Friday 30 April 2010

The MITS Photobooth

One of our many event attractions at The Made in the Shade Jamboree (Edinburgh) on May 15th is the all-new MITS Photobooth. Brought to you by our very own professional camera-bot YHFphoto, the MITS photobooth is our makeshift version of a retro photo studio. Complete with fancy lighting and pretty backdrops, the booth has proved itself a success with our visitors and our vendors :) To get you in the mood for having your mugshot taken at The Roxy later this month, here are a few pics captured at our Glasgow event! For just £4 you will receive your hardcopy print in a cute 'lil pouch PLUS we'll email you e-copies for your own use on your websites, blogs and social networking sites!
























































































May-de in the Shade: A month long birthday celebration

















Can you flippin' well believe it? Made in the Shade celebrates its 2nd birthday on the 24th day of this marvellous month of May. Two years! We've been working hard to nurture, sustain and develop our 'lil DIY enterprise for TWO whole years! To pull out a favoured cliche, time really does fly when you're having fun/having some sort of stress related breakdown. Now, fret not - I'm not about to embark upon some 'tear tae a glass eye' schpiel about how far we've come etc., etc.. I'll save that particular reflection for near the date. For now, we just want to let y'all in on some of our birthday celebration plans and we'd like you to save a few dates in your diaries :)



If there's one thing we love at The Maisonette, it's a good party. Heavens, we'd throw a party every day given half the chance. Thankfully, as it happens, this month we don't need to conjure up flimsy excuses to invite y'all to partake in a little bit of fun and a little bit of japery. Japery. Is that a word? I like it. This time last year we were too busy laying plans and getting everything ready for the grand opening of The Maisonette to even remember our Made in the Shade birthday - let alone celebrate it. So. This year we've decided to pull out all the stops and have a right ol' knees up - for a whole blinkin' month! :)

Of course, we'll be posting full info about our plans over the next few days, but for now... Get set to join in with these splendid 'lil shindigs!

Thursday 6th May - Friday 14th May 2010
"Esendes' Life" by Hannah Aaron
The Tiny Gallery at The Maisonette, Glasgow

(Tuesday - Saturday: 10.30am - 6pm & Sunday: 12 noon - 5pm)

We are beamingly proud to welcome talented, teeny artist and creative gal Hannah Aaron to The Tiny Gallery as part of our month of May-de in the Shade birthday celebrations. Aged 6, Hannah is the youngest of our ever-growing regular Made in the Shade troupe. Daughter of mistress baker and clever crafter Auntie M (Michelle Aaron), Hannah makes her artistic debut when she shows her first collection of illustrations, 'Esendes' Life' at The Maisonette. Based around the life, home and exploits of 50s cat (literally) Esendes and her family and friends, this 'lil set of work oozes charm, humour and is an utter delight to behold! Don't miss this super-special short-run exhibit!

Thursday 7th May - forever!













If you've been along to one of our shopping events, you will no doubt have come across our good friend Flora the Tombola. Our oh-so-pretty wooden barrel buddy has made it known to us that she's no longer content to just be rolled out for special occasions but that she would like to play a more central role in Maisonette life. From Thursday 6th May, Flora will be a fully-playable feature of our 'lil shop! For just £2 a play you stand to bag yourself some fabulous handmade gifts and thrifty finds worth between £3 - £60!!! Imagine that! Get your pocket money at the ready!

Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th May 2010
The Lotte & Bloom Pop-Up Flower Shop
De Courcy's Arcade, Glasgow

(Saturday: 10.30am - 6pm & Sunday 12 noon - 5pm)






















Fabulously stylish florist, Charlotte Lawson brings the very first pop-up flower shop to De Courcy's Arcade as part of our calendar of celebrations. Swing by and pick up a beautiful floral/vintage crockery arrangement or a pretty handmade posie! Spring really HAS sprung on Cresswell Lane!

Saturday 15th May 2010
The Made in the Shade Springtime Jamboree
The Roxy Art House, Edinburgh

(10.30am - 5pm)























In this, our 2nd anniversay year, we're thrilled to be upping sticks for the weekend and taking our Made in the Shade shopping event to the capital for the first time! Over 30 indie designer makers will set up their displays of handmade wonders in the Main Hall at The Roxy amidst a flurry of fun event features and live music. Auntie M will be the hostess with the mostess at her very own mini Cake Lounge, Kansas country poppette Piney Gir will join us for a live music matinee, Flora the Tombola will grace us with her gaming presence and YHFphoto will be (re)constructing the fun of the MITS Photobooth! We are also thrilled to be joined by our chums at The Skinny AND The Dropped Stitches - London based knitting group made up of an excitable gaggle of indie design superstars! Entry to this event is just 1 measly pound. Of course, we'll be offering all early bird visitors a highly coveted MITS goody bag! :)

Sunday 16th May 2010
The Piney Gir Matinee Show
De Courcy's Arcade, Glasgow

(2pm - 3pm)

We are beyond excited to announce that one of our very favourite musical acts, Piney Gir will not only be joining us at the Made in the Shade Springtime Jamboree but that she'll be performing a very special warm-up matinee show at De Courcy's Arcade ahead of her evening stint with her full band line-up at Brel (Ashton Lane) too! Wheep!

