There’s never been a better time to learn to sew! Sewing machines are becoming increasingly affordable, while clothes, accessories and homewares are getting more and more expensive.

Brush up your skills, or learn new ones with Carousel Sewing School, based in and around Glasgow. Their programme of lessons for October and November looks like this:

DRESSMAKING (Beginner) (Skirt)
4-week block – Cost £ 95
Saturday mornings 10am – 1pm on
29th Oct, 5th Nov, 19th Nov and 26th Nov

Contact carouselcreatives@gmail.com for more information on location, availability and future sessions, including a half day crash course to get you up and running!

There’s something for everyone at Albert Drive Studios this autumn.

Mixed Media Drawing Class Tuesday 25th October – 13th December 2011

Mixed Media Drawing Course for all abilities

During the course we will be exploring various drawing techniques, using a variety of media and in the main we will be drawing from organic forms.

The classes are held in the relaxed setting Attic Billard Room of the studios.
The course runs from Tuesday, 25th October until 13th December, 2 – 4pm
Fee £90 and includes most materials and tea/coffee.

To book your place contact Hilary on 07805 346 314.

Come Dine with Us at Albert Drive Studios

Here at Albert Drive Studios we are excited to be launching Come Dine with Us, a private dining experience hosted by Hilary and Eta, enthusiastic well seasoned cooks.
The first dinner on Saturday 12 November 2011 will reflect the season and consists of a welcome aperitif, followed by three home-cooked courses and includes wine with your meal.

The menu will be:

Uncle Bobby’s spiced apple and parsnip soup served with soda muffins
Marmalade glazed cooked ham with pumpkin, chestnut and cranberry risotto served with a side of autumn coleslaw
Gingerbread and custard and
Brandy snaps and orange cream

Cost £20 per person
Places are limited to 12 diners

Be the first to join the Come Dine with Us experience –
Note your interest to Hilary on 07805 346 314 or albertdrivestudios@googlemail.com

Life Drawing Day At Albert Drive Studios -Saturday 22nd October-10am – 4:00 pm

Life Drawing Day
At Albert Drive Studios

Saturday 22nd October

10am – 4:00 pm
(Soup Lunch included)

Only £35

Book your place on a fun full-day of figure drawing at the studios.

Whether you’re a beginner with no experience of life drawing, a dab hand just wanting a refresher or a student preparing a portfolio, there’s nothing better than the experience of working from life for improving your drawing skills.

To book a place (subject to availability) please email lifedrawingglasgow@gmail.com

Our very own mafia member, The Life Craft, has moved to new premises in DeCourcy’s arcade. For a full schedule of activities, check the website or become a friend on Facebook.

To celebrate their festive production of Cinderella, Scottish Ballet are offering the chance to win an extra-special night at the the ballet for you and your fairy godmother/father, dinner and an overnight stay in a luxury hotel!

It could be anyone from a family member or a best friend to a teacher or workmate. Maybe they surprised you with a wonderful gift, drove you to your dance classes or helped you prepare for an important job interview – any act of kindness which transformed your life.

How to enter:

For your chance to win, simply explain who your Fairy Godmother is and what makes them so special. How you tell your story is up to you – it can be a story, poem, video, photo, drawing or anything you like!

Send your entry including contact details and your chosen city to FairyGodmother@scottishballet.co.uk with ‘Fairy Godmother competition’ in the subject line, or if you would prefer to post your entry, please send it to:

Fairy Godmother competition
Scottish Ballet
Tramway
25 Albert Drive
Glasgow
G41 2PE

The closing date for entries is Thursday 2^nd December 2010. Winners will be picked by Scottish Ballet’s own Fairy Godmother, with one winner in each city Cinderella tours to: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness.

Scottish Ballet’s Cinderella opens at Theatre Royal Glasgow on 14 December and will run until 31 December before touring to Festival Theatre Edinburgh 12 – 15 January 2011, His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen 19 – 22 January, Eden Court Theatre Inverness 26 – 29 January 2011 and the Grand Opera House Belfast 2 – 5 February 2011.

Where and when?
This Sunday, the 14th of November, from 11.30 til 4.30, we’ll be rocking it Christmas-style at the wonderful Inver Cottage.  Pretty much all of your festive shopping can be taken care of in one fell swoop with a range of sellers offering jewellery, clothing, stationery, accessories and more.

Inver Cottage is well-known for its amazing food and beautiful surroundings, so dress warmly and make a day of it! You can find out more about Inver Cottage on their website: http://www.invercottage.com/

Who’ll be there?
Frayed at the Edges, The Rainbow Effect, Carrot Coriander, Asking for Trouble, Rosie’s Retro Styling and Glitterysah with be joined by two of Inver’s local suppliers, selling scarves and festive wreaths.

So come on down and choose handmade not high street this Christmas!

If you follow any of our members on Twitter, you’ll know that on Monday nights at 9pm, a fair few of us are glued to the telly. We’ve been watching retail expert Mary Portas give advice to struggling outlets on how to improve the shopping experience for customers, and how to sell, sell, sell without selling out.

Although we only currently have one bricks and mortar retailer amongst our number, Rachael Albert, who you’ll find in Glasgow’s DeCourcey’s Arcade, the tips Mary gives can often be applied to online shopkeeps like us – as well as giving great advice to keep shoppers savvy, too.

