Good week reetsweeters?Happy weekend! It's just a week to go until our event at The Millennium Gallery, Sheffield on Sat 10th March ... And there's still a lot of makers that we haven't revealed yet, and secrets up our sleeve, we open at 11am, and the first 10 people through the door will receive a prize, so make sure you get down fast!Sian Wheatcroft is joining us from 'Strawberry Kitten', Sian made one of my favourite things ever - a panda bear that sits in my bedroom wearing a scarf (hey, I never said I was mature!) and she has a unique talent for making lovely bears and homewares that adults and kids can enjoy - they are not only super cute, but also super stylish! I am very excited about her new pieces...
(sian wheatcroft)
(vertiline in love handmade @ the nichols building)we are very excited about our next event on sat 10th march in sheffield, and especially since we have had time to see so much more of this wonderful city as we have been out and about promoting it! so, the bessie and i have been looking around, finding the best places to see and want to give you a little guide to the steel city of chic!!we started out near the train station, just 2 mins walk away is the showroom an independently run cinema set in an art deco building - the films they choose are far more interesting than your average multiplex and they have a lovely eatery and bar next door - well worth staying around in sheffield for after the shops have closed!
(the view from the town centre looking up to the
iconic and now reinvented park hill)
tip: as you walk through the city look out for lots of amazing street art hidden on the side of the buildings...
into the town centre, there's the usual spots such as topshop etc, but if you walk up into the student area (just past the civic hall) you'll find a great little street called devonshire street.we especially liked freshman's vintage - just off devonshire st - it's the first right, it is run by a really friendly guy and has really good quality and fairly priced vintage - we got some short shorts for summer! saucy!back on devonshire street, you'll find the forum which is a bit like afflecks in manchester (only nicer), it has a cafe bar which does nice tapas (or as i like to say tap-ass!) and just inside, after you've snacked there's a shopping bit with a tattoo place, a cool independent designer/maker shop called 'don't feed the bears' selling handmade hair accessories, and handprinted tees and wallets.
there's also 'syd and mallory' an excellent vintage shop in the forum too. what we liked about it was they had a really on trend selection of stock, and they were selling their own reworked vintage which included some lovely dresses and hand studded bags. now you've been around the town, it's best you head out on any eighty numbered bus up to eccleshall road - ask the driver to drop you at the bit near sharrowvale rd - which runs parallel to eccleshall road. it's a little street lined with vintage, cakes, antique furniture, artisan breadmakers and best of all - loads of little galleries. 
(cocoa wonderland on eccleshall rd)
there's also a heap of very good quality charity shops down this street and a place called 'mookau' which has nice cards and had rob ryan crockery...i had to step away! now, all you have to do to get back to the city centre is bob back on any eighty numbered bus - voila!
last but not least, there is also a great place called 'the nichols building' on the edge of the town the other side of the city, which hosts a number of vintage furniture sellers and handmade shops such as 'moonko' (one of our reetsweet makers and sellers on march 10th) and 'vertiline in love' selling everything from hand embroidered knitwear to handprinted stationery...well worth a look - i found a vintage magazine rack for £5!
(vintage @ the nichols building)
(vintage @ the nichols building)
Sheffield is diverse in it's range of makers, which has made selecting the christmas fair nov 27th so much fun for us at reetsweet....some more makers to show you at the nov fair very soon...
'Butterscotch & Beesting is a little business selling confectionery, toys and handmade bits and pieces, powered by a sprinkling of magic and an ounce or two of imagination. It’s all made, designed and illustrated by me, Camilla, but in my head it’s run by two fictitious characters called Betty Butterscotch and Bumblewick Beesting, who together own Butterstings Circus – a magical place populated by troupes of dazzlingly talented performing animals. Betty’s story is that she used to be a quite remarkable trapeze artist, until her ‘accident’ (of which she still can’t bear to hear mention), and she now sells her delicious sweets and treats in the circus sweet shop. Bumblewick, meanwhile, is a conjurer of worldwide renown and is also the proprietor of the circus’ rather special shop...'
What is very special about Camilla's work is how the original illustrations and narratives to draw you into the world of Betty and Bumblewick and their circus. Camilla's range includes magical potion kits, wands, potion bottles, confectionery, handmade ceramics, screen-printed t-shirts and jewellery, she plans to introduce more confectionery in the future, a book and....a boardgame!
(sian wheatcroft)
