Debbie Shrimpton Illustrates: scene-stealing gifts!

Liz Nicholls

creative

Local creative & cover artist Debbie Shrimpton created her first illustration during lockdown. Today, her joyful portraits make heartfelt gifts

For 20 years mother-of-two Debbie Shrimpton worked as a childrenswear fashion designer. After more than a decade with M&S, she’d gone freelance and was comfortably set in her career, working with retailers all over the world. But then the coronavirus hit… “All retailers stopped using freelance designers due to excess stock and an enforced change to their in-house systems,” she recalls.

“During lockdown I was home schooling my children Poppy and Rosie with the added pressure of having no income for us.

“I had to find a way to diversify and generate an income fast. My friend’s birthday was approaching and as I couldn’t choose a gift in a shop I decided to draw her home, pop it in a frame I already had and give her a present saying: ‘Sorry this is the best I could come up with’. My friend was so delighted with her house portrait that she encouraged me to advertise on the local Facebook groups offering house portraits.”

That first Facebook advert in 2020 revealed a market. “Within two weeks I had received 18 orders for house portraits for people I didn’t know,” says Debbie. “This gave me confidence that I had created something people (other than my friends!) wanted to buy.”

Because house portraits were only saleable to one customer, Debbie decided to build a portfolio of Loved Local Landmark illustrations starting with all her favourites. She has an ongoing series of High Street illustrations of beloved market towns, including Amersham, Chesham, Wendover and Great Missenden. “One of my favourite places to illustrate has been the Sunflower Fields near Wigginton,” says Debbie. “This was inspired by visits to the PYO sunflower fields with my children: it’s such a mesmerising, happy sight and I believe I’ve captured this happiness in my illustration. It’s proved to be one of my best-selling illustrations along with the stunning bluebell woods, another of my favourite local scenes.”  

Her illustrations can take anything from four hours to several days – and Debbie now has quite a collection. “I have now drawn more than 400 houses, 200 cars and campervans, more than 75 wedding venues, 100+ business premises, 14 aeroplanes, many pubs and 35 Loved Local Landmarks,” she smiles.  

“I’ve done many unusual bespoke commissions for customers including a scaffold yard as a memento before demolition, a wild swimming pond, a treasured beach hut, a football ground, a memorable cricket match, an aeroplane flying over a donkey, and even a spot where a customer proposed to capture that memory.  

“I’ve been asked to do draw people but have declined as how people look is much more subjective… Buildings, vehicles and landscapes are more straightforward! I sometimes include silhouettes of people with their dogs walking in their favourite locations or pets outside homes but don’t like to draw detailed portraits of faces.”  

Thus far about 70% of Debbie’s commissions have been in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire but she continues to grow her portfolio. “This year I bought a Debbie Shrimpton Illustrates branded gazebo and I’ve done numerous markets and shows, including the St Francis Hospice Classic Car Show, Hyde Heath village fete & car show, Ashridge House Garden Party, Redbourn Classic Car Show, Lucky Duck Makers Market, Peterley Manor Farm Christmas market and Chiltern Made, to name just a few.” 

The latest string to Debbie’s bow has been hosting illustration workshops in primary schools as a visiting local artist. She has inspired children with her story of resilience and adapting to change and taught step-by-step classes to draw landmarks, encouraging confidence in creativity and giving an example of a career created out of something she loves. 

“The positive response I’ve had has been overwhelming. The support from my local community, especially to promote me and commission me has been incredible. But the biggest surprise has been how grateful and complimentary my customers have been. After so many years working in the fast- paced world of fashion, I’m used to working under pressure, to tight deadlines churning out designs without seeing the joy on the customer’s face when they purchase. Meeting my customers has been fantastically rewarding and motivating. The feedback I get is heart-warming. Some of my illustrations have even brought tears to the recipient’s eyes.” 


