reetsweet sheffield: march 10th previews

on wednesday me and the bessie went over to sheffield for a spot more of promoting the next event (march 10th - sheffield millennium gallery people!). we were utterly blown away by some of the hang out spots and shops we found, so much going on - a plethora of independents which is awesome to see. anyway, i'll be blogging about it as soon as the bessie gives me the photos back - and we'll give you a rundown of all the best spots to see when you are in town for our next fair!

I am delighted to present to you many new makers for the sheffield fair, including 'Darn it collective' (cool name yes?)....



'Needles and Pins at the ready DARN IT! are here to get your creative blood pumping, whether it's making baking or cheese caking we're taking craft to the next level. Hop on board...
Jen Hedley and Jilly Hargreaves formed Darn it! Collective in Newcastle in 2006 after coming together over a love of vintage fabrics, gem sweaters and mashed potato. Their craft is based around fun illustrations and textile design made to make people smile.
Jen studied Fine Art at Leeds and Barcelona and currently spends her days drawing, printing and sewing.



Jilly studied journalism at university and discovered her love of craft later in life designing clothes and homewares and coming up with mad ideas. The pair currently beaver away their hours at their sewing machines, running workshops and set designing for events and festivals...'

More to follow previewing this event - it's getting exciting!

introducing Jonathan from 'we live here'...

31 year old Jonathan Wilkinson creates startling yet comforting images of cityscapes. Many feature iconic buildings from his home town of Sheffield but for reetsweet Jonathan is creating some special Leeds based pieces for the show! His stunning clean style, with a rich sense of detail are wonderful pieces for any home.






Jonathan has a strong portfolio of work he has been building since 2006 when he took his art full time and launched his website 'we live here'. See him this coming sunday 7th november at the Leeds Corn Exchange from 11am til 4pm....!

Oui Oui Elodie G!

Hi there all! I have been slacking off this week as I had a nasty bout of tonsilitus! But I'm back with a vengeance with two new peeps to introduce you to, beginning with the works of Elodie G... Tell us a bit about youself!!..

I started doing indie pop fanzines in the mid-90s when I lived in France. It was all about D.I.Y. at the time, not 'crafting'.

Some of my cartoonist friends started a fanzine, around the same time, in my city (Nice) and I joined in to write about music.

But it totally inspired me to start drawing my own cartoons!

I moved to England in 1997, on the day of Lady Di's funeral (and the pilot asked for a minute silence on the plane... So it's stuck in my mind forever).

I had a few years of Indie pop madness living with the legendary Shaun Alcock from The Real Losers and even shared a house with Mr James Green.

I started a band, joined another, did lots of fanzines, started making bags that I sold at gigs... I even met Daniel Johnston and Jad Fair slept in my bed!

One fine day, I moved to Sheffield, got married, started a comic called 'Chop chop' which was an anthology of people I knew in Sheffield who drew comics.

Another fine day, I gave birth to teeny twin girls and got the sewing machine out again and slowly got back into sewing and making little handmade comics again!

I get inspired by everyday things that make me smile, laugh or sometimes totally annoy me!

Mr James Green and I decided to start doing craft fair this year. We are thoroughly enjoying it and I am very much looking forward to Reet Sweet as I lived in Leeds for 5 years!

Elodie G will be appearing at reetsweet on Nov 7th at the leeds corn exchange selling her fantastic zines, prints and doodles...I can't wait!

Who is James Green?...

Reetsweet would like you to meet James Green, one our latest additions...

'I live in Sheffield with my wife and young son.

I create artwork using linocuts and copper-plate etchings. I am drawn towards simple graphic images, landscapes, animals, people and occasionally the ordinarily absurd. However you probably won't see any unicorns in my work.

Influences are people like cartoonist Chris Ware, artists Stanley Spencer, Max Beckmann and Francisco Goya, and film- makers Werner Herzog, Jan Svankmajer and Mike Leigh. I have been creating printed artwork for probably the last 7 years (although i've only recently been trying to sell them), and also occasionally produce artwork for record sleeves too. I studied fine-art at university, but these days probably see myself more as a crafts-person than an artist.


I've had one of my pieces ('Paris Buggy') shortlisted for the 2007 'International Small Print Exhibition', and was commissioned in 2008 by Paul Smith Menswear to design images for a range of t-shirts for sale in their Japanese stores. I'm a member of Sheffield craft-collective Craft Candy, and I sell mywork at various fairs/markets and also via my Folksy shop. I also am a musician and have a band called 'The Big Eyes Family Players' '