Blog Every Day in May

I'm attempting this challenge for the second time, and have decided to start off with 10 random facts about me as an introduction.

I'm a printmaker, I've been running my own business for nearly 7 years, making and selling my stuffs.

I don't like small talk. I prefer big talk or being completely ludicrous.

I say I'm not a fan of routine and repetition, but actually I really need it to stay focused.

My favourite food is probably the noble avocado.

I'm pretty good at hula hooping.

I was once sick in a bin under the counter at work. I carried on serving customers afterwards.

I have a lot of stories about massages. Ask me about them if we meet!

I'm at my happiest when drawing and listening to music, preferably in sunshine.

I sing in an all girl choir, She Choir Manchester. We're really good, come see us if you get the chance!

I love creative swearing.

There you go! Hope that's not too boring a start. I'm looking forward to reading everyone's  posts and writing some more of my own. Happy May everybody!

Got some flyers made feat. avocadude! 👌

A photo posted by Nell Smith (@iamnell) on Apr 30, 2015 at 6:02am PDT

Win a tee for free!

The super-groovy blog Kid Independent contacted me to ask if I would like to be part of their month-long giveaway of kid's t-shirt's from around the world. I said yes, sounds swell, and merrily posted Tiny Tiger off to Australia to seek fame and fortune. To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is pop on over to the blog and VOTE FOR ME!

Crafting History

Here are some photos of the process of making my piece for the Crafting History exhibition that opens at the Craft Centre on 14th July. The tenants were asked to respond to the Collecting History exhibition that is currently on at the Craft Centre as part of our 30 year anniversary celebrations. I chose to create an intricate papercut depicting 18 fish representing our 18 studios and celebrating the past life of the building as a fishmarket. All the fish are native to British waters and many would have been served up here at some point (except the Pike!). As part of the exhibition the public sent in words that they feel represent the Craft and Design Centre. Each fish contains one of these words. I enjoyed the challenge of making something away from my usual practice and it has proved really satisfying. Come down on Saturday 2-4 to see all the work made plus ceramics by Carys Davies and help us celebrate!

Giveaway! Win some hand printed goodness...

Ok, you don't get owt for nowt, so I'm running a little competition in exchange for some help with getting the funding I previously posted about. Up for grabs is one of my best selling Owl print Amercian Apparel sweatshirts, in XS, S or L, plus 5 runners-up prizes of handprinted treats, including badges, notebooks and tote bags!

This takes 1 MINUTE!!! You will be helping me receive funding to progress my business and thus you will become a Good Egg.

1. All you need to do is follow this link & vote for Nell in Fund101! http://www.enterprisenation.com/funding-applications/nell/

2. Have a little read of my Fund101 application if you like!

3. Click where it says SIGN UP on the left.

4. Type your name, email address and password. (there is an option to click if you don’t wish to receive any emails from Enterprise nation! They just need emails to make sure makers aren’t voting for themselves!!!)

5. Click VOTE

6. Once you’ve voted, LEAVE A COMMENT about my work at the bottom of my Fund101 application and LOG YOUR VOTE NUMBER AND EMAIL ADDRESS THERE TOO so I can contact you! (you’ll see other comments there already)

I will be choosing the winners at random from the comments once I’ve reached the 325 votes needed to receive my funding! If I don't get the funding there can be no winner, so please help me to spread the word!

I will contact the winners and announce them on my blog, facebook, twitter etc!

GOOD LUCK!

Giveaway time!

Hullo and a happy Monday to you all! I'm starting the week with a little giveaway, I've been trying to sort out my studio out a bit and am forcing myself to part with some of my fabric stash, it's out of hand! I find it so hard to part with craft supplies, even if I know I'll never use it. So I thought it would be nice for someone to make use of this fabric and make it easier for me to part with it!
So I have 2 bundles of fat quarters of fabric to give to one lucky person! One is a mixture of my own designs: screenprints and digital prints with hand printed overlays and digital embroidery - quite a lot of work has gone in to each piece and you'll find various animals hiding within - owls, deer, swans and foxes...
The other bundle is a selection of Japanese fabrics which are really beautiful - I got these on my travels but have never known what to do with them. I think I bought them in Kyoto, textile central in Japan. They are probably off-cuts from kimonos.
To enter, either leave a little comment letting me know which bundle you would like, or follow me on Twitter and retweet the giveaway (or both for an extra chance to win!). Don't forget to let me know which bundle you would like to win...
I'll announce the winner at the end of the week. Good luck! xx

New Stockists

I've been trying to get my work stocked by different shops across the UK and I was thrilled when Moda in Folkstone said they wanted to make an order. They stock lots of lovely designers, so if you're in the area you can now find my things next to the likes of Orla Kiely and Cath Kidston! Whoop!



I'm on a mission to find more lovely stockists for my work, so if you know of anywhere that would fit the bill or would like a bit of Nell goodness in your shop, please get in touch! xx