HLF
Stockport Story Designer Craft Show – Part 2
The Designer Craft Show is now officially open in the entrance area of Staircase House, Stockport. It is brimming with beautiful handmade goods from a variety of Designers and Makers including jewellery, textiles and ceramics, making it a great place to buy your Christmas gifts!
My previous blog post showed how I had been collecting and making shelving and display units for the craft show, which I made compatible with the existing Slat Wall system. This made them easily adaptable when displaying the work and an alternative more creative approach to the usual slat wall shelving. Unfortunately I wasn’t available to help the day that the stock was being displayed, so it was a great surprise to see how the shop area had been transformed and to see how the shelving had been utilised. I am sure that you will agree that all of the stock has been displayed beautifully and it has become an inviting and welcoming space full of interesting things to see and buy.
As a textiles graduate myself I take a keen interest in craft shows and try to visit as many as I can. I was lucky enough to get some of my own work into the Craft show exhibiting a range of laser cut jewellery under ‘Katie May Design’. I really enjoyed making the shelving and display units for the show and thought that I would share how I made some of these things with you:
Hook Frames:
These individual hook frames were made from a sheet of 3mm ply wood and a reclaimed row of coat pegs. I unscrewed the pegs to reuse, and made the frames from scratch to give them a new lease of life. They were used in the Craft Show to hang scarves tea towels and bags.
1. First I drew a template for the shape of the frame.
2. I then lasercut these shapes out of 3mm ply wood, which is a quick method giving a smooth burnt edge, however simple designs could be cut with a jigsaw or a hack saw and sanded.
3. I then painted the wooden shapes white.
4. Position a baton of wood on to the back of the frame and glue and clamp in place using standard wood glue or PVA
5. Once dry position and screw the hook fixings onto the front of the frame
6. Attach the Slat Wall cabinet bracket onto the back (or alternative fixing) and it is now ready to hang!
Bunting:On my last post I posted some Christmas themed pictures of images that I had found within the stores, I wanted to utilise these images and one simple way of doing this was to make some bunting!
1. Firstly make a template – this can be done on Adobe Illustrator or by hand. I made mine in the shape of an isosceles triangle , but other shapes can be used also. It is a good idea to leave a tab of about 3cm at the top of the template as this will be where the bunting will be folded and attached to the string.
2. Either insert your images in to the template in Illustrator, manipulating the area that you want to crop by rotating the image and resizing it. Or you could work directly with photocopies from magazines using your template to cut around. I worked with illustrator printing the chosen images directly on to A3 paper and cutting out the triangles .
3. Once they are all cut out fold over the tabs and attach with either glue or staples to the string leaving equal gaps of about 4cm. Your bunting is now ready to hang!
Transferring a printed mage onto a wooden surface:
I wanted to incorporate a few of the images taken from the collection directly on to the surface of some of the units. I did this by using Lasertran- a waterslide decal paper for inkjet printers.
1. Firstly I formatted the image that I wanted to use to the correct size in Microsoft Word, I then flipped the image so that any text would read backwards.
2. Chalky side up I printed the images directly on to the Lasertran waterslide inkjet paper.
3. After cutting to size and leaving to dry for approx 30 min, submerge the paper in water for 1min the backing should be released from the paper. Now take the image out of the water and set aside to dry the background should dry white.
4. Once dry coat the surface that you want to apply the image to with ‘real’ turpentine. Lay the image face up on the surface and very carefully smooth out any creases and air bubbles.
5. Leave to dry for approximately 24 hours and the image should set seamlessly within the surface of the wood.
Here is a list of all of the designer makers taking part in this years show:
2013 Designer Makers:
Ceramics & Glass;
Brittany Delany
Cheryl Ewing
Michelle Keeling
Tone Von Krogh
Samantha Robinson
Helen Russell
Jewellery;
Jo Lavelle
Rebecca Lawley
Eve Redmond
Katie May Senior
Miranda Sharpe
Aiden Spencer
Catherine Woodall
Textiles;
Devines Design
by Meeni
Naked Lunge
Stabo
Amy Stubbs
Boutique Designer Craft Show: Preperations
Preparations are underway for the annual Stockport Boutique Designer Craft Show. This year it will be held in the entrance of Staircase House, right in the heart of Stockport. The craft show is guest curated by Jewellery Designer-maker Jo Lavelle and hosts a collection of designers featuring a range of work including jewellery, ceramics, interior and fashion textiles.
The show runs from 15th November until 19 th January making it the perfect place to buy Christmas gifts!
Currently Staircase house has Slat Wall fittings within its shop/ entrance area, these are very diverse yet not very attractive to look at. I have been working to collect props, and items that can be turned in to display units such as old drawers, door knobs, tins etc in order to transform the display area and give the products a more creative aesthetic to be displayed within.
I have sprayed or painted everything that I have collected a shade of ‘off-white’ to give a fresh and neutral background. Old drawers will be turned and hung sideways to form shelves. I took inspiration from researching creative display methods as well as looking at existing shop window displays.
