All Offers Considered

Last weekend I spent two days in Lewis Cubitt Square, Kings Cross trying to sell off some of the bric-a-brac I have somehow amassed over years at the Classic Car Boot Sale. Apparently the green Roller I was paired with belongs to a famous artist. He wasn't there though; a friend of his was borrowing it for the weekend.

Markets like these are lively events but I have now had enough and the two pics of me in the bottom row, above, sort of say it all – doing stalls etc is fun but it's just so tiring, so energy-sapping. All I want to do at the end of each day is have a bath, eat comfort food, stare at rubbish on the TV and then go to bed early.
I have therefore decided no more markets of this kind for me – my achy old bones can't take it any more and in a couple of weeks I will be eBay-ing what's left at very low starting prices. I can't even be bothered to do a carboot sale!
If there is anything in the pics above that catches your eye (excluding me, the car and the cards) do contact me and make me an offer. And there's plenty more stuff not shown... grunt...

Cally Festival – Sunday 18th June

A section of Caledonian Road will be closed to traffic this Sunday for the yearly street festival which takes place between noon and 6pm.
It's basically a vibrant community-led street party – there will be all sorts of stalls lining the road plus live music, arts projects, dancing and creative workshops.
Find me at my stall selling my cards and prints of photos I have taken in the area including some new ones.

A selection of new cards (prints to order)

  

Craft Fair at Hornsey Town Hall this weekend

A bit of self promo today...
Find me selling my cards and prints within the Art Deco splendour of Hornsey Town Hall on Crouch End Broadway, 11am–4pm on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th June.

Please see the Facebook page here for more card images.
I will also have a small selection of clay pipe jewellery and cards and some upcycled leather wallets from my Amelia Parker range.

If you can't get to the event find the cards just round the corner from the town hall at Treehouse gift shop and Oxfam Books & Music both at the clocktower end of Park Road.
For online orders, visit my Etsy shop (if you don't see the image you require listed, please do contact me directly)

Butter Fingers at The Old Dairy, Crouch Hill

Last week I was chatting to Jason at the Oxfam Books & Music shop at Crouch End as I assessed my card stock there. As I added some more of the Old Dairy at Stroud Green he asked if had noticed that one person depicted on the sgraffito panels had something extra.
Intrigued, I walked back down the hill to take another look.

Cards

I have studied these panels many times but although I had noticed that the people aren't what you'd call beautiful and are mostly out of proportion with the other characters and objects around them, I hadn't spotted that one of the butter-making girls has an extra finger.

Read about my cards and prints in today's Islington Tribune

#IslingtonTribune – Available free from many Islington outlets.

Click here for the online version of this article

For info of other ways to buy from me please see "Cards and Prints" at top right of this blog.

Archway Market – a colourful gem on Holloway Road every Saturday

Archway Market comes alive every Saturday on the wide pavement at the corner of St John's Grove and Holloway Road, two minutes' walk from Upper Holloway Station. Market hours are 10-5pm [approx].
For a small market the choice is wonderfully varied – organic vegetables, hand-crafted cheeses, meats, pastries and cakes, a hog roast, plus a great second hand book stall and greeting cards & prints.

A diversity of delights

the wonderful colours of nature

Yummy!  But by the time I thought to take these photos, at approx 3.45pm on Saturday 8th Oct, most of the cakes had gone and the hog roast was almost a carcass (see bottom right).

I would also recommend the grocer/convenience store on the corner where you can get good cheap proper coffee.

And now for the personal promo bit...
Find me selling my cards and prints of local images and montages every first and third Saturday (plus more dates if possible).
This weekend (Saturday 22nd) sees the launch of my locally-themed Christmas cards – nine options to choose from – come and place an order (free local delivery).

Somewhere Over The Rainbow...

One early evening last September I was walking across the western Golden Jubilee Bridge and it started to rain.
A short sharp heavy downfall was followed by a burst of strong sunshine which created a fabulous double rainbow against a deep grey sky and a shadow of the London Eye on the Shell building.

I was so glad I had my camera with me that day.
Greeting card available here.

Whitecross Street Party this Saturday 16th July

AKA The Rise of the Non-Conformists – this is a colourful, vibrant, musical event is well worth a visit.
I will have a stall there and, in addition to a selection of my clay pipe jewellery, I will for the first time be selling my  London Central cards featuring St Pauls, Barbican, Battersea Power Station and the like, as well a selection of the North London ones (click the image of them, above right).
Here is a link to a post I did about this event in 2013.
I have only just realised as I was writing that this follows on from my last post about Old Street as Whitecross Street is on its south side almost opposite St Luke's Church, so after or pre the street party why not go check out those cart entrances and unusual signs etc...?

Crouch End Festival 2016

It's local festival time.
North London is awash with them lately, in Caledonian Road, Barnsbury, Highgate, Stroud Green and more. (Go Google... I am feeling lazy!)

But, never mind all of them... I will be at the Crouch End Festival, specifically within Hornsey Town Hall on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th where I will have stall selling my cards featuring my photographs of local landmarks and signs (the latest one shown above), plus a selection of my Amelia Parker clay pipe jewellery and cards.
Hope to see you there – please bring some of the sunshine into the hall with you.

IWA Canalway Cavalcade, this Bank Holiday Weekend, 30April–02May, Little Venice

Three days of colourful boats, entertainment, food, stalls and music.
See the website for more info.
Come and find me at my stall at the far end of the row above the towpath on Warwick Crescent where I will have a broad selection of items for sale:

Greeting cards (blank inside with envelopes) featuring some of my canal and Cavalcade images. More cards here.

Clay pipe jewellery,  Thames glass pendants,  Clay Pipe Pete and Smokey Joe greeting cards,      London landmark cards,  upcycled leather accessories,  tins and small bric-a-brac

Warwick Crescent – What a lovely location!

A tour of Hornsey Town Hall

Hornsey Town Hall is a wonderful example of modernist architecture. It sits behind the gardens on Crouch End Broadway between the old gas and electric stores (also constructed in the same period).
On Friday 2nd January I went on a guided tour of the internal rooms – what a delight...

Beautiful panelled rooms, original fitments, old toilets, bespoke metal and stone work and light fittings, and much more. Though I was saddened to see that some things have been only recently damaged (curtains and window handles).
Future tours listed here – all proceeds go to the upkeep of the building, the future of which is still under review as funding is needed to carry out repairs.
I was delighted to bump into Caroline who was also taking the tour that day. Read her more detailed account here.

Also worth a plug – my greeting cards featuring images of the town hall and its surrounding buildings plus details of the Crouch End area are available to buy from the Oxfam Bookshop, just around the corner in Park Road (£2.50 each, blank inside) or contact me direct (free p+p). A selection is shown below. See also here.

Hornsey Town Hall door top left.  Details from the adjacent gas and electricity buildings shown 2nd and 4th on middle row.

Cards cards cards

I am really pleased that greeting cards featuring my photos of places of interest in north London have been selling well.
A selection is shown here:

Greeting cards 135mm square supplied with envelopes in cello bags. 

Buy them for £2.50 each from The Only Place For Pictures in Upper Street, Islington (opposite the Union Chapel), Arts and Vintage (opposite Highgate tube station) and Oxfam Bookshops in Highgate and Crouch End.

Snowflakes 135mm square. All others A6/postcard size.

Or buy direct from me, either by contacting me, or finding me at one of my stalls where I will also have my other cards showing my images created from clay pipes; Pete and Joe, London Landmarks, Christmas trees and snowflakes.
Buy four get one free – get five for £10 for any cards when purchasing in person.
Many are also available on Etsy (free p&p).