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Craft Fair Crazy

5 December, 2014 / Katy / 2 Comments

Or – No Goats at Debenhams, a cautionary tale

This weekend is chock full of craft fairs for me!

I’d love to see you there, it’s an especially good way to support Small Business Saturday (and I’m sure we can stretch it out to Sunday without too much trouble). Plus, Out of the Blue and Gorgie Farm are absolute treasures of Edinburgh.

I’m sure you’re all thoroughly convinced of the benefits of supporting locally run projects and businesses over endless chain shops, but if you need any more convincing, I guarantee that M&S will never run aerial dance classes in their food hall of an evening and no matter how much of a bargain you find at Debenhams, you will not be able to feed a goat on your way out (and I can tell you, it would make shopping with a small child much easier if there were more goats in shops).

So there’s my weekend all lined up, and I hope I can help you knock a few things off your list in the process.

Just a quick reminder that this weekend is the last date for taking commissions for postage within the UK, so please let me know if you’re wanting to bespeak something.

Greener on this Side

28 November, 2014 / Katy / 1 Comment

We’re pretty big hippies here at Misericordia Mansions and so I face a little conundrum, how do I make art (which is more or less a luxury) as kind to the Earth as possible?

I know that it can be a little overwhelming navigating the various ethical merits of organic, fairtrade, local and recycled, so I sat down and tried to make a list of what was most important to me, in order of preference. (This comes in handy when I’m stuck in front of the coconut milk section of a shop prevaricating wildly between four brands!)

This applies to my everyday shopping just as much as Misericordia supplies.

Second hand – charity shops, eBay, beg, borrow or lift from a skip
Independent – small businesses or makers
Local – shops in my local area, the UK, Europe etc
Fairtrade – if it has to come from overseas, it needs to be fair
Recycled
Organic

That’s why my frames are upcycled from charity shops (with Auro plant-based paints), my hoops and mini canvases are from the fabulous Fred Aldous in Manchester and my jewellery findings are from a new discovery, Jasmine Studios in London. When I feel I can be trusted, I take myself along the road to Edinburgh Art Shop with a very strict list.

I’m even hoping to change my fabric to organic muslin someday.

Do you look for any particular ethical qualities in your art (or shopping basket)? Any top tips for greener living, we’re always keen to try new things!

Festive Deadlines Fast Approaching

21 November, 2014 / Katy / 1 Comment

It’s a strange thing living on a crafting schedule…

For instance, my helpful notes (made many weeks ago as I badgered the bemused man at the Post Office for Christmas Posting Dates) tell me that next week, Saturday 29th November, is the last commission date for guaranteeing that personalised delights will wing their way to North America and (astonishingly) Europe in time to greet whatever gift-giving folk hero you love best.

If you’re planning something, even if you don’t know what you want yet, please let me know so I can make sure I save stitching time for your order.

If you’re posting something a little closer to home, your dates to remember are:

Last commission date for UK postage or collection: Sunday, 7th December (I’ll be at Out of the Blue in Leith on the Saturday and Gorgie Farm on the Sunday if you want to order in person)
Last order date for UK postage: Friday, 19th December

If you’re in Edinburgh, I may just be willing to meet up for a top-secret handover of embroidered goods a little later than the 19th. False moustaches, pass phrases and furtive glances are a must!

Keep an eye out for some special offers coming up, I’ll be posting on my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with details!

PS. New letter badges are now available!

Bangles and Brooches

14 November, 2014 / Katy / 1 Comment

Well, that came around quickly!

It’s time for another Morningside Makers Market on Saturday and I’m just finishing up a few pieces ready to go.

The thing I keep forgetting about making things with glue, rather than thread, is that they require a significant amount of time to dry and cure. Which explains why you’ll have to picture those lovely letters in their final homes, a little like these.

Instagram

10 November, 2014 / Katy / 1 Comment

Have you ever held out against a new thing, only to discover, once you finally succumb, that it was just the thing you had been looking for?

Yea, well I’ve gone and done just that with Instagram.

Cutting it fine for tomorrow’s Morningside Makers Market! #workinprogress #craftfair #Edinburgh #hoopart

A photo posted by Katy Bromberg (@mymisericordia) on Oct 10, 2014 at 3:23am PDT

Not only is it absolutely amazing for displaying your caffeinated beverage of choice, but there are heaps of vibrant and inspiring hand embroidery artists keen to interact with and support each other.

