creativethorp.com

Contact - mary@creativethorp.com, phone 07979 906935 or steve@creativethorp.com or phone 07949 553029.

Autumn in Pembrokeshire is special. The skies are spectacular – clouds are edged in gold and the dying sun paints the sky red before dying below the horizon.

Earlier in the week, thousands of starlings gathered in the trees around our village. The sound of their calls grew to a crescendo; then there was a hush and then the birds rose together, like a dark blanket across the sky, and whirled off to another roost.

Then this weekend we drove to Manorbier. The sky was clear and the waves glassy. Lying in the water looking inland I could see a picture postcard landscape – the headlands and beach with a stream trickling through; the castle and the valley beyond. This is why we came here, for days like these when the colours and the cold ocean wakes you to a more gentle way of being.

We’ve got plans. A new website for the new year; new products and collaborations. But for the time being we are enjoying being inspired. In the meantime, you can find all our cards, boxes and poetry on the creative thorp website as usual – and you can buy them in the online shop. If you run a shop or gallery, download our trade catalogues where you’ll find all the images, products and prices. And we’re always pleased to talk about your requirements, contact us by email or on the phone numbers above.

So we, the creative thorps, have moved, to Pembrokeshire – the source of our inspiration and joy in recent years and we are settling into our little cottage near the Preseli Hills. Over the summer we will be working on new ventures and ideas – and on our new home-to-be: a converted stone and brick granary on an old farm hamlet a few short miles from our favourite beach – Newgale.

Its been our dream for ages now, and we feel privileged to have been able to do it, but we also feel proud that we made it happen! Lots of people have said wistfully to us: ‘I wish I could do that’; our response is ‘you can’ – or at least your version if it. It may take time, but it can be done with determination, planning, teamwork and taking a bit of a risk.

We’re still getting settled so its not QUITE business as usual. if you run a shop or gallery, our 2011 trade catalogues are available to download HERE, and you can shop online for our cards and boxes as usual. However, creative thorp is still ticking along at www.creativethorp.com – so why not visit us for some inspiration?

Love Steve and Mary x

Contact – mary@creativethorp.com, or steve@creativethorp.com or phone 07949553029.

After a busy pre-Christmas, we’ve been concentrating on a new and exciting project – the renovation of a set of barns near the Pembrokeshire coastline! There’s a long way to go on this, but it will mean a new lease of life for our creativity. However for the time being it’s business as usual for orders and supplying our galleries. And at the beginning of April we will be at the British Craft Trade Show in Harrogate, so  we hope to see you there. If you do run a gallery or shop, and would like to stock our products, please download a trade catalogue from HERE and contact Mary on 07979906935 to discuss art sales and exhibitions.

Steve is giving a reading and talk at the Cafe Bookshop at Cranfield University on the 14th April, please come along for an evening of poetry and conversation. The evening will be based around Steve’s two new poetry collections, launched at the end of 2010. Lost Beauty is a pamphlet collection of 32 new and original poems, and Secret Coast is a box-set of 10 short pieces. Like much of his work, they are landscape themed, and the starting point for both collections is the wonderful Cowal Peninsula and the small town with a great gallery – Tighnabruaich in the west of Scotland. He’s planning some talks and readings up in Scotland in the summer.

Here we are, already in October, preparing for a run of shows that will take us up till Christmas – and 2011. Below you’ll find a run-down of where we’ll be over the next couple of months. Available for sale at these events will be a great range of cards and original art and poetry ranging from our ever popular card and poetry boxes, to limited edition prints and canvases. All make great gifts and you can mix and match with Mary’s ‘Jamboree Bag’ offer – only available at shows.

Also launching this Autumn is Steve’s two new poetry collections. Lost Beauty is a pamphlet collection of 32 new and original poems, and Secret Coast is a box-set of 10 short pieces. Like much of his work, they are landscape themed, and the starting point for both collections is the wonderful Cowal Peninsula and the small town with a great gallery – Tighnabruaich in the west of Scotland. Find out more HERE.

