Adios 2009! Hola 2010! The Made In The Shade Review

Happy New Year everybody!

We hope y'all spent a ridiculously cold Hogmanay cosied up with loved ones and tasty steak pie dinner and that a swell time was had by all! May 2010 bring all sorts of fun and loveliness your way and may Lady Luck and all her daughters ne'er duck you!

So. Here we are. It's the 2nd January 2010. We have a whole new decade ahead of us. I for one have pretty good vibes about the coming year - not least because round (as in, shape) numbers make me feel warm and fuzzy inside and 2010 looks pretty when you write it down. Before we start bombarding you with all the plans and ideas we have for Made In The Shade over the next twelve months, we thought it might be nice to look back and reflect a wee bit on the last twelve. What a rollercoaster 2009 was!

2009: A Year in the Life of Made In The Shade
(the bits we can remember through the crazy haze of excitement!)

The Made In The Shade gals struck up a lovely new relationship with Scotland's cutting edge culture and listings magazine, The Skinny. The Made In The Shade Skinny blog was launched in early 2009 and a swell ol' partnership celebrated with a rootin' tootin' shindig at Macsorley's Music Bar with special appearances from The Dirt & The Meat Men.

Despite a few ups and downs and a couple of hairy moments, Made In The Shade hosted a successful calendar of boutique shopping events. The event ventured into new territories too - taking a break from the bustle of the city centre and heading west for Spring/Summer 09. The gals also hosted the first festival style Made In The Shade events at Big In Falkirk - Scotland's largest street art fest and held an all day craft extravaganza at the GUU Debating Chamber with special appearances from Dave Arcari, The Tennessee Hotshots and All Tore Up! Sadly, what turned out to be our last event of the year, (rather unfortunately titled 'The Homecoming') was also to be the last Made In The Shade event held at The Lighthouse.

The Made In The Shade gals were accepted onto the prestigious NESTA Starter For 6 programme in January 2009. Following months of hard toil, head scratching and list making, the gals pitch their business ideas to a panel of hardcore creative brains and are awarded a NESTA grant award in August 2009! Thanks NESTA!

A fabulous trip to the BUST Craftacular in London Town in Summer '09 resulted in the birth of loads of new friendships and crafty links. A return trip to the Craftacular in December '09 was a huge success. We were thrilled to be included in Little Birdy's event highlights :)

The Made In The Shade Maisonette opened in De Courcy's Arcade in October 2009. The new project attracted the attention of local and national press and the Made In The Shade gals' hard work was rewarded with high profile features in the Evening Times (front page no less!), The Herald and the Sunday Herald Magazine. Other lovely press mentions came courtesy of The Telegraph, The Skinny, The List and the good ol' Glaswegian! Many thanks to all for the support and encouragement. May there be more newsworthy events to report in 2010!

Made In The Shade collaborated with new online creative network, Central Station on a project for The Tiny Gallery at The Maisonette. Artist and illustrator Lindsay Grime won herself a two week exhibition to take place in February 2010.

The Made In The Shade gals were invited to hold a seminar on the creative industries for students at the Glasgow School of Art. Working with Evolve at GSA, the gals will hold their first masterclass in January 2010. May there be many more opportunities to follow!

So. That was 2009. Of course, these are just some of the highlights of our whirlwind year. We've had so much fun and so many 'butterfly in the tummy' moments of the past twelve months that we just can't talk about absolutely everything that's happened, but suffice to say - we're had a swell time and cannot WAIT to get a hold of 2010 and shake it up (baby). May 2010 bring y'all fabulous things and loads and loads of lovely, LOVELY moments.