Handmade is closing for now...

You may have heard the sad news that we shall be closing our little shop door for good on 18th March.

Don't Fret...
To celebrate all the happy times we've had we'll be having a party in the shop that day from 3pm onwards.

We will hopefully be moving to another premises soon, can't say much more about that at the moment though!
So until then come and join us on Sunday 18th March at the shop for some farewell fizzy and cake.

xx

Dear friends of Handmade Brighton

Some of you may have noticed that the Handmade shop is under a dark shadow, a shadow cast by a large ‘For Let’ sign. The more astute among you may see cause for alarm. And yes, Handmade is indeed in danger. Although the spirit of the venture will live on, at least in online form, the physical shop is soon to be without a venue.

Can you help save Handmade Brighton?

We are calling out to the four corners of Brighton & Hove for any alternative venue. Spread the word! If you have any lead, no matter how vague, please email Handmade.co@hotmail.com and we will be forever in your debt. (There will be cake.)

Handmade is unique in Brighton as the only not for profit platform for Brighton designer makers. No other gallery is quite so stubbornly idealistic, dedicated to stimulating the local art and craft scene rather than making a profit.

So please put your thinking caps on. Let’s save Brighton Handmade!

Many Thanks x

The Handmade story

Just over two years ago I was running Handmade Brighton craft fairs and I was very lucky to be contacted by the lovely Lynne.

Two coffees later we decided to move the concept of the fairs into her empty shop premises.

Today I have a much cherished friendship with Lynne and a thriving business that currently houses work from over 60 local designers.

We run the shop as a non-profit business and all of us involved work wage free including Lynne and myself.

We rent out sections of the shop to local artists, this covers the rent for the premises. We also take a few pieces on a commission basis at a rate of 25% which also goes towards the bills and rent.

The average commission rate of most shops ranges from 50 to 100%

I don't think we're blowing our trumpet too hard in saying we're pretty special in that way and we're definitely the only shop like this to exist in Brighton.

Unfortunately due to personal reasons Lynne has had to put the lease up for sale which we totally support but sadly this means that Handmade will soon be homeless.

We were looking at an amazing premises in york place but the business rates were out of our means. we had hoped we would get reduced rates due to the non-profit nature of the business but the council did not see it that way.

We still feel passionately about handmade and want to continue if we can!

Thanks for reading

Kirstin x

Dear friends of Handmade Brighton

Some of you may have noticed that the Handmade shop is under a dark shadow, a shadow cast by a large ‘For Let’ sign. The more astute among you may see cause for alarm. And yes, Handmade is indeed in danger. Although the spirit of the venture will live on, at least in online form, the physical shop is soon to be without a venue.

Can you help save Handmade Brighton?

We are calling out to the four corners of Brighton & Hove for any alternative venue. Spread the word! If you have any lead, no matter how vague, please email Handmade.co@hotmail.com and we will be forever in your debt. (There will be cake.)

Handmade is unique in Brighton as the only not for profit platform for Brighton designer makers. No other gallery is quite so stubbornly idealistic, dedicated to stimulating the local art and craft scene rather than making a profit.

So please put your thinking caps on. Let’s save Brighton Handmade!

Many Thanks x

The Handmade story

Just over two years ago I was running Handmade Brighton craft fairs and I was very lucky to be contacted by the lovely Lynne.

Two coffees later we decided to move the concept of the fairs into her empty shop premises.

Today I have a much cherished friendship with Lynne and a thriving business that currently houses work from over 60 local designers.

We run the shop as a non-profit business and all of us involved work wage free including Lynne and myself.

We rent out sections of the shop to local artists, this covers the rent for the premises. We also take a few pieces on a commission basis at a rate of 25% which also goes towards the bills and rent.

The average commission rate of most shops ranges from 50 to 100%

I don't think we're blowing our trumpet too hard in saying we're pretty special in that way and we're definitely the only shop like this to exist in Brighton.

Unfortunately due to personal reasons Lynne has had to put the lease up for sale which we totally support but sadly this means that Handmade will soon be homeless.

We were looking at an amazing premises in york place but the business rates were out of our means. we had hoped we would get reduced rates due to the non-profit nature of the business but the council did not see it that way.

We still feel passionately about handmade and want to continue if we can!

Thanks for reading

Kirstin x

Cake toppers as you've never seen before

Let me introduce you to Miss cake she makes these brilliant cake toppers:

If that wasn't enough she makes a range of rings too!

All these and many more at the shop now!

Latest artists

Here we have the lovely Lou, otherwise known as Dial V. Other than having a coat i'm very jealous of she creates these beauties:

Domino brooch £4.00

Seagull Purse £5.00

New Artists today!

We are happy to welcome Betty Shek into our gang. She makes these amazing felt brooches amongst other wonders.

Betty says:

I’m a jewelry designer living in Brighton-the city with sunshine ! I always love to create with vintage & new, so most of the material I used for creating are vintage or recycled. Good to be green. All my designs are handmade in my studio with lot of love and care .

Top Five Favourites by Zoe Edwards

Hi, my name's Zoe, I'm a seamstress who creates clothing for my label 'Blatant Self Promotion' which is stocked in the Handmade Co-op shop. I also co-organise Brighton Craftaganza which supports local crafters/designer-makers and promotes handmade products over their mass-produced equivalent. I also blog about sewing and sustainability here.

I popped into Handmade today and decided I'd try and figure out what my top five favourite items currently on sale are. Kirstin then suggested I write this guest blog post about them, so if you're sitting comfortably...

It was a really tricky task to pick just five things with so much talent represented in the shop. Choosing twenty would have been so much easier. But in no particular order, here they are:

Knitted Sandwich Purse, by Sarah Harwin, £14.

I've been into these for so long. I cannot believe how much work has gone into these for such a low price. Filled pitta breads also available!

Printed Fabric Badges, by Vickeh, £2.

Apparantly these are a new addition to this talented designer's range, so if I were you, I'd hurry and snap some up before they sell out. I bought two (a letter and some scissors) for Christmas presents. I normally wouldn't think about Christmas so early but these were screaming 'BUY ME' so I racked my brains to find a reason to obey!

'Eric on Brighton Beach' Postcard, by Kirstin Stride, 50p.

In my opinion, this is the most perfect souvenir postcard. I've sent a few of these to friends who live abroad in thinly veiled attempts to lure them to Brighton to visit me!

Birdie Shorts, by Charlotte Haggerty, size 8-10, £55.

Charlotte Haggerty is making a real name for herself in the UK fashion scene, so it's really exciting to see some of her creations in the flesh. I love pretty much everything she makes, but these shorts are such a clever design they really stood out to me. As a sewer myself and therefore pretty obsessed with these things, I was quick to discover that the finish of all her garments is absolutely phenomenal. These shorts are going to make someone very happy!

Gallion Print, by Fox Fisher, £35.

It was so difficult to select my favourite print from all that are stocked in Handmade. I have a bit of a weakness for nautical imagery, and I love how this traditional illustration is juxtaposed with the multi-coloured ink effect. Total limited-edition genius for just £35!