Meet The Maker – Louise Taylor

Louise Taylor – Textile Artist

Louise is a printed textile designer based in Lancashire, with a First Class Honours Degree in Printed Textiles and Surface Pattern Design from Leeds College of Art. Louise primarily designs prints for fashion and has recently founded her own design label specialising in silk printed scarves.

Blue Floral long scarf – Louise Taylor

The romantic, feminine and delicate printed silk scarf collection has been taken from Louise’s original hand paintings and drawings, inspired by vintage flora. Each print on the scarves has been derived from delicate watercolour paintings and intricate drawings of beautiful botanicals. It is important to Louise that the collection has been derived from hand done work, making each design unique.

Rosa Classica Golden square scarf

Inspiration comes from: Nature, botanical gardens, traditional textile patterns and classic botanical illustration, along with fashion trends.

Scarf detail

Traditional drawing and painting techniques are to start with, such as; watercolours, pen, ink, mono-print, pencil. The original artworks are manipulated and adapted further on the computer using CAD; developing the paintings and drawings by adding colours, layering, and combining design elements, which then are ready to make in to print designs and patterns.

Louise Taylor square scarf

They are digitally printed on to silks in the uk, using modern printing technology that is more ecological than traditional printing techniques. It enables the original painted detail and the drawn elements to be captured, giving the designs individuality and enables a way to combine the prints and artworks with fashion.

Rosa Classica scarf detail

The finished scarves are beautiful artworks in there own right; they are precious pieces designed to be savoured and Heart Gallery adores them so hope you do too.

Rosa Classica peach square

Meet The Maker – Holly Davis

Holly Davis

Holly established her business in 2011 as a fashion accessory label through which she could design and make original and handmade handbags featuring unique prints and embroideries.

Revenge in gothic satin

Wisteria Lane

Holly and Ruby is a combination of Holly’s love of drawing, surface pattern, print and craft.  She takes responsibility for the design and manufacture of all products, from ideas through to production. Taking inspiration from the natural world, current print trends and decorative style from many different time periods, Holly creates unique designs that are trend-inspired but very individual.  

Wedding Belle

This range of wedding styles specially selected for ‘I DO’ form a collection of stylish pieces that make a perfect accompaniment to an original wedding. Playful and light-hearted fun is combined with a sound understanding of style and fashion to make this latest wedding collection. 

Garden Party

Garden Party  modelled

Holly uses a selection of vintage and contemporary fabrics and trimmings alongside her own innovative prints and embroideries to create this current collection, which offers something for a bride, bridesmaid, wedding party or guest.

Eve’s Garden

Eve’s Garden modelled

Each bag is created in Holly’s Yorkshire studio and given its own name and character. Holly and Ruby handbags are either original one-off pieces or from a very limited edition collection.  Holly believes she offers  a fashion accessory alternative to the high street, blending vintage styles with contemporary trends to create stylish and desirable pieces.

Mistle Thrush

Mistle Thrush modelled

Heart Gallery adores Holly’s eclectic style and hope that you do too.

Baroque ‘n’ Roll Wedding

Saltaire Arts Trail and Makers Fair 2013

I was honoured to be asked to judge Open Houses this year at Saltaire Arts Trail. As a gallery owner I try to get along to this great event every year anyway to find new gems for Heart Gallery but this year I had a role to play … and it wasn’t an easy one I can tell you! Armed with my programme and with hubby by my side we set off in glorious sunshine to pound the streets of Saltaire and nosy round the homes that were part of the Bank Holiday weekend event.  (We did see a few naughty houses that had tried to sneak in under that ‘umbrella’ too! but we didn’t go in them!)

Arts Trail and Makers Fair programme

It took longer to get round them all than I had first thought when I realised there were 13 Open houses and 3 exhibition spaces but it was great fun!

Having fun snooping in and out of the Open Houses and Exhibition Houses!