Autumn Shows (click here to download a pdf list):

October 21st – 24th – Abingdon Autumn Craft Fair

November 5th – 7th – Arts, Crafts and Design Show, Newmarket Racecourse.

November 18th – Little Ealing School Craft Show - wonderful little show raising funds for a great little primary school!

November 19th -21st – Sparkle: Contemporary Craft & Gourmet Food Fair, Teddington.

November 26th -28th – British Contemporary Crafts Show, Chiswick.

December 10th and 11th – Crafts at Blackthorpe Barn

After a bit of a break over the summer we are gearing up for our Autumn activities and events. We start at the Wrest Park Craft & Design Festival on the 28, 29 and 30th August, and we’re then at the Ludlow Art & Craft Fair on Sunday 12th September. Then from the 26 to 28th September we are at the Norfolk Arts, Crafts & Design Festival. If that wasn’t enough, Steve is giving a talk at the Toddington Poetry Society on the 14th September. We’d love to see you at any of these events – and at any of our other shows later in the Autumn. Steve is also planning two brand-new poetry publications in the next few weeks – news here as soon as they are available. For more information on shows during 2010, please click the creative thorp show guide autumn 2010.

TRADE NEWS - We had a good show at the British Crafts Trade Fair in Harrogate from 11-13 April and enjoyed meeting old and new friends, but if you run a gallery or shop, and would like to stock our products, please download a trade catalogue from HERE and contact Mary on 07979906935 to discuss art sales and exhibitions.

The images above are from our stand at Grand Design Live. We had a great show and met some wonderful people (see below). For more images from the show click HERE view a pdf slideshow. We also had a successful and enjoyable trip to Harrogate for the British Craft Trade Fair, including a stunning drive through Nidderdale one evening to meet friends. Steve had a successful evening speaking to the Chiltern Writers Group, and Mary had a good show at Henley on Thames for the Craft and Design Experience . For more information on shows during 2010, please click creative thorp show guide 2010.

Here’s some grand designers and lovely people we’ve met at shows this year so far:

Elaine Johnson – wonderful conceptual textile art: www.elainejohnsoncreative.com

Deborah Elsaesser – a young designer producing sustainable furniture and bags near Cardigan: www.re-plydesigns.co.uk

Susan Jane Dunford – a metalsmith working with architectural miniatures:  www.susanjanedunford.com

Daisy Dunlop – a jeweller working near the surf in Cornwall: www.daisydunlop.co.uk

Alan Watson – creating beautiful and covetable upholstered furniture: www.weavewoodandwatson.co.uk

Rachel at Red-Ric-Rac – vintage style fabrics and gifts: www.red-ric-rac.co.uk

Mhairi Wild – lovely person, beautiful scarves inspired by Scottish coastal landscapes: www.mhairiwild.co.uk

‘M’ – As she says on her fab website – “My name is M. I make things”: www.theletterm.co.uk

Lucy Q – favourite mate from last years BCTF and just around the corner again this year!: www.lucyqdesigns.co.uk

Natasha Ferguson – talented young designer with a bright future in lighting design: www.nmf-designs.biz

And an honorary mention for Tara Badger, who makes aprons out of her lovely fabrics Her website isn’t quite up yet…

We’re very excited about 2010 – we’ve got a full diary of events this year. Our Spring schedule began with the Country Living Spring Fair in Islington , and continues (for trade customers and galleries) at the British Crafts Trade Fair in Harrogate from 11-13 April. We then have two shows in May – firstly we’ll be at Grand Designs Live at the Excel Centre in London from the 1-9 May, followed by the Craft and Design Experience show at Henley upon Thames. We hope to see you at one of these events – you’re guaranteed a warm welcome on our stand!

