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Christiana Vardakou and the Philosophy of ‘Slow Design’

Christiana Vardakou is a recent graduate from UAL: Chelsea College of Art and Design. She specialised in digital printing, however her work now focuses on natural dyeing and printing. She believes in the philosophy of ‘Slow Design’ and tries to express the beauty of process in creating. She recently travelled around South East Asia, taking traditional textile classes and learning more about traditional techniques, every week she writes a blog post about what she’s learnt while travelling. She has [...]

Helen Frost: Art from Found Materials

I am a mixed media artist from Chichester in West Sussex. I work largely with found and recycled materials using paper, fabric, rubber, metal, wood or whatever I might find on my daily walks around Chichester Harbour. I always take a camera to record my finds, finding absorption in recording objects in situ – digitally in the first instance. These walks started as a form of mindfulness – they have become walks attempting to help cure our coastline. The [...]

Kate Cullen: Created by Hand, Curated by Heart

Botanically dyed silk ribbons & handmade paper in the UK. Kate hand dyes natural fibres using plants to create beautiful ribbons for use in floristry and events. She also makes table runners and napkins, all from her home in the beautiful Cotswolds. Kate also offers artistic direction & styling for wedding & lifestyle brands based on her 8 years working with dozens of talented creatives to create meaningful and beautiful imagery that echoes her clients work to perfection, bringing them [...]

Extinction Rebellion – London, April 2019 #RebelForLife

So last week we have been busy helping out @extinctionrebellion in London! If you haven’t heard of @extinctionrebellion yet, it is an ‘international movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience to achieve radical change in order to minimise the risk of human extinction and ecological collapse.’ They have 3 demands for the Government: 1 #TellTheTruth – Declare a climate and ecological emergency. 2 #ActNow – Halt biodiversity loss and go net #ZeroCarbon2025. 3 #BeyondPolitics – A #CitizensAssembly for climate and ecological justice. If you like [...]

Sorry for the delay, Good News, XRebellion, Dye Garden, New Name

I can finally email you to say that the magazine is in the hands of the printers and should be with us in a few days! Here’s a snapshot of some of the articles in the Spring 2019 issue, which you can purchase here: The Call of Creative Pathways – An article about natural dyes and advice for creative businesses One Artist, Many Techniques – Combining natural dyeing with digital printing A Book of Recipes, Many Vegetable Colours, Wool and Fabrics – The discovery of recipe books and samples [...]

Plastic Free Craft Campaign – In Conversation with Elly Platt

Elly Platt is a costume maker and vintage clothing enthusiast who lives in London. Elly started her sustainable and ethical fashion blog, Take It Up Wear It Out, to showcase stylish and creative alternatives to fast fashion. When she’s not refashioning or mending clothes, Elly is learning new craft skills in order to furnish her home without buying anything new. We asked her to share her thoughts on our #plasticfreecraft campaign. “It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that sewing [...]

Red Shoe Polish Boots Transformation!

By Holly by Heart I own shoe polish. A lot of it! Not many people I know do, which is a shame as shoe polish is amazing! I love shoes and boots! I’ve often had boots reheeled or repaired. Polishing shoes means that they last longer and stay looking newer for longer. But shoe polish also has other uses! I bought these amazing red clarks boots from a charity shops before Christmas for £8. They’re a perfect fit and are so [...]

The Art of Mending

Showcasing craft, as we do here at NSN Magazine, is often a unique and varied job. We get articles, expertise, samples, and books shared with us. A bumper crop becomes a chance to discover, spark new ideas, and experiment. When a book arrives with an original title containing an archaic term – like ‘mending’ – we immediately want to leaf through it, take in its contents, and examine the photos. Mending Mattersby Katrina Rodabaugh is one of those books. The visual layout is [...]

Practical Experiments in Textile Architecture. Anni Albers at the Tate Modern

Make sure you don’t miss the Anni Albers exhibition, which is on display in the Tate Modern’s spacious exhibition halls. Here at NSN Magazine, when we showcase activities like weaving, we enjoy sharing the unique and personal interpretations, how the creations are designed to be used, and the choice of yarns. Indeed, weaving is one of the oldest craft activities, often relegated to the female domain. For decades, this skilled practice was confined to passionate female weavers who defied modernity and [...]

Elvis & Kresse: Transforming Used Fire-hoses Into a Range of Luxury Accessories

For over the last 13 years Elvis & Kresse have saved all of London’s fire-hoses, transforming them into a range of luxury accessories and donating 50% of the profits to The Fire Fighters Charity. From the first day they had a unique DNA: rescue, transform, donate. In 2005 Elvis & Kresse had a chance meeting with the London Fire Brigade and had a very emotional response to their damaged, decommissioned fire-hose. Kresse saw it as too heroic and too beautiful for [...]