ho ho ho

thank you so much for all your support this year. 

wishing you a wonderful Christmas and a fab 2013!

see you in a new year, everyone! 

xm

anticipation

working in the studio at this time of year is hard. thermometer said minus. turn the gas bottle on the first thing in the morning to warm up the frosty shed. wedging cold clay freezes up my hand. the radio helps me to build up the mood gradually and i start working on the wheel. ticking things to do this year. almost there. ready to fly in January.  

apart from the studio work, it is officially my last working week of this year. bringing up fun and relaxed mood by making decorations, printing tags, wrapping presents. winding down near the fire with fabulous Ed Sheeran on in the background. nearly there… xm

smile maker of the week #7

A beautiful pair of ‘molecule’ earrings by Northern Ireland based glass artist Catherine Keenan 

For quite sometime I was looking for dangling earrings in this particular colour to go with my favourite range of clothes (I like combining purple accessories with my greenish dress) and wondering if it can be done with her gorgeous handmade glass... I was delighted when Catherine kindly accepted my request! And it has arrived just before Christmas! Thank you so much Catherine. 

Visit her site to see the wide range of her glass work here. You may find your fav, too! xm

London Delight

We went to London last weekend. We had a wonderful time meeting artists, seeing their work and just spending our free time together. Today, I would like to share three fabulous artists and work, who we met during our stay. 

The main aim of the visit was to go to Makoto Kagoshima’s solo exhibition. Makoto’s ceramics are ever so popular worldwide today and I too absolutely adore his work. On this occasion we actually met him in person whilst he was visiting London for a week. It was interesting to peek his insight, listen to his philosophy and his view of making ‘utsuwa’ (vessels for food) not art pieces. (though, I think they stand well as art!) The image is beautiful blue & white pieces that we brought home. Can’t wait to use them with family at Christmas! The exhibition is still open at Gallery Eclectic until 23rd December, but the stock is getting small so you’d better hurry. 

Next, visiting open studio of Japanese ceramicist Mizuyo Yamashita. I’ve sort of become a blog friend of her and also met her before at Origin (blogged here), but visiting her actual studio was the very first time. The view from her studio on the 7th floor was just amazing, gazing twinkles of London architectures and sky. (I am so envious!) We liked Mizuyo’s recent thrown pieces with curving design, including these tiny goblets. It would be nice drinking mulled wine in them or can be used for snacks and vegetable sticks? I love pondering the possibility over the food, table and ceramics. What would you use them for? 

Finally, and this was an exciting surprise, Buddug was at the same studio! You may have seen her gorgeous enamel work from the lovely shop collaborated with Jessie Chorley in Colombia Road. We did not know that she was a part of this open studio and I’ve always loved her style of work, so you can guess how much I was delighted! A very very charming lady she was. Her spoon is a kind of iconic piece (tradition of her home country Wales) and this was actually a second, but isn’t it just beautiful? Thank you so much and lovely to meet you, Buddug! xm 

Giveaway Result!

Thank you for entering my giveaway. 

The three lucky winners are…. (drum roll please),

Giveaway 1: a set of four ‘mazekoze’ postcards is going to 

Imen

Giveaway 2: ‘POTCANFLY’ porcelain brooch is going to 

Rozalinde

Giveaway 3: porcelain Christmas hanging is going to 

Simone

Congratulations! 

Please email me to makikohastings@gmail.com your full name and address, so that I can post you as soon as possible. Don’t forget post code and country name! Thank you. xm

the simple things

A new lifestyle magazine THE SIMPLE THINGS current issue 4 is featuring my favourite shop PASH as "shop of the month". In this article, there is a nice image of the fabulous shop including my ‘mazekoze’ display. Issue 4 is all about Christmas, so if you fancy a bit of ideas, do pop over to a local book store or you can purchase online. 


my GIVEAWAY is currently open till next Tuesday. Don't miss this chance! xm 

GIVEAWAY!

A huge thank you to all the readers of this blog, shin shin is in the third year and it’s been so much fun. My business of making ceramics has also started a new journey since my graduation this summer and it’s been fortunately good and busy. Now it is a time to return my gratitude to people who gave me support all the way. shin shin giveaway time! 