On March 25th, Steve had a successful reading at the Boxfield Gallery in Stevenage to support the launch of a new exhibition featuring a range of artists including Kim Major-George, whose images inspired his Life poetry pamphlet. He will also be speaking to the Chiltern Writers group on May 13th.

TRADE NEWS – As above we’ll be at the British Crafts Trade Fair in Harrogate from 11-13 April, but if you’re not going to be there and you run a gallery or shop, you can still stock our products! The 2010 creative thorp trade catalogues are now available for download on our Trade Page HERE.

Contact – mary@creativethorp.com, or steve@creativethorp.com or phone 07949553029.

At last the snow has melted and we’ve come out of hibernation – preparing for our Spring schedule. Notable events already in our diary include the Country Living Spring Fair in Islington from 24-28th March, and (for trade customers and galleries) the British Crafts Trade Fair in Harrogate from 11-13 April.
Mary still has an exhibition in the Tearoom at Waterperry Gardens until the end of January, and has work at Arteria with Gallery 23 in Lancaster. In the new year she has new exhibitions in the planning, and we will be publishing a fuller schedule of shows in the near future. Steve’s will be reading at the Boxfield Gallery in Stevenage to support the launch of a new exhibition featuring a range of artists including Kim Major-George, whose images inpired Life (see below). He will also be speaking to the Chiltern Writers group on May 13th.  Details of a new poetry publication will also be posted here soon soon!

Contact – mary@creativethorp.com, or steve@creativethorp.com or phone 07949553029.

After an eventful and exciting Autumn schedule of shows and exhibitions the creative thorps are looking forward to some downtime. Over the last few weeks we’ve met some wonderful people and had some lovely feedback about our work.

We’ve got a few more creative events to tell you about. First, this coming weekend, the 5th and 6th December, Mary will be at the prestigious Handmade in Britain Christmas event in Bath and Steve will be at the Swalcliffe Christmas Market in Swalcliffe Church on the 5th December. From today (1st December) and for two months, Mary has an exhibition in the Tearoom at Waterperry Gardens, and on 10th December from 5.30 p.m., Steve will be reading from his new poetry pamphlet life at the Cafe Bookshop at Cranfield University. Mary will also be exhibiting as part of Snug@23 at Arteria with Gallery 23 in Lancaster. We’d love to see you at any of these events!

Contact – mary@creativethorp.com, or steve@creativethorp.com or phone 07949553029.

At a recent show we met Kim Major-George, an artist producing the most amazing spiritual collograph images. Steve and Kim got talking about Kim’s new exhibition, and a new poetry pamphlet Life was born: 22 new poems (read two HERE) and Kim’s stunning Buddha images on the front and inside! The resultant exhibition  at Hitchin Museum can be seen until the 31st October. In the Large Gallery  is Kim Major-George’s ‘Wisdom of Peace’ exhibition, and in the Small Gallery Steve has an exhibition of mounted and framed poems from the new  collection.

The new Life booklet can be purchased for £8.50 from creative thorp’s marketplace and makes a wonderful gift for this festive season. Click HERE to download a 2010 creative thorp’s Christmas catalogue including unique cards, and a special limited edition 2010 calender designed and produced by hand by Mary – or go the creative thorp marketplace.

click on thumbnail

Upcoming events – We’ll be at four large shows in the Autumn – the centrepiece of our schedule will be the Country Living Christmas Fair from the 11-15 November at the Business Design Centre in London. We’ll also be at the Abingdon Crafts Festival from 21st-25th October, the Art, Design and Craft Show at Newmarket Racecourse from 6-8th November, and Sparkle at Landmark Arts Centre in Teddington from 20-22nd November.

We are also attending the lovely Christmas Market at Waterperry Gardens on the 28 and 29th November, and on the 28th November we will be at the Crypt at St Michael’s Without in Bath for an Appletree Craft Show.  Mary will be exhibiting in the Cafe at Waterperry over December and January , and also at Arteria with Gallery 23 in Lancaster. Further details of these as soon as we get them.