A number of my students have expressed an interest in a fast-paced sewing course.
That is why I have designed a series of intensive Sewing Bootcamps - new hands-on courses which will help budding sewers master all of the basic skills and techniques they will need to tackle dressmaking and soft furnishing projects.

These courses will obviously cover more than I am able to cover in a 3 hour Workshop and will allow me to do many things which I don’t have time to deal with in the shorter time-frame.

Bootcamp 1 will run over 4 consecutive weekdays (mornings  9.30 – 12.30) or over two Saturdays (mornings 10am – 1pm and afternoons 1.30pm – 4.30pm)

I will teach students about:
- The different functions of a sewing machine
- Different fabrics and their uses
- Pattern markings
- The importance of precision
You learn and develop skills such as:
- Machine Sewing
- Hand sewing
- Inserting a zip
- Cutting out fabric using a pattern

And everyone will leave the course with a bag and cushion!

The starting dates of Sewing Bootcamp 1 are: 
- 28th May (weekdays)
- 8th June (weekends))
- 10th June (weekdays)

Information about Bootcamp 2 and Bootcamp 3, which will cover more
advanced skills, to follow!

To find out if the Sewing BootCamp is the right course for you please call me on 087 953 68 18, email me on maebh@seweasy.ie or
fill in the enquiry form on the seweasy.ie website

Popularity: 3% [?]

Leos’s Tavern in association with Earagail Arts Festival presents

Traditional Irish Market Fair

Enjoy this 150 year old Irish traditional fair where old customs are displayed from 1850 onwards. Countless stalls will line the village, exhibiting local handcrafts such as pottery, jewellery, basket weaving, handmade tweeds and organic local produce along with home baking. On display, skills in cradle making, weaving and secrets of traditional fabrics and many other traditional Irish customs revived on the day. With plenty of music and a selection of farm animals for children including pigs and donkeys. Come and enjoy this wonderful fair and immerse yourself in the old Irish ways.

Check out the site below for the huge amount of attractions on offer:

http://www.eaf.ie/

Popularity: 2% [?]

Michelle Fallon of michelleamdethis.com is teaming up with Gleesons Townhouse in Roscommon to offer Crafty Weekend Breaks.   More details can be found here http://www.gleesonstownhouse.com/index.php/craft-workshop-weekend-breaks/

Michelle recently featured in Country Living where you can find a competition to win one of these crafty weekends for two people, total value 500 euro.

Popularity: 2% [?]

As part of Derry City of Culture 2013 the Donegal Designer Makers presents, HOME, an exhibition of craft, applied art and design at the Craft Village (off Shipquay Street) Derry, from Fri  3rd – 30th May 2013.

The official opening will take place Friday 3rd May, 6.30pm – 8.30pm. Refreshments will be served and everyone is welcome.

HOME reflects the work of 18 Artist/Designer/Makers from Donegal and their connection with their home place (Donegal). For some it is their birth place, while others have made it their home. The exhibition explores the different elements of what home is to each maker.

Hannah McGuinness, Creative Director, Donegal Designer Makers says, “Our main connection to each other is our home place Donegal. Whether born here or settled here we have the great fortune of being owned by it and thus feeling part of what is Donegal. Our county has great dramatic beauty, is subject to erratic weather patterns, has a language of its own, is steeped in culture and tradition. All these aspects of our life in Donegal are carried through our lifetime, influencing and inspiring our work and us as people.”

For more information: www.donegaldesignermakers.com

Popularity: 1% [?]

The event organiser is there to keep stand holders happy and provide a good show for your customers.  It is a job where you must be able to juggle creative personalities, good organisational skills, be ‘out there’ advertising, keeping a good reputation and doing it all professionally and staying calm!!

Setting up a fair should be easy once you follow a few simple guidelines.

 Step 1. Vet all applicants, asking a person to send 3 images of their product and price range will help you to have good variety at your event with realistic prices. This helps you to know what products are coming to your event and what you have to offer your customers.

Step 2.  Think about value and interest for your customers.  If everything is expensive or too cheap you will miss out on pleasing a large percentage of your customers. Variety in price will cater for more people, not everyone is searching for a bargain, also have products available for impulse buys, the money people are carrying around in their pockets.

Step 3.  Variety…this means that although it would be easy to cram in the first few people applying for spaces, you must remember that your customer will look for variety in the stands.  Having too many stands of the same type of product will make for a boring fair and also the stand holders will not sell well if there are too many of the same type of products in the same venue.

Step 4.  Be visible…your stand holders will appreciate you being around for queries and support.  You are the face of your business so being available for your customers (the stand holders) is a must.

Step 5.  Advertise. Advertise. Advertise.  Internet, flyers, shops signs, websites, CCOI website, www.irishcraftupdate.com, facebook, road signs, balloons, blimp….get it known out there that you are having an event and then saturate everywhere to get customers in the door.  If you have an empty event you will not get people to display with you again.

Step 6.  Start with a good reputation and keep it!     ……. You need to build a good reputation from the very first fair you run.  If there are customers in the door it is up to the stand holders to sell their products.      A chef’s reputation is only as good as his last meal!

Step 7.  If you are going to do it, do it right the first time!   There is no second chance to make a first impression.   You may not make much on your first few events, but building a good reputation by looking after your stand holders, advertising well and putting in the time to make things right will pay off in time!

