Happy New Year, let’s make 2011 awesome!

Hello you lovely bunch, how you feeling? Still nibbling on the last of the selection box? Keep finding half packets of cheesy biscuits that it would be rude not to finish off? Don’t worry, so are we. Stuff the diet until 2012, we’ve got other priorities.

I have two, yes TWO pieces of terribly exciting news which I am hoping will rock your world as much as it did mine. No it’s not about the kitten that Lady got just before Christmas that licks the wall, although that was pretty bloomin’ brilliant. (even if she did get stuck up the Christmas tree – the kitten not Lady).

Our friend Super Ben at Cosmik Carrot has agreed to work his socks off over the holiday and make us a proper website! Wooooooooooo! There is still a bit of tinkering to do with it but rest assured you’ll be able to have a nosey just as soon as we’ve added the final bits of glitter and sequins. For those of you that just can’t wait that long, the web address is www.ladyandsmall.co.uk

The other is that ‘the most handmade, most loveliest wedding of the century’ has just featured on Lovemydress.net YEY! I only mention this as Lady and Small (along with a whole host of cheerful helpers) dressed the reception venue, made the bunting (sang the feem tuune) and have many of these bits available to hire out to your good selves should you be interested. See the ‘Weddings, eek!’ bit on the blog for more details. Rather thrilling don’t you think?

I would also like to say a big hello to anyone that has found us through 4beauty or lovemydress.net. I’m already thinking that you have exceptional taste and are looking rather glamorous so it’s jolly good to meet you!

For any newcomers to the eclectic world of Lady and Small we are constantly trying to update our photos of work (we’re so bad for remembering to take piccies so do forgive us) but I’m on the case today so keep your eyes open for any updates! There are obviously some images here and on the Lovemydress.net website so hopefully they’ll keep you going for a bit.

Anyway, better be off. The kettle is calling and I really do need to try and locate some photos to share with you.

Massive New Year hugs and love,

Small xx

Photos, photos, PHOTOS!!!

Oh my goodness, try and contain yourselves. Yes that’s right, we have actually managed to put up a whole 2 PHOTOS to prove that we are real and do make stuff. Can you imagine the excitement in the craft cave when we pressed ‘upload’? As much as me and Lady pretend to know what we’re doing web wise we haven’t really got a clue (but that’s our secret ok?).

Wanna buy some pegs?

This is my ‘honestly, I really think that pegs will sell, people are so into this kind of thing at the moment’ belief that spending most of the week painting peg dolls will make us a million. Bless. A view only dampened when one of my workmates in my proper job said ‘Pegs? Why?’ – Bum.

Perhaps it begs the question, ‘why not?’…

Anyway, onto something a little more uplifting with Lady’s special deer bag:

Small and furry seeks similar. Must have GSOH and be NS. Looking for fun and maybe more...

Ok, it’s super gorgeous isn’t it? I told Lady that if nobody bought it at the last stall then I wanted it. It’s still on the stall pile and I am not impressed. That deer will be mine, oh yes it will be mine…

Anyway, quick news because I’m just faffing and really need to go and buy 15 check tablecloths (long story).

We are going to be in the CiB shop on the 30th April and 1st May so come and say hello as well as spending your hard earned cash (please!) Also, give the boys a CiB a massive pat on the back for doing something a bit special for all of the creative types out there. Cheers!

We are also having an exhibition (altogether now, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO) at Number8 Community Arts Centre in Worcester between the 15th July 2010 and 4th August 2010 so if you fancy a day out why not treat yourself to a bit of Lady and Small Parisian style goodness? I know that there is a particularly good pasty shop not too from there too, how can you resist?

Really have to go and get those tablecloths now, yey rock ‘n’ roll!

Small x

Ooh la la

Inspired by Lady’s timeless loveliness I have decided to start dressing like a proper grown up so that we can get taken a bit more seriously (and I stop getting my ID checked when I buy proper bottles of wine, honestly, as if under 18′s buy a decent Merlot). My current mantra to stop me purchasing anything too kooky is ‘What would Audrey wear?’ – That’s Hepburn or Tautou not the one from Corrie.