Clare Caulfield – as busy as ever in her Open House and exciting times ahead for Heart Gallery as she will be having a Solo Exhibition with us Spring 2014

Having fun snooping in and out of Open Houses and Exhibition Houses

Our very lovely Kate Lycett unveiled her new Whitby lantern

I found the installations really interesting too so if you are heading over to Saltaire tomorrow or Monday do pop to 15 Caroline Street to see performance artist Christopher Mollon (so pleased for him that yesterday’s weather was nowhere to be seen, he would have been so, so cold and wet otherwise):

Christopher Mollon, 15 Caroline Street. The Arc of Orange

And then pop over the road to 44 Whitlam Street to see her critical but playful look at domestic tasks and also these fab colour co-ordinated bookshelves which tickled me:

Yvonne Carmichael, 44 Whitlam Street, Chore-ography

I bumped into quite a few of my current makers over in Victoria Hall at The Makers Fair:

Andy Poplar (won Best In Show)

Helen Russell (hadn’t had much sleep getting ready for Saltaire)

Leigh Shepherd (a rare opportunity for camera shy Leigh)

Fiona Cameron (her birdies fly out of Heart Gallery!)

Moira Fuller (will be back at Heart Gallery soon I hope)

And here are a few gems found along the way … some which will be appearing in Heart Gallery at some point over the 12 months I hope for your enjoyment too!

Charlotte Morrison’s ceramics are part of our ‘I DO’ Wedding Exhibition launching 23 June 2013

I met the lovely Anne Brook, a textile artist who makes the most amazing stitched canvases in muted colourways that will sit lovely in Heart Gallery

I spotted Adam Harvey’s delightful ceramics so I hope to work with him one day

I’ve met Emma before and seen her beautiful glass so it was lovely to bump into her again at Saltaire. She had the perfect spot for the sunshine to dance on her butterflies

I didn’t meet Beverley Gee but her decorative porcelain was right up my street!

Roz’s papercuts adorned the fireplace beautifully and would be perfect in Heart Gallery as my customers love papercut work

Sian’s little rocks glistened with gold leaf

My brief for the Best of Open Houses Award was to give the award to the artist or company behind the best presentation of a body of work in my opinion. So who won I hear you ask? It was a very difficult decision to make as you can imagine with so much wonderful work to see and so many homes showcasing artists work so well too. The flow that 6 Harold Place achieved by bringing the outside in from its stunning garden surroundings made it the best Open House as a whole for me so if I could have given more awards out I would have!

6 Harold Place

But … I only had the one award to give and it went to a husband and wife team from Lancashire called Bonkers Clutterbucks! Yes, it’s a strange name I know but it sort of sums up what they do and who they are quite well; bonkers about art and passionate about all things creative and collectable. Take a peek at some of their work I fell in love with and when it arrives at Heart Gallery I hope you fall in love with it too:

I chose work by a husband and wife team in Lancashire as the winners because … well you know me – I’m a sucker for the whimsical!

I chose work by a husband and wife team in Lancashire as the winners because … well you know me – I’m a sucker for the whimsical!

I chose work by a husband and wife team in Lancashire as the winners because … well you know me – I’m a sucker for the whimsical!

Find out more about Saltaire Arts Trail here and if you can visit today or tomorrow then please do, you will have a fabulous time.

Meet The Maker – Jane Revitt

Jane Revitt – Artist

With a background in theatre and textiles, Jane creates artwork for public spaces. A sense of colour, theatre and a fascination with textiles are strands that run through all her work. Recent projects include creating lounges with talking chairs, hospital waiting rooms with larger than life plant-forms, furniture for an oak wood and a colour scheme for 1960s tower blocks. Her work is often made for particular places and our current stock of Map Cushions continues this tradition.

Hebden Bridge Cushion

Hebden Bridge (detail)

There are 3 cushions showing Hebden Bridge, depending on whether you prefer to have a large scale view of the town, more of the surrounding hills, or one that shows all of the Hardcastle Crags valley. The images Jane uses are all from 1953 Ordnance Survey maps.

Hardcastle Crags

Hardcastle Crags (detail)

Cushions are 15″ square. The front of each is printed with a detail from an original vintage Ordnance Survey map and the back is plain unbleached linen in a natural stone colour.

Whitby Cushion

Robin Hoods Bay Cushion

Scarborough Cushion

A small number of cushions are printed on organic white cotton. These are backed with organic crossweave cotton in a variety of colours. The fabric is handwoven in India and  has slight irregularities in the weave. All the cushion pads are filled with feathers and the complete cushions are currently £48.

One of Jane’s Map Chairs

Interest in the Map Chair Jane made for the Hebden Bridge Arts Festival, which is now in the Town Hall, led her to create cushions printed with vintage maps of the town and an increasing number of other places.

