Arty Places #16 :Renegade Handmade

On a recent visit to my home town, Townsville in North Queensland, I was really happy and super impressed to discover an arty place I hadn't heard of before...Renegade Handmade. I visited this delightful "handmade" gift shop on a Saturday morning. It was 23 July 2016 - a warm day for Winter. The arcade was abuzz with people indulging in coffee and snacks, shopping at the fresh food market and browsing and enjoying the various trendy and bespoke shops in the arcade.

This scene was hardly the Townsville of my childhood and I am embarrassed to admit that it surprised me that the atmosphere was so cosmopolitan , contemporary and "with-it".

I applaud Renegade Handmade for its vision for both the shop and the markets - to offer "opportunities for makers to mix with shoppers in an environment that is supportive and nurturing of handmade." That nurturing support was obvious - the art was well displayed, presented with style and respect.

I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to browse leisurely amongst the varied work of many artists and artisans and listening to the murmurs of delight and discovery by others doing the same as they happened upon a special treasure which appealed. The work was of a high standard and quite a few items were exceptional because of an unusual or unexpected design. Assistance was always nearby and readily attentive when asked for, when a collector like my sister sought specific items.

Of course, both my sister and I made purchases. Neither of us has ever needed an excuse to "buy" something we don't really need, and who can resist the temptation here to buy and support local "handmade" and know that whatever you buy is unique! We were both so impressed with the packaging, too!

I really recommend a visit the Renegade Handmade Gift Shop if you visit or reside in Townsville or check out their Facebook page. Make sure you have a few hours to spare because you will also want to look around The Katz Alley ( vintage and rockabilly) and Otto's Food Market( fresh produce, handmade bread and pies and brewed coffee) all in the same shopping arcade - Warrina Shopping Centre, Illuka Street, Currajong . If you are feeling even more energetic, try ice skating in the tropics, in the same complex or if you just want to chill out, take in a movie in the nearby cinema.

The last words about Renegade Handmade belong to the creative founder in this short video following.

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks .... The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or my husband or from off cuts gifted to us from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks. Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...

Giveaway - Gifts for You on My Birthday

Giveaway Gifts T his week is blog giveaway time! Last week I celebrated my birthday. I’ve had far too many to count the candles, but I had a wonderful party on the weekend with my family - with an indulgent birthday cake, favourite foods cooked by my husband and great company. ( In case you were wondering about the writing on the cake , Por Por = Chinese grandmother) I also got great gifts from my family and friends. There seemed to be a bit of a theme this year – with many of my gifts and cards depicting matryshoka ( babushka) dolls and tea drinking. As it is also winter here in Australia , it was easy for me to decide what I could offer as gifts in this birthday giveaway. All the gifts are handmade by me. Gift 1 - two little fabric matryshoka dolls Gift 2- a little bag made from colourful teapot and teacup fabric . The design is called a jester bag, but it is suitable for carrying s...

From my workshop page....

Current Workshops Offerings Thinking of a workshop for your group in 2022? Art Doll Workshops : - Garden Thread Dolls (one day workshop - WoW -(Woman of Wisdom) - embellished stump doll with either cloth head or clay head. This is an a rt doll workshop .... either offered as a series of workshops or 2 full days days! - Message/Story Stick doll - doll made with found objects and upcycled cloth. ( one day) - Elemental totems - stick doll variation , with sculpture ( one or two days, depending on surface decoration of fabric) TEXTILE AND MIXED MEDIA WORKSHOPS Temari - embroidered wrapped balls in traditional style. - Dipping Into Tea - tea and embroidery on canvas with photo transfer on fabric. ( two days) work by Judith Bee, workshop participant. - Tea Bag sculpture : ...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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