Carrie's Guest Blog Slot: The BUST Craftacular

As y'all know, the Made In The Shade gals took a trip to London Town last week. Thanks to grant funding awarded to MITS by the NESTA Starter for 6 programme, we were able to make the journey in order to expand our creative network, market Made In The Shade events and services in new territories and make valuable links with designers and makers from all over the UK.

In amongst all this business development stuff though, Made In The Shade gal Carrie was invited to contribute a guest blog to our favourite design site, Indie Quarter. Showpony, Hannah Zakari, The Cat In The Shoe, By Louise, Little Doodles, Tatty Devine, Lady Luck Rules OK (and loads more) mentioned! Would you like to read it? You can click through to the article here.

The Lighthouse Renewed

The Made In The Shade gals have yet to hear a peep from The Lighthouse team or the administrators who are now in charge of the business. We have been in touch with the (former) Chair of the Board at The Lighthouse Trust and we have contacted staff at PricewaterhouseCoopers. We continue to await some meaningful response.

In the meantime, you might like to browse this interesting little social networking site dedicated to discussion about The Lighthouse, its current status and ideal visions for its future.

http://lighthouserenewed.ning.com/

The Lighthouse: Hope Yet?

Although we still remain in the dark with regards the future of the Made In The Shade Boutique Shopping Event at The Lighthouse, we thought you might like to read this particular news report about the centre going into administration. The BBC News article communicates a slightly brighter picture of the otherwise gloomy situation.

For the time being, we suggest y'all glean the positive aspects from this story and keep your fingers and toes crossed that the administrators do indeed find some financially viable means to honour bookings and see through other programmed activity at The Lighthouse - at the very least, for a little while. It seems that the powers that be are recognising the valuable role the centre plays in Scottish creative culture and we hope with all our might that decision takers and policy makers can find a pathway through.

Read the story here.

The Lighthouse

Good afternoon Made In The Shaders.

Ok. So by now y'all will have read in various news reports that The Lighthouse: The Centre for Architecture, Design & the City (and the core venue for the Made In The Shade Boutique Shopping Event) has gone into administration. We are exteremely saddened by this news, though not exactly surprised. The team at The Lighthouse have been working hard for some time to improve business at the centre and their efforts ought to be commended. Such a pity.

We want to keep you fully informed about how this news impacts upon future Made In The Shade events and we want to keep you informed about how we intend to continue with the boutique showcases should the administrators take the decision to close the doors of The Lighthouse straight away/permanently. However, the Made In The Shade team have yet to receive any official word from our contacts at The Lighthouse re. last night's/this morning's revelations and thus far have received no confirmation that the Made In The Shade Boutique Shopping events planned for September and December have been cancelled.

Since we are sensible gals, we have emergency alternative plans in place should The Lighthouse be unavailable for venue hire. Until we have full confirmation from The Lighthouse team that our events have been cancelled we will however, continue to promote and plan for the Boutique Shopping Event scheduled for Saturday 26th September as normal. As soon as we know more, we will report back to you straight away.

To those of you who have applied for selling space at the September Made In The Shade event due to take place in The Lighthouse, please rest assured that Made In The Shade will do everything in our power to ensure that you will be showcasing and selling your work on the weekend of 26th September. We will endeavour to give y'all at least 3 weeks notice of any change of plan to the event schedule and we will be sure to give you the chance to opt out of any alternative arrangements should they need to be kicked into action.

We are always happy to help you with questions and queries, but right now, we know nothing more than is reported in the news today. As soon as we have any official word from The Lighthouse team, we will post an update and get in touch with all vendors and customers via email.

Sit tight Shaders. As wise Lenny Kravitz once sang, 'Baby it ain't over til it's over'.

We want to live in the Indie Quarter

We've cultivated a lovely relationship with the Indie Quarter team over the years. We think the site is just fabulous and site manager, Jenny truly has her finger on the pulse of all things DIY. If you've yet to become acquainted with the joy of Indie Quarter, you really oughta sort that out. Visit the site regularly for indie shopping tips, Day In The Life features by inspiring creative business people and a whole load of gossip from the crafty world.