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Divine dining with Christmas tablescape ideas

Karen Neville

creative

A B Events Hire in Woking have fabulous creative ideas to help you wow your guests with a festive table that’ll really make you the host with the most

Christmas dinner is the time when friends and families come together to spread love and joy over the most special meal of the year. It’s also the perfect time to create an inviting show stopping tablescape for all the family to sit around.

You don’t need to get your tinsel in a tangle, styling a festive table doesn’t need to be expensive and can be created using handmade decoration, hiring items, and using what you have at home.

Here are our top tips for creating a festive table that’ll make you the envy of all

Start with thinking of a theme. Will you go for a white wonderland table, Elf candy canes or something like a natural Scandi Nordic look? Having a theme can add instant fun or a luxurious element to the tablescape. Plus, it helps with the décor decisions.

Do you have enough seats for everyone or chairs that match? You can hire extra chairs and benches to make sure your guests aren’t sitting on the floor or guests aren’t on office chairs. Have a matching set to give your table the extra wow factor. You could hang a little Christmas wreath, mistletoe, bells, or big bow to the back of your chair. This is a great way to bring your theme into all areas of your Christmas tablescape.

Linen always adds a luxurious feel to a table, but you don’t need to necessarily buy it! This can be hired for a fraction of the price. If you don’t want a full tablecloth, you could always use a runner down the centre of the table. This will add texture, a pop of colour without covering the whole table. Napkins matching the colour scheme will look wonderful, plus, you could be creative and fold your napkins into Christmas trees!

Incorporate all the beautiful festive foliage and pretty winter flowers into your table set up. Why not go foraging for ivy, holly, mistletoe, and fire tree to create a table runner? Then add in elements like pinecones, small baubles, faux foliage in golds/silvers etc. Remember to think about the height of the centrepiece, your guests need to be able to see other, without a great big candelabra blocking their view! Use odd numbers of items, it creates a much more pleasing effect on the eye.

A cost-effective décor idea is to make pomanders and place along the table runner and decorate pillar candles by slicing oranges and drying them, to then tie them with cinnamon sticks and twine around the candle. A Christmas tablescape wouldn’t be complete without some fairy lights intertwined around the foliage, and main centrepiece.

A great tablescape is all about layers! At AB Event Hire we’re conscious about the environment and stay away from one-use plastic throw-away items. Instead of buying new tableware, hire it in at a fraction of the price. Not only does it help reduce waste, but we can wash it up for you too! Use matching plates, cutlery and glasses to create an instant cohesive feel to the tablescape. Charger plates add a special element to the table, they can add textures and colours without overpowering the setting, these can easily be hired in too.

Personal touches – will you create name tags for each guest or leave a little Christmas present at their seat? A handmade salt dough decoration or a candy cane with a name tag on could make a heartful gesture to a family member.

For more information about how to hire items & tips on creating Christmas tablescapes, head to AB Event Hire social media pages @ab_event_hire or our website www.abeventhire.co.uk.

AB Event Hire is a family fun wedding, event & catering equipment company. They’re based in Woking and can supply you with all the items you might need to create a perfect festive celebration. Get in touch, they would love to hear from you. Telephone number 01276 856440 and the office email is [email protected].

Makers & shakers!

Liz Nicholls

creative

Local businesswomen Libby Witney & Chloe Blair tell us more about the RenARTgades Modern Makers Fair – the next one is Saturday 3rd September!

Libby & Chloe wanted to bring more attention to the amazing local makers and encourage people to shop small whenever they can.

They knew each other from going to markets with their individual businesses. Chloe, whose business is Peaches and Tea, is a polymer clay artist who makes jewellery, accessories, DIY kits and teaches workshops at various local locations. Bright and colourful earrings, focusing on bold shapes and designs are Chloe’s speciality.

