shelving unit combo on ebay for the ridiculous price of £1.04. Win.

I had my very first fair last week, organised by The Galleries of Justice in Nottingham and Susi Henson from Eternal Spirits corsetry. It was their 2nd Unique Connections networking event and was raising money for the Help a Nottingham Child charity. On the whole it was a success, I sold enough to cover the stall fee and chatted to a couple of lovely women who'd seen me perform at the Carousel Club in December. In hindsight I don't think it was 100% the right event for me but I'm glad I did it and I learnt a few things to put into practice for my next fairs, which are.....

I'm REALLY looking forward to these two fairs. I'd heard a lot of good things about Reetsweet and after exchanging emails with the organiser Becki was over the moon to be accepted to take part in both the Sheffield and Leeds fairs coming up in March and April. I will be sewing my little fingers to the bone in preparation! If you're coming along please stop in and say hello  :)

If you'd like to see what I've been sewing lately I've listed a few iPhone cases and stocking bags in my Etsy shop. Hopefully I'll get the chance to add more as I'm making stock for the fairs so watch this space!

TTFN  x

It's the little things....

It struck me yesterday how important the little things can be sometimes........ and also how goofy I can be when I think no one's watching.

One of the things I decided to make, while I was lazily contemplating the day ahead from under my duvet, was a new case for my iPhone. I had a small piece of pink flamingo print cotton hidden in my fabric stash and knew it would be perfect. For extra protection I decided to use some medium weight wadding and quilt the lining with some pretty mint green polka dot cotton.

Making progress

All sorts of exciting things have happened in the last week or so. I finally got round to getting the fabric labels for Red Anchor sorted. After mailing a few different companies I settled on the National Weaving Company, mainly because the emails I had from one of their sales staff, Caroline, were friendly and she replied quickly and doesn't that make a difference! I sent the logo over to her, which was designed by my good friend Charlotte, and paid the £20 deposit (which comes off your order total) for a sample label. They sent 2, which arrived after about ten working days, and I was so happy with the quality I immediately gave Caroline a call to make an order for 500.

I'm itching to get my hands on them so I can start sewing them into everything!

Daggers in the dirt - pottering and antique shop haul

It's been a while since I last posted and to be honest I haven't had a lot of time to do any real sewing for Red Anchor Emp., life and some much needed rest have taken priority. I did make a little stocking bag as a raffle giveaway for the wonderful Wet Spot Burlesque and Cabaret show in Leeds, where I performed the other weekend. They've had a recent overhaul of their branding by my cohort Charlotte Thomson-Morley and in keeping with this the bag was black and white polka dot, lined with cherry red satin and fastened with a very shiny black button. I hope whoever won it enjoys it!

Creative Nottingham

I'm sure I'll be mentioning this lovely lady a lot in the posts to come, her name is Charlotte Thomson-Morley and she's a very good friend of mine. Not only is she an extremely talented artist (who designed my amazing logo) but she is also my co-host at Dr Sketchy Nottingham and one of the team behind the Creative Nottingham blog. She very kindly asked if I would be a guest blogger for a fortnight and of course I said yes!

"CreativeNottingham was set up in September 2009 to celebrate and connect Nottingham’s creative, arts and digital business communities – or anything that promotes Nottingham’s status as a creative place. Our news comes directly from blogs, email and websites produced by creative practitioners, and covers Nottingham theatre, music, design, art, events and web."

Click here to read my first post!

Scarlett
x

Introductions

I've been meaning to start this blog for such a long time and being confined to the house because of the never ending snow has finally forced me to pull my finger out and get on with it!

Red Anchor Emporium is the name of my new business. After 5 years of working in the NHS and countless mundane jobs before that, I've decided that enough is enough and I'm going it alone. I never imagined that I could make a living from the textile based crafts that I love but with the support and encouragement of my friends and family I'm going to give it a go. If I don't try I'll never know and I'll always regret it.

Primarily I'll be making handbags and adorning them with print, embroidery, cross stitch and pyrography. I'll also be creating accessories and homewares and customising/revamping existing pieces that I find beautiful but that might need a little TLC.

I have so many influences, design from the 20s through to the 50s, rock n roll, rockabilly, tiki, vaudeville and all sorts in between so hopefully there will be something that you like and if not I'll be taking on commissions so send me an email if you're after something specific!

So I'll be posting my progress as I design and and create new items for my Folksy shop, posting photos along the way and hopefully picking up new followers who like what I do.

Thanks for reading!

Scarlett x