Playing with the big boys!

So from 10th to 13th October I had my own stand at The Knitting and Stitching Show Alexandra Palace - it really was rather grown up!
I really enjoyed myself and met so many people all with stories to tell - more on this later.

Being a tapestry designer is quite a lonely road so it was brilliant to meet Emily Peacock who has been ploughing the furrow for quite a while.  I love Emilys bold designs she really is the Queen of Font!  Take a look at her website here and revel!  A big thanks to Emily for making me feel so welcome, I think the carpet between my stand and hers was well and truly worn in!

As you will know from previous blogs I want to exhibit the art side of my business alongside the kits and patterns, one person at the show who is doing just this is Suraya Rina Hossian. Suraya runs Mahliqa Knitted Wire Jewellery and you can buy one of her pieces direct or follow her instructions and buy a kit to knit your own. I saw one woman walking past my stand admiring the kit she had just bought from Mahliqa she was very happy and told me she was wondering which outfit it would go with best!  It was great to see Surayas smiling face every day!

Finally it was great to meet up with Kim Thitticai, Kim is probably the main reason I have got myself into this textiles game. It was by attending one of her courses that I managed to get into Morley College and complete my textiles foundation. Kim was working on the Vilene stand showing people how to use this fantastic product for more than just stiffening a collar.  Take a look at her blog and be inspired here.

As well as the stand holders it was great to meet so many stitchers and artists.  It's not often you get to meet an ecclesiastical stitcher, a hand weaver and a dialysis community worker all in the same place yet alone in the same hour.  I really enjoyed listening to peoples stories of stitching and all the memories that seeing tapestry evoked.  I spoke to Heather Magill who informed me that she had stitched a tapestry of grand masters, small tapestrys of famous paintings.  "Is it from a kit" I asked, "no I just knocked it up myself" she replied.  Well here is a picture of her improvised tapestry which is spectacular a true work of art. Thanks Heather from one artist to another!

Photo courtesy Heather Magill

I will be in Harrogate in November for the Knitting and Stitching show there and am so looking forward to meeting more artists and seeing their work!

One week to go!

So in one weeks time you will be able to come and see me at Knitting and Stitching Show Alexandra Palace.  The show runs from 10th October to 13th October and is a great place to see news ideas and visit old favourites. Alongside the sellers there are exhibitions from individuals and groups which provide even more inspiration.  
I am really looking forward to seeing Mandy Patullo who works with secondhand fabrics collaging them with other materials to make really poignant art pieces. I will enjoy talking to her about all things second hand or pre-loved.
The second exhibition that interests me is Sewing for Survival: Arctic Stitchery which will show examples of Inuit stitching from Canada.  I like the title because I expect that along with making garments and home-wares to keep warm and survive that the stitching also forms a community which is as important to survival as warmth.
Sticking with the Canadian Arctic and moving to the Australian outback Dorothy Caldwells Exhibition In Place looks like a great way to travel the globe via the medium of texture and print.  I like the size of the work and think it will have a great impact on the viewer.
Finally the queens of texture and colour will be exhibiting again. Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn always inspire I like how a collaboration has lasted over time, their exhibition this year takes a more personal theme and involves looking closely and then at the whole be sure to check out Rhythms and Counter Rhythms when you visit.

There are many other exhibitions and of course the stands and the classes, so if you have time after all that please pop by and see me in the Textile Gallery TGC5!

Supporting your supporters!

Tina Francis - Journey - Photo Martin Christie

I have work in two exhibitions that open this week.  The first is called Down to the Bone and is being held at Onca Gallery here in Brighton. Onca Gallery works to raise funds for conservation projects through it's exhibitions, it is a fantastic space with a main gallery and then a smaller space down below that leads on to a small courtyard.  Exhibitions here are always well received and the quality of the work means that they are well attended.  The Down to the Bone exhibition is being curated by Sara Abbott, Sara is a fantastic artist who uses her skills to paint large and small scale dog portraits in oils.  She absolutely loves dogs and through her work has donated a large amount to charity, I especially like her portrait of Haatchi who won the Hero Dog at Crufts this year.  Sara has really been supportive of my work and so I am glad to support her by adding my piece to her exhibition - good luck Sara!

My second piece is in The Zeitgeist Open at ZAP at ASC Studios.  I am sort of astounded that I got into this exhibition there are so many fantastic artists who will be exhibiting.  I dropped my piece off on Thursday and was met by the power duo that it Annabel Tilley and Rosalind Davis,  I was on my way to London Design Festival and feeling a little bit jaded thinking about my round London trek but 5 minutes in the company of these women charged my batteries - they seem to give off energy!  I have been really supported by ZAP this year and love what they do for everyone involved, alongside the Summer Show and the Open they also run educational events on a regular basis all this and their own practices too!

So if you are in Brighton please do drop into Onca Gallery from 25th - 29th September.  The ZAP Open runs from 26th September to 5th October and is part of Deptford X contemporary arts festival 27th September to 6th October.

Summer still here in our hearts!

All images copyright Tina Francis Tapestry 2013

I don't know about you but it seems that now the kids have gone back to school we have to give up on summer, I say lets try and eek it out a bit longer or at least until my friend Sarah Watkins has got married.  Sarah runs ParentSkool which teaches people how to look after their newborns, it's a great company and is going from strength to strength with courses opening around the country.

