Wednesday 27 January 2010

MITS @ Pin-Up Nights: Ladies' Night III

Well it's ladies' night and the feeling's right... dum-a-dum-a...

Y'all are well aware of popular indie club night, Pin-Up Nights, right? Well. Next month, the Pin-Ups boys are set to host their third annual Ladies' Night event at our very favourite late night haunt, The Flying Duck. They have a rerr line-up waiting in the wings. NYC electro-pop duo French Horn Rebellion will play live and a team of fancy guest DJs have dibs on the decks. Guests include; Traceyanne & Carey (Camera Obscura), Adele & Allidgh (Sons & Daughters), Emma Pollock (The Delgados), Emmy-Kate & Maria du Santiago (Kenickie) and Manda Rin (bis). We hear there will also be a very secret 'Hunky Secret Treat' guest to wow y'all too. We know who he is. But we're not telling. Ok - so it's Julian Casablancas. No. It's not. No. No. It's Basshunter. No. No. It's not.

Anyway...

As well as live music and fabulous choice record picks from loads of lovely famous faces, Pin Up Nights will be giving the first 100 ladies through the door a special party goody bag - swell, huh? :) Oh, what a night! (What is wrong with me? I appear to have caught some sort of disco bug!)

And...

No! That's not all, people! On top of ALL THAT we're thrilled to announce that Made In The Shade will be putting a little shopping shebang together in 'The Pin Ups Vintage Village' :) Whoop!

Watch this space for more info ;)


ATTENTION VENDORS:

Wanna set up shop at Ladies' Night? Wanna showcase your work in a club full o' Glasgow Indieratti? (Indieratti?!?!?) We're looking to recruit a group of sellers for the event. This is a night club event so will best suit night owl rock'n'roll types who're ready to get into the spirit of the evening! If you are a vintage seller (clothing, accessories, ephemera...) or if your handmade creations have a bit of a vintage vibe about 'em, then please get in touch! We'd love to have you join us at Ladies' Night!

The event takes place on Friday 26th February 2010 at the Flying Duck, Renfield Street, Glasgow.

If you would like more info, drop us a line: bookings@wearemadeintheshade.com

Deadline for us to confirm line-up is Friday 19th February so don't dilly dally! ;)

Sunday 24 January 2010

Hey Dude! That's My Design!

Last week we received an email from our chum Leona of Lady Luck Rules OK. We do love to receive 'lil notes from Leona. However, last week poor Lady Luck wasn't reaching out across cyberspace for any ole chinwag. No, no. Following Made By White's public Tweet not two weeks ago about Freedom/Topshop stealing one of her brooch designs, Leona was writing with the appalling news that she too had fallen prey to sneaky design thieves - this time the sticky fingered culprit being ASOS, no less. Lovely.




















Not one to sit by and allow bigwigs (or half-assed indies for that matter) to threaten or undermine the endeavours of genuinely hard-working indie business owners and creative practioners, Leona published a fantastic blog on her LLROK Journal site lifting the lid on just how careful designer-makers need to be when trying to protect their designs. Leona gives a troubling insight into just how common design theft is but balances the doom and gloom with a set of very helpful tips on how to help yourself and take appropriate and effective action should you find yourself in a legal pickle over intellectual property and copyright.

Leona has granted us permission to reproduce her top tips on our blog. Specially aimed at indie designer-makers, these pointers could go some way to making sure your work is not ripped off by lazybums with loose ethics.

What are you to do when, as an independent designer-maker, some ass-munch steals your work?

Over to you, Leona!

"As a true independent we deal with the situation ourselves by doing the following…

1. The minute we find out about a copy we start gathering evidence. If it's being sold online take a screengrab of the whole page. If it's being sold in a bricks and mortar store (in the UK!) go and buy one, keep receipt & packaging.

2. Before going public or contacting the company show/e-mail a link to friends and family to gather some honest feedback. It's easy to feel you have been copied when in reality, sometimes it's just that people have similar ideas at similar times. Other times it's obvious to everyone who looks at it that your original work was more than just 'inspiration' to someone else, and that they've copied you.

