Local markets

At home in Amersham I'm slowly getting used to having my work out and about in shops and cafes I know and love.  Recently, my work has travelled a bit further, see this post here, and for a while now have been here and here.  but I am still getting used to meeting local people who recognise my work and connect the dots when they realise it's me that's done something!

Apart from Christmas fairs at local schools I haven't been very aware about art markets going on in my area.  I hear about big ones happening in London, Bristol and further afield, but really need to get local and figure it all out!  Last year I managed to get involved with the Berkhamsted Arts and Crafts Market that happens on the first saturday of every month and the third Sunday (coinciding with the local farmers market), and am meaning to book up a few more dates for later in the year.

A friend of mine has been talking about the Little Fox Market since she moved to Rickmansworth and finally in March, I made it to the first market of the year!  A little nippy out, but lots of lovely tables full of a variety of goods.  I got in touch and was there the first weekend in May (4th) and it was lovely!

A few photos from the day!  I met some lovely people - namely Caroline of 'Handmade Soap by Caroline' who was next to me with her gorgeous soaps (and matching gazebo), the day flew by chatting about various crafty things.

I'll be back at this lovely little market the first weekend in August - Saturday 3rd from 10.30am till 3.30pm, stop by and say hello if you're in the area!

Illustrated Homes Part 2

You can find 'Part 1' here.  This is the second commission I got from the April House Coffee Morning last October, which you can read about here.

This is such a gorgeous house, it really was a pleasure to illustrate.  If you follow my Untapped Cities illustrations, you will of seen my love of bricks shining though!  My use of perspective was really put to the test, which was good - it needed it.

Illustrated Homes Part 1

Back in October I had a table at the April House Coffee Morning in aid of Macmillan and Renaissance charities.  I took details down from two lovely ladies both interested in having their homes illustrated by me.  I absolutely love being asked to illustrate peoples homes - there is something very individual and personal about them.

Due to Christmas coming towards me very fast we scheduled in that I would begin work on these pieces in February, and to be finished by the end of March.  Perfect customers!  Any other time of year I'm able to be much more flexible, but coming up to Christmas it was just too much work to juggle.

This first piece I'm sharing with you was to be a birthday surprise for the lady's husband - lovely!  With a view in mind to have some greetings cards printed with the illustration on them as well in the near future.

If you'd like your home illustrated then please get in touch.  You can leave a message under this post or send me an email to : charlotte_vallance (at) hotmail.com

Old Amersham Museum

I was contacted over Christmas by Emily at Amersham Museum, and after a meeting in January we'd organised that I would do an illustration of the Museum for use on promotional/informational flyers and possibly online.

Due to time restraints I had to keep the illustration quite small, but I don't think it hindered the overall image at all.  The museum is in a lovely building in Old Amersham and has some great original features - it was interesting to draw, and to have a look around the inside too!

I definitely recommend a trip to Amersham Museum if you're in the area.  It costs only £2 and has some great old photos from the town over the years as well as a cute garden out the back.  You can see original features in the building as well as toys and other bits and pieces from the history of Amersham.  It is quite petite, so you won't need long to get a good look around, and once you're done Seasons Cafe Deli is an excellent place to stop for a bite of lunch or a spot of tea and cake.

Old Amersham also boasts a fair few independent retail shops so there is plenty to look at if you're up for a wander down the high street.

Independent Retail shopping crawl and map

The first weekend in December 2012 boasted the first 'Indie retail shopping crawl' for Old Amersham.  This meant that the independent retail shops in Old Amersham, Buckinghamshire, UK got together and produced a map.  On the allocated days you then took your map (available in all participating shops) with you and collected a stamp from each on your map.  You didn't have to buy anything, just to simply go in and ask for a stamp.  Of course I stopped for a chat in most shops and it took me about half a day but theoretically you could probably do it in half an hour.

This lovely little map really opened my eyes.  I discovered shops I didn't know were there, bumped into friends and enjoyed a lovely breakfast out.  I booked appointments and got some Christmas presents sorted.  This is a great event to do with friends or family and is a lovely day/half a day out!

And as a bonus, if you completed the map and got all of your stamps, hand over your map to a participating shop and you're entered into a prize draw to win a hamper of goodies which features something from all the shops involved.  Absolutely amazing!

If you missed out, not to worry!  The shopping crawl will be back to Old Amersham again in 2013.  Keep an eye out on here for updates and in local BUCKS and HERTS magazines and papers.  You can see here about how I first got involved in this project.