Jane’s Map Chair in a Poetry Shop

You can find out more about Jane’s chairs here and do bob in to see her amazing cushions of the locality, the East Coast and The Lake District next time you are passing. Commissions will be considered x

 

Meet The Maker – Sue Bulmer

Sue Bulmer – Designer

Sue grew up on a farm in the North East of England and this is where she developed her interest in art from an early age. In 1990 she went to the University of Nottingham to study Pharmacy, and spent the next 15 years involved in the sciences but her passion for the arts never went away.

Sue’s stand at BCTF April 2012

Finally in 2005 Sue came back to her artistic roots when she enrolled on a Foundation course in Art and Design. This gave her the opportunity to enhance her artistic skills and techniques and develop her creative practice. Since then Sue has been mostly self-taught and has explored a variety of media, such as watercolour, textiles and stitch, print, drawing and mixed media. She is constantly learning and feels that as an artist you should never stand still for too long, life is too short and there are too many ideas to explore.

Folded tea towels

Sue loves nature, and is constantly stimulated and inspired by the landscape and the natural world, the changing colours and textures of the seasons. Being outdoors in the open spaces of the countryside or in her cottage garden motivates her with her art. In contrast she is also inspired by home life, and, living in a 200 year old cottage filled with plenty of vintage finds, she finds a wealth of material to spark her creativity within her four walls.

Home Tweet Home tea towel design

Sue loves the comfort and sentimentality of home and family, and being somewhere you feel settled and at peace and thinks this is reflected in her work. She loves nothing more than curling up on the sofa, in front of a roaring fire, with a piece of cake, cup of tea and a good book. She also loves her kitchen, and finds it an inspirational place to be, old pots and pans, coffee and tea pots, herbs and spices and a rack of old cook books, perfect for new ideas.

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough tea towel design

Friends Forever tea towel design

We currently have Sue’s fabulous tea towels in stock and Sue will be expanding her range with us in the Summer of 2013 as part of our Wedding Exhibition ‘I DO’.

Meet The Maker – Sarita Jepps

Sarita Jepps – Textile Artist

Sarita hand dyes and hand paints silk fabrics often inspired by nature. These fabrics form the basis for original repeat patterns that are digitally printed onto silk chiffon and satin. 

Silk eye mask

Silk eye mask

This collection is a glance back to fond memories of growing up in a small seaside town with candy colours, delicate floral petals and butterfly wings representing the emergence of Springtime…which is why she has called in the Reminiscence collection.

Silk scarf

Silk scarf

Her soft eye-masks are sheer luxury and her little pouches are filled with dried lavender. With the smell of the lavender in your home you can close your eyes and pretend you’re in the Provence for a little winter escape!

Silk lavender filled pouch

Silk lavender filled pouch

The gallery smells divine at the moment with all the lovely lavender floating round so it’s a big thank you to Sarita for her lovely work.

 

Meet The Maker – Cate Wood

Cate Wood – Textile Artist and Jeweller

Cate graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1992 with a BA (Hons) in Fashion and Textile Design. It was there that she developed a passion for collecting objects and a skill for creating relationships between them.

Cate’s jewellery modelled

Her final exhibition was inspired by memories and found objects that can be held in the palm of your hand or hidden in a match box; old, worn, weather beaten things found in the streets or places she had visited. Her eye for detail and space made small, over looked objects, precious. Her new collection of jewellery echoes this.

Jewellery by Cate Wood

Her natural pull towards used, aged materials and a love of a time when things were hand crafted and bespoke is evident in the assortment of vintage clothes, accessories and furniture in her home. Her small terraced house in West Yorkshire is an organised clutter of intuitively found objects, bursting at the seams with an extraordinary mish mash of, crockery, clothes, accessories and other treasures picked up in her home town and on her travels.

Jewellery by Cate Wood

Cate’s brand new collection of Jewellery continues this theme. She falls in love with obscure, interesting and charming things, findings picked up at local markets and trinkets that are part of the local heritage: hearth brushes worn by years of use, colliery tags that have been smoothed by the hundreds of hands they have passed through, vintage buttons removed from dresses and uniforms.

Jewellery by Cate Wood

Cate is curious about their past lives, the people they once belonged to and in the stories that are lost. Cate deconstructs and reconstructs these findings into unique pieces of jewellery. The bristles of a brush become tassels. A leather watch fob and a button become the fastening of a bracelet, old lost keys become jewels.

