Victoria Whitlam & Suzanne Washington's Designs chosen for Richard III products

Congratulations to Made in Leicestershire’s Victoria Whitlam and Suzanne Washington whose designs have been chosen for products sold at the Richard III Visitor Centre.

Victoria  was born and has always lived in Leicester , she has described the opportunity to see her work in the Richard III Visitor Centre as “fantastic”. Victoria says “I approached the brief with the idea of creating a design which could be used on its own or in repeat. I incorporated imagery associated with Richard III , including the White Boar and White Rose along with his crown and the English flag. After my initial concept was accepted I mocked up some products to show how the design might look. I presented these to the panel at the interview stage and was delighted when my design was selected. It's great to see the finished products in the shop and I hope everyone enjoys them.”

Since gaining a First Class degree in Surface Decoration from DeMontfort University Victoria has been working as a textile artist. Using a mixture of recycled and vintage fabrics she works in hand stitched applique to create pictures, mainly of the English sesaide and Leicestershire countryside. Victoria has exhibited work regularly and also licensed images for use on a variety of products, from greeting cards to placemats, mugs and tea towels. http://www.victoriawhitlam.co.uk/

Suzanne Washington has been working as a print and surface pattern designer since graduating from LoughboroughUniversity in 2004 with a BA in Printed Textile Design. After completing an internship with a NYC print design studio she returned to her home in the Midlands where she worked as a print and pattern designer producing prints for the retail supply chain working for suppliers, screen printers and including over 2 years with a global high street retailer.

Suzanne now provides high end print and surface decoration designs for many high street retailers and brands, clients include Ness of Scotland and Harrods Knightsbridge. Suzanne’s artwork can be seen on a variety of products including apparel, home wares, accessories, gifts and greetings. Specializing in highly detailed decorative designs and retro inspired conversational prints inspired by vintage collections and eclectic treasures Suzanne’s work has a quirky narrative quality and a magical sense of nostalgia. She says “My aim is to create for the love of creating beautiful things and inspire a passion for print!”
http://www.suzyspellbound.com/

Find out more about the Richard III Visitor Centre and how to visit at http://kriii.com/

UK Young Artists Leicester Festival

Friday 7 - Sunday 9 November

The Leicester Festival’s diverse programme spans classical music to sonic landscapes performed in darkness, a dance triple bill, an anarchic theatrical take on a classic piece of literature, storytelling with movement and sound design, seven artists from different backgrounds performing on one stage and exhibitions of intricate illustrations, oil paintings, large scale photography, site-specific work and digital mash-ups.

The festival will take place at venues across Leicester and all performances and exhibitions feature the work of talented young artists aged between 18 and 30 working across applied arts, literature, moving image, music, performance and visual art.

The UK Young Artists Leicester Festival provides the opportunity to encounter the work of these talented practitioners and be able to say, as they gain national and international prominence, that you saw them first in Leicester!

Every event at the Leicester Festival is free to attend. Some performances require you to secure your place ahead of the event. All links via the UK Young Artists website.

http://www.ukyoungartists.co.uk

Leicester print Workshop Bazaar this weekend!

Bamboozle Open Exhibition 2014

Call for submissions

The application process is now open

DEADLINE: 21^st November  2014

Exhibition will run from 3 – 21 December 2014

The Bamboozle Open Exhibition is a new open submission exhibition that will present exciting work from emerging and established artists from across the region, whilst raising money for Bamboozle.

Submissions are open to artists across the Midlands from 22^nd October – 21^st November 2014.

Submissions will be reviewed by a Selection Panel and successful submissions will be displayed in the final exhibition which will run from 3^rd December – 21^st December 2014. The exhibition will take place on the ground floor of Leicester’s stylish shopping complex – the stunningly renovated Silver Arcade.

All work submitted must be for sale:

A minimum 50% of proceeds from all sales will be donated to support Bamboozle’s work.

About Bamboozle:

Bamboozle is a registered charity that uses the power of theatre to transform the lives of children with learning disabilities. The company has established itself over the past twenty years as a leading provider of inspiring children’s theatre, specialising in creating multi-sensory, immersive experiences for children with learning disabilities and their families.