Jenny has very kindly published a cute little preview of our next Made In The Shade Boutique Shopping Event. Taking place on Saturday 26th September at The Lighthouse in Glasgow, we're gearing up to host a homecoming party to remember. Read all about it at the Indie Quarter website here.

We can also reveal this week that Made In The Shade gal Carrie (that's me!) will be putting on her 'roving reporter' hat and writing a little retrospective of the BUST Craftacular specially for Indie Quarter. We'll be attending the event on Saturday 22nd August (3 more sleeps) and the post will be live on Indie Quarter pretty much as soon as we get back - providing of course that we survive the Megabus trip home! I mean... What sort of time-warp wife travels by Megabus?!

What a quacking weekend! (Boom boom)

Last weekend, the Made In The Shade gals set up a little impromptu indie shopping space at musical extravaganza Duckstock in Glasgow's homeliest alt. venue, The Flying Duck.
We had a swell ol' time. 'Twas a real joy to work in such a quirky space. It took a lot for us not to make attempts at stealing furniture and fixtures!




We were joined by a handful of smiley Made In The Shaders; Snap Dragon Jane, Hungry Designs, Lost In The Forest, YHF Photo, Gillian Hayes Photography, Wooden Tree, Cotton Candy Corsage, *pipless jam, Lemonart, Jennifer Nicolson, Clare Nicolson and Covetables. It was a real joy to have such a fabulous troupe of vendors take part in the event and it sure was lovely to meet some new people. Good old Twitter :o)




Clare and I had a rerr terr playing some tenuously 'Woodstock' themed tunes in the dj booth and it was just great to get the chance to hear a tonne of our favourite Glasgow acts perform all in one space. Haight Ashbury, The Low Miffs, John B McKenna and Heads on Sticks were just some of the highlights. Look 'em up.

Thanks to Del at The Flying Duck for inviting us to be involved. Thanks to Barney and all the other Flying Duck staff for ensuring the day ran like clockwork and thanks too to all the customers and festival goers who came to check out the array of wonderful handmade and vintage products on offer!

We plan to return to The Flying Duck for more musical shopping fun. More news as it comes!

Music is free. Friends are free. Love is free. Made In The Shade @ Duckstock THIS WEEKEND!

For those of you planning on heading to free music festival Duckstock this weekend at The Flying Duck, you might be pleased to hear that the Made In The Shade gals are getting in to the Woodstock spirit, taking a chill pill and hosting a miniature, VERY laid back version of Made In The Shade right there in the club den :

We have textiles, homewares, stationery, giftware, accessories, jewellery, art, edibles, festival ephemera, jumble, bath & beauty and... and... Loads of fabulous things! :o)

Here's the vendor line-up. Bunch o' ole hippies...

1. Clare Nicolson + Jen's Jamazing Jewellery (not Jen's actual business name, mind! Just for for fun!)
2. YHF Photo & Gillian Hayes Photography
3. Cotton Candy Corsage
4. *pipless jam
5. Lemonart
6. Snap Dragon Jane
7. Lost In The Forest + The Koru Branch
8. Wooden Tree
9. Hungry Designs
10. Covetables
11. Lady Wurlitzer & Nana Moon's Trunk Sale

The Made In The Shade Gals at Duckstock 2009!

The Made In The Shade gals are beside themselves with excitement. The good dudes of Duckstock '09 have invited us to add an extra bit of creative indie spirit to this year's festival procedings!

Duckstock is a FREE festival taking place at our very favourite Glasgow city centre venue, The Flying Duck on Sunday 16th August. Duckstock coincides with the 40 year anniversary of ultimate free lovin' indie-fest Woodstock. Sticking true to the spirit of the 1969 Woodstock gathering, Duckstock will bring together live performances from lots of different acts on different stages (all performing at least one cover of a song performed at Woodstock!) with poets, djs, film, exhibits, food, drinks and indie shopping! The Made In The Shade gals will be playing a wee DJ set here and there too!