This may sound like a simple task but when you’re wandering down the George aisle in Asda rooting through the Lady Gaga inspired contraptions, it’s not quite that simple…

So Parisian chic is what we’re looking for and excited by this week (although not in supermarkets). Me and Lady are working hard to produce something a bit special and sophisticated for the weekend. Failing that we’ll just rock up with some bits and bobs that we found left over from uni (a button, piece of copper pipe and mangled sculpy man). We’re at the COW this Saturday (6th March) so come and give us a squish and we’ll see if we can find you a nice treat. (Does that sound like we’re offering cat nip?)

I might even bring along the strange shaped carrot I found earlier. I can’t bear to cook it, I think it might have to be our mascot.

Bis bald,

Small x

EEK! Nearly forgot, visited the Created in Birmingham shop launch last  week, VERY impressive. Some extremely talented local people selling their work there. We’re hoping to add our bad selves to the list soon.

Paris In Springtime

February has been a cold and grey month and the we are now looking forward to springtime with all it’s colour and life. Yellow is the colour and Paris is the city. I feel like being influenced by flowers and romance, poodles and impromptu song and dance routines in the style of a Gene Kelly musical. Old fashion millinery created from recycled bits and bobs of loveliness – you’ll be able to see some of this as well as some gentlemenlike chap stuff on our stall at the C.O.W Custard Factory on 6th March.

Signing off x

Hot off the press

Exciting news, we are getting our second, yes SECOND!!! commission to make something a bit unusual and brilliant for the good people out there in social media land. (Check us out, woo!)

Our first one was way back in December for those cheerful souls at Created in Birmingham who asked us to make some Christmas cards for their sponsors which we duly did and were jolly chuffed with them too.

Now, as we shimmy delicately through February we have another one from the slightly kooky (I say ‘kooky’, I mean ‘clinically insane’) chaps at Frankenstory.com
Before I get too carried away, let me tell you a little about them…

Hidden away beneath a cuckoo clock factory in downtown Geneva is the Frankenlab, home of Dr Victor Emelius Frankenstory, his demented and festering assistant Igor and Elsie, the rottweiler.

The Frankenlab is home to their patented story monster who gobbles up stories submitted to the website and spews them out as hilariously mutated hybrid tales. It is a fantastic creative writing game for two players, instantly familiar to anyone who has ever played consequences.

We love it and only interrupt a game for strictly regulated tea breaks. And Murder She Wrote.

The boys/ beasts will be sharing their tales at Conway Hall, London tomorrow (19th Feb) at The Story, a conference about…er..stories and story telling (kind of obvious when you think about it).

This is where your two favourite crafters come in. As a way of commemorating this trip, Dr Frankenstory has asked me and Lady to make a special prize for the winners of their story competition which is being launched tomorrow.
We can promise you that it will be strange, may offend but probably wont have any candy floss in it, what more could you ask for?

Keep checking here to see updates of what we are making, and have a go at winning it yourself!

Yeah! Making, making, making…

Small x

Tasty buns (who wouldn’t read more..?)

Crumbs, pretty sure that my eyes are failing me. After reading Lady’s last post I was sure that she had said she was looking for images of Chris de Burgh (obviousy).  This had led to a week’s worth of in depth research into the legend that bought us ‘Lady in Red’, only for me to realise late last night that I was so terribly mistaken.

After some serious thought about the afore mentioned ‘de Burgh’, I remembered something rather beautiful that Lady sent to me last year, a truely epic rendition of ‘A Spaceman Came Travelling’ by Frisky and Mannish.

Love them, love them, love them, love them.

Anyway, before I get too carried away in gushing about how ace they are (they are brilliant though aren’t they?), I’ll let you into a little secret…

Inspired by Frisky and her corsetted partners in crime (you know, Dita Von Teese, Bettie Page, etc) Me and Lady are getting all serious about burlesque – making accessories obviously not sitting in giant champagne glasses in our best knickers. Honestly, what do you take us for?

I know what you’re thinking, ‘but Small, Lady talks about designing for chaps and now you’re scaring us with your burlesque frippery’.

Calm yourselves, our world is a world where tweed and leather walk hand in hand, skipping gently down the road together until they find the nearest cocktail bar. At this point, leather slinks off towards the stage to bust a few moves while tweed blushes in the corner.