I was able to source a slat wall cabinet bracket fixing that will allow the units to be hung on to the slat wall system easily.The units will be very adaptable when it comes to arranging the display as they can be easily removed and repositioned anywhere on the wall. It is difficult to know exactly what will be displayed and the amount of stock that will be arriving so I have tried to create a variety of sizes of shelves and units.
Here’s how I made some quick and easy shelves:
1. Take two pieces of wood, equally sized.
2. Clamp them in a right-angled vice.
3. Drill small pilot holes in the base of the shelf.
4. Knock nails in to the piloted holes.
5. Paint the shelves white and attach the slat wall cabinet bracket.
These are now ready to be hung on to the slat wall.
I have also been delving into the Museum Collection and searching for ‘Christmas’ themed images that I could be incorporated into the display. It would be good opportunity to get some of the wonderful images out of the collection and viewed by the public. I have looked through a range of mediums from magazines and newspapers to photographs, there were also some beautifully illustrated cards.
Here are a few of my favourites ; and in my next post I will show you how I have used some of these images.
A glimpse into a Conservators studio ;Conservation of The John Benjamin Smith Collection
Preparations are well underway for the new temporary exhibition at Stockport Story Museum which will be entitled ‘Saints and Sinners’. This is an exploration of a curious collection of paintings donated to Stockport in 1879 by John Benjamin Smith. Smith was an MP for Stockport aswell as a founding member of Stockport’s first ever museum. The paintings were acquired whilst he was on a tour of Italy during the first half of the 19th century.The themes of the paintings are predominantly of saints and religious scenes, they are full of iconography and symbolic imagery. The exhibition explores the stories within the paintings; Victorian philanthropy, and follows the history of John Benjamin Smith, Stockports first museum and how the paintings came to be in Stockport’s care . In preparation for the exhibition many of the paintings had to be conserved due to their condition.This post follows on from a previous post entitled ‘Exhibition preparation: wrapping the paintings ready for movement’ and takes a look at the paintings being conserved in the Conservators studio.
After securely wrapping the paintings we transported them to conservator Gillian Walker’s studio, packing them very carefully for transit; we unloaded the large and heavy paintings at her studio. Gillian’s studio is a bright and immaculate space with shelves of curious bottles filled with solutions, tools and coloured pigments. It was great to see her small team working on some of the paintings (that we had previously delivered) whilst we were there.
The paintings that we delivered were in a mix of conditions, some were very dark and dull, others had physical holes right through the canvas. Gillian explained that some would need only surface cleaning to remove layers of dust and dirt, where as others would need further restoration to repair rips and tears in the canvases; she estimated that each painting would take approximately 12hours to complete.
Whilst we were at the studio Curator of the exhibition Bronwen Simpson took the opportunity to record an interview with both Gillian and Lucy discussing directly what is involved within the conservation of paintings and in particular the John Benjamin Smith Collection that they had been working on. It was fascinating to see one of the paintings that we had delivered a few weeks ago, which had previously had quite a large tear in it. Lucy described the process of restoring it, from removing the layers of dirt, revealing the vibrant coloured pigments underneath. When we took this painting in it was very dark and dull and now you can see colours such as burnt amber and rich siennas. To fix the tear she takes good conditioned threads from the edge of the painting, adhered them to existing threads and rewove the tear. When this painting is finished Lucy estimates that it will have taken her 70 hours to complete! It is a painstakingly long process but as Gillian describes a very rewarding one;
‘everyday is enjoyable and every job that we do is enjoyable. The great thing is that you see the painting coming in in a dreadful state and you gradually over a period of time you secure it and improve it and make it safe and acceptable to look at, and enjoyable to look at, so there is a whole process of improvement as well as insuring that the painting is safe for the future.’
These audio interviews will be edited and then available to listen to at an audio post during the exhibition and provide the listener with further behind the scenes glimpse at the journey of the paintings and how the exhibition came together . The Saints and Sinners exhibition runs from 23rd November 2013 – 26th October 2014 at Stockport Story Museum. I will be posting further updates on the progress of the paintings aswell as the exhibition in the near future.
More info: ( http://www.stockport.gov.uk/services/leisureculture/visitstockport/museumsandgalleries/)
The Plaza: 1930s Super Cinema Stockport
During our induction as Heritage Lottery Trainees we were lucky enough to be given a behind the scenes tour of The Plaza Cinema. The Plaza was built-in the early 1930s during the rise in popularity of the ‘super cinema’, hosting both cinema and variety theatre which was very popular at the time. It is situated in the centre of Stockport, an ideal location directly opposite the bus station. However it proved challenging to build, originally there was a row of houses already on the site where they wanted to build, so residents were moved and rehoused elsewhere. Stockport is surrounded by sandstone cliffs and in order to build the cinema they had to excavate an area of the sandstone. The cinema is essentially built into the cliff and the stage area sits within this. The cinema operated as a glamorous and eclectic venue up untill 1966 when it was purchased by Mecca and reopened as a bingo hall. Fortunately in 2000 the bingo hall closed down and The Plaza was listed as a grade II building by English Heritage Association and consequently purchased by The Plaza Trust who started restoration work. The restoration work has been ongoing ever since and during our visit we saw work being done to the front balcony to lower it to its original level.
