By Chandni Soren, BA (Hons) Interior Design, 2nd Year.
A couple of weeks ago I trundled down from the studio to the café in the afternoon at Sheffield Institute of Art and was met by a very upbeat and lively atmosphere at the Hallam Handmade Arts & Craft Market. This event sprouted from enterprise week, which is happened last week here at Hallam. There were lots of events on to help students develop their CV and employability skills and learn about entrepreneurship.
Hallam handmade was a fabulous opportunity to get a head start on Christmas shopping as well as for students to get real hands on experience, preparing, displaying and selling their products. There was a great turn out of around 20 stalls that were selling goods from delicate fine line illustrations and expressive art pieces, to hand made jewellery and textiles.
A stall that particularly sparked my interest was a jewellery stall by a third year illustration student, Lydia Faye, with her shop called ‘Pixiecrop Designs’. In my delightful conversation with Lydia she expressed she had always wanted to make jewellery, so she gave it a go. Her unique plywood, laser cut and painted earring were certainly very charming and a huge success. Lydia has also got an online shop on Etsy where she sells her work. Etsy is great platform for selling handmade gifts, I myself have bought some very lovely pieces from it. I have also always wanted to make my own jewellery and after speaking to Lydia and seeing her work, I am inspired! So…I just might start! I was also a big fan of her business cards, they were very well designed and professional.
Another stall that was very professional and I feel, the most unique was ‘Romanow Bowties’ by Anastazja Romanow, a Fashion Design student at Sheffield Hallam. Anastazja was selling beautifully crafted, handmade bowties. These came in a range of colours and textures and could also be ordered by request with initials embroidered on them. These gifts were presented in stylish boxes that had been designed for Anastazja by Design Futures, the consultancy group that is based within our University.
Hallam Handmade was a success, bringing a new energy to our arts building. Keep an eye out for more Arts and Craft Markets, and get yourself down to the next one!