3. Contact the buyer/designer of the company with a friendly first e-mail/letter (remember they *might* be unaware this is a copy). I prefer to keep everything in writing, in case I need to prove what has been communicated later on. It's easy to forget what you've said over the phone. Cease & Desist letters can come later if they don't co-operate. Provide them with evidence that this is our design, we also include blog entries and press articles which are good quick visual way to date when we launched the design. Request they remove the article from sale immediately and either send the remaining stock to us to destroy or allow them to do it.

4. Compensation? In my experience this is just not a reality, although maybe I should pursue this part more... after all they have saved themselves the time we spent designing and prototyping it, profited from our design, possibly lost us sales, and cheated our valued customers who come to us for unique, well-made jewellery. If you're a designer/illustrator who's successfully managed this part please tell us your story.

5. From now on I will blog 'n' tweet 'n' tell all. Everyone has a right to know that these things happen and customers might feel they no longer want to buy from or support those companies who repeatedly rip off the creative inspiration of others.

6. Have a cup of tea and get over it! It is genuinely hurtful when you first see something you remember doodling on a scrap of paper, drawing and re-drawing until it's just right, excitedly sampling and testing and finally launching to your customers being copied, made badly and sold at half the price you could afford to make it for. Apart from anything else, it's heartbreaking that some people might actually think these shoddy copies were created by me! The people who do this are selfish, lazy and greedy - phew - it makes me so angry, but I have to calm down... As a small business we don't have the resources or money to get involved in time-consuming legal actions and are too busy to feel sorry for ourselves. Instead, we HAD to put our energy into fresh ideas and invent jewellery that was harder to copy. Sadly, one of the reasons we stopped making enamels was that they kept being copied - but it did result in us developing several new handmade techniques, such as printing onto wood and applying glitter to acrylic."

(from Lady Luck Rules OK Journal)

So ther you have it. What a sad and sorry tale. We trust that y'all will support Lady Luck Rules OK and other independent designers who have had similar experiences by refusing to spend your hard-earned cash on shoddy copies of uncredited design work. Support your indie makers, people!

You can read Leona's article in its entirety here.



Craftin' Round Our Place

Clare and I have been busy bees at The Maisonette this month. Who said January is the quiet month of the year? Simply not the case in our little abode. We've had guests over at The Maisonette nearly every night of the week! :)

The Sewing Session - January 2010

Y'all already know that Clare is the stitchin' queen, don't you? Well - she is. We thought we'd give you sewing virgins a chance to learn a crafty tip or two by hosting our first edition of The Sewing Session.
























We welcomed a group of lovely guests to The Maisonette (to the hallway of The Maisonette actually - we needed the extra elbow room!) to learn all the basic skills they'd need to pick up their needles and get to grips with some simple textile craft. Clare pre-prepared some fun tasks for the group including some real cute cross-stitch patterns.























A tray of cupcakes and a packet of Blue Ribands later, Clare had set the group off on a two hour stitchin' marathon! For over two hours, they cross stitched their 'lil hearts out :) A fun time was had by all! This workshop will definitely be running again so if you fancy trying your hand, keep your peepers peeled on the website for more dates to be confirmed.

Textile Workshop with Wooden Tree - January 2010

Oh how we love the work of Kirsty Anderson of Wooden Tree! Kirsty is a long time Made In The Shade vendor and is now one of our resident designers at The Maisonette. You may have fallen love with Kirsty's 'lil fabric bird, cloud and anchor brooches last season? They're swell. Well - not only are we stocking a whole new range of Wooden Tree work at The Maisonette for Spring, but we invited Kirsty to impart some creative wisdom on an enthusiastic group of learners at a very special textile workshop. We'd be making textile brooches - Wooden Tree style! Kirsty offered up her magic suitcase of gorgeous fabric remnants and fancy threads to the group and once everyone handpicked their favourite materials, Kirsty helped 'em create their patterns.






