Sunday morning snooze #gingercat #sundaymorning

A photo posted by Katy Bromberg (@mymisericordia) on Oct 10, 2014 at 2:34am PDT

So, if you’re missing out on photos of my work in progress, Kipling trying to help me, or (very occasionally) my breakfast, come and say hello at mymisericordia! I’d love to follow you lovely people, so let me know how to find you too.

Note to self – don’t get these plates confused! #workinprogress #workingbreakfast #watercolour #cheeseontoast

A photo posted by Katy Bromberg (@mymisericordia) on Nov 11, 2014 at 1:32am PST

Avast, Me Hearties!

7 November, 2014 / Katy / 1 Comment

If you yearn for adventure on the high seas, I might have just the thing for you.

I’ve been mulling this idea over for ages, but when I was spurred on by the need to create a really good first birthday present, it all came together.

This piece is even more personalised than usual, the Sea Monsters feature Steve the Octopus (a present to Dragon from the birthday girl’s parents) and Hugo the whale (childhood toy of her dad) and Jolly’s Cove, apart from being a truly awful pun, was named after her mum’s giraffe toy.

I really want to do some more of these, so I’m trying to think of ways to encourage more people to commission them from me. You can see more photos here and be sure to tell your scurvy crew!

A New Member of Staff

4 November, 2014 / Katy / 7 Comments

I’ve just looked at my holiday craft fair diary (you can see it here) and it’s looking so busy that I thought it might be an idea to recruit a new member of staff.

After due consideration of potential candidates, we decided that it would be better to train one up from scratch rather than hire someone who wasn’t versed in the ways of Misericordia Mansions.

Unfortunately, this process takes a while, so the new employee won’t be joining us until March, well after the holiday rush, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.

Dragon is looking forward to his position as line manager, and we’ve given the new recruit the honorary title – Little Lion.

(Any and all advice about how to seamless expand an embroidery empire will be gratefully received.)

Morningside Makers Market this Saturday

31 October, 2014 / Katy / 1 Comment

Someday, Gentle Reader, I will be so organised that I will have time to photograph all of the pieces I’m taking to a craft fair before I do my practice set up.

But, as they say, it is not this day! Even my camera is against me, the batteries died just as I took the first photo for this post…

Perhaps it’s a good way to heighten the excitement (yours, not mine).

At any rate, here are a few sneaky peeks (courtesy of my phone) at what’s coming with me to the Morningside Makers Market this Saturday.

You can see all of my upcoming fairs here, but don’t worry, I’ll keep you posted!

Back to work…

Beyond the Fringe – Adventures in Mending

24 October, 2014 / Katy / 1 Comment

A recent dip into a familiar but long-neglected charity shop (I used to work around the corner, so it was a convenient place to pop in during lunch breaks) yielded a lovely wool Pavlovo Posad Russian shawl with the tags still on.

I’m on another Victorian literature bender, so a voluminous shawl seemed just the thing, and I’ve always loved Russian textiles, so I wasn’t even very disappointed to find a series of tears in one corner when I got it home. (Not even disappointed enough to take a before photo, I’m afraid.)

Scrapiana, mender extraordinaire, has inspired me to be a little more creative about my mending, so I grabbed a scrap of batiste and my trusty box of embroidery thread and set to work.

First I satin stitched over the cut portions and into the whole parts to ensure that there was good adhesion to the batiste (it’s very hard to break yourself of the habit of satin stitching in the most thread-conserving method) and then I buttonhole stitched around the edge of the mended areas with black sewing thread. About eight stitches into that buttonhole stitch I realised that I was a card-carrying obsessive hand embroiderer, I’m pretty sure that no one else would have thought it was a good idea!

In the end, I’m really pleased with how it came out, I’ve trimmed off the excess batiste (please ignore the bit where I folded the batiste accidentally) and it looks quite tidy.

I’m finding this mending thing quite therapeutic, I’d love to hear about your favourite mended pieces – they don’t even have to be yours!

Crepuscular – active at twilight

17 October, 2014 / Katy / 1 Comment

What’s your favourite word?

Here’s mine:

HaggardHawks (otherwise known as Paul Anthony Jones – author of Haggard Hawks and Paltry Poltroons) put out a call for favourite words for World Dictionary Day and it gave me a chance to make a piece I’ve been wanting to make for ages.

Crepuscular means active at twilight, and it mainly refers to animals…and children. It was a rather weary refrain from my mother when I was a child, and I have to say that I have found myself sighing it to myself in similar circumstances at the moment. As if that weren’t enough, Kipling has a bit of a crazy half hour around bedtime too, so we have a full house of crepuscular creatures!

I thought you might like to see how hoops get turned from flat embroideries to hoops, so here’s a little factory tour, enjoy!