Made in Stroud

If you're a 'Stroudian' or just passing by, make sure you pop into the lovely Made in Stroud shop. Described as "the Covent Garden of the Cotswolds", it's full of lots of  lovely gift ideas for Christmas, ranging from stained glass and pottery to jewellery and textiles. They invited me to be one of their guests designers and have put together a lovely window display to show off my products nicely.

☞ Made in Stroud ☜

New Perri Owl

Craft blogger extraordinaire Perri Lewis has designed her very own and very beautiful new owl.  She decided on an oriental inspired blue floral fabric ☟And her felt choices work perfectly!

She's coming together nicely don't you think..?

She'll be available to purchase soon from www.chloeowens.com and further retailers TBC.

Twit Twoo!

Today I've been making cushions and owls for a lovely little shop called Made In Stroud who invite guest sellers to sell handmade gifts and goodies...

Can I be Candid?

It was my show for the Islington Contemporary Art and Design Fair at Candid Galleries last week. Week three was Fashion Textiles and Jewellery and there was a beautiful collection of things from lots of artists and designers.

Some of my favourites ☟

Beautiful & intricate illustrations which are turned into silk scarves by Hannah & Katie Davis

Gorgeous jewellery by http://www.frillybylilly.co.uk

Amazing shoes by Hetty Rose http://www.hettyrose.co.uk

Setting up

A new canvas for the show

It was lots of fun and I sold two new pieces to an art collector! If you missed it you still have a chance to go to the fourth and final week when there'll be furniture, ceramics, glass and design products. 

Admission is free and you get the chance to buy from the designers themselves.

Book available to pre-order!

My book is now available to pre-order on Amazon! 

"Textile artist Chloe Owens inhabits a strange and colourful world, where fabric animals frolic, sequinned birds sing and even the landscape is made up of groovy 1960's prints. In the heart of London she has sewn her own enchanted wilderness, turning her hand to greetings cards, a menagerie of soft toys, bespoke canvasses and comfy cushions. She hoards salvaged vintage fabrics and combines them with contemporary prints to create something totally new, as she 'draws' delicate stitched designs on appliqued work using her trusty sewing machine. The result is a multifaceted tactile feast! All her pieces are bespoke originals and she is available for commissions for all your crafting needs."

Spread the word! ♥

Liberty & Exclusive Owls

It was the Liberty open call in August, where budding designers have the chance to show off what they've made in the hope that they'll get to be sold in store. So, I thought I'd go along and present some cushions and toys. I got there at stupid-0-clock (otherwise known as 6am) and queued for 4 hours! The queue stretched as far as the eye could see (well not quite that far, but it was very long) It wound right around the corner and even further. See ☞ 

Once in you get to pitch to a panel for just 4 minutes as they ruthlessly decide whether you're worthy enough. The response was thankfully very positive and they liked the idea of my name cushions being sold as a bespoke service. So.. we shall wait and see with bated breath!

Smug have co-designed a new owl, this time by Louise, Lizzie's right hand woman. She chose a classic Liberty print and I think she turned out lovely... 

Louise and Louise the Owl

They are both exclusively available to buy from Smug

If you'd like to design and name your own owl, all you have to do is decide on which fabric you'd like, and choose which coloured felts, stitching and buttons you want, get in touch and I'll make and sell your design through the website and possibly Smug. I'll also ask you to send in a photo of yourself with your new owl which will be posted on the website gallery.

Page will be updated soon Design Your Own!

PS- The book is due to be released February 2012!

I got owls, they're multiplying

We've been very busy making an army of owls for SMUG and NOTANOTHERBILL, which is a subscription service like you've never experienced before- Every month the creator of this ingenious idea Ned Corbett-Winder, will send you presents in the post. The great thing is you never know what you're going to get, the package will consist of just about anything that catches Ned's eye. 
Go forth and subscribe and may all your christmases come at once!

Goodbye Jakey

Some sad news for this post I'm afraid, Jake my beloved cat passed away after a long battle with kidney disease. As you may have seen in previous posts, he loved to sit and watch me work and was always getting up to mischief, knocking my buttons on the floor and burying himself under piles of fabric.

I'll miss him watching me work and cheekily dipping his paws in my tea. Things will be very quiet from now on.

It was supposed to be a surprise but he was going to be a character throughout my book, with illustrations by Gemma Correll of him getting up to all sorts of mischief throughout. I've decided he will still be a character and the book will be dedicated to him. This way he will live forever.

Goodbye Jakey, my little ray of sunshine.

Free fabric and a fractured elbow

Hello! I'm so busy I don't have time to write very often but just wanted to let you know that the book is going well, though I have fallen behind after falling over and fracturing my elbow! (I wasn't drunk- honest. It was the slippery boots I love too much to throw away). 

It was so frustrating knowing how much I had to do but couldn't do anything, but thankfully it's mending quickly and I'm almost back on track. I'm very pleased to say that Amy Butler http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/ is donating lots of lovely fabrics for the book, as well as Michael Miller http://www.michaelmillerfabrics.com and a lovely designer called Alice Apple who creates beautiful retro, scandinavian style fabrics http://www.aliceapple.co.uk/. Their designs will be used for products in the book and also page backgrounds which I think will work brilliantly.