This year, I have selected three items, so more chance to win! 

giveaway 1: a set of four ‘mazekoze’ postcards 
(all been styled and photographed by me) 

giveaway 2: a ‘POTCANFLY’ porcelain brooch. 

giveaway 3: a porcelain Christmas hanging. 

To enter this giveaway, please leave your name and comment below. It is easy as that. Each item comes with my special Christmas card. (I’m afraid you cannot pick which one, sorry!) 

And what’s more? Here are ways to maximise your chance to win. 

1. If you already have ordered (or order now) currently running fundraising project HELP JAPAN SPECIAL items, you are automatically entered to this giveaway draw twice. How to order? Click here. 
2. If you ‘like’ my facebook (page), you get another draw. 
3. If you ‘follow’ my twitter, you get another draw. 
4. if you join my pinterest, you get another draw. 

At the maximum, you will get 5 times to draw! Please leave a comment which one you have joined if you have a different name. Linking to my social networking sites means that you get more updated information and images of my ongoing work. So hopefully all good for you too? 

Giveaway entry will open till Tuesday 4th December 11PM (British time). Three winners will be announced on Wednesday 5th. So do come back! 

Looking forward to hearing from you. xm 

Christmas Craft Fair

I will be holding a stall at Christmas Craft Fair at Hensaw’s Arts & Crafts Centre, Knaresborough on Saturday 24th November. 

This is my last event of this year and I will be selling my ceramics, prints and of course my handmade Christmas decorations. There also be a stock sale if you fancy rummaging for a big bargen? Henshaw’s Arts & Crafts Centre is where I work during week. Come and peek our centre and lots of goodies we make with talented people with special needs. 

Here is a reminder of HELP JAPAN SPECIAL to get a discount AND to enter my Christmas Giveaway for a great cause! Spread the word to your friends and family. for more information, click here. 

Don’t miss this chance! Looking forward to seeing you! xm 

p.s.
Christmas Giveaway will be up on next post, so please stay tuned! 

HELP JAPAN SPECIAL!

More than a year and half has gone since the Japan’s devastating earthquake. People often ask me if the things have gone back to normal. The answer is “NO”. The truth is “miles away from it”. 

I have been doing this fundraising project since March 2011 and sent donations to the affected areas. Having visited and witnessed one of the most devastated towns, I find it important to continue whatever I can do to raise awareness of the true view of today, especially as we no longer see or hear on the news. Their recovery is a long long journey, maybe for the generation. They are still struggling to make life 'normal' and require ongoing support. There is a way you can help, too. 

I would like to announce HELP JAPAN SPECIAL is now open! 

So what is special about??
1. For this time only, you will get a discount! 
2. When you order, you will automatically enter for my Christmas Giveaway, which will be posted here soon! I will keep this offer till the end of December, whilst the current stock are available. This will be the last chance! 

So far over 1500 HELP JAPAN Birds have flown to new homes! Now only less than 100 birds left. If you have already contributed in the past, thank you so so so much. If you are wanting to help more, maybe you could spread the words? If you haven’t, why not get HELP JAPAN items for a great cause? All items are individually handmade. A little bird can be a reminder of our happiness and well-being, keeping as a lucky charm for your children, or maybe this year’s stocking filler for your family and friend? Candle holder is an ideal present for the time of year, too! 

PRICE

“HELP JAPAN BIRDS” are £5 a pair. (only available in pairs)

“THE LIGHT OF HOPE” porcelain candle holder is £25. Limited edition of 60. (only 10 left) Each one is numbered. 

Packaging & Post fees will apply to your order. (Please note that P&P includes a basic PayPal surcharges in order to maximise the donation.) If you order birds and candle holder(s), you will get 10% discount on the total of P&P. Here is the detail. (click the image to enlarge)

DONATION

100% of proceeds will go to the donation. I am aiming to send this hopefully in a new year. Japanese people celebrate a new year, blessing them for being safe and healthy year before and wishing a good year to come. I feel the best time to send the donation with a new hope.

PAYMENT

Payment method is PayPal. Once order has been made, I will email you a PayPal payment request. If you haven’t got a PayPal account, you can easily set up for free, or you can pay by credit or debit card. 

