Wendy Atton creates animal portraits from your photographs in pencil, coloured pencil, pastel or paint. Wendy captures your pets character in a true likeness. Each finished portrait is unique to cherish forever or to give as the perfect gift for a loved one. Wendy also has gift vouchers and has a range of drawings and smaller gift items such as cards and keyrings.
Fe-b jewellery create jewellery by hand knitting and French knitting coloured wires providing a rich and sumptuous colour, embellished with gemstones and glass beads. Each piece dictates it’s own finished shape so every one is not only distinctive but unique.
Del Coombs’ work reflects a growing acceptance of sustainable approaches to living, but also comments upon the socialable activity of drinking alcohol! Both serious subjects, yet Coombs’ glass work manages to raise a smile. Every piece is unique, due to design & exploitation of the processes of slumping & fusing used to create vessels in the kiln.
Fairtrade Interiors Catherine Deane designs & develops fair-trade Christmas decorations & home accessories. She offers great quality products with modern designs, by working with disadvantaged producers in Cambodia she supports their way out of poverty.
Debra and Peter Fox create glass jewellery using original designs with imaginative use of colour texture and materials. They combine traditional techniques of fusing and lampworking with contemporary design producing jewellery which is fun to wear and very individual.
Sue Holdaway creates dramatic, quirky contemporary jewellery using re-cycled bottles, old window glass, charity shop treasures, old marbles and mosaic tiles or expensive art glass. She can make jewellery from customers champagne bottles to capture memories of a special occasion. Every piece is her original design and unique.
Ingrid Karlsson-Kemp is a Swedish born visual artist. .Her versatile mixed media work is known for its rich, colourful textures whether painting on handmade or recycled paper or stitching in fabric and fibres. Her work is inspired by storytelling with subject matter ranging from memories, journeys and experiences to the seasonal landscapes of the peak district or northern Sweden.
David Pantling designs pots in eye catching and unusual shapes. He then hand paints each piece in a variety of colourful ranges. His designs incorporate ideas including Braille, sign language, irrational numbers, garden paintings and swimmers (in 2005 I swam the English Channel) as inspiration.
Priscilla Morley makes beautiful leather and textile items in simple yet enduring designs. Traditional hand leather working skills have declined dramatically in this country. She aims to use available natural and recycled resources to produce items which function as well as look good.
Thomas Plaskitt is a young man trying to comprehend the mad world around him and put it into book form. He creates handmade books and illustrations with zany, weird designs that are young, fresh, cheeky and spread a good word! He also has larger illustrations and some hand-drawn one off comics.
David and Louise Salsbury produce a range of colourful earthenware pottery and tiles. David’s work is illustrative, hand painted landscapes featuring animals birds and fish. Louise’s tiles are bold graphic based on leaf and seed patterns. They make a fabulous range of ceramic gift tags and irresistible tree decorations.
Kirsty Shaw employs plastic techniques in an unusual & innovative way to construct her work. This includes a range created from melted drinking straws, which are then constructed into a table lamp. Her work is colourful, striking & vibrant.
Gillian Lee Smith creates unique art dolls with their own individual story, character & name. There is a strong sense of colour & design present in her work accompanied by a love of storytelling & history. Her work varies from 2d to 3d textile pieces to hand felted accessories.
Red Shoes Memories. Red Shoes make handbags very different to other leather handbags you find on the high street. Each one has a lining designed especially for each customer from a photograph or drawing. The picture is printed on the inside of the handbag making it secret to the owner of the Red Shoes hanbag.
Kushdi for Kids sell uniquely designed 100% cotton clothing for children. All items are made and sourced within a 300 mile radius of Nottingham. All garment colours are created by cold water garment dye to further reduce pollution caused by dying and reduce shrinkage. All the items are freehand appliquéd. The images are all unique to Kushdi and created from recycled fabrics wherever possible.
Debbie Bryan makes handmade textiles and jewellery using innovative knitting techniques. All are handmade in the East Midlands often in collaboration with local artists/designers.
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.
Rocks Galore make wire and bead jewellery handcrafted from raw materials such as semi-precious gemstones, minerals, freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystals and solid silver wire. Davina is a geologist and the stones are the most important part of the jewellery. Each piece comes with an information card about thestone’s geological properties and lore and legends.
Andrea Jones creates a variety of jewellery ranging from delicate to chunky. Each range has contrasting combinations of colour and texture either by the use of different metals, patination or by the addition of wood, felt, leather or cold enamels.
Amanda Nield is very much influenced by mythology, something that has fascinated her from childhood. Much of the painting that she produces embody the esoteric element of living things. Nature has always inspired her work - from its form, colour and texture to the organic energy that it emits. Painting has enabled her to work with different materials including collage. The pieces are often built by the patterns that form as well as the initial seed of an idea. Along with painting she produces original drawings and design work and is now developing a collection of giftware.
