Warm yourself up with some winter woolies

If you're feeling the chill with the recent cold spell then we have the answer - beautiful handknitted goods, yarn to knit your own creations, capes, winter dresses and more! Below is a selection of the items we have in store, but do call in to see the full range...

'Swallows Fly North' a hat pattern from Yorkshire's to Dye For. Also available as a kit.

Yorkshire's to Dye For has some new yarns just in - including Aran weight Falkland wool from organically farmed sheep in the South Atlantic.  There's also some beautiful chunky baby alpaca and some very special cashmere and silk (laceweight).  There are plenty of double knit and other aran weight yarns too, all in natural fibres and all hand dyed.  Some yarns are also available using natural dyes.   Yarn is all sourced from local suppliers.  If you don't see the colour or type of yarn you'd like Barbara will dye some for you to order.  Hats, mittens and accessories are all available in the shop or commission something either for yourself or as a gift.  Knitting and crochet classes can also be arranged.  

Bobbin Around has a range of her beautiful cobweb felted scarves in store.

Cobweb felting is a process which creates a strong piece of work from only one layer of wool, which is lightweight but super warm. The result is finer than other felting methods . Naturally occurring holes are created -hence 'cobweb'- and are part of the attraction of this method. Olive oil soap to produce my scarves, which come in a wide range of colours and are priced at £20 each from Fabrication . This felting method produces a soft lightweight  scarf which can be worn against the skin. After care is easy too, just hand wash, do not spin, just wring out excess water and dry flat on a radiator.

On the clothing front, Ages of Elegance have some gorgeous winter dresses in store (and also make to order so no worrying about finding the right size for you) and Rowan Tree Designs has a variety of elegant capes, wraps and shrugs to keep out the cold.

And once you've bought all your woolies, we have something to help you look after them too...

Keep your winter woolies feeling soft and smelling fresh with Woolly Wash from LITTLE BEAU SHEEP. This gentle washing liquid has a high, natural lanolin content which restores and refreshes your fine woollens and other delicate fabrics. Perfect for this time of year.

Also made from 100% wool are the sheep dryer balls. Simply pop them in your tumble dryer and they will reduce your drying times by separating the layers of laundry, allowing the hot air to circulate. They also eliminate the need for fabric softeners or dryer sheets as they soften clothes naturally, increasing fluffiness and reducing static as the dryer tumbles. They are cute too : )

Post-Christmas discounts

As you might expect, most of our sellers are keen to leave Christmas behind and the shop is fast filling up with more new items every day. This doesn't mean there aren't some bargains to be had in store though, so come on down to find reductions on a some of our sellers remaining Christmas stock, including 25% off selected items from A Royal Fit...

...and at least 20% off Sara V Gartside's beautiful hand painted hearts.

So why not pop in and find out what bargains you can find?

Christmas opening hours

To help you with those last bits of Christmas shopping (or to treat yourself once Christmas is over), Fabrication will be open as following over the Christmas and New Year period:

Sunday 20th  ~  10.30 - 16.30

Monday 21st  ~  10.00 - 18.00

Tuesday 22nd  ~  10.00 - 18.00

Wednesday 23rd  ~  10.00 - 20.00

Thursday 24th  ~  10.00 - 16.30

Friday 25th  ~  CLOSED

Saturday 26th  ~  CLOSED

Sunday 27th  ~  10.30 - 16.30

Monday 28th  ~  10.30 - 18.00

Tuesday 29th  ~  10.30 - 18.00

Wednesday 30th  ~  10.30 - 20.00

Thursday 31st  ~  10.30 - 16.30

Friday 1st  ~  CLOSED

Back to normal from the 2nd January, which is as follows:

Mondays  ~  10.30 - 18.00

Tuesdays  ~  10.30 - 18.00

Wednesdays  ~  10.30 - 20.00

Thursdays  ~  10.30 - 20.00

Fridays  ~  10.30 - 19.00

Saturdays  ~  10.30 - 20.00

Sundays  ~  10.30 - 16.30

Gingham Saturday is here again

Forget Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the second annual Gingham Saturday is here again! Taking place this coming Saturday, 5th December, this event sees the majority of Fabrication's sellers offering discounts on a wide range of items for one day only, so why not pop in and grab yourself a bargain?

It also coincides neatly with Small Business Saturday, and what better way to support your local small businesses than buying your Christmas presents (or a treat for yourself) from a shop full of the work of Yorkshire micro-businesses?

Introducing our new loyalty card...

Saturday saw not just the celebration of our third birthday but also the launch of our new loyalty card scheme. If you were in the shop over the weekend hopefully you'll already have one of these cards in your wallet, if you don't then all you need to do is pop in to the shop and make a purchase over the value of £10 - this will get you your card and your first stamp. 

Stamps are available for every purchase of £10 or over, and the reward for filling your card is a (free) fab Fabrication tote bag - handy not just for future purchases from us but also to keep in your handbag / manbag / car to avoid the new carrier bag charge from larger shops.

Happy 3rd Birthday to us!!!

What a difference 3 years makes! Today marks Fabrication's third birthday, the perfect time to look back at how far we've come.