DELIVERY

Delivery will be by Royal Mail after the confirmation of payment. Please allow 10-15 days for an oversea delivery. If you are ordering for Christmas, please make sure you order before December.  Royal Mail is very reliable and I have had no problem with them in the past. However, if you would prefer special delivery, please let me know when you place an order. 

HOW TO ORDER

Please email me  with the following:
1. Item(s) and amount you like to order
e.g. a pair of birds, 1 x light of hope

2. Your Name
3. Your full postal address
4. (option) extra donation. please indicate in £ GBP. 

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

(if this does not work, please Email me to makikohastings@gmail.com)

Remember your support can make a difference. Every Little Helps! Thank you so much. xm 

Art Market: coming soon!

I will be holding a stall at Christmas Art Market on Sat 17th & Sun 18th at Rural Arts Gallery in Thirsk. All range of my ceramic work, and many original printing work (limited editions) will be available. Don’t miss out this chance for your Christmas shopping! xm 

me and chadwick

It was rather sensational for me to be able to see this in real and take this photo (the first one), after spending quite some time to research about her work and her for my dissertation (here). I always wonder what she would be making today if she was still alive? I am sure it would be original, thought provoking yet hard working art as she always did, unlike someone else. (sorry, I am bias.) 

You can see more work by several artists including Helen Chadwick at ‘Transformation’ exhibition at The New School House Gallery in York till 22nd December. Fancy a trip to York? xm 

Christmas Exhibition at Studio Eleven

Next exhibition info for you. 
The Christmas Show “Made with Love” at Studio Eleven in Hull starts this Saturday 10th November. My ‘mazekoze’ and ‘lilypad’ will be showcased alongside with many fabulous artists’ work. If you are near the area, please do pop over. The show will open until 20th January, but be aware that the gallery only opens on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

only small amount is available. if you are interested, hurry!

For more info and direction, please click here. xm

when marigold is no good, you get roses

Although GP nurse managed to take stitches off from my finger, (and it was, I tell you, bl***y agonising!) it hasn’t healed as much as we wished. This is apparently because the state of the wound was ‘squashed’ like a tomato (expression by the nurse), not a ‘clean cut’, which would have been fixed quicker. Instead my finger is still ‘weepy’. (like a tomato?) Due to the nature of my work, I was given Dr’s sick note and am still off from clay (and water when it comes to that) for another week. With somewhat guilty feeling, I have been trying to make the most of my sick leave, doing untouched housework like piles of ironing and washing up with a half pair of marigold that doesn’t fit properly, and things that have been postponed till ‘when you have more time’, such as editing last family trip video, tidying up the front garden and sewing a teapot cover, with one hand. Actually stupidly inefficient, of course. 

Nevertheless, here is the good thing that happened this morning. Since I am not able to drive, I walk to those small town shops to get my chores done. On the way, there was a council man who was cutting roses in a street garden ready for the winter. Still half blossomed. I intriguingly asked what would happened to those cut roses and he said all get chucked away. I was saddened for the amount of beautiful waste-to-be, and could not resist to ask one more question. Answer was the above picture. I gave him a piece of ginger bread man bought from our local bakery for thanks. He smiled and I smiled. xm

She is here!

(from left) Minato & Hiroko Ishikawa, PASH’s duo owner Paula & Shelley

I have been so looking forward to this day, as well as being so nervous about it. Hiroko Ishikawa, the owner and stylist of Farmer’s Table came to North Yorkshire! 

Farmer’s Table is a fabulous shop in Tokyo and has always been one of my favourites since it opened more than 25 years ago! Today Japan has got so many shops selling things for interiors (they are often called “ZAKKA”), handcrafts, vintage, antiques from all over the world, but all that really became a big boom in late 80’s and thereafter. Hiroko started well before that with such fresh and fabulous sense of styling, and was a sort of guru. Her shop display was stunningly eye catching with all beautiful items carefully chosen by her that you haven’t seen anywhere else, certainly not following the trend. That still continues today in her new shop in Ebisu. (you can see the images of the shop from this video from last year: here)

It all started from a little conversation we luckily made when we were visiting her shop this summer. I’ve invited her here knowing that she is coming to UK for a ‘buying’ business trip. Then, the rest was history! Her husband, a graphic designer Minato Ishikawa, and Hiroko came all the way from London where they were staying, accompanied with her business partner, Yuko & Hideaki Takezawa, who are based in North London. What a great pleasure to escort them! I took them to PASH to start with (rummaging through their wonderful chocked full of goodies in stock!), then visited a few recommended shops in York. Yuko had a great experience and knowledge in selecting stuff too, which was rather educational to watch. They seemed to have a whale of a time and bought stuff that filled their car, which made me relieved knowing that it was a worthwhile trip! Now I felt honoured to have done this ‘escort’ role! It is such a joy just to imagine how those items are going to be styled in Farmer’s Table.

