what I saw in London

Origin, the craft fair arranged by Crafts Council is open until Sunday, with other exhibitors this week. I'm happy I was there an early weekday, not so crowded (hope, for the exhibitors, the crowds showed up!) It's a lot to look at, and it was interesting to see how differently they all displayed their work. Here is a list of all exhibitors this year.

My favourites from first Origin week:

Yoko Isawa, in between textile and jewellery; geometrical with a soft edge, in a beautiful scale of colours:

Photo from Yoki Izawa's web site, Veiled ring 4


Melanie Tomlinsom, hand printed tin, figures, creatures and fairy tales:

Photo from Melanie Tomlinson's web site, lovely brooches can be ordered


Lizzie Farey's whimsical robust baskets

Michelle McKinney's semitransparent woven artworks

Lucy Whiting's table ware

Sytze Roos and Silja Eggenschwiler, two familiar faces, functional fabrics under the common name Keskusta

And I loved talking to the engaged guy from Craftspace, a craft development agency in West Midlands. They put craft in a wider social perspective, both to increase opportunities for the makers and to use craft as a communicative tool. I wish I lived in Birmingham and took part of it!

I'm off for studio, need to go packing ceramics.