Alice Apple

Alice Apple

Alice Apple

I also have fellow Art School friend Gemma Correll http://www.gemmacorrell.com/ on board for the step by step illustrations which is very exciting, her work has a childlike quality that I love and will add a humorous and playful element to the pages. We also have another surprise character to feature throughout the book which I'm very excited about, but you'll have to buy the book to find out who!

Ok better get back to work! Before I go here are some recent articles about me:

Bambino Goodies- http://www.bambinogoodies.co.uk/

Creative Dish- http://www.creativedish.com/

Sew Hip Magazine

Pamflet- http://pamflet.co.uk/

Creative Boom- http://www.creativeboom.co.uk/

Bye for now x

The Crafty Fox Easter Market

Saturday 16th April will be the second Crafty Fox Market, and this time it's going to be even bigger and better!

It'll be set over 3 floors, with events and workshops to keep you occupied all day long. There'll be delicious handmade cakes and pizza's, portraits from a 5 year old artist, vegan cupcake decorating, brooch making, knitting plus recycling workshops. There'll be a handmade raffle for Japan with the chance to bag yourself a bespoke one off from one of the 35 artists and designers.

There'll be tea rooms and a letter lounge, and cross stitch and cocktails for those wanting something stronger than tea! 

Crafty Fox DJ's will be playing all day and there will also be professional advice  and helpful chats on running your Etsy shops with product photography workshops.

All in all a pretty unsurpassable day planned, so don't miss out! 

The Book Squirm

Hola Amigos.


Since I posted last, I have been approached by a publishers called Cico Books who want me to produce a book on my designs. It's all very exciting and I've been very busy working on ideas for tutorials, and listening to spanish lessons while I work! 


Cico are giving me a lot of creative freedom, which is fantastic, and have even let me come up with the name (which will remain secret for now!) I want it to be colourful and quirky and fun. It'll be aimed at both adults and children, and for the big kid in all of us.
I've been buying fabric like there's no tomorrow (I seriously think I might have a fabric buying addiction) and my studio is filled with buttons, ribbons, trims, felt and lots of colourful fabrics. Yes it's a bit of a mess to be honest. 


I'm in the process of making the first 8 things, which Cico will then use to make an initial catalogue to sell the idea at book fairs. The book, once it's made will have the opportunity to be sold at places like John Lewis, Liberty and Waterstones. 


I've been itching and squirming to show you things I've done already, but obviously it needs to be kept more or less under wraps until the book is on the shelves... But I have taken a few close up photo's which are quite ambiguous so won't really give anything away...

While all this is going on, I'm also busy trying to squeeze in making things for the next Crafty Fox market (16th April 11-6pm), which was absolutely brilliant last time and I have a few new designs to show off for that. It'll be in the same place as last time, the Dogstar bar in Brixton, but this time it'll be even bigger, and set over 3 floors. There'll be cupcake decorating and brooch making classes, knitting and tea and cake! There'll also be DJ's and a bar if tea isn't strong enough for you! 


So, until next time...


Adiós!

Henry the cat's new friend....

We have a new edition to the family! He hasn't got a name yet, so suggestions welcome. 

He has a devious and crafty look about him...

☞ Both available soon at www.chloeowens.com ☜

Meet Henry The Cat

Cross Stitcher Magazine

Cool and crafty Cross Stitcher Magazine goes on sale today! 

I'm the 'featured stitcher' this month ~ get your copy for a full double page spread interview about  my work

Stylist Magazine

Here is the cover design for Stylist Magazine! Released last night and this morning. 

Inside is a full feature on how four women (myself included) decided to turn their hobby into a business. There are great tips and the chance to attend the Stylist networking event "Starting Your Own Business" 

Buy tickets here http://www.stylist.co.uk/home/article/663/start-your-own-business-in-2011

You can read the full article online http://read.stylist.co.uk/issue/Jan18-2011

Don't forget!

Out now is January's edition of Sew Hip! Magazine with my tutorial on how to make a songbird cushion

Sew Hip Magazine- Issue 24- Songbird Cushion Tutorial

Sugar And Spice And All Things Nice

Phew! The Christmas rush is over. Sort of. 

I've just finished the cover for Stylist Magazine, there'll be a feature about me inside with tips and advice on turning your hobby into a business. It'll be released Wednesday the 19th January, and you can find them being given out at most stations. 

They run out quickly though, so you have to be quick!

Check out their website, they have lots of great articles http://www.stylist.co.uk/.

Out now, is a magazine called Sew Hip! There is an article on me giving a tutorial on how to make one of my applique cushions.

There will also be an interview with me in Sew Hip's issue released on 25th February.

Cross Stitcher Magazine! A feature about me and my work released 25th January

I'll try to post some PDF's later.

Just before Christmas I held a stall at Spitalfields new Art Market. Brrrr! It was cold! 

Wearing 50 layers and still cold! Adding some colour on a grey day

    

It's still in it's early stages, but they had some nice designers there, it's worth checking out. 

Lavender Robin Toy

It was my birthday in December, and I was given some beautiful cupcakes, I love the different colours

Too good to eat!

Jake trying to nab a present for himself

A couple of commissions I did over the Christmas period

Goodbye for now!