reetsweet today: my tops picks from the fair

(jodie caulfield - these robins have been a bestseller!)

(rowan from kitschensink is offering a surprise dip!)

Hello again reetsweeters, it's a little bit nippy, it's a little bit wet out, but, in the warm and shelter of Leeds Corn Exchange today you can bob down to reetsweet and happily spend the afternoon with us and get your christmas shopping done and dusted!

We have the marvellous tea dance co here with some ridiculously nice cakes, over 25 stalls of handmade design led accessories, art and homewares - plus, we are offering reetsweet nail art from just £1!

It's free all day - and you can even finish it all off with a gourmet hotdog at Primo's...the perfect sunday!...www.reetsweet.com

(upcycling from pipo)

(vintage fabric cushions by the hidden rose)

(button boudoir are here - oh how I love anything with an eiffel tower!)

remember we are back tomorrow dec 4th!

(zinc white)

If you couldn't make it out today - brr! It has been nippy - why not bob down from 11am tomorrow for a little browse and spend? Leeds Corn Exchange - just a short walk from Briggate...

(fenton)

(debbie greenaway)

(e-creations)

leeds uni fair preview: jodie anna jewellery

And another great exhibitor at the leeds uni fair nov 8th...

Jodie Anna works from her home studio in the small village of Carlton in West Yorkshire famous for its Rhubarb; she creates illustrations based around the idea of childhood memories.

Captivated by the idea of how an object or any image can trigger memories and feelings of nostalgia; Jodie Anna creates illustrations narrating some of her happiest childhood memories, such as summers spent along the east coast to long evenings building dens, in the woods surrounding her childhood home. She is also hugely inspired by the Great British pastime, Afternoon tea which takes her back to Sunday afternoons spent at her Grandmas.

Jodie Anna then develops her illustrations in photoshop to add lovely vintage patterns to each item and to create a crisp finished image. All illustrations are then printed onto shrink plastic and heat shrunk to create beautiful pieces of wearable memories, which she hopes will bring a smile to its wearer.

Reetsweet is on! NOW!

From 10 am today and 11am sunday at Leeds Corn Exchange we will be blogging live from reetsweet's autumn fair (doesn't feel like autumn with this weather does it? tsk!) you will find only the very best handmade handpicked for your perusal!

Entrance is free, and you'll find prices starting from as little as £2 for a little piece of handmade loveliness - keep in mind as well that this will be Kayleigh O'Mara's (work pictured above) last reetsweet as she is moving down south..Nooooo!

reetsweet welcomes nellie and clara to yorkshire this october!

On Oct 1st and 2nd we take over the Leeds Corn Exchange once again, for a two day extravanganza of cool craft...nellie and clara will be appearing for the first time and we wanted to introduce you...

nellie and clara were the childhood pet names of two sisters - and everything sold by nellie and clara handmade by just one person - Helen, the eponymous nellie. Helen is fresh from 'escaping' her after ten years in London for a new life in rural West Yorkshire - so this isn't just her first reetsweet but also nellie and clara's first Yorkshire venture!

''My mum made most of our clothes when we were small and I learnt sewing from her at a really young age. I’ve always loved it and bought a sewing machine of my own as soon as I moved away from home (it’s still going strong more than ten years later!). I’ve also never been able to walk past a charity shop without popping in and have spent many, many happy hours rummaging round vintage fairs and car boot sales.

“nellie & clara combines my love of making with passion for sourcing vintage and pre-loved pieces – from the quirky china plates I make into cake stands, to the beautiful vintage Laura Ashley fabrics that are dotted round my patchwork quilts.

“What nellie & clara is best known for though is beautiful handmade, personalised bunting. This came about when most of my friends got pregnant within a year of each other – there were a lot of babies to find presents for! I sourced some gorgeous, durable cotton fabrics and created bunting with the baby’s name appliquéd on.

“I was absolutely floored by my friends’ reaction – I’ve always been ludicrously meticulous and get a lot of pleasure from ensuring everything I make is perfect, and it turned out that I’d inadvertently created something far better quality than that available in the shops. Friends of friends started putting in orders and the bunting is now a staple of nellie & clara! Visitors to reetsweet Leeds will be able to see some samples for themselves and choose from 24 fantastic fabrics for their very own personalised bunting.”