Holy Cow inspired money box

When I was in Pushkar, Rajasthan last year I spotted these donation boxes outside the temples, all handpainted with cows. I saw a lot of cows too. In fact one in particular had its eye on me the entire time I sat by the water’s edge.

It was absolutely blistering heat that day and the floors burnt my feet with every step.

There are a lot of tourist market stalls around when you first enter Pushkar, selling clothes, jewellery and usual touristy stuff but one thing they don’t sell which they should is a miniature version of their donation boxes. But hey I just found this instead…

Available from online store Scaramanga (£25) it’s the coolest home for spare pennies I’ve seen in a long long time.

And now for some real holy cows…

Cows of Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Puskar images: http://www.craftandtravel.com

How to survive Camden (a guide for over 30s)

Portraits by: Horaczko Photography

Camden Town. Any alternative teen growing up in London (or those visiting the UK capital) will confess that Camden is the stuff their dreams are made off. A sea of subcultures, united by their individuality, finally having a space they can call their own, and most importantly, go shopping in to find all the things they will never be able to source on the high street, like psychedelic hooded tops, fluorescent plastic jewellery, rare vinyl records, quirky items for their bedroom, gifts for hippy chick friends and of course; infinite places in which to pick up hair dye.

At 15 I remember hanging out here, being in awe of all the clothes, while stocking up on Aubergine Stargazer hair colour. These people around me were my tribe, none of them went to my school, but oh how I wish they did. Here was where the hip folk hung out and I was pretty much one of them. This feeling though fuelled by passion, sadly doesn’t last beyond your 20s.

It’s a fact that as soon as you hit  your 30s, Camden is suddenly a no-go area: you’re no longer cool and you’ve been replaced by humans half your age. But does this mean you can longer enjoy it?

My view is this: you can, but you need to take a different approach and attitude. The same types of shops you loved in your younger days may no longer appeal but that’s ok, there are others to explore. Accept that and move on. It’s the only way to survive.

Where age doesn’t matter…

A few Camden haunts that you can fully appreciate when you’re well into your 30s and beyond, without fear of feeling like everyone else there could potentially be your own teenage child…

Tea & Crafting
And relax! If it’s craft and travel you’re after quite literally, than look no further than Tea and Crafting, Camden’s very own crafty haven. Regular workshops run here, all of which include materials, tuition and of course: tea and cake. There’s no need to commit to a course, you can simply turn up and do workshops that interest you, from weaving to calligraphy, during evenings and weekends…the adult in you can finally feel like ‘yes there is a space where I can feel at home in Camden that isn’t as ludicrously as loud as Cyber Dog, but is equally as cool.’ Head to their website to see what’s coming up.

Canal boating
One for adults and kids, there’s no denying that a trip on the canals is one that fills everyone with excitement, especially if you board the departure that gives you entrance into London Zoo. Yes there will be children, but you and they will be so excited you won’t even notice each other.

Jazz Café
There’s a lot of bars in Camden and while some will undoubtedly be occupied by ageing rockers who have been coming to Camden their entire life, you will see a lot of kids too. Bigger bands play in epic venues like the Roundhouse and here you may find yourself at a gig with fans who look underage but that’s when you just need to allow it and remember you were young once.

The venue you probably didn’t go to when you were a teen but is filled with appeal now you’re 30 and upwards is the famous Jazz Café. A bit rough round the edges and with an intimate charm, Sunday’s are a perfect time to visit for some laid back sounds post lunch.

Camden Stables Market
With over 50 food stalls in this part of town, it’s where to come when you’re hungry. Filled with more tourists than youth, you’ll feel slightly more at ease navigating this quarter where you’ll also find all the usual Camden creativity like fashion, jewellery, quirky gifts and homewares.

Regent’s Park
Get off at Camden Town tube, skip the crowds and head straight up to this iconic park where it’s perfectly acceptable to laze on the grounds, wonder through the well-pruned gardens and even get a bit cultured watching sunset over Regent’s Park mosque amidst lake views. If you’re going any time soon the Frieze Sculpture exhibition is still on too.

Opt for Camden, rather than Camden Town
Venture further afield, Chalk Farm, Primrose Hill, Mornington Crescent…Camden isn’t just about the markets. Go to the places that the youth have no interest in, find a coffee shop or quaint café, read the papers in peace and breathe in the solitude that doesn’t exist when you’re right in the thick of this buzzing part of London, that can only be enjoyed when you step off the beaten tourist track.

Where to stay clear of unless you want a teenage trip down memory lane and aren’t afraid of the fact that everyone else looks so young they are practically babies…

Electric Ballroom
The indoor market just near the station as you exit on Sundays is filled with fake vintage clothing and gothic attire. Even if you are a goth, there are better places to shop: leave this haunt to the youth.

