Craft Crunch Mother's Day gift guide

Alert, alert!

Mother's Day is fast approaching - Sunday 22nd March, only two weeks away...

The incredible woman who did your laundry, cooked your meals and stayed up all night mopping your brow when you were poorly deserves something better than a last-minute box of chocolates or a bunch of carnations from the petrol station.

With Craft Crunch as your guide, there's no excuse for shoddy gifts! We've put together the ultimate guide for your Mother's Day needs. You'll probably end up coming away with something for yourself, too...

You have two Saturdays left to visit the girls on the I Like Birds stall on Broadway Market. You're sure to find something Mum will treasure forever among the handmade earrings, brooches and other trinkets. Prices start at £10 for a pair of earrings.

A few stalls down is Kim with her Lucky Bird cards and recycled bags. Everyone we've given one of Kim's cards to so far has absolutely loved them, so you are sure to be on to a winner here. Prices start at £3.

Also on Broadway Market is Almendra, where you'll find Anna selling her gorgeous hand-bound notebooks, as well as (she assures us!) some very special Mother's Day cards. Prices start at £8 for a fabric bound book.

You only have next Sunday the 15th (or a very early start on the 22nd!) to pop over to Sunday Upmarket off Brick Lane to catch Eduardo and Silvana at their Beyond Fabrics stall. Here you'll find an array of homewares fashioned from vintage inspired fabrics. Prices start at £3.50 for a card or you can really impress that mother of yours and buy her one of their lovely cushions for £28.

A few stalls over is Andrea Garland with her cute vintage tins containing soothing muscle balm, lip balm and larger tins (such as the one pictured below) containing travel sized jars of face cream, toner, cleanser, etc - the perfect gift for a mother in need of pampering! All are completely unique and once you've cleared out the tin you can return it to her for a re-fill. Prices vary according to the tin the product is housed in, but expect to pay upwards of £8.

If you missed I Like Birds at Broadway Market on Saturday, you'll also find them here, just around the corner from Andrea.

Click here to find out more about I Like Birds, here for Lucky Bird, here for Almedra, here for Beyond Fabrics and here for Andrea Garland.

Also, people, it is important to remember that what your poor Ma would really like on Mother's Day is to see or hear from you! So don't forget to call, visit, or better yet, cook her a delicious Sunday roast!

Almendra: bookbinder

We first spotted Anna's stall on Broadway Market last Saturday but were ill prepared so went back this morning to speak to her and soak up some of the unexpected sunshine!



A Fine Art graduate, Anna makes beautiful fabric-bound notebooks by hand, using only recycled paper and stitching all the pages together herself. They are exquisite enough to inspire any budding novelist. I've never been one for keeping a diary, but having looked at these today I'm beginning to think I should...

She also makes packs of notelets priced at £3.95 each, with butterflies and other intricate designs cut from the pages of newspapers. The small notebooks are £8 each while the larger size is £12.

"As a student I loved stationery and after a period of travelling I decided to make use of my Fine Art skills and do more craft-based stuff. I love being on Broadway Market because it has such a lovely atmosphere and sense of community".
Name: Anna Wiscombe
From: Camden
Is: bookbinder
Brand/label: Almendra

Anna's covetable books are currently only available from her stall on Saturdays at Broadway Market. She can be contacted at almendradesigns@hotmail.co.uk

Every Day Life: menswear

We found fashion designer Jonas dancing to Italo-disco tunes in a store on a very cold day on Broadway Market. But it wasn't his moves that caught our eyes, no siree! It was the imaginative designs on his t-shirts and jumpers. Geometric shapes play with nature-inspired patterns on these lovely garments.

At £25 for a t-shirt, they may not be the cheapest out there, but they're less than you'd pay at Liberty for something much less inspiring. Mind you, if you pop down to see Jonas on Broadway Market, you could try and negotiate a good price by throwing some shapes for him.

"I love the freedom of working for myself. But I hate having cold fingers on days like these".

Name: Jonas Altman, 32
From: Shoreditch, London
Is: Fashion designer
Brand/label: Every Day Life

Jonas sells Every Day Life on Broadway Market in Hackney on Saturdays. No One (Shoreditch), Gloria's (Dray Walk) and The Social (Hampstead) also stock his designs. You contact him via this site.

Lucky Bird: bespoke printing

Sorry for the lack of activity over the last week - we've been away!

We're back now however, and hit Broadway Market in Hackney this morning to see what's happening around there.

We immediately spotted Lucky Bird, a little stall covered in beautiful hand printed greetings cards (£3), leather key rings, wooden 'sticks' (50p) which make excellent bookmarks and very cool (and very now) recycled shopping bags (£15) made from old market sacks.

Lucky Bird has been on Broadway Market for four years. Everything is hand printed using inks and hot foils on recycled materials.

"It's a great way to test the market and I love meeting the other traders. Although not when it's too cold!"

Name: Kim Jenkins, 42
From: Kingsland Road, Hackney
Is: Graphics, printing
Brand/label: Lucky Bird

You can find Kim's gorgeous creations on Broadway Market on a Saturday and in Liberty, Magma, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the Barbican. If you would like to find out more, you can contact Kim at kim@luckybird.co.uk