Craft Candy

Samantha Groom is a Sheffield based printmaker specialising in woodblock, linocut and mono printing. Samantha works from her home studio using her treasured Rollaco’ press to print onto paper, recycled card and fabric.

“I originally studied sculpture back in the nineties but always knew inside I was a printmaker. While living in Glasgow I became a member of Glasgow Print Studio and there I discovered wood block printing.

On coming to Sheffield around 2001, I started block printing in earnest, buying sheets of plywood to carve into, and regularly borrowing the printing press at Hangingwater studios to experiment. I also began mono-printing and making collages from discarded prints.

Taking a break from printing when I had my daughter 3 years ago, when I returned to it I found I wanted to create simple, brightly coloured and more playful work that to me quite reminiscent of my own childhood in the 1970’s.”

Kath Williamson produces unusual photographic images that speak of those small and often overlooked corners in the city where nature is asserting itself. Seeming to tread a line between painting and photograph, her images reflect the transience, fragility and beauty of these wild places.

From her home studio in Derbyshire, Sarah Culleton designs and makes limited edition and one of a kind bags and accessories with a vintage feel. Handmade from the finest fabrics, recycled materials and antique findings, everything in her collection is made to the highest standard with a strong emphasis on originality, quality craftsmanship and attention to detail.

Sarah’s inspiration comes from childhood memories and her lifelong passion for fashion and textiles. Everything from family holidays at Skegness, to her Nana’s wallpaper come together in unison with wonderful fabric finds to create pieces that evoke feelings of nostalgia and warmth.

Richard Priestly designs and makes contemporary jewellery in silver and gold with precious and semi precious stones.  He is also a lapidarist with over twenty years’ experience, and thus much of his work is inlaid with stone. His designs feature clean lines but retain an organic feel which best shows the beauty of the stone.

The method of inlaying the stone often makes the pieces very tactile.  All of Richard’s jewellery is completely handmade and, due to the nature of the stone, each is unique in its own way.

After studying Art and Design in Sheffield, Richard entered the Jewellery trade in sales and manufacture before going on to open his own vintage clothes shop in the mid 80s.  He then went back into the jewellery trade working for Orlap Ltd as a jeweller/lapidarist, making jewellery for many of the top independent jewellery shops in the country and some in Europe.

Richard now works from his own workshop based at the Butcher works, a grade 2 listed ex-cutlery works in the centre of Sheffield in an area where many of the Little Mesters and artisans once worked.

Born in the summer of 2007(ish), FinestImaginary’s Huddersfield-based purveyor of designer goodness has a severe obsession with the like of stories, monsters and make believe. Sometimes these things spill out onto paper, and thus, material things are born. Whilst not everything has a story hidden right behind its chain or clasp, most of the characters you’ll come across in FinestImaginary will have been born through the wandering day dreams of Kim Lawler. An art degree graduate masquerading as a web designer during the day and playing with plastic, fabrics and inks at night, FinestImaginary serves as the delightful material outlet for thoughts that can’t be transcribed in xHTML and CSS. FinestImaginary is a jumble of ideas for you to accessorise your outfit with.

Rhea Clements is a Knitwear Graduate from Nottingham. With a passion for anything handmade and unique, Rhea says that she is always looking into new ways to use knit or new materials for her pieces because she “just loves making stuff!”.

Committed to producing creative and unique knitwear designs suitable for all women and all occasions, Rhea’s designs are based on ease of use and convenience to the wearer, as well as comfort and fashion. Her current collection of women’s accessories includes a range of jewellery and scarves.

Jil of Jil Made This is a printer and illustrator from Leeds, with a degree in printed textiles and surface pattern design and selling background including Paris Indigo trade fair. She loves crafts, illustrations, printing, collecting, cats, shopping, carboot sales, charity shopping, hoarding, stickers, owls, bears, rainbows, fairytales, and dreams.

Loglike is a creative partnership, run by Jen & Steve. Started in London in 2005, Loglike now operates from a small studio, in a beautiful Welsh valley. Many Loglike products are designed & handmade on site. Human-scale production of contemporary green design. Contemporary gifts & homeware with recycled, vintage elements. Each item is a one-off or limited edition, handmade on a cottage industry scale, here in the UK.

Janet Wass creates simple, elegant jewellery delicately laced with pattern. She fuses her passion for jewellery with her love of photography, incorporating photographically produced imagery within her designs, using laser-cutting and photo-etching alongside traditional jewellery making techniques. Magnifying often neglected details from the everyday world, she works using sterling silver and colourful synthetic materials to create insipring and desirable, wearable pieces.