Musical Happings at "Make Your Christmas" This Saturday!

This Saturday under the cover of McCoys Arcade we'll be shaking a leg with a few local lovelies coming to play at Handmade Arcade! The market kicks off at 10am where we'll have lots of great Christmas gifts all handmade by the good people of the neighborhood!

The music for tomorrow's fair has been organised by Tom Matthews of Exeter Local Records, a distro that can be found regularly at Handmade Arcade - if you like the sounds you hear feel free to pop over to Tom and pick up a copy to take home!

The musical offerings begin at 11am - it's totally free so come on down, grab a cuppa and a bite to eat from the Cafe and listen to some talented locals strumming a tune in the Arcade!

Here's what we've got lined up for Saturday 1st December...

Sofee Coles will get the day's music underway at 11:00 am - a 17 year old songstress from South Devon who has been playing guitar since she was 12! Following Sofee, we'll see another 17 year old at 11:30 am by the name of Kelsey Conroy will be playing some tunes and delighting us all with her lovely voice :)

The afternoon's music will begin at 12:15 pm with the Sidewalk Anthem, playing their acoustic folk tunes influenced by the likes of Fionn Ragan and Iron & Wine.  Billy Bottle & The Multiple will entertain us at at 2:00 pm - expect up to SEVEN members, the high possibility of a Saxophone and some beautiful soul-filled music!

To round off a very musical day, local singer/songwriter Emily Howard will be filling the arcade with her soulful sounds at 3:00 pm!

That's a pretty mighty five musicians, the most yet at Handmade Arcade!  Remember that Handmade Arcade is every saturday in December - if you fancy popping along to sing to us just drop us an email - handmadearcade@hotmail.co.uk :)

See you tomorrow! Dress warm :)

Nath and Hayles x

This Saturday 1st December -The first Make Your Christmas - Handmade Arcade!

This Saturday will be the first of four festive Saturdays under the cosy (now with added heating) cover of McCoys Arcade! Where you will find heaps of different Christmas gifts, things to keep you warm, illustrations, cards, zines, books, tees and crafty things, all made by the hands of lovely local makers of the Handmade Arcade Community! This Month we've got a packed day of music from local musicians - more to come tomorrow on this! The music starts at 11am so head on down to catch some truly great performances!

....... we'll also have a host of vegan cake as well as some hot apple cider to warm your cockles!

Exeter has a Vintage Quarter......

While you're in the West Quarter of Exeter remember to visit all the brilliant places around McCoy's Arcade and Fore Street, there's always the chance that you will find something really unexpected and unique within these beautiful doorways!

If you wander further down the hill this Saturday you will find a NEW little treasure to add to the hidden gems on the street - a new Vintage Habbadashery that goes by the name of Reloved 52!



The perfect place to pick up some kitsch home embellishments - a beautiful selection of homewares and much loved kitchen appliances from the 40's, 50's. 60's and 70's! And all at just a snip too :)




This area is now (very excitedly) teeming with Vintage shops!

It would almost be rude not to pop into Relevant by Lady lace and say hello to Willow who has a fine array of beautiful Christmas dresses, Jumpers, jackets and gifts for ladies with taste!

A very interesting shop!

Hangar 124 just a few steps up the street is the ultimate place for gifts for chaps - Alison has a great selection of cosy jumpers, coats fun shirts and FANTASTIC shoes - I'm sporting a pair of men's brogues I picked up from there right now! LOVE THIS PLACE!

Towards the end of the street pop into Elizabeth Armitage's Photography Studio for the brilliant pop up vintage beauty parlour & mini pin-up photo shoot! If you're interested in this please get in touch with... elizabeth@elizabetharmitage.com to ensure a space!

....also on the street is of course the brilliant Real McCoy a real vintage haven over two floors - which you can stroll right into after having a gander at the mighty fine Handmade Arcade!

This Weeks Treasures....


This Saturday we're delighted to have some friendly and familiar faces joining us!

The sparky Suzzanah Moss will be back with her amazing little handmade dragon backpacks - these would be a fantastic gift for any little person! Suzannah also has a selection of cards and bits n bobs that she'll have with her on the day :)

Madeline Bunyan's fantastic glassy gifts are all handmade by her in her studio nearby :)

Emily from Daisy Chain Headbands will be here to strum a song and tempt you with her beautiful tousle taming headbands!

The great knitter mysteriously known as Ollie's mum will be joining us with an AMAZING selection of awesome winter knits - think brighter then bright scenes with captivating colour schemes that can make even the greyest of days bright again! she'll be there with hats and winter warmers that, lets face it - is crucial at this time of year! so avoid buying machine knitted rubbish and help support the talents of Ollie's mum!

We will have stunning illustrations, handmade bow ties, cards and things from Illustrator Rosie Harbottle and Delightful Designer Ella Howard!

Rosie and Ella have some great cards and tags for presents too!

Little Owl crafts will also be here with heaps of her gorgeous hand spun and dyed wool!

We will also have Tees Zines and Badges from Common Goals if you haven't already please check out this wonderful project!

There will be a whole host of other local goodness! and more things to be found in the No Guts No Glory Shop!

ALSO on the very same day as this there will be a host of other activities in the Exeter Area - Unique Boutique held at the Phoenix Arts Centre! - The Magdalen Road Christmas Fair as well as the Velo Vintage Bike Ride!

There will also be a silent cinema in McCoys Cafe! The perfect escape from the Christmas Craziness..


See you there for festive fun!