The festival kicks off at 1pm. Entry is free. Music is free. Friends are free. Love may well be free, but I'd be sure to check first.

If you want to do your homework before coming along to Duckstock '09, we found this fabulous little site that tell y'all EVERYTHING you need to know about Woodstock '69.

>>>>>

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SELL YOUR WARES @ DUCKSTOCK?

In keeping with the vibe of the day, Duckstock are offering y'all FREE selling space at the festival on Sunday 16th August. Think your products suit the (city centre) festival goer? Drop an email quick smart to bookings@wearemadeintheshade.com and we'll sort you right out.

Hey hey - wait a minute Mr. Postman! Here's PT1 of our August Newsletter!

Technically, it hasn't been that long since we posted our last newsletter but things are happening so gosh darn fast here at MITS HQ at the moment that my fingers can't type fast enough to keep y'all up to date! Here's what we've been up to over the last few weeks...

Made In The Shade - NESTA Starter for 6 '09 Awardees

Following several months of training and a whole load o' toil, the Made In The Shade gals are thrilled to have been awarded grant funding by NESTA - the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. We're really excited to be in a position now to develop our events calendar and introduce new streams of support for the designers, makers and small retailers we work with. Hooray!

The Made In The Shade Gals in London Town!

Later this month, the gals are taking a trip to the big smoke. We'll be trawling the capital's best handmade and vintage haunts on the look out for new talent and fabulous products. We'll be spending 3 days meeting independent business owners and other creative types - we're really excited! If you would like to recommend a boutique or a market event you think we oughta visit, mail us at: mail@wearemadeintheshade.com and we'll add it to our itinerary!

Made In The Shade & The Park Gallery

This Autumn/Winter the Made In The Shade team are working alongside the Park Gallery in Falkirk to bring a touch of handmade magic and public crafting to the gallery's event program and to the lovely people of Falkirk! We're currently laying plans to host a series of creative workshops in Falkirk city centre and at the Park Gallery itself. Check the website for further information in the coming weeks!

Clare Nicolson in The Sunday Herald

Did you see it?! Did you see it?! Yes. 'Tis true! Our very own Clare Nicolson featured in The Sunday Herald last weekend in the 'My Favourite Outfit' spread. Clare talked to the lovely Ali Howard about her penchant for all things vintage and the special wardrobe she has to store her enormous collection of cowgirl shirts! You can have a peek at the spread here.

If you would like to get in touch with Made In The Shade, email us at: mail@wearemadeintheshade.com. We'd love to hear from you! And remember - subscribe to our mailing list via the website and catch up with us on our social networking profiles too! :o)

The Made In The Shade Homecoming - VENDORS WANTED

The Made In The Shade gals are pleased to announce that vendor applications are now open for our next boutique shopping event!

We are looking to recruit a smiley troupe of fabulous designers, crafters, artist makers and vintage sellers for the Made In The Shade Homecoming event in Glasgow. We'll be setting up shop on Saturday 26th September at The Lighthouse and doors will be open to customers between 10.30am and 5pm. As always, we'll be pulling out all the stops to make sure the event goes off with a shang-a-lang. We're currently beavering away in the background laying super plans and adding special event touches!

If you would like to find out more about selling your handmade or vintage wares at the Made In The Shade Homecoming event, please have a flick through our Vendor Information pages then send us an email at bookings@wearemadeintheshade.com and we'll fill you in on all the Homecoming details. Be sure to check our website and social networking profiles regularly for event updates and exciting newsflashes! You can find us on Myspace, you can follow us on Twitter and you can join our Facebook group too! As Steven Tyler quite rightly said, you don't want to miss a thing!

We can't WAIT to see you! :o)