Don’t worry, we know what we are doing.

We’ll get some pictures up soon to show you that we’re not just talk.

Nighty night,

Small x

Deco has it…..

Fabric is where it’s at currently with me. How wonderful it would be to print your own stuff. So that’s what I’m going to the workshop to do tomorrow. I’m quite keen on the imagery of 1930′s Art deco a bit Agatha Christie a bit Burgh Island. I’m into ‘chap’ type stuff  so going to carry on trundling down that path. It’s Gentleman tastic with a bit of Garbo and Marlene in there too.

Also want to get some stuff on Etsy so that’s the plan for today and tomorrow.

Will keep you all informed.

Lady x

Boo Hoo

Just a quick (and probably too late) note to say that we wont be able to show our bad selves at the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club tomorrow. Lady has come down with some very nasty bug (Sick, headaches, nearly blind), think it might be the dreaded craft plague. Feel slightly guilty as she gave me the rest of her Berocca as a pick me up at the beginning of the week. Hope you get better soon Lady.

As for me, well I’m afraid I wont be able to make it either. I’m under a mountain of deadlines for ‘proper work’ and sadly can’t enjoy a nice trip down to the big smoke to sell lovely things to dapper gentlemen. It’s been one of those weeks…

With any luck though we will be at the COW in the Custard Factory on the 6th March (taking all the vitamins I can now, just in case) and hopefully schmoozing with the gorgeous and creative types on the 25th Feb at the Created in Birmingham shop lauch in the Bullring. Come and say hello and also tell Chris Unitt that he is brilliant for believing in us and bigging us up.

Ah well, back to the ‘proper work’ mountain on a Saturday night. Yey.

Small x

Hello Gentlemen…

Evening all from the craft cave! Thought it was probably about time me and Lady put a bit more effort into letting you know what we’re up to (well, what else are you going to do at lunchtime? Watch Dallas on YouTube? Actually…)

We are busy (oops, nearly wrote ‘busty’, if only!) as usual wreaking havoc with all manner of goodies that have found their way into our creative little mits. In fact, this weekend (7th Feb) we will be presenting all sorts of wares at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club (scroll past the nudie ladies please).

We have decided to focus on gifts for the ‘dapper gentleman’ this week. Items such as ‘moustache wax’ and elbow pads WILL be available in large quantities so you don’t all need to rush at once, there will be plenty for everyone.

We also have a guest maker in our midst in the form of the delightful Miss Rosie who has spent her week holed up in the living room of the completely brilliant Citizen Powell. Apparently a diet of endless cups of tea and biscuits has worked wonders for her creativity, so I’ll bid you a fond farewell while I go and pop the kettle on.

Big up yourself,

Small x

Hurrah!

We are two West Midlands based designer makers with a passion for all things kitsch, creative and baked. With fine art and theatrical design backgrounds we’ve had pretty interesting careers so far and have now decided to gently skip into the deliciously enticing world of handmade crafts – Yay!

Right then, Introduction time:

‘Small’ is the pint sized half of tea and cake obsessed Lady and Small. She likes rum truffles, beer and getting covered in paint. When she grows up she would like to either be a stunt woman or food taster for some royal chocolatier but until then she’s quite content making a mess in the studio in the name of ‘art’ (she’s currently surrounded by a wetsuit, an ‘acquired’ pirate costume and a giant furry dice – say no more).

‘Lady’ is a very different matter. She has lovely hair, knows how to do her make up properly and has never flashed her knickers getting out of a taxi. She is kind to animals, bakes a MEAN chocolate cake and is determined to get ‘Diagnosis Murder’ back on prime time TV. Lady has a knack making very quirky beautiful things seem effortless, but has a worrying addiction to Val Doonican and smelly herbal tea.

Together we make up the kick-ass craft-making duo ‘Lady and Small’, never happier than when we’re knee-deep in fabric scraps, cooing over sparkly stuff or scrubbing the ‘old lady smell’ out of our latest charity shop treasure. If you’re looking for kitschy gifts, crafty workshops or just fancy a cosy natter over a cuppa and a bun, drop us a line and we’ll fire up the tea urn. x