Spreading the word

I designed a manifesto using the text Sarah and I had come up with earlier. The layouts contain the 'Four P's' we have appropriated from the Craftifesto, which we adapted to fit with our own form of craftiness. We then placed it in a craft environment and a design environment so our message was spread to both designers and craftspeople;

Quilty Goodness

Using the squares the children made, Sarah sewed together a quilt. Then she isolated a section/element of each square and embroidered it to form a new quilt designed from the crafted quilt. We hung the two together on my washing line to bask in their quilted glory.

We've been busy

We're all about the workshops - we set up an activity day at St Mary's Primary School in Walthamstow. We asked the kids to design something first, on scrap paper taped to the floor, which they would then craft onto a square of fabric using bits and bobs.
This worked really well, we actually got a four-year-old to realise the worth in designing something before you make it. However, as Danny (aged 6) puts it; "it's not too bad if you don't draw it first, because the picture is still in your head."
We stuck the squares up as they completed them, forming an improvised quilt.

Arts Market

Today we hosted our charade. We set up a craft stall in a design establishment and the products sold like hotcakes.
What does this prove? Craft is popular. Nothing we sold today had a powerful statement to announce; it was either useful or beautiful. Something that is perceived to be useful or beautiful must be designed. Whatever is designed to be useful or beautiful must be crafted. In our eyes, the two are synonymous, it's just that craft is perceived to be something else...something it's not.

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." William Morris

Yes. You're in the right place.

Oh dear. If you were looking for a cupcake-eating bunny embroidered on a cloud you'd be better off visiting Etsy and leaving us to it.

We are designers who craft. If you are interested in what this means, watch this space. In the mean time you might want to check out the concept of Craftivism for an insight into what we're on about.