The main high street
Truth is it’s not just weekends Camden is busy 24/7 but good luck to anyone who tries to navigate the busy main thoroughfare at peak times. If it can be avoided, do so at all costs. Leave it to the youth who have the energy for this craziness, opt for the back and side streets instead…peace at last.

Final warning…
I’ve positioned this post within the Wish List section as Camden is a shopper’s paradise but be careful, be honest and don’t buy anything that you would have wanted to wear when you were 15…because no one wants to be mutton dressed as lamb.

Portraits by: Horaczko Photography

Where to make & buy handmade candles and ceramics in London

So I stumbled on Bonds of London unexpectedly. A couple of weekends back I did a food photography and styling course with Just Roy Photography and it happened to take place inside this hip two floor ‘creative studio-coffee-shop-lifestyle store’ (yep it’s a mouthful; but then it is located in trendy Hackney!)

Upstairs you’ll find ceramic studio Kana London while downstairs is where British candlemakers Earl of East London make their gorgeous smelling luxury candles. Only open to public Fridays-Sundays it’s a modern menagerie of carefully curated luxury gift items, most of which are made in the UK.

Though the shop near London Fields station itself is modest, it has a welcoming, light and airy Scandi feel and it’s the kind of place you can pick up a gift for a friend who appreciates indie brands and modern design.

Earl of East London currently run candle-making workshops on Sundays and at Kana London there are numerous clay classes; or you can opt for both in one of their unique collaborative sessions. I’ve not come across anywhere else in London where you can make candles and pottery at the same time so this is one to bookmark for a practical, creative activity.

Incase you can’t get to East London, you can also order Kana London’s rustic clay crockery (really thick, hardwearing and a pleasure to use) from their online store and check out Earl of East London stockists here.

Happy Shopping & crafting!

Find Earl of East London and Kana London at Granden Road, Hackney, E8

All images: CraftandTravel.com

Matching Travel Luggage

So one of the reasons we have a ‘Wish List’ section is that literally these are all things we lust over. It’s kind of like travel shopping porn, stuff that’s utterly pleasing on the eye that we just want, even though we may not need it. It’s also a good excuse to look at what’s in the shops which is one of our favourite pastimes because it’s great for inspiration.

So on that note we present to you three matching luggage sets from DotComGiftShop. We’ve always thought the name of this company is a bit naff but their stuff is always high on the want factor because it’s generally colourful and quirky. We’ve personally never  had matching luggage. But look how lovely it looks. A wash-up bag that matches your holdall and another mini make-up to boot.

Not sure, when it’s going to happen but we’re adding matching luggage to our travel bucket list. In the meantime we’re going to keep drooling over these lovelies.

Big weekend bag £19.95, Make-up bag small £6.95, washbag £12.95. www.dotcomgiftshop.com

Clutch Control

It’s so tempting. When you’re going somewhere and you know you’re already late but you just can’t help yourself. You have to take a glimpse at the sea, the hilltops, animals grazing…and you know what? You’re right to do it! The best part of any journey is often the view, whether you’re walking, on a train or in the passenger seat of a car. Put down your phone, book or iPad and breathe in the beauty – go on, take the scenic route.

Giant clutch £20 from Alphabetbags.

Stitch & The City: Interview with Tapestry Artist Hannah Bass

Put down Google Maps and start appreciating the beauty of a real one. Contemporary Tapestry Artist Hannah Bass has a lifelong appreciation for maps and colour, so after a decade spent in a day job being surrounded by neutral shades, she gave into her passion and launched a tapestry kit company where she designs colourful kits based on maps of the world’s major cities. Each one is accurately drawn and can be turned into a cushion, allowing you to bring some crafty city chic into your home.
Hannah tells CraftandTravel about her how she got into this stitchuation…

What are your earliest memories of stitching?
I come from a big family and I remember stitching away with my cousins one summer. It was a way to keep us quiet and occupied. My first ever kit was of a teddy bear holding a big, bright yellow sunflower.

How did you make the move into becoming a tapestry artist?
I love colour and I love making things with my hands. I spent 10 years as an Interior Designer but found that my clients mainly opted for neutral colours, which wasn’t really me. I thought that if I started designing tapestries, I could be as colourful as I liked, just like when I did my student projects. I pondered with the idea for a while, then I just decided to take the leap, I quit my job and started designing tapestries.

What is tapestry and how does it differ to other types of embroidery?
It’s the simplest form of needlepoint. It is ‘half’ a cross-stitch. So basically a running stitch – you make just a single diagonal line. With tapestry you mostly work with chunky 4-ply wool rather than cotton or silk, so it is not as fiddly or straining on the eyes. The simplicity of the stitch is the joy to me, it’s incredibly relaxing. Just like in yoga, you turn your brain off and let the flow of the stitch take over.