I never have a plan of what I want to make, I just start making and follow the journey

She says: “I just make whatever makes me happy, what colours I’m drawn to at the time and go with the flow! I want to make things that make people happy – both the person wearing them and the people who notice them! I want to make art for your ears, I never have a plan of what I want to make, I just start making and follow the journey.” Everything is handmade in her Newbury studio and even her small children have shown an interest in clay, the colours, and the need for quality cookie cutters…

Libby is the owner of Magpie and the Mob, an online colourful shop of awesome things for your home and life, all 100% made and designed by independent UK makers. She also runs workshops with The Ugly Duckling Pottery Cafe where you can learn how to paint different styles of lettering on your pottery. The idea for Magpie and the Mob began during the 2021 lockdown, while Libby was teaching art remotely to her secondary school students. “I made it my mission to try and support all these makers who bring me such joy online, by buying from them and spreading the word in a time where physical markets weren’t allowed. When my husband said to me that I didn’t have the space or money to keep doing this, I turned it into a business! And it became Magpie and the Mob!”

RenARTgades attracted more than 700 visitors to their last event, with stall-holders saying it’s just what Newbury needs.

If we don't support local businesses, they disappear

We ask Libby (LW) & Chloe (CB) to share their love for local…

Q. What do you love about this area?
CB: “The people! There are so many people who appreciate the tiny businesses we showcase and understand the importance of shopping small to keep these brilliant businesses running.”

LW: “We’ve both lived here all our lives, we went to school here and grew up here. I love being this close to the canal and lovely places to walk, as well as some amazing local business where you will find me spending a lot of my time!”

Q. Why should we all support local?
LW: “People are always saying we need more independents but if we don’t support local businesses, they disappear. It’s so difficult for small businesses at the moment with the increasing prices, let alone having to compete with large companies, there are far too many billionaires in the world that don’t need our money!”

CB: “We have more bills and taxes to pay than Elon Musk! Your money to him is a drop in the insanely deep pond, to small businesses it’s dinner for tonight and fuel there and back to get the weekly shop – they need it and vastly appreciate it more than the bigger brands!”

Some countries around the world have even started prescribing creative activities to help people with their mental health

Q. Do you think we all need more colour and creativity in our lives?
Both: “YES! Every single person has the ability to be creative, you just need to find your outlet. There are so many benefits to getting creative, some countries around the world have even started prescribing creative activities to help people with their mental health. The world can be so grey and miserable.”

Find out more

The next RenARTgades fairs at The Globe Garden, Newbury, RG14 5HB, are on Saturday, 3rd September, 29th October (a Halloween special), 19th November (Christmas lights switch-on) and Friday, 16th December (evening Christmas fair + live music).

Keep memories alive with Fusions Craft

Round & About

creative

Discover millions of creative and crafty ways to share your life stories for future generations

In the time of the most advanced technology on record, the most money humankind has ever had, and more ways to get entertained you could possibly wish for, the strange truth is that the levels of stress, depression, and anxiety are also the highest they’ve ever been.

According to studies, children doing GCSEs today experience the same levels of stress as veterans in the times of the Vietnam war. How did it happen exactly that as we’re moving faster and faster toward the next thing exclusively designed to make us happy, we often feel like the most important thing is missing?

How does today’s lifestyle affect our mental health and what psychological benefits can art provide? Is it true that art cleanses your soul? And if it does, could it make you feel so much better you’ll actually feel the difference?

According to the world-renowned scientist Mikhailo Csikszentmihalyi, the feeling of flow created by intensely crafting (for example, writing, scrapbooking, working with clay) can cardinally change your life, infusing it with never before seen clarity, passion, purpose, and quantifiable changes in happiness. Don’t take our word for it though!

Although it can feel like modern technologies have taken over our lives to the point where our phones are controlling how we feel, how much time we spend with our family, and who watches our every move, you’ll find that there is one simple solution that includes a surprisingly old technology.

Have you ever felt that visceral emotion brought back by music or perfume or place when you remember your loved ones? Memories could very well be the most important thing in our lives, and it would be a great shame for them to fade with time.

As a family business, we know there’s nothing more important than family. With Fusions Craft, you can discover a panacea to stress, frustration, and a way of stopping the frenetic rat race and slowing downtime to a halt so you can spend it in a truly Buddhist fashion, inspecting scrapbooks you created.