Funds raised by this exhibition will go towards providing unique, magical moments for the children and families who need them most. Visit www.bamboozletheatre.co.uk/galleries/videos for examples of our work.

For details or advice on how to submit, contact Jade at jade@bamboozletheatre.co.uk before the submission deadline, Friday 21 November, 5pm.  

Booktrust Stories Tour Toolkit and Legacy Training- Leicester

Join Booktrust in Leicester for a training session that will leave you inspired to engage with families and put on fun arts events in your local area. We will be sharing all we have learnt from our latest storytelling project, the Stories Tour. The training session will cover:

• Tips on touring

• Ways to communicate with hard to reach communities and venues

• Practical tips for ar tists and venue hosts

• Information on applying for funding.

The Stories Tour ran 60 events in Libraries, Community Centres and Prisons reaching over 1500 children and their families. The storytelling events featured an original play, local storytellers and free books and resources for families. The tour was particularly targeted at Bangladeshi, Somali and Pakistani families and over 70% of attendees were from this background.

  

Book your FREE place here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/booktrust-stories-tour-toolkit-and-legacy-training-leicester-tickets-13630417947 

Call Out: Cosmopolitan Christmas Fair at Silver Arcade in the heart of Leicester city centre

Calling all creative stall holders, artists and volunteers ....

We have an amazing opportunity to get involved in this arts based Christmas Fair happening on all levels of the stylish Sliver Arcade right by the clock tower. There will be: live music, a choir, present making workshops for all the family, activities for children, guest appearances from Father Christmas and many bespoke stalls selling christmas gifts. We aim to create a fantastic festive atmosphere and have lots of fun! 

This shall be happening on both weekends in the run up to Christmas: 13th - 14th and 20th - 21st December 

We are looking for:

Stall holders to have a stall at this exciting event

Artists to run present making and children's activity workshops 

Volunteers to help run this event in return you will gain valuable experience

To express an interest in being involved in this event email Amanda by Friday 14th November 2014: cosmopolitan.arts@gmail.com

Creative Writing at Cotesbatch Educational Trust

The final push to start that writing career or just give it a go in a friendly atmosphere with tea & cake!

Sue Mackrell and David McCormack are both published writers and Sue teaches creative writing at Loughborough University. Join them for a Creative Writing Workshop using artefacts from the Cotesbach archives as starting points to explore & write about what life was like on the battlefields and the Home Front during World War 1.

BOOKING ESSENTIAL 01455 558373        Only £28 inc tea & cake

Cotesbatch Educational Trust is a mile south of Lutterworth and close to the M1 and M69 in a stunning Grade II listed Georgian Schoolhouse and other heritage buildings. Join Sue Mackrell and David McCormack for a relaxed workshop session, exploring the unique estate of Cotesbach for inspiration to kick start your writing. Sue writes poems, short stories and plays that have been broadcast on radio; David writes poetry and plays, exploring themes and personalities from history. .

www.cotesbachschoolhouse.org.uk

hello@cotesbachschoolhouse.org.uk

Tel: 01455 558373

Our October ebulletin is out now!

Our October ebulletin is out now! Packed full of jobs, workspaces, opportunities, training, funding & infinitely more! Also featuring details of free workshops in association with the UK Young Artists Festival, coming to Leicester in November!

View here or sign up via the Creative Leicestershire website to receive our monthly ebulletin directly to your email.

My Workshop

My Workshop is a project set up to support inventive minds in and around Leicester by providing low-cost access to a range of large scale equipment in a creative studio environment. The 2150 SQF of equipment and working space goodness offers access to all of the machines, use of the studio for your work, WiFi Access, discounts on machine rates, events and workshops, training and peer to peer learning and opportunities to develop collaborative projects. For £35/month members have access to: band saw, table saw, pillar drill, router, scroll saw, domestic sawing machines, a range of hand tools and power tool and great big workbenches. To sign up go to www.foxandcompany.co.uk or simply visit us, we are only 20 minutes walk from city centre. Our address is Unit 40FF, Evelyn Drive, Leicester, LE3 2BU, doors opening on Monday 15 September, on site parking is available. We hope to see you soon!