Crushed velvet ...

Always on the lookout for innovative sewing projects (we'll be doing another sewing workshops at the Masbro Centre in Hammersmith this autumn) - was stunned by these velvet creations in shop window in central London (Albemarle Street).
Apples, cherries, wafer biscuits,... these are certainly works of art.  Love the pistachio crushed velvet icecream.  All by Deirdre Hawken,  milliner.

Heart of Conflict meetings.....

Holiday flowers in Penzance

A Bank Holiday weekend perhaps but we squeeze in a couple of Heart of Conflict meetings....
First in Penzance with our Newlyn based volunteer who's done some amazing background research on a local saddlemaker during World War One - and unearthed a lot more about the 25th Field Ambulance and the dozens of volunteers from west Cornwall.
Then at the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, where our next exhibition Heart of Conflict: Cornwall's World War One will open this December and run until June next year.

Roots Rebel Skatepark Ghana

Great to hear of this amazing work in Ghana, west Africa, from Tom Hudson our skateboarding friend in Camborne, Cornwall. His shop - Roots  - shares a name with Roots Rebel Skatepark Ghana which is doing some really adventurous, imaginative work thousands of miles away.  Tom's helping with donations from his store.
It's interesting for Bridging Arts too and our partner Azawala - the African art gallery in Brixton (Azawala is on the point of opening new premises - watch this space). We're running a competition for a design for Africa's headwrap with Azawala. Closing date 31 August.

When a skate store is more than just a shop....

Many congratulations to Tom Hudson and Roots Skateshop in Camborne. Tom and his team - and all the many people who support Roots - celebrated the shop's fourth birthday yesterday. 

It's a great commercial success story and also a social success. I've never been in there when the shop is empty. There's always at least one person keen to talk to Tom - or hanging out with friends. It's much more than just a shop.  That's particularly important in a town like Camborne where there's not all that much else on offer (and I say that as someone born and brought up there).

Tom posted this up on Facebook:

"On this day 4 years ago the shop opened its doors for the first time.
The shop has changed a lot since then, there have been major ups and downs, but on the whole, Roots has been a great experience. I've got to meet skateboarders from all over, meet some truly great people and do the one thing I've always wanted to do.
Without the support of skateboarders in Cornwall, the shop wouldn't have lasted as long as it has. So I want to thank everyone who has put their hand in their... pocket and supported, not just the shop, but supported me!"

We're really pleased to be working with Tom on our competition for skateboard design: more on this soon.

Africa takes its turn on the catwalk

Great article in the New York Times on Africa's emerging fashion industry.... Interesting in connection with our competition for an African headwrap design with Azawala, based in Brixton.

How to grow a Weetabix

... a great article by James Meek in a recent London Review of Books on farming in the UK - actually written before Brexit. Now, post Brexit, it's even more of an interesting read. It touches upon so many important points, not least the dependency on migrant labour that we looked at in our work with migrant workers and local communities in west Cornwall - I Packed This Myself.  So what does the future hold?   There's still no real indication that local people will do manual labour on the farms.

Photo by Tom Pilston of Romanian daffodil pickers near Camborne.

Constantine Remembers

It was really uplifting to visit Constantine to see the village remembering those who fought and died in World War One. We heard about this through Scout leader Sue Rosevear, who made contact in the early days of Heart of Conflict.www.heartofconflict.org.uk
There was a parade through the village behind the Band, which then played in the Tolmen Centre as people visited a very impressive exhibition of local artefacts and memorabilia.