more shop snippets

hand dyed Japanese rice paper gift wrap "Heirloom Paper" by Olive and the Volcano, along with hand spun linen yarn and Japanese washi tape. The perfect wrapping options. Love Mae gift wrap also features pretty highly on the wrapping paper love.

counting down the days

The last days of Hey Maker! pop-up shop are approaching. It has been such a wonderful whirlwind of connection and creative happenings in our beautiful little shop. Have you come down to have a look yet? No, well - you'd better scurry on down. We are closing the doors on this Pop-Up on Saturday 22nd December at 2pm. 

There are so many amazing and perfect little gift items for your Christmas giving. Remember - shop local and hand crafted this Christmas (and at all times of the year). Really, who wants to go to the 'shopping malls' when we have such pretty little shops in our own home town who stock such pretty little things that are just exactly what your loved ones wanted. 

Image above is: art prints by Gretchenmist and Belinda Suzette - these are all archival prints, and an very affordable way to own your own piece of artwork. Ceramics are by Kathryn Mitchell - my little boy has his eye on that middle cup there! The ceramic pin cushions are by Hey Maker! Belinda Smith and look simply lovely on the wall or as a paperweight, or in your collection of beautiful things. Brooches pictured are by Jetta's Nest, Kimono Reincarnate and Edward & Lilly - we also have brooches by The Sentimentalist and BirchSeed. And the little hand screen printed pouches / purses are by me, Red Seed Studio. 

Image below is: fine porcelain by Pinky & Maurice. This is so beautiful to hold, come and check them out for yourself. Also, wrapped ceramic vessel by Belinda Smith. 

Bottom image is: Christmas cards, gift tags, and decorations by BirchSeed. All hand block printed and stitched in Murwillumbah. And those sweet little softie chooks - BirchSeed makes them, as well as a wonderful selection of cushions, tote bags and other little pieces.

I for one will be super sad when I have to pack everything up in a week's time. Come on down and take some loveliness home with you, before it all gets packed up!

Our opening hours between now and next Saturday are:

Saturday 15th 9.30am-2pm

Sunday 16th (closed due to a workshop)

Monday 17th 9.30am - 4pm

Tuesday 18th 9.30am - 4pm

Wednesday 19th 9.30am - 2pm (sorry, early closing due to school presentation!)

Thursday 20th 9.30am - 5pm

Friday 21st 9.30am - 5pm

Saturday 22nd 9am - 2pm. FINAL DAY

Sew & Tell : hand made, hand me down an

Coming up this weekend is an amazing market that is NOT TO BE MISSED. {and not only because there will be quite a few of us Hey Makers! there with stalls of our own, nope there's lots of other goodness to be had and shared and experienced as well.....}.

Sew & Tell started earlier this year as an idea by Gabe and Tori. Well, what a fantabulous idea it was. The first Sew & Tell was so successful that before it was even over, the next one was being organised. How good is that. Super good!

Sew & Tell Presents a Very Craft Christmas!

Saturday 8th December 9am - 1.30pm (dst)

Bangalow's beautiful A & I Hall

 

With the bearded man set to visit just a few weeks later, Sew & Tell is the place to find the perfect gift for those that have been naughty or nice! And maybe even something for yourself.

Organisers Tory Bauer and Gabe Cramb said “We are curating this edition of Sew & Tell with the festive season in mind and everything that goes along with it. Handmade and vintage gifts are unique. They are special. You feel good giving them.” 

 

The heritage A & I Hall will be jam packed with one of a kind gifts for family and friends. There will be a diverse array of crafty goods for sale including everything from handmade journals, children’s clothes and home-wares, textiles, stenciling and felting to applique, painting, jewelry, handmade cards and wrapping paper, and sew much more. 

As well as craft there will be retro wares, nic nacs, records and a few additional blokey stalls to find that special something for the fellas. AND for all those fans of vintage frocks we have something really special. Julia Stone will be selling off much of her amazing collection of vintage gear at Sew and Tell! High voltage frock n roll!