Oh-so organised, Kirsty even brought along her own stash of Bucks Fizz!! Can you believe it? Just as well really, since our usual trusty stockist was clean out :( The sew-ers created some fabulous brooches - cupcakes, lightning bolts, creatures and hearts and all sorts! We can't wait to invite Kirsty back to do some more fun workshops with us! Check the website regularly for announcements of future dates.

Wednesday 20 January 2010

Tomorrow's Textile Workshop - BOOK NOW!

We still have a couple of sneaky spaces available for tomorrow's textile workshop with Kirsty Anderson of Wooden Tree.

To secure your space, email us at: themaisonette@wearemadeintheshade.com









Tuesday 19 January 2010

Mad Hatter's Craft Party at The Maisonette!

On Thursday 28th January, we'll be hosting a Mad Hatter's Craft Party in honour of clever maker and headwear enthusiast Sabine Mitsch. We want to give y'all a chance to make something beautiful for your head!

Enjoy some sweet treats and nibbles as y'all learn to create your very own fabulous piece of millinery! Sabine will provide all the tuition and materials you need to adorn and decorate a pretty fascinator, headband or simple pillbox hat. A girl after our own hearts, Sabine adores the magic of a well tended to haberdashery box and she'll be bringing along a host of beautiful feathers, bows, silk and ribbon for you to use in your project. Of course, if you have a special piece of fabric or embellishment you'd like to incorporate into your design, then do bring it along!

A £10 donation buys you over two hours tuition time with Sabine, treats and refreshments and all the materials you need to make your fascinator, headband or pillbox hat :)

















If you would like to book a place at this session, email us at: themaisonette@wearemadeintheshade.com and we will add you to our little register. Places are limited so please get in touch quckly. We'll usually confirm your slot within 24 hours of receiving your mail. If you need to get in touch with us you can call The Maisonette on: 0141 337 3795.

We can't wait to see you!

If you need more info,

Monday 18 January 2010

Last Chance Saloon

As you'll be aware if you're a regular visitor to the blog or if you keep in touch with us via our social networking pages, we're welcoming a whole heap of new designers and makers into The Maisonette this season. We're making room for lots of new faces and for stacks of fabulous new and exciting products.

Now, we've said it before - but we'll say it again. The products we showcase and sell at The Maisonette are all designed and handmade by talented folks from all over the UK and beyond. They are made with care in small quantities and are often available in limited runs. That's the beauty of handmade and that's one of the things that makes oru shop special. Below you will find a little catalogue of lonesome items that are the last of their kind at The Maisonette. If you want to grab hold of these fellas, you best do so quick smart! This is the Last Chance Saloon.































Pie Gent by The Cat In The Shoe
£28.oo

Aaaww... His gal left him, his best pal left him and he was ditched by his Siamese relatives. At Christmas! This guy needs a loving home. This is the last Pie Gent by The Cat In The Shoe that we have at The Maisonette :(
























The Cowardly Hedgehog Pin Cushion
by Angharad Jefferson
£12
.oo

He is lonely.
Take him home.

























We have just 2 *pipless jam Poetry Calendars (£10.oo) left at The Maisonette and just ONE large Mexican Wrestler badge by Fiona Hamilton (£3.oo). The wooden Medal Pin you see there by Lost At Sea (£12.oo) is the last in stock and of course, Tom by Angharad (£70.00) is a one-off. Grab 'em quick!!































We have just one solitary Ornamental Grenade by Kitty & Dude left.
Been coveting for a while? Well - now's the time to pounce! This gorgeous gal costs £36.oo.

Other Items in the Last Chance Saloon...

Embroidered owl wall canvas by Angharad Jefferson - £70.oo
Let's Ride! tote bag by Gemma Correll - £12.oo
Pretty Pin Cushion by Mae Bishop - £6.00
Ceramic Sitting Bird Brooch by Kitty & Dude - £20.oo
Little Owl by Madness of Many - £15.00
Small guilt-free taxidermy (rabbit) by Madness of Many - £20.00

If you would like us to set aside a Last Chance Saloon item for you for collection at The Maisonette or if you would like to buy any of these fabulous products from a distance, we can accept mail orders vua Paypal. Get in touch with Carrie & Clare at: themaisonette@wearemadeintheshade.com and we'll do all we can to help.