Sounds perfect, how can we try it out?
I design tapestry kits based on city maps which you can buy from my online shop or my stand at craft fairs. I love to travel and I love maps because they are both a functional tool and a piece of art. They can look quite abstract as patterns so I thought they leant themselves well to tapestry. I’m from London, so for my first design, I created a tapestry map of the capital. It was a success and people asked for other cities. Initially I sold my kits at a very small local market. The first market wasn’t a great success, but I had confidence in the product, so I went back the next weekend and tried again.

How may tapestry kits do you currently have? 
25 at present. I hope to make another 10 this year. Everyone has a connection with a different city. I get a lot of requests for different cities.

How accurate are the designs in terms of geography?
Very. I couldn’t have them inaccurate, they wouldn’t be maps then. They do take quite a while to design for this reason, but it’s worth it. I love it when customers look at my tapestries and work out where they travelled and stayed from them. They get so excited if they fit on the map, as do I.

The designs are very colourful how do you choose the colour schemes? 
Each design has a theme. Some are more obvious than others, i.e. Moscow is Soviet, San Francisco is the Rainbow.The colouring is very important though. Some people won’t buy the city they want because they can’t relate to the colours and others buy a city they have no connection to just because they want to stitch those colours.

Have you visited all the cities you have made kits for and what cities are still in the pipeline that you’d like to design?
I’ve been to most of them. Not Moscow though, and oddly not to Barcelona – I must fit that in this year. I’d love to see the Gaudi buildings. This year will be Cardiff, Tokyo, Las Vegas, Melbourne, Toronto, Hong Kong, Stockholm and Copenhagen. I always choose the most requested cities.

Where do you like to do your stitching?
It’s usually one of three places; in front of the TV, in the conservatory listening to Radio 4, or in my bedroom listening to an audio book. They are a good holiday activity too!

How long would it take for someone to make one of your tapestry for cushions kits?
Well mastering the stitch is very easy anyone can do it. If I’m in rush to finish a design, it will take me five working days to complete one but the kits aren’t designed to be stitched like this – they are relaxing hobbies to pick and a put down like a book.

 What has been the highlight so far in your journey of selling your tapestry kits?
Gosh, that’s a tricky one. I don’t think there is one specific moment, rather an inward feeling of self satisfaction of coming up with a concept and having the determination to see it through to fruition, and that from my own efforts and creativity I can financially support myself. It’s not been easy, but it has definitely been worth it.

Fancy stitching a city? Check out Hannah’s website to order one and follow her on social media to see kit creation stories.

www.hannahbass.com
Facebook: hannahbasscontemporaryneedlepoint
Instagram: @hannahbassneedlepoint
Twitter: @hbneedlepoint
Pinterest: hbneedlepoint

 

Hand-painted Japanese Boxes

You know when you find all those niggly annoying things at home that you have absolutely no where to put like random safety pins. keys, hair clips, that kind of stuff? Well these dainty boxes (£36.75) are just the thing to hide them away in. Hand-painted with antique style Japanese flowers they look so quaint piled up in the corner on a table or shelf and no one ever need know what they are really being used for. Available from Ian Snow.

#Sofacrush: Rajasthani embroidered furniture

Having total #sofacrush. Upholstered with Indian Rajasthani embroidered fabrics (which you normally see in home furnishings like wall-hangings), it’s the kind of two seater that drinking red wine on is most definitely banned. A work of art in every way, it’s a sofa that’s guaranteed to be the focal point of your room, whether you choose to place it in your living room, bedroom or office.

What’s more, it’s not just  interiors eye candy: it’s furniture with a conscious. Made by a company based in Jaipur, they used old recycled embroideries and employ 50 workers (men and women) in fair trade conditions. Workers are provided with medical insurance and free meals and there are environmental measures such as rainwater harvesting, recycling and plans for a company solar power plant. Order yours from Ian Snow, our new favourite online store (£1479.)

Fairtrade & Fabulous: Sri Lankan Woven Accessories

The Founders of HAS Partnership tell us more about their colourful Sri Lankan accessories…  

Tell us more about HAS Partnership, we’re guessing the title comes from your initials?
Yes it does! The company was set up and is entirely run by us, Heshika, Ayomi and Sabina, and a huge part of what gave us the confidence to set up a company was the that we are three friends working together as a team; it also helps that among the three of us we have experience related to the skills required to set up and run a company. We deliberately chose a name that reflects the fact that it’s three components that come together and make a whole.

