Alchemical reaction

So yesterday, the word "alchemical" cropped up on Words & Fixtures and today, totally by accident, I learnt more about alchemy. Alchemy, so I'm told, is both a philosophy and an ancient practice that attempts to change base metals into gold.

Upcycling also converts worthless tut into wonderful trinkets, as mentioned in this post here, and earlier I swung by the Royal Exchange to see the Craft Shop's Upcycled exhibition.

Supported by the Crafts Council, the Royal Exchange Craft Shop commissioned students from the MA Design LAB at MMU's Manchester School of Art to transform defunct objects into objets d'art, and these are now on display (and for sale) in the voluminous lobby until Thursday 31 March.


I'm particularly taken by Lorraine Otoo's crocheted creations re-using metal and cotton (necklace pictured above) and Catherine Chester's reworking of old watch components and vintage photos into unique jewellery. Other jewellery includes Sharleen Marius' recycled steel pieces, and work by a number of established makers invited to complement that by the students - I've got my eye on the button brooches and earrings courtesy Lovely Pigeon; the fabric flower corsages by Lucy Smethurst, and Chain Of Daisies' vintage gem earrings and bird necklaces and bracelets (I can't stop buying things with bird motifs at the moment).

There are also plenty of homewares and tablewares. Bethan Jones offers up ceramics, while Hannah Lovett, Emily Jackson and Geoff Hall have all worked with recycled glass.

Geoff has also created a special display using recovered glassware, recycled scrap window panes and flameworked scientific glass tubing, and it's worth the trip for this alone. Called "The Alchemist", this three-tier exhibit makes full use of one of the three-sided cabinets near the bar, so each face reveals one of the three stages in the alchemical process: Nigredo, Albedo and Rubedo. The craftmanship, attention to detail and even historical link to the Royal Exchange demonstrated is amazing: go see!

Crafty idea

Upcycling is a word I'm hearing more and more, although it doesn't seem to have made its way into the Oxford English Dictionnaire yet - at least not the free online version anyway. Never fear, Wikipedia is always on hand to come to the rescue in times of missing popular culture references crises; indeed here you'll find that upcycling is defined as: the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. In other words, it just goes to show that one man's trash really is another man's treasure.


As if to prove this, an upcoming exhibition at the Royal Exchange Craft Shop sees up-and-coming contemporary craft makers showing and selling homewares, jewellery and accessories inspired by upcycling. The special commissions are by students on the MA in Design at MMU and include Catherine Chester, whose intricate and interesting earrings (pictured) are made from recycled watch components. There will also be pieces for sale by established makers and local craftspeople, so if you didn't even know the Royal Exchange had a craft shop, this gives you the perfect opportunity to bob along and check it out.

The Upcycled show launches with a special preview 12-3pm on Saturday 5 February and then runs until Thursday 31 March, with a special free workshop event on Saturday 5 March. It is part of the Take Stock project which the lovely Craft Shop ladies, Rachael and Gail, are running in conjunction with The Crafts Council. More info can be found on the website, blog, Facebook and Twitter, and you can expect a review here once it's all underway.

Ho ho ho, the green giant

Chorlton's Big Green Festival is back this week, and it's bigger and better! (I would say that, of course, given that I'm on the press and publicity committee. Still, at least I register my interests.) Tonight, there's the last in a long line of fringe events, which have included live gigs, film screenings and a scarecrow competition (you may have wondered what those creations were around and about the sunny suburb, including at Oddest bar, Busy Bees toy shop and at various outlets along Beech Road). From 7.15pm Chorlton's Big Green Festival presents What Next?, an interesting evening of varied talks on positive ways to fight climate change and Q&As by guest speakers followed by a discussion on how to get Chorlton green. It's free and refreshments will be available.

On Saturday, it's the big day, the main festival, which kicks off at 11am and runs through to 11pm. There will be music and dancing, just like at the Copacabana. Also for your delectation and delight there will be plenty of arts and crafts stalls; a Big Green Bike Parade, Critical Mass-stylee; various workshops, from wild food foraging and herb identification to birdbox painting and plantpot making; a fashion show and clothes swap; a plant swap and allotment trips; films showing in not one but two cinemas, and more tasty and locally sourced food and drink than you can shake a Morris dancer's stick at. As you'd expect, everything's eco, ethical and environmentally sound, but it's all brought to you in a fun and friendly way!

I'll see you there...

Glocal warning

Buzzword of the week is "glocal". It was in that Up In The Air movie I was harping on about yesterday (since announced as a nominee for the Best Picture gong in the upcoming Academy Awards; obviously my glowing review must have swayed the judging panel). The young upstart teaches the old dogs new tricks by informing them that they need to be moving from thinking global to thinking local: in other words, they need to go glocal.


Glocal is also the title of my Chorlton pal Jeff Heie's short film, which had a successful Big Green big-screen premiere on Saturday night. It tells the true tale of an American family's move to Manchester and their attempt to lead a more sustainable existence. Giving up a gas-guzzler for a bunch of bikes, swapping supermarkets for local shops and foregoing fast food in favour of homegrown produce, the Heies show how easy it is to break free from the consumption-obsessed lifestyle so common in the West. We're hoping to show it again at the main day of Chorlton's Big Green Festival on 27 March - come on down and you may even be lucky enough to see some of the stars on the green carpet!