Renegade Craft Fair 2013

Day two and loving it!

My first London market and it was oh so lovely!  Being an illustrator from my bedroom means that for the most of the time all my work is here, there and everywhere.  It's a rare occasion where I get to see it out on display, all together and at it's best.  Hurrah for markets!  Thanks to the Manchester Artists Book Fair I do get to see my books all out at least once a year, and it's always quite an event.  This year I've had the pleasure of doing a few more crafts markets than in previous years and I'm happy to of taken this step.

This years Christmas cards made their debut - and went down well!

Renegade Craft Fair is really big in the States and slowly becoming more known here in London too thanks to this lovely London venue off Brick Lane (the Old Truman Brewery!).

 It's always useful to have a re-shuffle!  This was day one!

NEW Lucky Dip Bags featuring upcycled and recycled things as well as illustrations!

The lovely Pygmy Cloud!

This is by far the biggest market I've done and the level of work was so high it was hard to know where to look!  I shared a booth space with Pygmy Cloud and we lucked out with a corner space to show off our wares.

There were a lot of fellow makers that I knew from previous fairs, online shopping and social media so it was really nice to have everyone under one roof to be able to say hello!  Also, being in London, it made the perfect excuse for family and friends to visit me at work for once.

Cushions, cushions, cushions!

With the success of last years Amsterdam cushions, I've done a second run.  This time I have opted for a thicker material and gone with a dark, navy blue as well as the bright, peacock blue - a nice contrast I think.

You can get them via my Etsy shop at www.charlottevallance.etsy.com

And as a last minute decision I attempted to print a limited edition of 4 in red (slightly larger in size with an added triangle border).  But unfortunately they haven't all worked out so they won't be going in the shop just yet!

My Favourites

My partner in crime! Jessica and myself on one of many cafe visits :-)

This year for my holiday I went to California - namely San Francisco - and spent my time relaxing, visiting friends, travelling a bit, but mainly eating and drinking.  There were many, many recommendations of places to get coffee, snacks, breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as a lot of 'go here, and order this', instructions from friends - knowing what I like, and they were always spot on.

Here are some snaps of time spent illustrating in cafes and illustrations of the cafes - enjoy!

Spin City

Atlas Cafe

Cha Cha Cha

Bi Rite

Cafe St Jorge

Jane

Have you been to San Francisco?  Any recommendations for me?

The 8th Manchester Artists' Book Fair

Myself and Kate Bufton behind our tables!

Back in October I took part in my 3rd Manchester Book fair which celebrated 8 years of the fair!  It's a great couple of days and I try and get caught up with what everyones been doing over the year.  Also a good opportunity to see family and friends in Manchester.

Hosted by Hot Bed Press in the Holden Gallery (part of Manchester Metropolitan University), you can see on their lovely new website the book artists that participated this year (and 2012 + 2011) along with photos - www.manchesterartistsbookfair.com

The old amongst the new - 'Statues of Europe'

Brand spanking new book!

Books and prints, bookmarks and postcards

Lucky dip bags and amazing folding books

Did you stop by and see the fair?  If not, don't worry, it'll be on around the same time next year so keep an eye out for a 'pre-fair' post on here, tweets on Twitter, and mentions on Facebook.