Wednesday 28 December 2011

Festivities and the first Marvellous Meeting... Bring on 2012!

Well.....

Thats that over for another year then! We have had an absolutely fabulous Christmas time, with wonderful family and friends, beautiful food, lovely presents and some really funny tv programs to watch. The shop of stuff being one of the highlights! An absolute Dickins piss-take with hilarious consequences... not to be missed! Catch it on I-player...

Best played after Eight.

Another highlight was that of watching my family attempt to get an 'after Eight' chocolate from their forehead to their mouths without using their hands. Yes it looks as silly as it sounds. Lay the mint on your forehead (without the wrapper) and wriggle, shake, wobble your face, changing expressions fast helps to slowly ease the sweet down to somewhere you can reach it with your tongue. Word of advice, take it in turns so you can watch each person's attempts, have a video camera to hand and a few face-wipes nearby!

..............................

MollyQueen is taking a well deserved and much needed break over Christmas and into the New Year, with no events planned for January at all and the possibility of a mini one in February. There will be marvellous meetings though, so if you are a keen creative and want to be involved in the Mollyqueen Collective please read on!

MollyQueen's Marvellous Meeting

All those people that have been a part of MollyQueen throughtout 2011 are invited to the first Marvellous Meeting @ The Loft
on Tuesday 17th January
from 7pm

It will be a 'make session' so please bring something to work on, be it your knitting, a sketch or two, a painting (not too messy!) or a model made out of pipe-cleaners. Whatever your medium, use it to keep your fingers busy while we get together to plot and plan what is in store for MollyQueen in 2012.

This is an open invite, if you are unsure of whether or not you wish to be involved and want to know what its all about please get in touch or pop along, its a fun and social event as well as being incredibly serious and business minded (ha!).

Other than that, we'll see you all in 2012 for lots of creative fun, events and marvellous events.

Happy New Year one and all!

If anyone is free tonight, thats the 28th December, get yerselves down to the Bodega Social for Sounddhism - AMAZING lineup.... dont miss out!

Miraculous Miracles and Heaven sent Holidays

Mollyqueen xx


(Mansfield Road, Nottingham City Centre)

Wednesday 21 December 2011

MollyQueen is away for Christmas!

Not away as in 'abroad drinking cocktails on a beach' but
merely away from any events organising or boring business stuff, We'll be back in the new year with some amazing new ideas, regular crafty make-sessions and a new resident evening in a local venue 5 mins from the city centre..... with none other than the fabulous UnderGround Bakery.

We are looking forward to re-launching our website and blog, doing lots and lots of featured profiles on the wonderfully talented people surrounding us and spending time doing the things we love; making stuff and being creative.

Thanks to everyone who has supported us throughout the year, we are looking forward to recruiting mollyqueeners in the new year who want to be involved in our creative projects and have a bit of time to spare...
email if you're interested- themollyqueen@googlemail.com

Otherwise, have a LOVELY January, and Fabulous February and we'll be back by the end of that month, with a MARVELLOUS MAKE-OVER.

See you on the otherside, people!

xx MQ xx

Saturday 17 December 2011

Only a few days to go!

Yes, its nearly The Christmas Night Market!

Here's a list of fantastic artists that will be there showcasing their wares amongst the scent of mulled wine, gorgeous tapas food and the sounds of live music from Adam Peter Smith...

Loree Bologna and her gorgeous jewellery range

Bonnie Creations with record bowls, jewellery, photography and more

Cara Amira performing LIVE henna tattoos and selling her gorgeous range of jewellery and accessories

Rose Handmade Clothing - a wonderful range of gorgeous items in beautiful materials and styles

Kathryn Pyer with some stunning vintage ceramic candles, aprons and fairy tree decorations

Paul Gidley with his wonderful paintings and prints

Ruby loves Flamingo's and her glorious crochet and woolen items, scarves and more

Fiona Shore will be sitting mysteriously and spiritually in the 'tarot cave'

Bees make honey with her AMAZING range of retro, classical and gorgeous denim and fabric bags brooches and clothing

Jo Irvine will be showcasing her beautifully handcrafted jewellery and more

Carrington Beauty and Holistics will be inviting you into the 'living room' for a range of mini treatments including an express facial and massage therapies

Gifts by Genie has an amazing array of felt brooches, badges, hair clips, candle holders, notebooks, pens and other fantastic trinkets to stuff into your stockings

Mwanabibi Sikamo will be showcasing her african jewellery, handmade scarves and gorgeous fabrics...

See these and more on Tuesday @ The Golden Fleece!

Tuesday 13 December 2011

The Night Market - Artist Preview - Tuesday 20th December 6 - 11pm

Here are a few of the artists set to be appearing at:
The Fabulously Festive and Marvellously Merry Christmas Night Market
@ The Golden Fleece, next week...

In the main area infront of the stage, will be none other than The Henna Fairy! The fabulous Cara Amirah from Kuchi Tree with her gorgeous array of fabulous jewellery, accessories and portfolio of her tattoo work.

