Alan Birchall

Alan Birchall 'Red Lion Pottery' is inspired by some elements of Oriental philosophy especially Zen & Wabi-sabi in relation to ceramics. He likes the concept of finding 'beauty in the impermanent, imperfect and the incomplete, in things modest & humble & in the unconventional'. He is also inspired by geological formations and flora in the surface texture of his ceramic work. His glazes are based on traditional oriental recipes and often incorporate native wood ash. He experiments with the wonderful effects that natural ash and the raw flame can produce in his wood-firing kiln. In the cabinets of Green & Organic, Alan will exhibit pots created using some locally dug red clay as a slip, ash glazes created from locally sourced coppiced and pruned trees or old pallets, and all fired in his carbon neutral wood kiln. Come along to see his really stunning and unique pots in Green & Organic.

Eco decorator - Peter Padun

Decorating is something most of us have undertaken at some time in our lives, often on a regular basis. In our own domestic situations, we generally have a casual approach to the health and safety implications of the materials we are using. Peter Padun, Nottingham based decorator has been working with these eco, natural paints for a while. He was impressed with the quality of natural paints, the health benefits - no smells, no feeling groggy and no headaches! People are surprised and have a keen interest when he mentions that there are natural paints & products available. Their initial skepticism is the cost of natural paints & products, these paints are not as expensive as they think and in certain cases are a lot cheaper than solvent based paints.

Meet Peter and find out more about eco, natural non solvent paints in this year's Green & Organic market!

Trash Blooms

Claire Harris is a Midlands-based textile artist and designer who studied both at Coventry University and then Liverpool John Moores University where she gained a BA(hons) in Fashion. A major componant of her design practice since then has been the use of unconventional materials which are stitch assembled into abstract wearable forms. She has recently launched a new range of eco-kitsch floral fashion accessories known as 'Trash Blooms'which utilise up-cycled fabric waste, rescued garments and vintage trimmings. The resulting pieces are edgy, tongue in cheek and exceptionally wearable. The pieces presented at the Green & Organic market will comprise of a mix of floral corsages, customised pre-owned shoes and bags.

Priscilla Morley

After a period of some research, and attending courses by Valerie Michael, Priscilla realised the adverse environmental implications of the use of chrome and similar materials in modern leather production. She also realised the joy of working with vegetable tanned leathers. It became apparent, that whilst vegetable tanning is seeing something of a renaissance, relatively few people in England work with this type of leather today. Under the banner 'God's Earth', Priscilla designs and makes practical items in leather, fabric & recycled materials. Her workshop has a range of equipment, from hand tools to energy saving, commercial machinery.

See her lovely handbags available in our cabinet exhibition & available through the market on Wed 10th September.

Caroline Saul

Caroline's work is process led, she creates her own new materials using obsolete plastic objects that are throwaway in today's society. She creates the new and exciting from these objects, challenging its' original function and use. She currently works with post-consumer plastic milk bottles to create sheet material by dying and heating. This new material is then transformed into sculptural vessels.

See Caroline's work in the cabinets during Green & Organic.

Oko & Momo

Manuela de Castro has created these fantastic handmade characters, created and produced using the physical limitation of the material available. The proportions of each design element are based in simple divisions(1/3, 2/3 and so on) so allowing every piece of material to be used in an economical way avoiding waste. OXO was born in winter to protect and warm up hands and hearts by being the delight of kids and big ones alike.

See Manuela's creations in our cabinet exhibition during Green & Organic!

Hanna Randall

Let us give those hideous flares and oh so questionable mini skirts a second life! Hanna is studying BA Fashion Design at Cambridge School of Art, her current collection has been created using charity shop finds and the spark of inspiration that she receives when she brushes her hand over that ghastly 80s not-sure-if-it-was-made-for-a-man-or-a-woman frock or another equally questionable fashion faux pas from yesteryear. Her garments are made with her own fair hands and a few helpers, so the only carbon footprint in the process is one sewing machine and the kettle when it is boiled on their tea break(organic tea obviously).

Hanna's collection can be seen in this year's fashion show - one not to be missed!