The illustrations used in the map of the shops in Old Amersham were also used on Christmas cards.  If you'd like to pre-order then please get in touch by leaving a comment below or emailing charlotte_vallance(at)hotmail.com

Indie retail shopping experience

At the beginning of the year Coco Marie commissioned me to illustrate the front of their darling little boutique in Old Amersham (see finished illustration here and in practice here) and over the year we've kept in touch and helped to promote each other on the social media side of things.

Coming up to christmas happenings they got in touch again, having seen my print of Old Amersham (you can get yours here) and were asking to use it for an 'Independent Retail Shopping Event' to take place in Old Amersham at the end of November. Amazing!  I love it when customers come back - the best compliment I can get!

Always one for a challenge and to illustrate something new, I volunteered up my services to illustrate Old Amersham and in particular the shops that were getting involved - rather than have them use something illustrated for a different purpose, plus it wasn't Christmassy at all!

I'll be posting the finished map soon!

Coffee morning at April House

On an almost last minute whim, I got a table at April House for the coffee morning supporting Macmillan and Renaissance that Sejal Sachdev puts on every year.  This year, she's in a lovely new house - that I actually saw being built!  But this meant much more space, great big rooms to fill with tables full of goodies for people to buy from local businesses.  All in all there were about 12 different tables/stalls ranging from me with illustration work, to jewellery and homewares, dolls, Christmas decorations and blankets to flowers, jams & chutneys and cake & biscuits.  Phewf!  Loads to look at basically!

For my table, I hiked up to the end of the garden and pulled out our tressle tables, which gave me a great big surface to work with.  Unlike at Book fairs where I would stand behind my table, this one was to be designed so people could walk all the way around.  I pulled out my mini and small frames with original illustrations and drypoint prints in them to be scattered around and built up the middle centre piece with my London Map prints, stands of cards and boxes full of lucky dip bags and pocket mirrors.

I was quite pleased with the outcome and overall look of my table, but this is definitely something I may need to invest a bit more time into organising in future!  I absolutely love my cards stands as they're cardboard and flat-pack, so are easy to carry around to fairs and markets here, there and everywhere.

Here is a list of all the contributors, and even a few photos I managed to take before everything came down.

'Becci-Bocci'

Rebecca White of Becci-Bocco dolls ~ beautiful, bespoke dolls handmade with time and love, the perfect gift for any occasion. All commissions welcome.. www.becci-bocco.co.uk

'Sally Gibbs'

Sally Gibbs- The handmade Tale, Sally is a local artist. Original Paintings for sale and by commission and a selection of original craftwork. www.sallygibbs.com

Sam Moore & Dee Sanders- Baobab candles- as seen in Harrods. Welsh slate, amazing Anjou ice buckets  half  price & other stunning gift ideas.

Sally MacDougall- Sally MacDougall Offers beautiful flowers for all events including weddings, parties & corporate events. We also hold workshops throughout the year. www.sallymacflowers.co.uk 

Lisa Thomas- Fine food for all occasions, Homemade Christmas Cakes to sample and order, chocolate truffles & cupcakes

Pami Ratnavel- Inara Jewellery is a unique collection of beautiful handmade pieces that balance contemporary chic with understated elegance. Pami, local mum, designs and makes each piece at home.  

Alison Pao- owns Rowan garden centre.  Gifts for garden & home. Xmas decorations.

Dipti Daryanani- who has a Diploma in Vegetarian Cookery from the Vegetarian Society, runs ‘the little aubergine" which caters for functions and busy parents. Dipti also makes scrumptious cakes, biscuits, jams & chutneys. 

Nita Nathwani- makes ceramic objects and paper clay formations inspired by sea life, sculpted textiles and the built environment.  www.nitanathwani.com

Jodie Aziz- scarves in sumptuous silks are affordable luxurious accessories that are both unique and stylish and have the ability to transform any outfit. You may have seen Jodie at the Spirit Fairs at Olympia. www.jodieaziz.com

Charlotte Vallance -local illustrator and printmaker focusing on working in watercolours and screen printing, producing original illustrations and screen print editions of places she has travelled to and been inspired by. charlottevallance.blogspot.co.uk

Natural quilts- Jyoti lives in Chesham Bois and designs quilts and has them made ethically in India. Cuddly and soft 100% cotton hand block printed quilts and quillows (quilts that fold up to become cushions) in different sizes and colours. www.naturalquilts.com

'Judy's Jams'

Judy’s jams- Judy lives in Chesham Bois. Home made jams , chutneys and cordial made from locally picked and sourced produce

Massive thank you to my Mum, who was kind enough to step in for me while I had to go to work in the middle of it all!  I had wanted to get a photo of us in front of my table but it was coming down by the time I got back and I clean forgot.