For an amazing, intricate and perfect henna tattoo, finished with glitter if you desire, The henna Fairy offers a very reasonably priced service LIVE on the night! Select one from her fabulous design book or create your own together, you will be amazed at how fast she works and how amazingly detailed the final piece is.

Be sure to drop by and see her, remember to leave enough time to fully take in all of the amazing jewellery, foxes, stags and owls galore amongst many different styles.

**Images coming soon - my computer keeps crashing!**

**Dont forget, theres live music from Adam Peter Smith and more**

**Gift bags for the first 15 customers**

**mulled wine and drinks offers**

**Tapas tuesday menu**

More to come! Keep checking back over the week for updates, images and sneak peeks!

Bonnie Creations @ The Good Elf

Bonnie Creations will be showcasing their fabulous wares at the mini MollyQueen Craft Fair on the roof Terrace of the Good Elf THIS Saturday 11 - 5pm

Bonnie Creations have an eclectic mix of hand crafted items from jewellery and sock puppets through to fantastically made record bowls, clocks and general decorative items.

Every detail has been thought out with such beautiful presentation, quality and finish. This lady is one creative, multi-tasking, speed-making all round genius. You'll leave her stall feeling refreshed, invigorated, inspired and with bags that little bit heavier than they were before.

Here are some images of the various record creations and more...








Monday 12 December 2011

The Marvellously Merry and Fabulously Festive Christmas Night Market


Twas 5 days before Christmas and all through the town,
The people were rushing to make sure they were down,
For The Christmas Night Market the most epic of nights,
Wearing polka dot dresses and sparkly tights.

The artists are busy with their fantastic wares,
Mulled wine and brandy dissolving ones cares,
The party spirit so merry, jolly and gay,
Will make the week's worries just wither away.

So fabulous and festive, with REAL Christmas cheer,
And access to a bar selling wine and nice beer,
Fantabulous music, photography and more,
With sparkly tinsel all around the door.

Fairy lights and decorations right up to the roof
And on the ceiling the echo of a reindeer hoof,
Dont be sad, dont be silly, dont miss out girls and boys,
Or Santa wont bring you ANY new toys.

Proudly presented by The UnderGround Bakery and MollyQueen Decoupage, the CHRISTMAS NIGHT MARKET is back, with Tarot in the tiny room, miniature manicures and express facials, with massage therapies in the 'living room', wonderful jewellery, stocking stuffers, Henna Body art and much much more, really NOT a day to be missed.

There's also an 'In the box' project to get involved with AND the fantastic 'thought box' to provoke you to express your opinions.

Live Music from Adam Peter Smith and more...

Keep checking back for Artist breakdowns and sneaky, peeky previews!

Tuesday 20th December, between 6 and 11pm

**First 15 customers through the door get a treat-bag too!**

**Tapas Tuesday Menu**

**Mulled wine and drinks offers**

Bibusa - Ethical gifts from Africa - Featured Artist Profile

Bibusa will be showcasing at the 
Mini Craft Fair @ The Good Elf on Saturday 17th Dec 
11am - 5pm

Find us on the roof terrace of The Good Elf in The market square, facing the council house and situated in front of the fountains as a part of the 
'Christmas Market'.

This wonderful company was set up promote the best of Africa and support sustainable development through the encouragement of skills training. The lovely lady who runs this company has a dream, to one day run a manufacturing facility in Zambia!

Ethically produced Jewellery, Clothing, Gift ware and home-ware


Founded in 2011, bibusa Products are either made in Africa or made with African fabric, by a lovely lady who writes the most refreshing and interesting blog we have come across in a long time! The most heart warming piece in my opinion is this one, which lets you in to Mwanabibi's perspective a little, introduces you to her humour and nature, setting you up perfectly for delving into the rest of the blog, which has some fascinating subjects ranging from humanitarian issues in Africa and across the world through to feminism and the effects of mass media on women worldwide. If you are into blog reading and have any sort of passion for any of the topics mentioned, this is the one to follow.


Here are some images of Bibusa's items, be sure to pop by and say hello!









A big Christmas Thankyou to all who attended the Artists and Makers event on Saturday!

A massive thank you to all the amazing stallholders that came along on Saturday and put so much effort into their fantastic displays on the day. Every stall was oozing pure talent and each and every tiny detail was beautiful, well thought out and incredibly well presented. Here are some images of the stalls, next year will be even more amazing, with hopefully a few more customers turning out to see the event in person!

Every single person who attended was very impressed with the range and quality of items on show, so i'd really like to thank everyone for their time and effort. A fantastic day had by all! Well done you!

I suppose the musicians can have a thankyou, too, thats Adam Peter Smith for your lovely voice, music and compere abilities, Alexa and Martin for filling the venue with your soulful sounds, Ali Bonsai for being just plain beautiful and William Jeffery for saving the day. Mollyqueen loves you all!

The UnderGround Bakery was once again impossibly perfect, with edible christmas decorations, gingerbread houses, gorgeous canapes and the most amazing gumbo stew i've ever tasted. Thanks Beth!


































Saturday 10 December 2011

Real Christmas Trees! Live Music! Arts and Crafts! TODAY!

The day is finally upon us!



