Saturday 29 December 2012

We made Christmas! HA!

Seasonal Greetings fellow makers, friends and traders,





Phew! What a December we have had! - we've finally hung our stockings up and spent the last few days chilling out and getting ready for the exciting flurry of 2013 activities!

Handmade Arcade has always felt like so much more than an art market, to us it stands for positive change, giving people a marketplace for the unusual, shops staying open, happy traders creating community events that people love, conscious choices to shop local and buy something handmade as well as trading our hard earned cash into supporting individuals!
We want to see sense in where we live, understanding the buildings that surround us and realising that we can have such a direct impact on our environment.

The little haven of McCoys Arcade has been bursting with good spirit thanks to all you glorious supporters of Handmade Arcade and the hard work and energy the people of the West Quarter have ploughed into supporting each other - the fair has seen so much growth! From witnessing friendships blossom between makers, exciting idea swaps and collaborations, we've also seen a growing awareness of the West Quarter, many new people have come to explore this treasured part of town. And we've built closer relationships with the people who exist on our very doorstep, those people who allow us to use the space and embrace something new and different in this old but ever changing corner of Exeter.

The last Handmade Arcade was such a lovely day - many thanks to all of you who came along! Here are some snaps of all the truly wonderful things on offer! We'll be taking a little break from Handmade Arcade over January and February so we can concentrate on organising some exciting new adventures for NGNG in 2013! It's been a hoot!



Heather from Little Owl Crafts spinning away!


Such splendid wool!





 Huy Truong impressed us with his portrait drawing skills! incredible portraits in just 10 minutes - the spirit of Montmartre in McCoys Arcade who would have thought it! Huy will be back soon with his pencils for more fun :)


Amazing skills Huy!



Jasmin Liddel is one awesome little lass who lives over North Devon way. On the 22nd that would seem to be where all the flooding happened ! - but alas Jasmin and her friend donned wellies and made it down to Exeter for the day! Jasmin makes brilliant upcycled earrings from bottle tops as well as perfect handmade boxes from old magazines and some beautiful cards made from Jasmin's photography which is stunning! Pop over to her Etsy page and buy some :)



 scrummy little boxes.


 We welcomed back Tom and Sharifa from Exeter Local Records! Be sure to keep an eye on these guys in the new year! :)

 Christmas birds!

Madeline Bunyan made some beautiful glass ornamental birds for the day!



Thanks to Mandy Biscoe for bringing down some colourful make it yourself decorations - made one for my mum and she loved it :) Thanks Mandy! Oh and she also makes these brilliant Robots, trees and birds too.....

The Robots were amazing!

Mandy Biscoes daughter and friend came to help out for the day!


Sarah McDonald came along with her brilliant range of handmade retro goodies from clocks to cake stands paintings and badges crikey she's almost as busy as Bananaman!

 Ruvina had an amazing selection of brooches made from Indian silks she also had these felted and hand beaded and stitched decorations - we picked up some for our house!


Simon Hodgkiss brought some of his captivating images....



Tracey Andrews decoupage boxes and badges were brilliant, and it was great to see her again - hopefully she'll be back at future Handmade Arcade events!


Theo Weedons t-shirts were really popular he had some great designs and brilliant cards and prints! Check out Theos blog for more of his work :)


We'll be taking a wee break from Handmade Arcade but please do get in touch with us with photos of things you make and we'll be sure to keep you in the loop of future happenings!

Have an awesome New Year come and see us in the NGNG shop for a cuppa soon :)

Happy Making,

Hayles and Nath xxx











1 comment:

  1. Well done you guys - what a fab year :) It's been fab watching Handmade Arcade grow. Looking forward to being involved in 2013 and getting the craft army going, and hopefully some yarnbombing too! Big love x

    ReplyDelete