Hayles & Nath xxx

MAKE YOUR CHRISTMAS!

We're fresh back from Berlin - with the taste of gluten-free vegan waffles in mind (yes they do exist!), cosy cafes and art on every surface, this place really was a home-from-home for us! Oh Berlin! 

We're finally settling back into the pace of things at the NGNG shop - it was great to get away and soak up the unique atmosphere of such a beautiful and ever-changing city. It's really put things into perspective for ourselves and also for the shop; how we want things to grow and what we can do here in this town of ours! Full of new energy for the project and a desire to really make the most of the community here and the freedom we have to make it ourselves!

Heres a few snaps we took of some things that inspired us on our trip …

Mauerpark was right behind our apartment - it looks so beautiful and golden in the autumn sunlight :) 

Nath's Gluten-Free, Hayleys Vegan - so these Gluten-Free Vegan waffles we're an unexpected, yet perfect find! Finally a desert that we could enjoy together :) 

Berlin is THE Capital of D.I.Y Culture and independent art! Seriously, it's everywhere; from Galleries, Shops and Markets to Street Art and Performance! 

This month seems to have shortened just as the days have, and we're ever so excited for the start of the Handmade Arcade Festive Month - we'll be hosting fairs under the cover of McCoys Arcade (which will soon be heated!) EVERY SATURDAY IN DECEMBER! Hooray for independent art and an alternative to the drab and crazy Christmas High Street! We're inviting you to come and join us and MAKE YOUR CHRISTMAS! Step away from the sickening taste of Christmas on the High Street and get involved with real people with spirit and creativity.

The Festive Fairs kick off on the 1st December and will be running from 10-5pm with lots of live music, vegan food and of course fantastic local indie art that doesn't cost the earth and that can be purchased from the hands that made it!

Here's a few pictures of some great handmade things you can take away and people you can expect to meet down in McCoys Arcade on the 1st December!

This Saturday 24th November our lovely neighbours Bunyip Beads & Buttons turns 10 years old! Such an incredible achievement for an Independent shop in Exeter! Come on down to the Arcade on Saturday and join in the Celebrations :) 

For those of you that don't already know about this magical treasure trove, Bunyip is THE place to go for all your maker needs! From Beads and threads and making tools, Mattie and her lovely staff are always on hand to help, or can be found running regular workshops in their cosy little workshop space here in McCoys Arcade!

See you soon!

Hayles and Nath x

The No Guts No Glory Third Birthday Party!

This past Saturday under the cover of McCoys Arcade we were celebrating at the No Guts No Glory Third Birthday Party/Handmade Arcade! 'Twas an amazing celebration of independent art, music and community spirit!

We had such an incredible day surrounded by the wonderful people that have supported and nurtured the project from the very beginning as well as the people who have embraced the project throughout this amazing three year journey. We met many new faces and were blown away by the amount of people who came along!

Here are some snaps of a wonderful day in the life of No Guts No Glory! :)

Emily Jonstone of The Big V, started the day off tunefully with a little stall-side set next to her Daisy Chain Headbands!

The NGNG Prize Draw! A brilliant bundle of Jack Teagle goodness - including the actual screen used to print the Snakeman Tees and a one off Snakeman action figure made by Jack!

Mulled Wine!! 

'Twas a bustling buzzy day in the Arcade!

The colorful and lovely Jess McAllister, played us some beautiful tunes she wrote :) Jess will be back in the Arcade playing soon we hope!

Jack Teagle and Donya Todd filled a stall with a great selection of comics, zines and prints! 

We had an incredible array of stalls! Thanks to the Handmade Arcade community of artists and makers for bringing warmth and smiles to the arcade!

If there was a prize for the best dressed stall then these guys would have won it for sure - ever seen a dog wearing a cape? Meet Super Bilbo and his friends Sally and Steve! They brought with them brilliant posters for just £5! As well as a selection of vegan doggy and human treats, best in show earrings and pooch pins and brooches - wrapped in the most colourful stall the Arcade has ever seen! Thanks for coming guys - you rock!

Three years ago the brilliant Rory Matthews AKA Some Sort Of Threat played in the Arcade for NGNG's launch! We couldn't think of anyone better to begin the afternoon !

The doodle on our door timed draw was a huge hit! Here's some snaps of people doodling their version of an NGNG tee design in just 3 minutes, all for the chance to win a three print bundle from our guest artists - Jack Teagle, Donya Todd and Sandra Dieckmann!

Jack from Common Goals re-inventing the Winter Blues!

 Abigail Mckenzie's Mexican design was impressive!

Jack Teagle - you can see his design at the bottom of this post...!

Sandra Dieckmann had a doodle too!

And the winner is........ none other then Claire Close! A Handmade Arcader no less! Well done Claire

We were really excited to have Will Rene play for us! 

So many people!

A very sleepy team photo!

Jack Teagle drawing the raffle! The winner was the lovely Hazel Gibbons - Hurrah for Hazel!

Jamie Gould came down from Bath to share some of his folky acoustic songs -  we were most grateful that he did!

Giles from Great Cynics entertained the crowd with his energetic uplifting tunes!

The first ever local silent cinema 'PUNY GODS' put on a selection of short films throughout the day! Thanks David Salas and friends for bringing the silent cinema to the Arcade!

Well, there they all are - all our snaps of a great day!

Thanks so much to all who came to show your support, it means so much to us for so many people to make the trip down  and celebrate three years of independent art, D.I.Y spirit and NGNG Design with us!

Here's to the future!


Hayley and Nath xx