Swindon in the Past Lane

Alongside the work of the Friends of Angel's Orphanage supporting the 21 orphaned or abandoned children under their shelter, the charity also creates projects to empower women, to increase their skills base and to give them independence so that they can support themselves and their children. In April 2015 nearly 9,000 people were killed and 22,000 injured when an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 7.8 hit Nepal. Eight million people were affected and many remain homeless a y ear on in what has been described as 'a country of tarpaulins, tents and tin roofed shacks'. We are supporting the Friends of Angel's Orphanage at the Women's Exhibition and Craft Sale. Please visit their stall and if you have some spare coins, please drop them in the collecting boxes. Thank you. The Book project and the women it helps. Himalayan Adventure Girls  is a non-profit organisation with the unique purpose of encouraging young Nepale women to participate in th...

Women's Exhibition and Craft Sale takes place this Saturday, November 12 at the Christ Church Community Centre, November 12, 1-4pm. Our final seller (unless we've mis-counted or forgotten anyone!) is Skyblue Blankets who said: Colour inspiration for my first blanket, made for my granddaughter, came from Lower Shaw Farm where we would visit the Wednesday Cafe and feed the animals and sit on the big red tractor. Since then I have been inspired by sunsets, country walks and the Walled Garden at Lydiard House. Larger blankets fit a single bed while the baby blankets are buggy size. All blankets are made from Acrylic/Nylon or Acrylic yarn, machine washable at 30 degrees.

We are on countdown to the Women's Exhibition and Craft Sale, now just six days away. Meet our 18th seller Dona Bradley with her cards featuring hand-drawn landmark views of Swindon celebrating the 175th anniversary of the town. Printed without colour detail so it can be coloured by either the sender or recipient. Dona also takes commissions to commemorate events such as a graduation, a wedding, moving into a new home or another big event in life: a hand-drawn architectural portrait of the building where it happened. Dona creates the drawing by hand from photographs or sketches, colours the drawing digitally for a modern finish and adds a beautiful hand-watercoloured sky. You can then add personal elements, including text of your choice and a photograph of you, your family or your friends. See her website for more information:  http://www.dona-b-drawings.co.uk/ Women's Exhibition and Craft Sale Saturday November 12 1-4pm Christ Church Community Centre, Old Town. ...

With just a week to go until the Women's Exhibition and Craft Sale here is our 17th stall holder, the ‘Friend’s of Angel’s Orphanage’ who said: Our products are handmade in Nepal by women. We buy from the women to help them stay economically viable and we sell them to make money for our 21 children. This way it is a win/win for us all including people who buy them as beautiful handmade items and help women and children across the world. Please see the website  http://angelsorphanage.com/  or search on facebook to find out more about the orphanage and the work being done to support them. Come and see all our fantastic sellers at Christ Church Community Centre, Swindon next week November 12, 1 - 4 pm.

Two more sellers joining the Women's Exhibition and Craft Sale on November 12 are Emily May Designs and Carter Collectables. Emily says: I'm an artist with a BA Degree in illustration from Bath Spa University. I love to paint with rich colours and vibrancy whereas my illustrations are more delicate using a fine tipped pen line. If you want to buy Emily’s cards online check out her folksy store here:  https://folksy.com/shops/EmilyMayIllustrator Carter Collectables produce their own exclusive range of retro-themed decoupage craft items. These include small items of furniture, bowls, pictures, sculptures, boxes etc. Each one is handmade and therefore unique. Everything is lovingly crafted using 100% genuine and original materials such as comics, sheet music, stamps, games, dress patterns, maps etc. See the facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/CarterCollectables/

For more information about the Women's Exhibition and Craft Sale visit the Swindon Suffragette facebook page. The Swindon Society will also have a stall at our sale, with a display of old photographs of Swindon and an opportunity to meet some of the team and ask them questions about Swindon’s history. From its very beginnings the Society has attempted to record the social history of the area as shown by the camera since the 1850's. The collection contains photographic material on many subjects including the GWR Swindon, Swindon Tramway system, Wilts & Berks Canal, Swindon in both World Wars, school groups, areas of the town including Old Town, Gorse Hill, Rodbourne, surrounding villages and much more. The collection now numbers 15,000 plus images and is used to illustrate presentations to local groups. For more information see the website  http://theswindonsociety.co.uk/  or search facebook. The Swindon Society in action!

Our Women's Exhibition and Craft Sale takes place at Christ Church Community Centre on November 12. For more details visit Swindon Suffragette . Here is a brief profile of one of the sellers who is taking part. Witchy Crafty, our eighth seller says: This is the first time that I have ever tried to sell items that I have made. I have been producing art and crochet items for many years now so many in fact that I need to sell some. If my items prove to be popular then I will look into selling more. I’ve lived in Swindon and the Swindon area for over 30 years now. I have three children and am a reasonably active feminist. She will be selling arts and crafts crochet, tea cup candles, jewellery and original art works so do look out for her stall on the 12th November.

Artkore Mosaics is the fifth seller at the Women’s Exhibition and Craft Sale on 12th November and Lynette told us the following: I have been making mosaics for around 15 years, mainly working on larger pieces but I also like making smaller quirky items to sell at craft fairs. I enjoy making themed teapots which I can also personalise for people. I belong to an arts charity organisation Artsite where I rent my studio (in the Shoebox theatre building). The Swindon Suffragette  team are thrilled to have our very own Artkore Mosaics teapot which we will be displaying on the day. To find out more, including how to commission work, search facebook or check the website:  www.artkoremosaics.co.uk For more information about the Women's Exhibition and Craft Sale visit Swindon Suffragette

We are now on countdown to our Women's Exhibition and Craft Sale on November 12 at the Christ Church Community Centre. For more information visit the Swindon Suffragette facebook page. In no particular order we start our list of sellers with White Flower Lei - luxurious soaps handmade using exquisite, extravagant ingredients. White Flower Lei soaps are hand made by Virginia Hey, the award nominated Australian actress, perhaps most beloved as Zhaan in sci-fi series Farscape, currently living in Swindon. Throughout her adult life, Virginia has pursued her passion for studying natural therapies reiki, nutrition, and homeopathy; as well as perfume and soap de sign. With White Flower Lei Virginia offers a unique sensual experience for the connoisseur of finest perfumed products; handmade soaps with the all-important vegan qualities that consumers crave. Her hand crafted soaps evoke an essence of elegance and natural beauty, to delight and pamper, still, add bliss and well-being ...