There are a couple of extra special reasons to watch tonight’s episode, however, as the shop in question specialises in the gifts/handmade market AND features the work of two Glasgow Craft Mafia members. Keep your eyes peeled for the graphic design expertise of Much Too Fun’s Mhairi Mackenzie, and the sometimes graphic designs of Miso Funky – our resident cross-stitcher extraordinaire!

Why not settle down in front of BBC2 and pop over to Twitter this evening, follow @queenofshops for her thoughts and insights on filming as the episode unfolds, and join in the conversation!

Blottedcopybook is the brainchild of Vonnie Sandlan, whose passion revolves around repurposing, upcycling and recycling – although she’ll never say no to a nice ball of wool!

Much Too Fun! is a cool, creative outlet bringing you the very best in kitsch, fun jewellery and accessories including Bonnie Bling which celebrates the very best in Scottish slang with wearable plastic patter.

Want to join us? Check out how to Get Made.

The curtain lifts on a dimly lit stage. Motionless figures are silhouetted against an illuminated backdrop, showing a street scene in Rome, overlaid with flickering images of Rome’s post-war landscape and people.  Welcome to Scottish Ballet’s production of Romeo and Juliet, a production as far away from tutus and romantic frippery as it’s possible to get.  Choreographed especially for Scottish Ballet, the only thing recognisable from traditional productions is the fantastic Prokofiev score played with joyous precision by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra.

In this modern retelling of the Romeo and Juliet story, the Capulets are a strutting, fascistic black-shirted force, the Montagues, left-wing agitators. The action spans three different time periods – the 1930s, 50s and 90s – underpinning the universality of the message, that in every time people find themselves torn between love and loyalty, old feuds and the unrealised possibility of reconciliation.

Throughout the taut first act, the story unfolds with scenes of high drama punctuated by points of exquisite stillness.  In one spine-tingling moment, the entire cast drops to the floor as one to reveal the lone figure of Juliet at the back – it’s our first glimpse of her, and utterly mesmerising.  Dressed in a short, gossamer-light dress emphasising the youth and innocence of her character, Sophie Martin brings out the vulnerability of Juliet, and transposes it into strength by the end of the ballet.

The familiar strains of the Montagues and Capulets theme (you know, this one!  ) is matched with strong, angular movements, macho leaps and posturing, expressing the power and intent of these warring families.  This contrasts with the delicacy of the pas de deux between Romeo and Juliet, the most astonishingly intimate of which is the bedroom scene at the start of act III.

The ballet doesn’t sugar the pill of the tragedy of death, from harrowing real-life scenes on the screen to the stage deaths of Mercurio, Tybalt and, eventually, Romeo and Juliet themselves. Romeo’s pain is palpable as he returns to Juliet’s lifeless body again and again, lifts and carries her before placing her back on the bed and killing himself. When she stirs, half-pinned by Romeo’s prone form, it’s heartbreaking as she discovers her lover dead and takes her own life.  There’s no light relief from the emotional intensity; the grieving families leave the stage, unreconciled, and the curtain drops.

There’s still time to catch this terrific show! It plays in Glasgow until April 24^th, then goes to Aberdeen, Inverness and Belfast.

www.scottishballet.co.uk

The Coveted Mag will be familiar to many of you, as Scotland’s first and only fashion magazine dedicated to supporting and promoting The Scottish Fashion Industry. It’s edited by Sarah, who also runs Pistol Whip Vintage.

Frayed at the Edges is the crafty alter ego of Julie Robertson. Self taught, she wants to put some funk into those little accessories we all love to have.

As always, you can view the whole GCM family via the members page. If you’d like to join us, have a read on how to Get Made.

Scottish Ballet take to the stage this weekend with their modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet.  Set between the 1930s and ‘50s, the piece was created specially for the Company by the Dutch National Ballet’s choreographer Krzysztof Pastor.  Performed against a multi-media backdrop and set to that iconic Prokofiev score (performed live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra) it should be a terrific night out.

The show opens in Glasgow at the Theatre Royal from the 17th-24th of April and then travels to the Edinburgh Festival Theatre, His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen, Inverness Eden Court Theatre, and finishes up at the Belfast Grand Opera House.

To coincide with the show, the Company has produced three short films giving an insight behind the scenes, focussing on the stage set, costume design and promotional photo shoot.  The design stages are fascinating, and the level of thought that goes into each element is staggering.  You can watch the films at Scottish Ballet’s website.

We’ve got a pair of tickets for the performance in Glasgow on 20^th April to give away!  To enter, all you have to do is watch the film of Caro Harkness, Head of Wardrobe and then leave a comment on this post, telling us what the Mafia-inspired elements of the costume are!

The contest closes at 10am on 18^th April and one lucky winner will be announced later that day.

Elaine Eckford is an illustrator who handcrafts her own unique pieces, mixing old and new printing techniques, high quality papers and stitching books together using Japanese bookbinding.

Glitterysah is the alter-ego of Sarah Winstone, who designs and makes jewellery, bags, purses, belts, bows and more; using mainly recycled, reclaimed and vintage materials.

This brings us up to 34 members! Take a look at the whole GCM via our Members page.