YHF Photo Event - THIS Saturday at the Maisonette!



So, y'all came to visit the fabulous YHF Photo exhibit at The Tiny Gallery during December, right?
We hope you enjoyed playing with your 'lil magnifying glasses and we hope you had a swell time exploring the world of YHF Photo and the little people :)

As you will know if you saw the exhibit, YHF shrunk his work specially for his installation in The Tiny Gallery. Normally selling larger photographic work, the 'lil A5 frames with tiny images inside have proven real popular! We've had so many requests from visitors to purchase the shrunken work that we've teamed up with Garry Maclennan of YHF Photo to host a special exhibition closing party this weekend in order that you can do just that! Yes! THIS weekend!

Taking place at The Maisonette between 10am - 6pm on Saturday 23rd January, y'all will be able to nab yourself a little artsy piece of photographic magic! Mindful that we're all still recovering from Christmas madness, we're pleased to announce that every single last miniature frame from the Extraordinary Ordinary exhibit by YHF Photo will be for sale for the VERY special price of just £15 each! Imagine that! We'll be selling work straight from the wall, so swing by, choose your favourite image (or set of images) and we'll package them up for you to take home right there and then.

























We're oh-so-lucky too, that photographer Garry Maclennan will be visiting us at The Maisonette on the afternoon of the closing event so - if you'd like to meet the artist behind your photograph, then this is the perfect opportunity. Garry will be happy to talk to you about his exhibit, about his obsession with little people and his plans for future projects. Come say hello, buy art, enjoy a cupcake and maybe a glass of pink lemonade and shop along to our vintage soundtrack!

Need more information about this event? Email us at: the maisonette@wearemadeintheshade.com

See you Saturday!

Textile Workshop with Lost In The Forest - BOOK NOW!

Sad to have missed out on The Sewing Session? Well - fear not! The lovely Emily Chandler of Lost in the Forest joins us at The Maisonette for a crafty get-together on Monday 25th January :) During this mini sociable, creative session you will learn some simple hand sewing techniques, combine vintage materials, add a little bit of sparkle and create your very own textile necklace! Swell, huh?

Emily will bring along her own stash of vintage fabrics & trims that you can use, but remember - if you have a favourite frock that no longer fits or a special piece of fabric that you've been saving for who knows what, or even a souvenir tea towel that's been languishing unused in the cupboard - then bring it along and put it to use!




















For a donation of £10 you will receive all the materials and instruction you need to make your necklace and you'll have the chance to pick Emily's brains and solve any crafty conundrums you might have! Of course, we'll be laying on the obligatory pink lemonade, cake n biscuits etc.!

If you would like to attend this session, please email us at themaisonette@wearemadeintheshade.com Numbers are limited so please do get in touch quickly! We don't want you to miss out.

Textile Workshop with Wooden Tree - BOOK NOW!

Kirsty Anderson (of Wooden Tree & Marche Marche fame) will be joining us at The Maisonette on the evening of Thursday 21st January to host a cosy, crafty get-together :) That's THIS Thursday!

Once of our favourite Maisonette designers and Made In The Shade event vendors, Kirsty will be teaching y'all how to make a birdie brooch, embroider a rain cloud or sew your own sweet thoughts onto a fabric heart! We'll be using a fabulous collection of reclaimed fabrics and pretty bits and pieces. Waste not want not as they say! :) For an £8 donation, you'll receive all the materials you'll need to make your 'lil pretty brooch pin, free cake and juice (Bucks Fizz if you're lucky!) and over two hours of teaching time with the lovely Kirsty!