The front of the plaza has been restored to how it would have originally looked, it has striking neon lights that stretch down the front of the exterior, making it a dazzling attraction in the evening. The entrance has had ticket booths made to fit in with era and the original art deco tiles and mosaics are visible. The Art Deco movement runs throughout the cinema and everything has been restored to how it would have looked when it first opened in the 1930s. This has been done by looking at a series of photographs in great detail, taken when the cinema first opened. The carpet has been replicated from a small original piece found, it is quite a striking geometric art deco style. From the entrance area we moved down to the bar where there are photographs of the patrons of The plaza who are; Leslie Phillips, CBE Sabrina, The Right Honourable, The Baroness Bakewell, DBE, & Ken Dodd OBE. We were taken to the front of the stage and shown the fantastic lighting that changes colour on the front of the stage and also the organ which rises to stage level when in use. The attention to detail is brilliant and even the curtain has been created to replicate the original. During the bingo years the spectacular ceiling which you can see today had been covered with fake ceilings, many original features had been covered up where as others were completely removed. With help of volunteers the Cinema is still in the process of being restored but the cinema that you see today is a great nostalgic representation of a 1930s cinema, complete with vintage tea room. Lottery funding and fundraising has enabled the restoration to take place. Many cinemas of this style were destroyed during The Second World War and others converted in to alternative venues, much like the Bingo hall so it is important that venues like this are recognised and conserved as pieces of history as well as given commercial appeal.
You can find out more about The Plaza at http://www.stockportplaza.co.uk/index.php including a full programme of films, theatre and events.
Hidden Treasures – Chethams Library
Chatham’s Library is the oldest public library in the english speaking world, it was built-in 1421. It houses over 100,000 books, the building was originally accommodation for the clergy of the cathedral. After this it was sold for the equivalent of £400 in 1654 and transformed into a school and library of which it has remained ever since. It still remains a public library and is free for anyone to use, It is a hidden treasure in its self being hidden away in Manchester City Centre, and you may never have noticed it! The decor is 17th century but the original 1420’s beams still remain. This visit was second in the series of the Hidden Treasures events that myself and Lauren Field (fellow HLF trainee http://lfstockmus.wordpress.com/ ) attended. It was a fantastic experience to see a library of this style and age with regards the conservation and access of both the building and books. During the 17th century most books were written in latin, so although a public library Chetham’s was very much a scholers library. The library started collecting books in 1655 and has been collecting ever since amongst the collection of books they also have a wealth of ephemera, manuscript diaries, letters and deeds, prints, paintings and glass slides.
The event started with a look at how books use to be chained to the walls or to the shelves/cabinets that they were in. A chain was attached to the spine of the book and so the book sat spine-in on the shelf , rather than having the spine visible . This was because they were very rare and expensive as not many copies of each book were printed, due to the labour intensive process. Some of the book available to view at Chetham’s were also hand written.
Librarian Michael Powell lead us through the beautiful dimly lit library and told some of it’s history before being shown some of the ‘hidden treasures’ that it has to offer. The inside of the building is like walking into a film set of Harry Potter and being in the Hogwarts library. The books were arranged by subject and sectioned off, from 1740 it was common practise to be locked in to the section of the library that wasof interest. The books were turned around and the chains taken away. When you had finished looking the gates would be opened again. This was done to prevent theift of books. We were shown and able to handle many treasures that the library owned, such as ; Issac Newton first edition book ‘Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica’, ‘Paradise Lost’ first edition, the first ever printed map of Manchester and original Hogarth Prints. Chetham’s is a real gem in the heart of Manchester and it is through these types of events that the public get to see an insight into what the collection has to offer.
Finally we were shown how books used to be printed on a letter press by letterpress printer Graham Moss. He demonstrated using a seventeenth-century common press, learning about early printing techniques and helping to reprint a ballad written in celebration of a visit to Chetham’s in the early nineteenth century. . this was extremely interesting to see and to learn about the amount of work that went in to the printing of the books, it is easy to see why books were regarded as such rare and precious items . It was also interesting to learn about how and why books were made different sizes due to the size of the printing press and the way in which the paper was made these factors restricted the size of the book.
Saving the best untill last we were shown the most precious item of all, a book full of ephemera; posters and leaflets from the 17th century onwards. These are very rare because they are items that would have been made and thrown away after use. They are probably the only copies in the world so are very important to the library. Some of my favourite examples of these are shown in the photographs above, a poster advertising a circus performance that reads ‘ This present Wednesday evening December 26 1787 Upwards of One Hundred Feats of Activity, By Astley Top, From London. To which will be added the uncommon performances of the learned PIG and Musical DOG. The whole to conclude the exertion of the TRUE ENGLISH BULL DOG who will attend in a parachute surrounded by fire works. ‘ The beautiful illustrations are of animals performing circus tricks and are fantastic graphic examples of this era’s entertainment. Items like this are extremly important for providing research material to historians giving a greater insight in to the everyday lives of people living throughout different eras. They also form brilliant inspiration for graphica and illustration purposes.
You can find out more about Chetham’s Library here: http://www.chethams.org.uk/index.html
technicalmuseumstrainee 