Step 8.  Give a little back to your customers….feel good factor works!   Have a coffee area, seating space,  have face painting, balloons or music, a little extra can help the customers relax and not feel that it is all about spending!

Step 9.  Charity…if you run a charity raffle or donate some proceeds to charity, you can benefit from free advertising with their website, maybe local newspaper, radio and road signs (check your local county council in relation to this).  PLUS you help a charity.

Step 10.  Ask for help…you cannot do it all alone, bring people in with their expertise to spread the workload.  One person cannot be great at everything, use the right people for parts of the business that you lack knowledge or experience in.

Experience is everything, every fair you run you will learn from and bring forward new ideas to improve the next one!

Popularity: 2% [?]

A unique event showcasing the many uses of fleece in artisan craft as a sustainable, natural and renewable fibre.

Weave your way to the County of Roscommon this May Bank Holiday.  Join  Frances Crowe, Fibre Artist and Michelle Fallon, Textile Artist in a series of free workshops to create a unique piece of Art at this years Roscommon Lamb Festival. 

On Wednesday 1^st May Frances & Michelle will launch their Fleece to Piece Event at 1.30 pm at the opening of the Roscommon Lamb Festival in Roscommon Livestock Mart.   Sign up for workshops, join in the fun and watch as sheep will be sheared and then sorted in preparation for spinning the following day at a series of free workshops.   

 On Thursday 2^nd May 11am-1pm weave your way to Grange Studio where Frances creates her woven tapestries and runs workshops in fibre art.  Learn  how to sort, tease, card and spin a fleece using a drop spindle and a spinning wheel.   

On Thursday 2^nd May join Michelle at her cottage from 2pm for a crafternoon of knitting, crochet appliqué and embroidery using the wool spun that morning.   Frances and Michelle will guide you through the process of creating the final ‘piece’ using a variety of techniques which will be unveiled at the Lamb Festival Family Fun Day.

On Sunday 5^th May, join Frances and Michelle in Loughnaneane Park for a fibre fuelled fun day of spinning, loom and tapestry weaving, knitting, crochet and embroidery.

michellemadethis@gmail.com

Frances Crowe Fibre Artist  & Michelle Fallon Textile Artist 

www.francescrowe.com  / www.michellemadethis.com

Popularity: 3% [?]

http://www.onlyhangers.com/163/free-pdf-download-crafts-from-the-closet.htm

A Collection of Clever Ways to Put Your Old Hangers to Good Use

Learn how to transform your old hangers into something new using inexpensive materials that you can find online, at the craft store, or from home!

Drill a hole into the bottom of the wooden hanger. The hole is needed to help screw in the small cup hooks. These hooks are easily screwed in by hand and should be flush with the side surface of the hanger. Make sure all the hooks are facing the same direction so people can easily take the jewelry off the hanger for a closer look. And just like that, you’re finished!

To find more crafts that use old hangers, download the free PDF titled “Crafts from the Closet.” Inside the document are visuals, instructions, and supply lists for unique craft ideas that are inexpensive to make. Download and start crafting!

Only Hangers provides you with all styles and kinds of hangers including cedar, plastic, metal hangers, and garment racks. To take our service to the next level we created a free PDF that is filled with one-of-a-kind ways to reuse all your old hangers. The graphics and clear instructions walk you through every step of the process to create and end product that you’ll want to show off to everyone.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Irish Artist & Celtic Designer John Victory has just launched a new online store www.johnvictory.com where you can purchase John’s complete range of exquisite artworks.

“I’ve been working hard to put together a collection of artworks which can be easily accessed by my loyal customers as well as potential shoppers that favour the convenience of online shopping”.  

The site features original artworks, reproductions and signed prints with worldwide shipping and online order tracking available on all items. There are also a number of new and exciting artwork collections being created at the moment by John which he is hoping to offer by the end of the year.

To help celebrate the launch of this new store, John is offering free shipping worldwide on a range of artworks while stocks last.

John is also available for commission work and you can contact him on 087 9101 835 or info@johnvictory.com

www.Johnvictory.com

Get in Touch…

John Victory Art & Design Studio
Killeenhugh,
Kinvara,
Co. Galway
Ireland

Tel: +353 91 442776
Email: info@johnvictory.com

Popularity: 2% [?]

During Christmas 2012, 14 craftspeople ran a pop-up shop under the Creative Carlow name in Carlow town.

Following on from this successful venture it is proposed to formally constitute Creative Carlow as a cooperative. We are inviting artists and craftspersons living in County Carlow to join us in this venture.

All applications will be curated by an independent curator.

The deadline for applications is March 31st.

To apply please email dolmenpots@yahoo.com  with your name and address together with images and a sentence or two describing your work.

–
Ariane TobinJewellery Designer and Maker

Popularity: 2% [?]

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Over 60 stands of great gift ideas.

Free admission

Sunday 9th December,   10am to 5pm

Royal Marine Hotel, DunLaoghaire, Co Dublin

www.giftfairireland.com/

Lots of entertainment for all the family including face painting,  balloon animals, colouring competition, post your letter to Santa,  Raffle with spot prizes, ‘What would you give Santa for Christmas’ competition.

Checkout our site www.GiftFairIreland.com for a list of our standholders

Popularity: 11% [?]