Pheweee! We have even MORE treats to unveil over the next few days including details of a very special vintage fashion & lifestyle party in collaboration with seamstress and designer extraordinaire Miss Lottie Lou, some special maker appearances at The Maisonette and of course - information about our 2nd BIRTHDAY PARTY!!! :) Keep your peepers peeled!

So many outfits to plan! We need a style sponsor!

:)

Thursday 22 April 2010

We Came, We Saw, We Jamboree-ed

I know, I know - we are later than usual in posting our 'lil event retrospective and list of thank yous... It's been one of those crazy whirlwind weeks where other things have just plonked themselves in the way of some important computer time. We are here though! And we have been sending 'thank you' vibes all week if that helps.

So. We threw our first MITS shopping bash of the year on Saturday at The Lighthouse. Of course, we were thrilled to return to The Lighthouse given that that's where we began our little MITS journey two years ago (yes! It's been TWO YEARS!) and since the building and its staff had endured such a tough time last year, we were real pleased to see the galleries open and to see 'em filled with smiley faced visitors :)






























We were honoured to be joined by a few special guests this season. Journalist Jas Tang and her lovely beau were in attendance - mingling with the vendors and documenting the day for the feature Jas is writing for the gorgeous Little Thing magazine. It was fabulous to introduce Jas to our little pocket of the craft scene. I'm pretty certain that Jas was super-duper impressed by the wonderful array of handmade products on offer from some of Scotland's most talented designer makers!

























Stephanie Spindler - the brains and get-go behind the alt.GI Festival event map, Radius, also paid us a visit and took the time to hang out with us and get down to some serious indie shopping! Having caught me unawares, Stephanie sneaked a little bit of event footage and a little soundbite. We're hoping this never sees the light of day. I'm guessing the clip may end up on the cutting room floor if only on account of the size of the dark circles under my eyes! We thank Stephanie for coming along and for including the Springtime Jamboree on the GI trail :) Phil Kay didn't make it though...






























Yet more thank yous are due, of course. Thank you to Sallyann and Melissa at The Lighthouse, to Ken Roberston for providing fancy music-playing devices and to Cheryl at Cairns & Scott for not charging us twice for our table hire :) Thanks to YHFphoto for constructing and managing the MITS photobooth (and to Fred at Granny Would Be Proud for suggesting the idea in the first place!) Thanks to Not Now Cato! for taking part in our Vintage Dressing Room feature to Sarah Graham of The Coveted Magazine for styling and selling her heart out! Thank you to Flora the Tombola for being her usual fabulous self. Thank you to all the vendors who donated prizes to Flora this season and thanks too to all the wonderful designer makers who made contributions to our MITS goody bags; Gemma Correll, Antzin, Memo, Auntie M's Cake Lounge, Not Now Cato!, Rachael Albert Boutique, Fantoosherie Fancies, Laura Donald, Andy Murray, Atherton Lin - we love y'all. An enormous thank you must be shouted in the ear of our brilliant volunteers: Sabine, Chris, Jude, Helene, Angela and Laura. We'd've been in a proper pickle without you! Thanks too to Garry, John, Jennifer, Gillian, Kirsty and Susie who also offered a hand when we needed it! Thanks so much for giving up your time and energy for noubt - that's real generous :) And thanks to Jas for the sugar-tastic care package that saw us through the latter half of the day! Muchos gracias to all the folks who helped promote the event - Sarah at The Coveted Magazine, Claire & Kirstin at The List, Alex at The Skinny, Maureen & Rachel at The Evening Times, Gaby at The Scotsman and Ali at The Herald, Jennifer at Indie Quarter - and all the other bloggers and social-networky friends who chipped in their tuppence worth ahead of event day :) Thanks! We think you're all just swell. And last but not least - thanks to the 30 + super talented designer makers who toiled to create and showcase exciting ranges of handmade products at the Made in the Shade event. Our event would be rubbish if you weren't there! Ha! :) Whoop! I'm pretty sure I'm missing some really important people... Um... My brain has blanked. You get the jist! We really, really, really appreciate all the help and support that's offered to us each season. If you've helped, then we thank you :)

Friday 16 April 2010

Tomorrow! You're Only A Day Away!