Sew & Tell Handmade and Hand-me-down will also see the return of some of the special stalls that were so popular at the first event.  Sew & Tell is not like other markets. Oh no - not at all, not one bit! It’s about connecting people and getting the public involved! Some of the thoughtful and unique stall ideas bring out the best in each of us and bring about the sharing and community aspect of any good local handcraft hand-down market stall. You really do have to see this market to experience the wonderful minds who have made it possible (and all the busy busy making, doing, thinking, planning). Some of the special stalls are:

UNFINISHED BUSINESS 

Do you have any craft projects that you are not likely to finish any time soon? Like that Jenny Kee style jumper you have been trying to finish since the 80’s? Why not put them up for adoption on our Unfinished Business table?Just bring them along to Sew & Tell. All items on the unfinished business stall are free and you don’t have to return to sender. All you have to do is promise to finish them off. We’d also love it if you could post a pic of the finished item on the Sew & Tell facebook page.

THE FREE STALL 

Bring along any items that you’d like to donate - fruit, vegetables, herbs, chillis, wool, threads, badges, crafty items etc. Anyone can donate to the free stall. You just need to bring the donated item along to Sew & Tell and put it on the stall. Anyone can take these items, but if you do we encourage you to perform a random act of kindness for someone at some stage during the day – like buy a coffee for the person behind you.  

MEND IT LIKE BECKHAM

Nobody mends things anymore! It wasn’t that long ago that people darned holes in their socks, sewed buttons back on or mended a tear in their shirt. Mending is thrifty and eco friendly and just plain sensible. Kim Bailey from East of Grey will be behind the machine on the Mend It Like Beckham stall. Kim has 15 years experience sewing and mending all manner of things. So gather up those shirts with missing buttons, pants that need hemming and other items that need fixing and bring them along to Sew & Tell. Oh and the great news is the Mend It Like Beckham stall is FREE! Yes!

THE MAN CAVE 

Yes! The Man Cave is back! This is a space for the fellas to respite from the craft and vintage worship taking place in the rest of the hall. There'll be comfy seating and magazines to read. This is the updated and super funky space - all through out history men have had to wait around for women to finish shopping and chatting and discovering the next treasure to take home. Toni and Gabe have made this space more than a "waiting for the women" chair - you might not want to leave when she's ready to....

Make sure you mark this in your diary in bright red glitter, so you don't forget. Well, how could you forget! This Saturday 9am. 

There's also lots of other lovely things to do in and around Bangalow after Sew & Tell stallholders pack up, so plan a whole day of hand crafting, hand-me-down, vintage, local time with your sister, friend, mum, best friend, boy friend, girl friend, children...... Or on your own - there'll be plenty of people to chat with.  

Make sure you say Hi! We'll be there eager to chat. xxxx

Kid Made

Screen printing - through the lens

Yesterday I ran a screen printing workshop with some friendly and creative makers. It's always a fun day spending time being able to pass on my skills as a printer, and to see the designs people make and looks of excitement on everyone's faces. 

Here's a few images from the day (snapped with my iphone at random times), but I highly encourage you to check out this sublimely beautiful video that Noah made. His viewpoint and vision is simply wonderful. We at Hey Maker! are really happy to have Noah hang out in our space and use his quiet talents and skills for such wonderful visions. He also made some fantastic stencils, and printed scarab beetles onto a tie-dyed tote bag he's owned since kindergarten. Now how good is that!

I have another screen printing workshop coming up on 16th December, if you'd like to try your hand at printing your own fabric. Or come along to my stencil printing session at the Ukitopia festival on 17th November.

Check out Noah's blog and flickr.

*top black and white images are screen shots from Noah's video. Other images are by me, Ellie.

snap shots form the shop this week

Oiko Textiles, Porcelain pincushions by Belinda Smith and Pinky and Maurice Bowls

Oiko Textiles, Helle Jorgenson crochet bowls and collection of natural objects.

Match Sticks and String!