From her workshop in the West Midlands, Sarah designs and creates a range of glass pieces which employ kiln forming techniques to combine glass and metals such as copper & silver to create individual, handmade pieces. Using glass as her main medium, Sarah also enjoys using other materials to add colour & detail along with finishing techniques such as etching to add pattern & depth. Thematically, her work encapsulates both traditional motifs as well as more abstract contemporary designs.
Everyday Angels depict angelic forms through the medium of paint. The images have a powerful emotional effect. Her use of colour and light creates something distinctly ‘otherworldly’. Everything is created with love and passion, nothing is mass produced.
Silvercat Design makes jewellery that is very girly, delicate and pretty using freshwater pearls, sterling silver and high quality beads. Laura offers tailormade bracelets, earrings etc to match items purchased and create and adjust pieces ‘while you wait’.
Crib Designs have a collection of quiky gifts, clothes & accessories for babies & young children. No princesses or glitter, just stylish, modern, handcrafted gifts that aren't available on the high street. Handmade tutus, blankets, burp cloths, kimono, baby slippers & more designed & made in Nottingham, alongside children's clothes, shoes & bibs designed in collaboration with crafters from all over the world.
Made using coiling technique & fired in a wood fuelled kiln ensures each of David's ceramic works are unique. The natural ash glazes produce subtle, but complex colours, revealing the highly textured clay beneath. The vessels are based on traditional forms, but have a contemporary look and feel. Bowls, vases & bottle forms make up the majority of David's range. These pieces are both functional & decorative making excellent gifts.
Sarah Stone Jewellery uses quality materials such as 925 hallmarked sterling silver, hand cut, hand polished incredibly rare cabochons, from collector's stocks. She also uses gold leaf, resin, mixed media, sand, rope & shrink plastic depending upon the range.
Penny Smith creates unique glass designs in a wide variety of items from jewellery to gifts & artwork. Her work is very affordable from £5-£45.
Lucy's jewellery is inspired by stories such as myths & fairytales, with an emphasis on animals and the natural world. It is illustrative and intricate whilst remaining contemporary & stylish. Hand cut silver layers are used to create an amazing minature stage set effect. Another exciting technique used is Korean called 'Kewm Boo' which fuses 24ct gold foil with silver which creates an interesting surface pattern.
Joanne Panayi’s work is highly stylised and is completely new to the market, which makes it very recognisable as her brand. The high detail figurative reppousse is not something found easily in the silverware market at present, and this gives her work a unique edge over other’s wares, thus making it highly collectable.
Bagladee creates completely hand-crafted bags and accessories with a high attention to detail, craftsmanship and practicality. The fabrics used are internationally sourced for their distinctive prints and are made in limited numbers maintaining their exclusivity.
Anne Davis designs and makes contemporary tableware that is functional and has a simple, precise style. She works in silver and often combining it with exotic woods, by using the lathe and milling machine she is able to create clean, accurate lines. Retaining traditional silversmithing techniques, allows the pieces to show off a combination of ‘hand-made’ and ‘machine-made’ which creates a strong contrast which is unique to her work.
Eileen Butler creates tipi lamps using a combination of willow and fabric, then decorates them with the most amazing range of netting, trimmings, buoys, fishnets, beads, lace, in a gothic and burlesque style, they are then illuminated with 15-25 watt bulb. In addition Butler creates glass lanterns which are covered with hand-made paper and pressed leaves and flowers that have been hand-picked by her. The lanterns are illuminated by a single tea light, which gives them a breathtaking luminescence, or they can quite simply sit on a sunny window-sill.
All of Sarah's fabrics are handwoven using a dobby loom resulting in contemporary designs from traditional methods. Sarah Allen Weaving products are unique or from limited edition batches (less than 5!), perfect one off Christmas gifts!
Amira create beautiful floral fair-trade dresses and one-of-a-kind custom pieces, all tailored with love in India, using printed end-of-run fabrics specially sourced by hand.
Purple Spice make classic jewellery with a contemporary twist. A select palette of colours and shapes are brought together to frame semi precious stones, antique jets, shimmering shells and luminous pearls, set in sterling silver. As no two gemstonmes are exactly the same, each piece is individual and hand finished to give you a unique piece of jewellery.
Molly’s Mum by hand-rolling wool felt and ‘drawing’ with embroidery the aim is to create original and unique pieces of wearable and useable art for all age groups.
Claire Geeves creates a wide range of felted accessories from bags to brooches using pure wool and also sheet felt. Her products are exciting because they are not only functional but are innovative in their design. The pure-wool creates an interesting texture whilst also making a very strong material. The use of colour makes the designs particularly eye-catching and fun to wear.
Elefair is an ethical business which aims to promote the skills of craftspeople in Nepal. The products are made using traditional techniques, with modern designs to please the western consumer.
Christmas at View from the Top is very special. We’re now planning our 4th Christmas where we bring together artists and designer-makers of unique gifts not usually seen on the High St. View from the Top is a meeting room and gallery on the 4th floor of Waterstone’s in Nottingham City Centre. We are not part of the Waterstone’s but an independent ‘not just for profit’ company providing inspirational space on the High St to showcase creative talent, independent businesses and community organisations.