It's tomorrow! It's tomorrow! The Made in the Shade Springtime Jamboree is taking place in Galleries 4 & 5 at The Lighthouse in Glasgow TOMORROW! We are beside ourselves with excitement (and a 'lil dose of anxiety) to be hosting our first event of 2010 and we're thrilled to be taking Made in the Shade back home to The Lighthouse!











Over 30 indie makers will gather in the spacious gallery areas to showcase and sell fabulously off-beat handmade products - directly to you, their loyal (and oh so lovely) customer! :) A coupla highlights? Oooo... We're looking forward to seeing Miss Lottie Lou (1940s/50s inspired handmade fashion), Much Too Fun (zingy citrus coloured wordy accessories with a sense of humour!), Rosita (I would like a cupcake lavender bag please), Jolly Joyness (be SURE to peruse the AMAZING Jessica Fletcher print!) and Kabloom (all-new Seedboms coming your way for Springtime!) For a full list of vendors, please click here



























Aswell as all the indie shopping action, there's plenty more kicks and giggles to be had at Made in the Shade this year! The Not Now Cato! Vintage Dressing Room will be open for business, offering y'all a fun pick of vintage ladieswear AND menswear! Visit the Dressing Room for style advice from Scotland's very own style spotter, Sarah Graham - Editor in Chief of Scotland's finest indie fashion mag, The Coveted Magazine... and some vintage treasure, of course!

While you're at it, visit everyone's favourite photographer, YHF in the MITS Makeshift Photobooth! Complete with retro passport-style backdrop, the MITS Photobooth is an exciting new addition to the event. For just £4, professional snapper-bot (his name is Garry) will capture the magic of your day out. He'll also let you wear silly hats and stuff if you like! You will receive a hard copy version of your photograph on the spot and YHF will even email you e-copies of your image for use on websites, social networking profiles etc.! Whoop! Imagine that!

And... as if that wasn't enough, we're also inviting y'all to take part in our 2010 public crafting project - The Bunting Bonanza. Bring along your own fabric remnant and add it to our string of all-new handmade bunting! You'll be adding a little piece of yourself to Made in the Shade events of the future! :) You can find out more about the Bunting Bonanza here. You can also read more about other event features here.

Oh - and if you're a real eager beaver and you make it to the Jamboree super-early, you just might get your hands on one of our coveted MITS goody bags! Yes - they're back! And with contributions from Gemma Correll, Antzin, Memo, Laura Donald, Fantoosherie Fancies, The Maisonette, Auntie M's Cake Lounge, Lesley Barnes, Atherton Lin and Jennifer Nicolson (amogst others) these 'lil packs are pretty swell - if we may say so ourselves :)












The Maisonette will be CLOSED tomorrow (we couldn't recruit a shop sitter) so if you have a hankering to shop handmade, you know where we are! Come join us!

Keep peepers on the blog later for some more sneaky peeks!

Saturday 3 April 2010

A Big Fat Boo-Boo

Y'all might have spotted a picture of the Made in the Shade twosome in the home supplement of The Herald last week? You may even have spotted us - not once, but twice? We just wanted to pop a little line or two here to clarify that the journalist who wrote the article got utterly confuddled and managed to confuse two crafty and creative Clare/Claires. Contrary to what the article says, Clare Nicolson does not run Miso Funky and she doesn't make quirky samplers. Claire Brown does. Clare Nicolson didn't found the Glasgow Craft Mafia either. That was Claire Brown aswell. Clare Nicolson has run her own textile business for over three years and has been a Made in the Shade gal for two years. Aside from the bizarre melding together of two creative girlies who happen to have similar first names and the ensuing factual inaccuracies, the piece was really rather lovely and we do agree that it IS cool to craft! :)

Click the image below to read the article (just remember to substitute the correct names!)

Lotte & Bloom: The Pop-Up Flower Shop!

We are excited to announce that one of Glasgow’s most stylish florists, Lotte & Bloom will be adding a much needed touch of Springtime to De Courcy's Arcade on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th May 2010.















Lotte & Bloom’s house style is fresh and unfussy, drawing inspiration from gardens, fashion and horticulture. Usually found adding beautiful floral details to weddings, events and well-styled private spaces, we are honoured to present the very first Lotte & Bloom Pop-Up Flower Shop. Y'all will be able to take home a little bunch of Springtime of your own!

The Lotte & Bloom Pop-Up Flower Shop will bring the hallways of The Upper Floor at De Courcy's Arcade to life - selling one-off mini arrangements in vintage jars, containers and tea-cups as well as 'lil posies made on the day.

Owner Charlotte (Lotte) Lawson said, “I love flowers to look as if they have just grown that way – as true to nature as possible. My earthy, organic style is inspired by texture and colour just as they would be found in a garden.” Just as we like 'em.

Put the dates in your diary!