In the beginning it was just a shell of a shop, with marks on the wall left from the previous occupants:

But it took shape, and in October 2012 we were proud to open our doors to the public with 40 sellers:

180 sellers have joined us since then. Our shop in The Light is brimming with beautiful handmade goods from our 83 sellers, some of whom are still with us from that first day:

In celebration of our shop going from strength to strength we have filled our windows with items from each of our sellers, and there is of course birthday cake to share the celebration with our customers today.

We are also launching our brand new store loyalty card, as a thank-you to all our customers for keeping on supporting us. 

Here's to the next three years!

 

Spotlight On The Seller... Font Not Found

Font Not Found was created by husband and wife designers Lucy & Greg Shaw. Both have a life-long love of words, type and big letters, oh and T-Shirts and drawing. So naturally they’ve put together a range of type T-shirts based on their letter sketches.

Lucy is originally from Somerset & Greg from South Yorkshire but both studied Graphic design at college before meeting each other on one of their first Graphic Design jobs in Bradford. They both enjoy working (scribbling) together from their home in Bingley. Lucy constantly has to resist the urge to spell rude words out in product shots.
 

 

Font Not Found currently have two fonts available across kids, women’s and men’s T-shirts, tote bags and gym sacs as custom orders. We’ve been in the fabulous Fabrication shop since June with a selection of our kids T-shirts, where you can also make an order for your letter of choice.

Spotlight On The Seller... Clavis & Claustra

I've always loved heritage, whether it's a crumbling ruin surrounded by ancient trees, an engraved pocket watch passed from one generation to the next, or even the gravitas of Latin with its immense linguistic legacy.  I grew up amid the majestic mills of Bradford and after over a decade in Oxford and London studying literature and working in publishing, I have returned to the magnificent Yorkshire countryside to set up on my own.

This is a very small me, outside Keighley's Cliffe Castle Museum

Clavis & Claustra, 'key & lock' in Latin, represents for me the excitement of discovery, of unearthed secrets, of unlocked treasures, but also the necessity of cherishing and protecting those things which we prize, be they precious relics, people's life stories or the natural world.  Conservation and sustainability are very important to me, which is why my products feature designs which evoke the romance of bygone ages; it's also the reason I upcycle and love chic reusable tote bags.

This is one of my Shuffle the Deck greetings cards made using pre-loved playing cards

This is one of my Quotelets, handmade using upcycled pages of some of my favourite novels

My new supplier of tote bags and aprons is a fantastic company called Vandanamu which I came across at the Women of the World festival.  Their business is invested in cultivating sustainable livelihoods and a thriving community for their workers.  Community means a lot to me, whether it’s supporting my local shops, joining Fabrication, or nurturing links with other businesses and organisations who have goals similar to mine.  There is something uplifting about connecting with a group of other people who share common purpose or interest.


When I come to publish children’s books next year, I will be engaging directly with the audience: I want to foster a close relationship between author, illustrator and reader, and to hear ideas and responses from the children themselves.  The first book explores the importance of welcoming outsiders into your community and including those who are different, all through the eyes of funny little creatures (more details later this year - watch this space).  Celebrating diversity, especially in children’s literature, enables us all as readers to be enriched by a broader range of experiences.

These are two of my suffragette goodies: a Notes for Women notebook and a Deeds Not Words to do list pad

Underpinning my love of diversity is a lifelong belief in equality of all people.  Honouring those who have fought for equality led me to create the suffragette series - that, and a weakness for puns.  In fact, if you’re reading this and you too love a pun, or anything else I’ve mentioned, it would be great to hear from you.  Send me pictures of your favourite heritage sites, fun facts about suffragettes, memories of learning Latin at school, or whatever you fancy.  Because life is more exciting when you share your treasures.


#ShareYourTreasures

Spotlight On The Seller... Word Perfect

 My company name is Word Perfect and I do word art and personalised items for all occasions.

The word art can be any shape and colour and can say anything you like to make it really personalised.

I have been doing this for just over a year now, first of all doing it for fun and then for family and friends. I am very excited to join Fabrication and look forward to working with such a great enterprise.
 
The most popular items are for weddings and babies. I also do other personalised items such as on this day items for special events.

If anyone has any special requests I can be contacted on sarateal@outlook.com or 07429 408254 Orders are ready in one week and will be dropped at Fabrication for the customer to collect and pay. Prices are £20 for small £25 for medium and £30 for large.

I also have a number of items that are not personalised and available to buy off the shelf.

Spotlight On The Seller... Bethanie Yeong

Bethanie was born in Portsmouth, then moved to Norwich for University, and is now based in Leeds! Along with her ethnic background, locations naturally became an important part of her life. Originally using her papercuts as stencils for printmaking, she felt sad to throw away these detailed stencils and decided to frame them.

For as long as she can remember, Bethanie has always been cutting paper. All artwork, including her business cards, are carefully designed and hand-cut with minimum injury to herself!

With a lot of patience, she creates intricate maps and designs to share with everyone. Big or small, her products can personalised to suit all occasions, with a wide range of frames, colours and designs. Bethanie loves to explore different possibilities to frame and display her work, from magically floating her papercuts to protecting them between pieces of acrylic.

Her small products are beautiful pieces of artwork and doubles up as a practical paperweight in the office or at home. Nothing is too small for her to cut out!

She often looks around, thinking, “What am I able to cut out next?” If you have any maps you would like her to transform into a papercut, feel free to drop by the shop or contact her at www.bethanieyeong.com.