To book a place at this workshop, all you need to do is email us at:

themaisonette@wearemadeintheshade.com

and we'll add you to our 'lil register. If you do not receive a reply from us to confirm your space within 24 hours, please call us on: 0141 337 3795.

Swell.

See y'all there!

We're All Full Up! (Ah-huh-huh)

Yes - once again, the most fitting catch phrase heard at The Maisonette is... "If y'er no' fast - y'er last". We're thrilled (and wee bit sorry) to announce that both the January Sewing Session (hand-sewing basics workshop) and the Sewing Machine Basics evening are now fully subscribed.

Since these 'lil classes seem to be particularly popular, we're thinking about hosting another round over the next few months. Before we go get organising, can we just have a show of hands - who'd be interested in attending a couple o' wee sewing workshops? Email us at themaisonette@wearemadeintheshade or drop us a note on Facebook or Twitter to let us know what you think. If y'all want 'em - we'll provide 'em! :)

To those of you who have managed to sneak a place - we'll see you soon!

Thursday 14 January 2010

Beards: The New Black

As any fool will know, Clare and I both have a penchant for a boy with a beard. Hell! I married Beardy for crying out loud! If you've been following our crafty exploits for some time, you may remember that we (not Made In The Shade per se, but Clare and I under another guise) hosted a birthday party for country legend Kris Kristofferson? We hosted a few parties for Kris Kristofferson actually, but at one particular soiree a couple of years back, we decided to pay crafty homage to the bearded one by running a casual 'knit your own beard' session. What a hoot. We decided to get back to our Country Crafting roots this winter and we felt the time was right to revive the facial fuzz fun :)

Last night we hosted our very first Country Crafting session at The Maisonette. Despite the fact we'd laid places at the table for just 6 guests, we managed to squish in three times as many people thanks to some nifty furniture shuffling and some begging and borrowing (thanks for the chairs Beanscene!)






























With Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and Gram Parsons blasting out of our 'lil stereo and plate-fulls of fairy cakes set for the scoffing, we ready to get down to some casual crafting with our new found friends. Some folks coloured in. Some folks made crazy faces on paper plates in Clare's latest game, 'Let's Face It' and others, well... others knitted beards!






























In a rainbow of colours that Joseph himself would be chuffed with, the Country Crafting guys and gals stitched and stiched for two and half hours until it was time to cast off and hang those ear-loops from those lugs to proudly wear their oh-so-cowboy handmade face decorations!























We all had a super-swell time. Cake, pink lemonade, bucks fizz and a whole load of country carry-on made for a real cosy night in and a much needed break from the Hollyoaks monotony of a standard evening. It was great to finally be able to invite guests to our home for a little shindig and we can't wait to do it again! We've decided that we'll host a Country Crafting session at The Maisonette once a month. We'll be setting dates soon and will definitely be keeping y'all posted on plans. Country Crafting will continue to be free to attend but we do have a little tips jar (always happy to accept donations to cover supplies and treats!) and of course, you are very welcome to shop in The Maisonette during the sessions to help us pay our leccie bill! ;)

Wednesday 6 January 2010

The Maisonette: Workshops, Demos & 'Lil Get Togethers

It's official. We are sick and tired of this weather. It's even truer to say that we're sick and tired of TALKING about this weather. Truer still - we're really sick of listening to OTHER people talk about it. We have decided to take action.

Rather than succumb to the snowy conditions (Are you slumped infront of CBB in some sort of reality tv induced catatonic state? Gedowttavit!) we encourage you instead to don your wellington boots, your hat (the one with ears and chin ties) and head on up to The Maisonette!

During the next month or so we'll be trying our hardest to peel y'all off the sofa and into our cosy little living room space for some creative fun, some crafty exploits and some good old fashioned chatting. Imagine that! We have a lovely gate-leg table, an hilarious mish-mash of seating, a brand new set of halogen heaters, a cute little fan heater (for that added emergency blast of cosiness), a fully stocked drinks and treats cabinet and a whole host of clever people who are more than happy to come teach y'all how to do something new.

