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The Crafts Council is an independent body funded by the Arts Council of England. Established in 1971 as the national agency for crafts, it was granted a Royal Charter in 1982 (this is a Royal seal of approval and grants the institution special privileges for its excellent contribution to the country). The Council is like a pioneer for crafts; promoting the teaching and studying of contemporary crafts within... Read more

• Category:
• Selling Online

Christen Largent may have deeper roots in silver than she realizes. The metal smith and proud owner of the iCraft Exhibit, icraftgifts.com/christen-largent has a perfect last name for a creator whose line predominately features silver. L'argent is the French for "silver"!

Although no longwinded tales of toiling silversmith ancestors began our interview, Christen did explain her personal route... Read more

• Category:
• In the Spotlight

There are so many trends going on these days, it can be hard to keep track of what is actually "in". Sexy wedge heels are in, but so are slouchy hipster boots… Katie Holmes’ sassy bob gets a lot of “to-do” but so do Blake Lively’s long wavy locks. With all the contradictory trends going on, how does one define a trend these days? Trends are supposed to be temporary fashion... Read more

• Category:
• Trend Spotting

Two women, Mavis and Olga, are the masterminds behind ‘ knittles ’, a line of chic woolwear for everyone who wants to be both warm and fashionable, whether you are a child or a senior. After marrying brothers, Olga and Mavis got to know each other when the two couples shared a house for some time. “You do get to know someone after a while in a situation like that!”, Mavis explained.... Read more

• Category:
• In the Spotlight

Maria Kirk starting sewing clothes as a precocious five year old and has never stopped. After learning to sew from her grandmother, a seamstress who sewed doll and toy clothes for Mattel, Maria built on this passed down talent by continuing in a similar vein and began to hand-sew clothes for her Barbie dolls. Now, as an adult, Maria has fine-tuned this ability to create clothing, albeit in a slightly larger size!... Read more

• Category:
• In the Spotlight

The weather these past few weeks, at least in the northeast section of the continent, has been termed as a very cool spring. The key word here is cool, as these temperatures are always relative. A forecast of sixty degrees in July may seem on the cool side but if it was mid-January, it would feel downright tropical. Talk among neighbors and fellow gardeners seems to conclude that shrubs and trees are enjoying a... Read more

• Category:
• All Things Crafts

Just when we have all learned to correctly pronounce Feng Shui, the Chinese art of appropriate placement of objects in our living spaces, along comes another ancient Oriental aesthetic philosophy, "wabi-sabi". Seemingly destined to become as popular as Feng Shui, wabi-sabi addresses our relationship to all things that surround us, not just to their positioning in our living and working environments.... Read more

• Category:
• All Things Crafts

To ignore one of the basic knitting commandments, "Thou shalt not put wool into hot water" is to risk suffering the dreaded consequence of such action - very small, very stiff, little sweaters into which no family member would ever want to grow. But approaching the hot water as friend not foe, affords an opportunity to enjoy a wonderful new perspective on rows of knit and purl stitches. As a distinct... Read more

• Category:
• All Things Crafts

Knitting presents a wonderful opportunity to contribute to the recycling movement and to explore the craft of felting.

No sooner than the last chocolate has been popped into our mouths and the roses have been hung to dry, St. Valentine steps aside for St. Patrick as green takes over from red to mark the next commercial milestone on the calendar. Shamrocks are everywhere even if their signature emerald green is... Read more

• Category:
• Eco-friendly Living

A vase of beautiful flowers will bring you pleasure for a few days, perhaps a week, but a handknit sweater will bring you joy for many growing seasons to come.

Having lived in apartments for the last twenty years, I have had little opportunity to put my paws into the earth except for planting the odd balcony pot or attempting to grow seeds on a spare-bedroom window sill. So now that I am the owner of a... Read more

• Category:
• All Things Crafts