Maker of the week

I spend lots and I mean lots, of time browsing other maker's beautiful shops on Etsy, getting drawn in by all the exquisite hand made items. So I've decided to devote part of my blog to a 'maker of the week' section.

This week i'd like to introduce you to a talented lady I came across called Kaija, whose shop is called paperiaarre

Apparantly this is Finnish for 'paper treasure' and she wasn't lying. Her book binding is just beautiful, she is truly a master bookbinder; and I really like the elegance of her brooches.

 

 

I was lucky enough to win a goodie bag of miniature books and postcards from a give away on her blog, and I'm now saving up for one of her beautiful brooches. 
 

my goodie bag!

Go over to her Etsy shop and take a peek..

Christmas already...?and exhibitions

I know, I know it's only August! But, I've just finished my first batch of Christmas card stock, hurray! I used to work in a library and hence have amassed a large collection of old damaged books with missing pages and cracked spines. I've finally found another good use for them as paper cuts for Christmas cards. For the designs, I chose all the things I loved as a child at Christmas:

Even more exciting news.. One of my etchings, 'My Father's Tears,' has been selected for a prize in the New Lights exhibition! This is a competition to promote and support emerging young artists in contemporary art in the North of England. This is particularly special for me, as the print they selected is a very personal piece reflecting on my father's death when I was a child. So I'm just really pleased that his memory will be celebrated in this exhibition.

For anyone who lives in Yorkshire, the exhibition will be on at the Mercer Gallery, Harrogate from 20th Sept – 17th November.

 

 © Laura Long 2013

A new beginning

Hello, I'm Magpie Moonshine and I make hand bound books and original contemporary prints; the ones that pass my quality test make it into my Etsy shop here: magpiemoonshine.etsy.com.

I went to a rival's Summer School (shhhh! don't tell etsy!) in a beautiful hideaway in the woods for the Folksy Summer School

I volunteered there and it was really refreshing to be surrounded by other eager creatives. I felt like I'd found my second home: a course in the woods with a wonky wood-framed house.

I was so busy taking down notes and soaking in the atmosphere that I didn't get chance to take any photos but if you're interested in a more detailed round up of the weekend you can find it here: http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=3d1c6a149b4d82013b3fd0b15&id=10699476e6

Anyway, one of the key things that came out of this weekend was that I've still not got round to creating a dedicated blog for Magpie Moonshine, I have my own personal blog, but that has lately been drifting into a learning log for my Illustration course. So instead of procrastinating, I thought, just start it! and here it is.

So hello to anyone who might be reading this slightly rough around the edges blog. I'm hoping we can go on a journey of improvement together, where I'll be featuring my favourite printmakers, work in progress and maybe offering some tutorials on book binding and printmaking.

I thought I'd start with what I've been up to last night:

I've been playing with old library books and trying out different snowflake designs. A lot of them didn't make the cut and have ended up in here:
 

But some worked out well! I've also been getting the rest of my artist book editions ready for binding. Nearly there..