Don't forget you can get your REAL Christmas trees here today, the wonderful Thompson Twins from Haydn road Green Grocers will be selling their fantastic and locally sourced trees at very reasonable prices! 

We've 25 stalls of amazing hand crafted, designed and made items, the UnderGround Bakery will be serving Hot Winter warmer soup, gingerbread houses and more.

We've got cakes, mulled wine, mince pies and lots more.

Live music throughout, including the wonderful Alexa Hawksworth and Martin Bentley, Ali Bonsai, Adam Peter Smith, Louis Scott, Will Jeffery and more!

The Nottingham Workshop
247 Noel Street, Nottingham NG7 6AR

(Opposite the old swimming Baths/The New Climbing Centre)

11 - 5pm Daytime Fair
7 - 10pm Night Market and Christmas Party

See you there!

Friday 9 December 2011

Twas the eve of the Tenth

Tis the eve of the Tenth and all through the city,
Artists and Crafters are making things pretty,
The Christmas tree sellers are loading their van,
The Bakery sizzling away with her pan......

Thats right, Its the Nottingham Workshop Art and Design Event TOMORROW!

Here's a full list of amazing artists and crafters that will be there showcasing their brilliant work, including music listings...

Dont forget there'll be a mini forest of REAL CHRISTMAS TREES which the Thompson Twins will be selling from the front area of the venue. 
(so thats better value than anyone else locally and hilarious conversation too!)

Music
Doors open 11am
1pm - Alexa and Martin Bentley
2pm - Adam Peter Smith

(Doors close between 5 - 7pm)

7pm - Ali Bonsai
8pm - Louis Scott
9pm - Will Jeffery

(Doors close at 10pm)

And here's the list of fabulous stall holders,
artists, makers, bakers, shakers and more:

Truly Hooked
Enchanted Art
Rose Handmade Clothing
Gifts by Genie
Amy Hoddinott Designs
Arella Baby
The UnderGround Bakery
Jan Merryweather
The Butler's Wife
Jan Palmer
Glad Turnings
Laura Ewart
Leanne Trappe
Ali Brusby
Mwanabibi Sikamo
Joseph Kelly
Paul Gidley
Chris Winson
Adrienne Hodges
MollyQueen Decoupage

and MORE! 

Dont forget:

**Gift bags for first 40 customers**

**mulled wine, mince pies and more**

**Scrummy food and treats**

**New pop - up shop Launch**

**Space available to rent for future creative projects**

See you all there!





Monday 5 December 2011

5 more sleeps to go!

Thats right, Only 5 more sleeps until the amazing array of artists and crafters, makers, designers, bakers and more take over the Nottingham Workshop for the biggest MollyQueen/Workshop event yet.

Saturday 10th December @ The Nottingham Workshop
247 Noel Street, Nottingham
(opposite the old swimming baths)

We've music from Adam Peter Smith, Alexa Hawksworth and Martin Bentley, Louis Scott, Ali Bonsai and more throughout both events, with food and fabulous creations from our fantastic stall holders.

There'll be scrummy food from the UnderGround Bakery and drinks on offer too!

Scroll back for featured artist previews; Lots more coming this week!

Daytime 11 - 5pm
Evening 7 - 10pm

See you there!

Wednesday 30 November 2011

Amy Hoddinott and Arella Baby @ The Nottingham Workshop Event

Amy Hoddinott - An Artist Preview

Amy is an Illustrator and Designer.  She loves creativity and using traditional media. She likes to seek out our individuality, which is what makes us all unique and this is encompassed magnificently in her designs. She currently works at the design studio 'Nutshell' and is free for commission based work. Amy's work consists of her gorgeous hand made plush owls, beautifully designed and created cards and lots more. Here are some images from her website of previous work, see Amy and more @ The Nottingham Workshop on Saturday 10th December.






Arella Baby- An Artist Preview

Arella Design will be showcasing their Arella-baby range at the Nottingham Workshop event, with beautiful handmade works, limited editions and items that cannot be found anywhere on the high street.
Arella Baby have a gorgeous range of quirky baby blankets and quilts, gorgeous vintage inspired shoes and lots of adorable baby accessories and clothing.  So if you have a baby shower to attend or are expecting a baby yourself, we hope you'll see something different and very unique for the new arrival.

If you like what you see, why not entrust your home decoration to Arella? They also offer an interior design service that echoes the quality and quirkiness of their clothing items. come on down and have a chat if you'd like to know more!

Here are some images of Arella Baby's work








 Scroll back for more artist previews, lots more coming soon! We've lots of fabulous stall holders confirmed, with some fantastic music from

Alexa Hawksworth and Martin Bentley

Adam Peter Smith

Louis Scott

Ali Bonsai

and more TBC!

The Nottingham Workshop Christmas Art and Design event
Saturday 10th December

In TWO parts!

11 - 5pm  daytime fair
7 - 10pm Night Market and Christmas Party

See you there!

**Live music and entertainment throughout**

**Goodie bags for the first 40 customers**

**Mulled wine and Mince Pies**

**The UnderGround Bakery**

**New Pop-up Shop Launch Party**

**Creative spaces for future creative projects available to hire**

and more!!