In the days to come, the next generations will cherish these and learn about you with tender wonder. It’s one thing to hear about your grandma’s life story, but it’s entirely different to see the photos and feel the smell of the ink.

Fusions Craft specializes in the almost lost art of keeping your memories alive. Starting off as a small hobby, the craft unfolded and grew like a flower leaning toward the sun; soon it became a family business that specializes in scrapbooking supplies: if you need
• Paper & Card,
• Scrapbooking paper,
• Stencils,
• Embossing powder and Moulds
• and tons of other supplies you can possibly think of, you’re in the right place.

Why Fusions Craft?

Fusions craft is about so much more than photo albums. We provide you with every tool you can think of so you can produce nothing less than works of art to tell the most amazing stories, like so:

With stencils, moulds, flowers, embellishments, stamps, sprays, and much, much more, you can discover the magic of artistry that can be taken with you anywhere.

Learn of a million different ways of decorating the pages of your love stories, family sagas, photos of children and travels, adventures, tales of forest fires and heroic doctors, life wisdom learned from the darkest nights, indescribable beauty and courage and faith – with items that best reflect the emotions that will now, thanks to your contribution, will never be lost to the world.

2020 may have been called the most difficult year in history, but it also saw humans at undoubtedly their best: we saved animals in burning forests, spent more time with our family and loved ones, cried together, got saved by governments we criticized so much, stoically battled the virus and died like heroes, gave each other masks, and helped strangers.

Fusions Craft is your chance to let those who will come after know how we stood together even though we were forced to be apart. Create postcards, panels, decorate boxes, build mesmerizing scrapbooks with photos of your loved ones, adventures, your stories, unique moments caught on camera, and all those things you’d be heart-broken to forget. Now you never will.

It’s up to you what you want to remember. You could choose to remember this year as the toughest on record. Or you can keep documentary proof that along with everything that happened in 2020, it actually didn’t make us less human but instead much more. How will you remember this year?

Fusions Craft isn’t just a shop. It’s a place where you will write history.

Our Website: fusionscraft.com

Read our tips on creating a locldown time capsule

Cotswold Challenge

Round & About

creative

Teenagers aged 16-19 are being invited to take the Cotswold Challenge for the chance to win cash prizes by showing off their skills and talents.

It is an opportunity for young people, who had their GCSEs and A-levels cancelled, to take part in a challenge to excel and gain a sense of achievement as well as winning a prize.

The Cotswold Challenge has three categories: Art & Design; Creative Writing; Innovation & Entrepreneurial Thinking. Budding artists, sculptors, authors, poets and entrepreneurs can enter one or all three categories as many times as they like.

The Art and Design Challenge

Express your artistic talents in any medium: fine art, graphic design, sculpture, print-making, illustration, photography

The Creative Writing Challenge

Entries are invited for short stories/plays/scripts/poems that could be inspiring, reflective of what’s happening in the world today or thoughts about the future, in any genre

The Innovation and Entrepreneurial Thinking Challenge

Do you have a great idea for a product, service or campaign that would benefit the world? How could we improve the planet or environment or our way of life?

There are four prizes in each category of £500, £300, £150 and £50, which has already been donated in full by several generous sponsors (full list can be seen online).

After the competition, winners will be able to pitch for additional funds to take ‘the next step’ towards showcasing their work eg publishing their poem or short story; staging their own art exhibition or taking their innovative idea to an early prototype stage.

The Cotswold Challenge is a brand new innovative initiative, which launched on Monday, 20th April, and has a deadline for entries of 9pm on Monday, 1st June.

Entry

Entry is free and you can get a briefing pack and entry details

The Cotswold Challenge has been created by The Cotswold Collective – a team of five self-employed, professional business men and women, all of whom are members of the Fairford & Lechlade Business Club: Nigel Chute of Chute Design; Barry Jackson of Aspire Academy; Allison Murray of Allison Murray Design; Chris Roberts MBE, founder of the Fairford & Lechlade Business Club and freelance journalist; and Fiona Scott of Fiona Scott Media