Make a Worry Doll or a few! .... With a few matchsticks and some coloured string you can make a tiny little version of yourself! I would love to see an installation grow in the Hey Maker! shop that reflects our community in minature. 
This is a free workshop open to all ages and skill levels. 
....and for very little fingers so we have a really special activity....Local artists and illustrators Tamsin Ainslie and Melissa Mackie have done some gorgeous drawings for colouring in.
Saturday November 3rd 10am - 2pm

Wondering what a worry doll is?
There is a Mayan legend that states “When a person can not sleep well due to worries, they tell the worries to a worry doll. They then put the doll under their pillow and during the night the worry doll worries in the persons place, allowing them to sleep well and awake refreshed”.

The Social - a guest

'The social has been so much fun! There has been some drawing, sewing, crochet and knitting, some paper craft and abstract weaving! There has been laughter and chatting, and cheese and biscuits to share.

At 'The Social' this week we will have a special guest - Ayya Yeshe is the founder of the Bodhicitta Foundation. Ayya Yeshe is a Buddhist nun who works with women and children in the slums of  Nagpur in Central India. Please come along and listen to her speak about traditional handcrafts by the women her charity works with.    

Ayya Yeshe will speak from 7-7.30. after which our usual, informal gathering will proceed. We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday evening.

Thank you to Anne Stadler for arranging our special visitor this week.

For more information about Ayya Yeshe please follow the link provided.

http://www.bodhicitta-vihara.com/

our new Workroom + Shop

So, we've been opened for just over a week now, and I think it's about time we shared some images with you. There'll be more, and there'll be changes. But for now have a look at our beautiful Hey Maker! Workroom + Shop.

I love spending time in our new space. Such a gloriously beautiful shop - one of the most iconic Art Deco buildings in our town; the high ceilings and big front windows make for lots of natural light all day long. The corner position, close to the river, means cool afternoon breezes coming through our front door. 

The hard work put in by many friends to get the once dull walls now bright and pure white - oh thank you all. It has changed the feel and look of the space dramatically. A place can breathe again.

The gathering, collecting, sourcing of handcrafted locally made works and carefully curating (merchandising) them within our walls has been a beautiful and extremely enjoyable process. 

The meeting of people who walk into our space is the best thing of all. The connections, the conversations, the gatherings, the stories, the sharing, the enjoyment and the smiles. 

Come along and see our new Hey Maker! Workroom + Shop. We're on the corner of Commercial Road and Proudfoots Lane, Murwillumbah. Look out for our art installation windows and the yarn covered streetposts....

Tell us a little about your creative life {Interview} with Heather Matthew

The generous, warm and vibrant Heather Matthew is presenting a beautiful Slow Art session at our Hey Maker! Workroom this coming Thursday. Called 'The Dream Box' it's about exploring your dreams and nurturing those moments so they can take shape in your real life. A powerful transformational tool that can help you focus on turning dreams into reality. Heather will lead you in your dream box creating with her strong visual, emotional and creative instinct, while enjoying a cup of tea, cake and conversation. 

I thought we'd take this perfect opportunity to ask Heather a few questions about herself and her passion for creating and transforming print, paper, collections, words into her creative life. 

For more info about Heather's Dream Box workshop please contact us, or a make a booking here.

Please also visit Heather's website and blog bbox productions.

Tell us a little about your creative life.

I believe that the art of living a creative life is all about the practise of being creative… everyday art of making some creative mark, whether it be with paper, ink or paint.

Where do you live and why?

I live in Nunderi with a view out over the sugarfields to Wollumbin, the healing mountain. It is on the road to the beach, only five minutes out of Murwillumbah and yet with a view of mountains and sky. I love the fact that you can be anywhere in just 20 minutes, whether the airport or Gold Coast or Brunswick Heads or Uki or…..

What is it you make?

I make a variety of products including greeting cards, handmade paper and prints. But my real passion is making artist books, thinking about a theme or subject, political or domestic and creating works of art around this. I also make a daily collage and upload these with an accompanying short poem on my blog as a way of reflecting on the days events.

Where did you learn these skills?