Speaking of learning it has been back to the drawing board for me over the last few weeks as I start to get some new designs ready for The Knitting and Stitching Show this will be the first time that I have exhibited at Alexandra Palace and it really is quite nerve wracking, I am dreaming of shelves and display stands!  A few of the new designs are shown in the photo above.  
I will be in the textile gallery and someone who taught and encouraged me to become a textile artist will also be there, she is Kim Thitticai one of the hardest working people I know just check out her diary and events page!  Going on Kims experimental textiles course meant that I was able to gain a place at Morley College on their Textile Foundation Course, I love the way she uses colour and texture in her work and also how she encourages people to experiment. If you are coming to Knitting and Stitching Show be sure to check her out if you have not already.

It's a great time of year to start thinking about taking up a course at night school, without these courses I would not have been able to start my business.  The thing about going to night school is that all the people who go want to learn and are generally a good old bunch.  Why not join a textiles course in your local area and see where it takes you.

Off to carry on preparing!

Colour it's where it's at!

Journey - Tina Francis 2013

I had a fantastic time in Edinburgh at the Fringe Festival, it is pretty full on and so I really enjoyed time out at Dovecot Studios  viewing their latest exhibitions.  Dovecot is such a great place to visit and watch other people working!!  I was really inspired by the Artists Rugs exhibition it rekindled my love of colour!!

Back in Brighton I decided to take a look at other people that enjoy colour as much as I do and found kindred spirits in Will at Bright Bazaar and Tina at Colour Living.  The Bright Bazaar blog is a great place to start your working week as the inspiration provided by Wills "10 Things I Learned and Loved this Weekend" will see you through the Monday blues (and yellows and reds!).  Tina at Colour Living was already on to a winner by sharing "my" name, her site is packed full of inspiration, ideas and most importantly beautiful book recommendations, take a look next time you have some time.

Speaking of colour take a look at the beautiful logo from Luke Insect for the Lewes Art Fair, I love the simplicity of the design and the colours used.

I have stand at Lewes Art Fair this Saturday 24th August which also sees the start of the Artwave Festival.  If you around Lewes way why not pop in and say hello?

So what is next on the horizon?  I am in an exhibition called Down to the Bone in September, the piece at the top of this blog will be for sale.  It's called Journey because so often we look at the outside of a person or an animal and think everything is fine but look underneath and you really get to understand where they have come from.  The piece is the front and back of my stitching and will also be available as a print.

Knitting and Stitching Show is fast creeping up but more of that in the next blog.

Happy Colourful Stitching!

Tina

One busy week does not a business make!!!

Petrol - Tina Francis - 2013

I am off to Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival and along the way I will be taking the advice of Craft Scotland and visiting some of the great exhibitions and Craft shows that will be taking place during August. I am really looking forward to the short break and just being able to look rather than do, I need a break and this is why.......

The week starting Monday 15th July was one of the busiest of my life!!  It began with a meeting at Craft Central with Dr Rachel Smart who after listening to what I had been doing, what I wanted to do, how many projects I had on the go and how many hours sleep I was getting gave me some fabulous advice on how to step out of this whirlwind and get myself in order!!! Now I love a list and I am pretty pedantic about ticking things off so Rachels advice on making targetted lists was joy to my ears - list making with permission! It has really helped me to look at my practice and question my choices, I'm not stopping on the ideas front just writing them down and investigating them rather than tangenting off into the merry world of research and then having to stay awake half the night catching up on making!  Thanks Rachel!

Next a second trip to London to drop off a small piece of work for Zeitgeist Summer Open.  Zeitgeist Arts Project is run by Rosalind Davis and Annabel Tilley and this exhibition was a chance for all ZAP members to show a small piece of their work and meet each other alongside collectors.  It was a fantastic show and I met some great people and even sold my piece Petrol (above image) which was a total bonus. Meeting other artists and listening to what they are doing really does give you a bit of confidence to carry on with it all, thanks ZAP gang!

During the whole of the week I was stitching like mad because I am going to be on TV as part of a makeover show in the Autumn. So on the Friday of my whirlwind week I was being filmed on the sunny terrace outside my beach hut studio, it mad me laugh quite a bit (inside of course - had to be sensible on film!!) because I had never had to stitch on camera before, it was one of the hottest days of the year and I was stitching with warm wool! As they say in the trade it was a wrap and so once I know when the show will be on TV I'll post it on here, probably be just a shot of me trying to thread a needle under time pressure in the blazing heat but hey any publicity is good publicity - apparently!

So there we go, the reason why I need to take a little break from myself and look and talk and listen to the makers of Scotland and then come back happy and ready to yet again get on with it!

Enjoy the sunshine and happy stitching!

Meeting and greeting!

I had a great time at Fusion at West Dean College, it was a fantastic venue with so much to see and do.  The weather was a little bit of a problem but what can you do?  I was in a small marquee with two other makers which was open to the elements!!  There were food stands, craft stalls, maker displays, drop in classes and much more, I can really see this event growing and growing. I met lots of great people interested in stitch and will definitely be back there next year.

Meeting people who love stitch is the highlight of any show for me being a maker sometimes means lots of hours alone with the radio so it was a great surprise when I had a knock on the door this morning. Standing on the doorstep were the Shermans wondering whether they could see my work - what an honour!  Sam Sherman is a keen stitcher and so I took them down to the Gallery and showed them my wares and talked about stitch for a while.  Sam bought two of my "Use Your Stash" patterns and will be taking them back with her when she returns to the States.  As you can tell this really made my day!  But I think that I need to keep my studio a little tidier in the future!

Meeting people who make for a living is hard even in a small town like Brighton so I am really pleased that some local makers have got together to create the Brighton Etsy group.  Their window display can be seen at Super and Super.  A lot of energy is going into this group with a mentoring programme being run in July, check them out if you are a maker in Brighton.

At the start of this week The Big Forest issued a challenge, this challenge is to remain positive.  It's hard to do sometimes but when you start getting out there meeting and greeting and the sun is shining you just can't help yourself!