Hiroko and Minato enjoying PASH’s display

PASH dressing up for Christmas

guess which one is going to join in Farmer’s Table??

lunch at the scrumptious cafe the pig and pastry

i loved these drawers

“Banana Warehouse” seemed to be a hit

Thank you so so much for coming all the way, Hiroko-san, Minato-san, Yuko-san and Hideaki-san. It was lovely having you here and spending a wonderful day with you. Maybe I’ve managed to say “Yorkshire ain’t bad”? xm 

Crafted By Hand with my witch-crafted hand

Some of you might have seen the image of my finger on my facebook (personal one only, and I’ll avoid showing it here to the public!) I had an occupational injury at work on Friday and ended up in A&E in an almost fainted state. My “flesh” was half fallen off my finger tip after trapping it in between the hinge side of fire door! (yes, those heavy ones!) Fortunately (dispite the unfortunate trauma!) without breaking the bone or finger nail, my finger tip was stitched back together into one piece. Hence it was a wee bit of a struggle with last minute of preparation including packing and loading with my poorly finger, but we went off to the show in Masham with my kind hub’s support. 

Crafted By Hand was a great turn out. The town hall was heaving from the opening till the end. Lots of great work and nice people. We really had a good time. I had good sale both my new work and stock, as well as HELP JAPAN birds. Thank you so much for those who came along and left me lovely comments. Here are some images from my stall. 

porcelain hangings are out now ready for Christmas 

(I was intrigued by the hall’s gorgeous wall paper behind)

new porcelain rocking pebbles

these vases are mazekoze’s new face

ugly ducklings waiting for a new home

new hanetsubo ‘flying jugs’ went flying well today

how about wee bit of buttons?

I’ve met so many talented artists too. Here are some lovely people and work that I’d like to share. 

Fabulous printmaker Helen Peyton was demonstrating printing using this handsome 1800 Victorian press. How awesome is that? 

My fellow artist Emma Fountain displayed her skillful of needle felt work. The scale of her work is just amazing. I’ve bought a gorgeous felt accessory to treat myself. 

Very stylish etched glasses were by Andy Poplar from vinegar & brown paper. Absolutely wicked combination of typography and glass shape was just so wow! We’ve got a lab glass for this year’s sloe gin. 

Have you missed today? A few more fairs are coming up next month, so stay tuned for more info. xm 

Crafted By Hand - this Sunday!

Crafted By Hand is on this Sunday 28th October at Masham Town Hall. (The direction is here) I’m delighted to have a stall among with these great artists! All series of my work and print will be there, as well as the last stock of HELP JAPAN items with a special discount. So don’t miss this chance! 

If you would like an invite posted, please email me your name and address.

Looking forward to seeing you.xm 

weekend ahead

For the last couple days I haven’t been well enough to go to work, not much of physical moving involved, hence a wee bit of delay on my studio work, too. Looking at the things came out of the kiln, I thought I would take some photos to cheer me up so that I can look forward to the day I can work on decorating these porcelain lilypads. Hopefully soon. Hope you have a good weekend. xm

Creative Masham

Lately I have been featured in Creative Masham blog with a bit of sneak shot of my studio. You can view from here. Simple and short - nicely done. (thank you Josie!) 

They are organising the forthcoming event, Crafted By Hand, where I will be holding a stall. According to what it said in the blog, they will serve tea and cakes, which I think is unmissable! All sounds good so far, I just have to catch up with the preparation for Sunday 28th! (the image is from Masham by the way) xm 

HULL

I am currently working toward several forthcoming events and shows, including Studio Eleven in Hull. I have never been to Hull before but liked the way they are developing the water front into a cultural hub. Images are near the gallery, which used be a fruit market. xm