I have been printmaking for the last ten years, learning first at TAFE and at Southern Cross University in Lismore. My writing career was initially learnt through Deakin University’s Vocational Writing course then continued on through working as a journalist, oral history writer and poet. Also I have attended numerous print and bookmaking workshops, the most recent in Skopelos, Greece in 2011. I learnt papermaking at Southern Cross University and also sought out additional papermaking skills in Chiapas, Mexico.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Daily life is my inspiration – I love to travel and use the detritus of everyday life like street posters, bus tickets, postage stamps and even souvlaki wrappers in my art works.

What is your fondest childhood memory of making something?

The absolute freedom of ripping my prints into shreds and then turning around and reassembling them into collages or turning them into handmade paper and printing back over them. Very liberating!

Do you find time to be creative every day?

Absolutely – it has become my goal to just keep making collages everyday, even when I don’t feel like I have anything left to say…somehow the thought I have to keep my blog going with my daily collage compels me into action.

When did you know you wanted to pursue a creative career?

I’ve been pursuing a creative career as an independent artist for about the last fifteen years. I supplement my income with other work, but I guess I’m now really pursuing my creative business as a single focus.

Who is your creative hero?

People who have a go at something even when it seems crazy…Walt Disney, Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, the man who invented the Dyson vacuum cleaner…I’d like to say just one person but I admire everyone who believes that art is for living…..

What would you love to learn to do within the next year or so? What creative skill / talent?

I’d like to explore encaustic (wax) painting more and its application to a more printerly approach. Japanese papermaking techniques, lithography, more woodblock printing, and creating huge papier-mâché sculptures like those in Diego Rivera’s studio in Mexico City.

Please share some of your favourite web wanderings.

too many to go into …especially with a slow internet connection but here’s a few….

Papermaking -

Taller lenateros

Amate Paper

Hand Papermaking

Noriko Yamaguchi

upon a fold - papermaker

Jane Ingram Allen

artist books

Artist's Books Arts of Lithuania

Artist Books 3.0

projects/blogs

Penny Black Project

a book about death (google this – it has many offshoots)

the sketchbook project

The Social

Wednesday Nights 7-9pm

The Social is an informal gathering of like minded crafty people. Come along and bring things to make and do! We don't care if you are a beginner or an expert...its all about sharing skills and ideas over conversation and a cup of tea. It's a great opportunity to finish that project you have been working on for ages or start a new one! Learn a new skill or be inspired by what others are making.

This weekly event is free but perhaps you could bring along an idea, some materials or something tasty to share with others.

We will be kicking off this week (17th October) and Helle Jorgenson is coming along to hang out with us too! She was in great demand at our opening crochet event and she enjoyed it so much that she has offered to come along on Wednesday to share her crochet wisdom with us all again. 

 

If you have any inquiries about The Social please contact Belinda Smith at heymakercollective@gmail.com

Come Crochet with Helle!

We open our doors...finally...this Friday 12th October! Its been a busy few months and we are almost there. 
If you visit town regularly you may have seen our windows evolving! The artwork is a collaborative creation by me (Belinda) and two great friends Helle Jorgenson and Julia Barron. The artwork is created from torn up old bed sheets and crocheted with the BIGGEST crochet hooks you have ever seen. We enjoyed exploring the possibilities this strange yarn offered, re-using this cast aside material and watching the sculptures grow organically.

I'd like to tell you about Helle if you don't already know her. She works from the light filled Studio 85 which is above the shops near the police station in Mur'bah. She is internationally exhibited with work currently being shown in Washington DC. We are looking forward to her exhibition at the Tweed River art Gallery in late November which is a body of work that explores the works of 'Entropy'. There is a piece that is made up of hundreds of tiny little crochet creatures that mimic the morphology of plants and animals in the natural world. Helle uses predominantly waste material in her work to beautiful and refined effect.

Take a look at this little video by Noah Barron. It is a serene window into Helle's creative world.

As a special treat Helle Jorgenson will be in our workspace 10am- 2pm on Friday the 12th October (Opening Day). We will be playing with different yarns from plastic bags to old sheets, playing and experimenting. Come in and join us then. We'll look forward to seeing you. 

Belinda Smith

what is slow art? I hear you ask....