Jewellery by Cate Wood

Buttons feature heavily in her work and are symbolic for buttons are the fastenings that hold things together.

Jewellery by Cate Wood

Jewellery by Cate Wood

The use of words and messages is a recurring theme and they are used as a dark, playful reference to modern life, opinions and memories. Her colour palette is dark, Dickensian, and a nod to the surrounding streets and buildings that have been tarnished by decades of soot.

Cate’s jewellery modelled

Many of the materials that she crafts appear discoloured and marked.

Jewellery by Cate Wood

Jewellery by Cate Wood

Heart Gallery is proud to have been approached by Cate recently to be her stockist in Hebden Bridge and we look forward to introducing her work to you in 2013 and working closely with her for her Valentines Day collection for us.

Jewellery collections by Cate Wood

Jewellery collections by Cate Wood

Meet The Maker – Sarah Tyssen

Sarah Tyssen – textile artist/weaver

After graduating from West Surrey College of Art and Design with a degree in woven textiles Sarah worked as a designer for Morgan and Oates. This gave her an invaluable insight into all aspects of working in a design studio and the processes involved in commission weaving.

Sarah Tyssen – Hand woven blankets

After three years she started her own business producing ranges of scarves and throws. Sarah works on a 16 shaft George Wood dobby loom, for production on power looms in Yorkshire. All her yarns are sourced and dyed in England.

Sarah Tyssen – hand woven chenille and wool scarves

In 2007 she moved to The Weaving House – built in 1896 during the Arts and Crafts Movement as a weaving workshop. Sarah is very excited to bring weaving back to the house!

Sarah Tyssen – close up

Sarah designs on her hand dobby loom, using a rich colour palette of natural yarns, sourced and dyed in the UK. She then works closely with a Yorkshire mill to produce her small limited edition ranges of scarves, throws and blankets – which make perfect gifts for men and women.

Sarah Tyssen – hand woven chenille and wool scarves

We have fallen in love with Sarah’s new lambswool design that has now arrived at Heart Gallery just in time for the cold snap!

Sarah Tyssen – handwoven merino lambswool scarves

Meet The Maker – Jill Govier

Jill Govier – textile artist

Jill is a lifelong avid seamstress and finds the tactile qualities of fabrics and thread lend themselves beautifully as a means to express herself.

Elderly couple with Ice Cream stitched canvas

Her work is heavily influenced by her passion for both textiles and words. She incorporates beautiful old fabrics and vintage finds alongside contemporary prints to create quirky textiles and practical home wares.

Cushion

Cushions, purses, peg bags, canvasses and more recently, handbags made from recycled tweet jackets are the mainstays of her designs.

Peg bags

Text features highly in her work in the form of quotes from famous people or children’s stories, sometimes motivational, sometimes with a sense of fun.

Key fobs

Jill clearly remembers tackling her mum`s treadle Singer sewing machine, making dolls clothes and stuffed creatures from whatever fabrics she could find around the house. She had an old book called `A 100 things a girl can make` and had a go at all of them!

Cushion

Jill believes she was born with an unabated obsession with textiles and what she could make out of them and now she gets to do it for a living! Recycling & reusing textiles has become something of a passion for her, some of the everyday vintage fabrics she comes across are amazing and have such potential!

Quote purse & key fobs

Jill is also drawn to the bright contemporary prints that are in the shops nowadays, mixing old with new and making beautiful things has become her favourite thing to do! Here at Heart Gallery we love the words and quotes Jill uses in her work as they often strike a chord with customers and we see them giggling whilst they choose that extra special gift or even end up treating themselves instead!

Make Up Bag

Meet The Maker – Elissia Grace

Elissia Grace – designer/maker

The arrival of a niece and nephew reawakened Elissia’s interest in childhood and in family life.  She really enjoys trips to the seaside and grand days out.

Dangling Leg ceramic range

These have become the focus of her design work and provide a great opportunity to bring together the things that she loves e.g. line, pattern and colour.

Dangling Leg range – textiles

Elissia often works from photographs that she has taken on days out. She can then produce line drawings and sewing-machine drawings, to which she then adds pattern and colour elements using a combination of collage and Photoshop. These images are then developed for homewares, fabrics and gifts.

Dangling Leg ceramic range

Her current range consists of ceramic ware, framed art work, interior textiles such as cushions, aprons and tea-towels, some of these in child-friendly sizes.

Child’s apron from Dangling Leg range