How did it come about that the three of you decided to set it up?
We used to frequently joke about how good a team we would be if we worked together but occasionally this would become a serious discussion when we would say ‘actually, we really should do something together because it would be a great experience to go to work with your best friends – it also gives us an excuse to spend more time together’.

Our love of eating meant that we would constantly be talking about owning our own cafe or running a catering business that would bring our favourite Sri Lankan savoury pastries to the UK. That is until we were once discussing our respective holidays in Sri Lanka and realised we had all returned with our favourite handloom items for ourselves, and also gifts for friends. It felt like a no-brainer after that, as we were clearly going back to Sri Lanka for our accessories because handloom of this quality, and in bright colours, isn’t widely available in the UK. This chimed with discussions we’d had about admiring and being inspired by the people who work to sustain the industry and support Sri Lankan workers with fair wages, so we were really excited to combine what we’re passionate about into one idea.

What types of items do you sell?

We sell home and fashion accessories. This includes necklaces, scarves, aprons, purses, tote bags, cushion covers, napkins, coasters and table mats. We’d like to widen our range to include other complementary items but thought we would start small and then expand in time. All products are woven on handlooms in Sri Lanka, which is a cottage industry. The work is made by artisans and then distributed by our suppliers.

How did you source your initial stock?
We currently have a single supplier; a company whose ethical policies in all areas, from having a minimum impact on the environment to fair pay to supporting families and women’s careers and much more, are exactly the policies we wanted to adopt for any business we ran. They have done a stellar job in working to address the decline in the handloom industry, due to competition from cheaper, mass- and machine-produced products. In fact, their company was set up to support artisans and prevent the disappearance of a heritage industry. We decided to approach them and ask whether we can set up a company which will widen the market for the products made by the artisans who work for them by popularising and selling them in the UK.

Are there particular parts of Sri Lanka you mainly get the pieces made in?
Our supplier recognises that a ‘head factory’ model undermines the fact that handloom is a cottage industry, so encourages their artisans to work locally. As a result artisans aren’t based in just one area of the country, which is great as it allows families to stay together and communities to thrive organically.

What kinds of arts and crafts is Sri Lanka usually associated with?

Sri Lanka is known for its carved wood, items made from coconut by-products (ranging from toys to kitchen utensils), batik clothing and accessories, hand-made lace and much more. Many of these products are the results of specialist skills and expertise that have been handed down over many generations and are rooted in our history. Handloom is also one of these heritage industries and shares another characteristic with many of these industries in that many are historically cottage industries.

How do you ensure the fair trade aspects of your business?
Our supplier is Fair Trade Certified, which was one of the key reasons we chose to work with them.

What are people’s reaction when they discover they are buying Sri Lankan crafts?
They’re really excited! And they’re also always amazed by, and comment on, the colours. We’ve noticed a pattern that if they’ve visited Sri Lanka they say the colours remind them of the country’s natural environment, and if they haven’t been to Sri Lanka they ask whether everything in Sri Lanka is of such vibrant hues and express a desire to visit for themselves.

It’s not that easy to find Sri Lankan crafts for sale in the UK, how do you hope to change that?

We would like to be featured in small stores in London that share our values to start with and then, hopefully, spread demand more widely across the UK. We feel our products have a strong asset in being so distinct in look and style, so are instantly recognisable and very memorable. Hopefully that will help to spread the word among those who want to buy beautiful, unique and ethically-produced home and fashion accessories.

Where would you like to take the business in coming years?
In the short term, we would like to sell more widely in stores and, of course, regularly in one of London’s wonderful markets. In the long term, we would love to have our own store, in which we can sell our current range of products but also much more besides, including textiles for those who want to make their own clothes, or similar, using handwoven material. Who knows, we may one day come back to our original plan by also including a cafe as part of the shop…

A selection of products from the HAS Partnership range is currently available online and instore at Danaqa, Portobello Road and at the East London Design Store, on Church Street in Stoke Newington, in the run up to Christmas. 

www.has-design.com

Twitter: @HASdesignUK
Facebook: HASdesignUK
Instagram: HASdesignUK

 

A little reminder to get away more often…

If you’re looking at a travel themed blog, the chances are you’re already a bit of a globe trotter or aspire to be one (or maybe, just maybe, you have no intention of travelling yourself but like to read about what’s out there!)…well this post is aimed at the former. Those that travel, to remind them to keep going, keep exploring, there’s always more to see, more to share, more to experience, more people to meet, more dishes to eat, more adventure.

Wherever you’re up to in your ‘book’ right now, hang this print from Echo Designs, £8 on your walls as a reminder that no matter how dull ordinary life gets, there is always your next trip to look forward to!