We'll be posting a full, pretty and info packed calendar of events onto the site in the next day or two, but right now we can share a few dates and snippets of info with you. Get your peepers around these babies:

THE PLAN SO FAR...

WEDNESDAY 13th January
6.30pm - 9pm
FREE

Country Crafting Revival with Clare & Carrie!

Learn to knit cowboy inspired facial hair (we're going for beards, taches, eyebrows, lambchops), get to colourful grips with Clare & Jennifer's Keep It In The Lines (for grown ups) or answer the question on everybody's lips, "What's Up Plate Face?" in Clare's latest project. 'Let's Face It' involves a load of paper plates and craft supplies and results can look a little something like this:




WEDNESDAY 20th January

6.30pm - 9pm
£5.00
The Sewing Session with Clare Nicolson

Join Clare Nicolson (yes, yes - the Clare Nicolson) for a lesson is sewing basics! Learn to stitch, get to grips with cross-stitch and experiment with basic embroidery techniques. It'll be swell!

Eventually, you might be able to make something just like this...




THURSDAY 21st January
6.30pm - 9pm
£tbc

Get creative with Kirsty Anderson of Wooden Tree!

Our gal Kirsty is very clever. Not only is she the crafty brainbox behind design enterprise Wooden Tree, but together with her other clever chums, she's responsible for bring a touch of crafty DIY magic to Edinburgh with artsy selling event Marche Marche :) We are thrilled that Kirsty has agreed to come host a little workshop in The Maisonette this winter and we're sure that you'll enjoy the project she has lined up. We haven't heard a definitive title yet, but there has been much talk of foxes, masks, clouds and anchors. We can't WAIT to see what Kirsty comes up with! When we know the full plan - y'all will be the first to know!


This is a little taster of what Kirsty's own work looks like. Pretty ain't it? We love it.


SUNDAY 24th January
1pm - 3.30pm
FREE

Demo Day at The Maisonette with Kirsty Anderson of Wooden Tree

Kirsty has very kindly agreed to design and make a range of fabulously quirky DIY kits for us to sell here at The Maisonette. We want to help unleash your inner maker! We thought a little step by step 'craft class in a bag' might help you along! Screw you Hobbycraft! Get down with some craft action Wooden Tree style! We're thrilled to announce that Kirsty will be instore on Sunday 24th January to launch and showcase her kits. You can watch her at work and take the chance to clear up any crafty conundrums you might have!


MONDAY 25th January
6.30pm - 9pm
£10.00

Textile Workshop with Emily Chandler of Lost in the Forest

One of our favourite makers and Made In The Shade event vendors, Emily Chandler, is the gal behind jewellery and gift label 'Lost in the Forest'. We're so pleased to have Emily involved in our little workshop series. She'll be coming by to teach y'all how to make your very own fabric necklace! Swell, huh? :)

Emily Chandler made this little brooch. Clever, huh? :)


WEDNESDAY 27th January
6.30pm - 9pm
£tbc

Sewing Machine Basics with Clare Nicolson

Are you (like me), a little bit scared of the sewing machine? You really WANT to stitch those cushion covers but you're just not sure about that whole threading the needle/whirring really fast stuff that comes with it? Well - fear not! Queen of Stitch, our very own Made In The Shade gal Clare Nicolson will quell all those frighpy thoughts. Clare will cover all the basics of getting started with your sewing machine and will provide helpful hints and tips for staying in control of the darned thing! :)

So - there you have it. This is the calendar so far. We'll be adding a few more treats here and there in the next few days and we'll have all the finer details set in stone by the weekend. If you are interested in taking part in any of these sessions, please drop us a line to book your place: themaisonette@wearemadeintheshade.com Space is limited so y'all gotta get in quick!

We'll be offering added treats alongside the sessions - lots of opportunities to drink pink lemonade (and maybe even some rum?) + a great soundtrack + sweet temptations in the form of cake and biscuits + 10% discount on all products at The Maisonette during the get-togethers. More special touches to be announced!

Saturday 2 January 2010

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.