Slow Art, like the Slow Food Movement or the Slow Living Movement, is about shunning the mentality of needing to rush, hurry, and scurry. Instead of always thinking about the end result of your making, Slow Art is about enjoying the process and the meditation of the making. It's also about remembering the skills and talents and experiences of our forebears, and taking a moment to think about the farmers, makers, designers and producers of our art or craft making supplies.

Feeling the yarn slip through your fingers, as you crochet or knit.

Listening to the sound of scissors cutting through fabric.

Enjoying the slow bite of a needle pulling thread through fabric to become stitches.

Watching the colour evolve in a piece - paint, thread, fabric, yarn, ink, paper...........

Slow Art, of course, comes with enjoyable moments of conversation, taking time to sip from your warm cup of tea, and nibble at delicious home cooked cakes. Feeling the crumbs tumble onto your lap.

You'll be lost in the moment of making. Of not over-thinking a design or the end result; just being part of the doing. Perhaps you may not finish your piece today, or next week, or even next year; but that doesn't matter. Some pieces are simply about remembering why you enjoy making and creating.

We hope to see you at our fortnightly Slow Art sessions in our new Hey Maker! Work Room.

makers we like :: Belinda Suzette

One of the simply wonderful things about Hey Maker! is the meeting (be it in real or on the webs) with creative, sharing, inspiring people. People we wouldn't normally have connected with, or bumped paths with. This Hey Maker! thing we've got going here really is good.

As a little homage to all these good makers who we're getting to know, I thought it might be fun to start a little series here showing them off to you. How does that sound?

Let's start with the quirky, vibrant, fun creative artist Belinda Suzette. 

Belinda's work is folk-inspired, with a modern colour palette and off-beat themes. Her works are mixed media collage, in either digital or hand-made (traditional) techniques.

 

Belinda made herself known to us Hey Makers! right from the start, as she was as excited about making 'stuff' happen as we are. And boy aren't we glad to have made the connection with her. Simply can't wait to meet Belinda in person. 

In the meantime, please enjoy this very small snippet of her amazing work. Really, I'm having a hard time choosing any favourites.

Some exciting news! ...... Our new pop-up retail space (set to open very very soon) will feature some of Belinda's art prints for sale. Come and check them out, won't you, I don't think they'll last long.

Also, we have a special piece of Belinda Suzette and Hey Maker! coming soon. You'll be able to pick it up next week at the Caba Creative Event.

Belinda Suzette website, blog, redbubble (online store)

*all images used with kind kind thanks to Belinda Suzette.

Crafting with kids

School holidays are just around the corner, and amongst all the Hey Maker! craziness :: wonderfulness that is happening -  we are all gearing up to having our kids at home.

At the start of each holidays, I always ask my kids what they want to do. I give them a chance to write it all down. It doesn't always all get done, but it's lovely to see them write down what they want to do. 

I've gathered  a list of inspiration to help you and your little ones have a creative holiday time. Though, of course any of these can be done at any time of the year (no need to wait until holiday time to get your crafty on!). 

This is the start of the list that my little ones want to do. It includes climbing Mount Warning (we don't anticipate getting to the top) and visiting Natural Arch - there will be much exploring and drawing inspiration at both those places. They also want to get started on their making for our upcoming Hey Maker! Kid-Made market {more about that later}. Some embroidery stitching and stencil screen printing for cushion making are on the wishlist.

Made by Joel always has excellent and low-cost things to make with or for your kids. I love his dad point of in the often predominantly female blog-world I read. He has an excellent book as well.

Lotta is an excellent mini magazine for all your kid making projects. So much fun. I'm loving that cloud softie in their new Colour issue.

BIG Kids magazine is beautiful and appeals to kids and adults alike.

I love this idea of writing a family newspaper. Both my kids are into writing and journalling, so this would fit right in. What a fantastic way of recording the holidays : they'll be spending four nights with their grandparents without us, so there will be lots of write about!

images used with kind thanks from

1} our holiday wish list - written by Ari and Mishi 2} Made by Joel 3} Batman toilet paper rolls 4} Lotta Colour 5} Paper Dolls 6} Playful Learning