reetsweet june: the art of illustration with ruth jamieson

There is something magical about this lady's work, and at reetsweet we have a huge appreciation for the unusual, and for the unique...

We are absolutely delighted to be showcasing Ruth Jamieson's work at the next fair in June, Ruth is an artist and tattooist currently based in Leeds city centre, and has had a skill for drawing since a young age. 

 

Ruth’s work is inspired by the decadent 1920’s, particularly Berlin’s vibrant Weimar period. Christopher Isherwood, The Bauhaus School of Art and the Dada movement have all influenced her creations, leaving her work with a sumptuous yet dark undertone.

Predominately using black and grey in her drawings, she has recently taken to incorporating light colour washes, reminiscent of vintage fashion illustrations.  Ruth will be selling prints, bags, badges and mirrors of her artwork at Reetsweet's Summer Fair June 2nd, meanwhile, enjoy more of her work here.

reetsweet's summer fair: preview of 'hey sosi'

 

  

'hey sosi' is the home of sofia schiza, who hails from the sunny island of Cyprus. 

She graduated in 2004 in fine art, and has a home studio where she makes all her handmade goodies, including handmade paper stationery, greeting cards, limited edition run screen prints, screen printed cushions, hand-painted brooches and necklaces.

 

You can read her excellent and very handsome blog over here.  Sofia will be headlining the june reetsweet fair which has just been announced here.

reetsweet's occasional guide to what to do in leeds when reetsweet isn't on...

so we understand at reetsweet the heartache of going to your nearest city centre (for many of our fans: Leeds) and finding that 1) there's no reetsweet on and b) half the shops you used to like have vanished....so we present to you reetsweet's occasional guide to what to in leeds when reetsweet isn't on...a guide for the stylish and crafty girl/boy about town that's looking for something fun to do!

(mad elizabeth vintage)

vintage shopping
love it or hate it, there are many little vintage haunts to go see in leeds if you like to stay away from the highstreet - may i firstly recommend 'pop boutique vintage', mainly because the staff don't look at you like you just spat in their eye if you ask for help, and it's reasonably priced. i hate rip off vintage. also well worth a trip is 'mad elizabeth vintage' upstairs in our spiritual home - the corn exchange, run by two lovely brummy lasses they won't rip you off either, and they have a great denim selection! the charity shops in headingley by the arndale centre are also well worth a browse...but i prefer to get to know the lovely people in some vintage shops, and let them do the legwork for me in sourcing the stock!

(shaky jakes)


(marvellous tea rooms)

sweet treats
if you are in headingley aka studentville, there's 'shaky jakes' milkshake bar* - a place which takes a bit of milk, and a bit of chocolate, whizzes it together under various recipes and make a little bit of heaven for £2.50. cannot argue with that. there's also the rather fabulous and newly opened 'marvellous tea rooms' in the town centre, just down the road from the corn exchange - housed in 'birds' yard' - an independent shopping hangout (will get to that in a moment!) this is leeds' newest (and only i believe!) tea room! afternoon tea for two is just £18, and you will get to enjoy the crazy vintage decor (look out for the tea cup lamp) and chat to donna and angie - the marvellous tea ladies! cakes start at £2. the brownie is like crack, go carefully my friends...

(candy candy)

independents
sadly in leeds, an endangered species...there's 'bird's yard' home to a veritable treasure trove of vintage, handmade, local designers and also a hair salon! this place is like a maze of cool, they stock tatty devine exclusively in leeds - go and drool! and well worth a look is 'candy candy' in the corn exchange - a burlesque girly girl's dream - 50's style clothing, makeup and toiletries - it's all pretty lovely. upstairs in the corn exchange for the boys i'd highly recommend the award winning 'kiosk78' home to a great selection of understated men's labels such as APC, Carhartt and Folk, they also stock 'kitsune' tees which are amazing.

(yorkshire's best kept secret: ilkley lido)

random places you should know (but keep it to yourself yeah?)
on a sunny day, get out of the city and head to ilkley lido - they have a lido people! - an outdoor pool! it's about £5 for adults to get in and it's just gorgeous vintage day out - it does have to be pretty warm though folks...but on the two days a year it gets warm enough - it's worth the drive! also, i highly recommend saltaire - yorkshire's most vibrant arts town - it boasts salts mill home to david hockney (he has a studio there and still has regular exhibitions there), the amazing saltaire arts trail, and a wealth of cool vintage homeware shops including the house of rose & brown.

(the house of rose & brown)

now don't say we don't look after you! june 2nd is our next fair, at leeds corn exchange on the jubilee weekend - previews will start here shortly!



*i wish i owned a milkshake bar although i may grow 5 dress sizes as i would live off milkshake but at least i'd get my calcium intake up!

Reetsweet's Easter Fair: A big thank you!

(foxbunting's brionny chatting to us at reetsweet easter)

Wowsers! There were some amazing makers on show at the easter fair, big thanks to The Corn Exchange for hosting our event, we are back in Leeds on June 2nd.

Head to www.reetsweet.com for more details. Thanks for visiting and spending your pennies on 100% British Handmade! Meanwhile, here's a few of our top picks from the fair...

(finest imaginary)

(magasin)

(witshop)

(Do you punctuate?)

easter fair: preview of red anchor emporium

New to reetsweet leeds on saturday is Ellie aka Red Anchor Emporium, hailing from Derbyshire. Ellie is a burlesque performer and established Red Anchor Emporium in 2010. Surrounded by crafts and especially textiles growing up, her grandparents had their own lingerie company and Ellie used to spend school holidays there as her mum also worked for them.

Ellie is inspired by the fashions and styles of the 40s and 50s, and by the glamour of the silver screen and the burlesque queens of its heyday. She is also a collector of buttons and boxes full of trim. She creates beautifully finished underwear and stocking bags, purses and pouches, and they are all fully satin lined, she uses vintage fastenings and buttons and each item is one of a kind...catch her from 10am at reetsweet this sat at leeds corn exchange.