Tag: contemporary craft

Winter 2025

Hooperhart

The clocks have gone back and yet again the arrival of winter has taken me by surprise!

It’s been such a busy few months already with new stockists, new products, and winter events to prepare for, which this year are starting EARLY!

You can now find my dioramas, cards and accessories in 3 lovely venues on the Scottish coast – The Beehive in the East Neuk of Fife, Hilde Gallery in East Lothian, and Gallery 48 on the Black Isle. I’ve recently introduced 4 new coastal dioramas to the range, so this has been an ideal development!

This summer I finally stopped procrastinating about going down the greetings cards route (no time to sit down and work out the designs, let alone find a reliable/affordable printer). However, thanks to my studio buddy Alison Price I discovered Redcliffe Imaging and finally did it! The response has been brilliant, and I really wish I had done it sooner. My designs work really well in this format (just a touch bigger than actual size), and I think they are very much appealing to folk who like my work but might not be able afford to buy an original. Plus it’s a great way of getting my work seen by a wider audience…so better late than never!

Now, onto the winter events:

credit: William James Chalmers

I was very honoured to be invited to show my work at Artful 2025. This exhibition showcases work from some extremely talented UK and international artists, all housed in the beautiful Callendar House, Falkirk. Entry is free and the exhibition runs until January 11th, 2026.

The lovely folk at Made In Stirling have also invited me back for another Winter Market:

credit: Made in Stirling

This 2 month market starts on November 2nd and runs until January 3rd, 2026 and is a great place to find gorgeous gifts this winter, all made in Scotland.

Now, onto my in-person events!

Kicking off with a big one! Two days at the fabulous Aberdeen Art Gallery with the tremendous Tea Green

Always a pleasure to take part in, you can a truly phenomenal collection of Scotland’s best artists, makers and designers. If you can’t make it to Aberdeen, I will also be at the beautiful Burrell Collection in Glasgow on Saturday, November 8th ONLY.

On Saturday, November 15th you can find me at Strathearn Arts in Crieff – my first time at this venue, and I am very much looking forward to the hot chocolate and homebaking!

My final in-person event of the season will be the winter weekend extravaganza at our studios in Creative Exchange, Perth – a fun one to end on!

Hope to see you at one of these events but remember if you can’t buy from me in person this year, I will be stocking up my online Folksy shop the week beginning December 8th. And you can always drop me a message through Instagram and Facebook.

Ta ta for now!

Cal x

Long Hot Summer

Hooperhart

It’s been an extremely hot and sticky few months in the studio, with lots of grumbling about the lack of rain and air conditioning! As much as I love the sun it doesn’t make creative endeavours particularly easy, and there’s been no let-up in prepping for this summer’s events…for some reason I always fool myself into thinking the summertime will be relatively relaxed but it never seems to work out that way.

Below are the places and events you can find me/my work this summer:

Made in Stirling

The Made in Stirling Summer Market runs until Sunday, August 31st; I’ve mentioned before that M.I.S. is one of my favourite indie shops, stocking a huge array of gorgeous art, craft and design from Stirlingshire makers. Twice a year they invite makers from all over Scotland to join them for a few months and I was was very happy to be asked back this year! Open every day 10am – 5pm.

Perthshire Open Studios Summer Show

This is the second year I’ve taken part in the POS Summer Show – running until Sunday, August 3rd it is held in the lovely location of the Civic Hall at no. 2 High Street, Perth, down by the mighty River Tay. It’s a great opportunity to see an array of artists’ work in a single location, giving you a taster of the main Open Studios event in September. Open from 10am until 5pm every day, the event is manned by the artists themselves. 

Tea Green at The Burrell Collection & Aberdeen Art Gallery

I’m very much looking forward to being back at the glorious Burrell Collection in Glasgow in two weeks’ time, followed by Aberdeen Art Gallery two weeks after that. Organised by Tea Green Events, these fairs showcase the very best of Scottish artists, makers and designers in absolutely stunning locations so offer a grand day out! You can find me at the Burrell on Saturday, August 2nd, and Aberdeen Art Gallery on Saturday, August 16th. Both are free and open from 10am-5pm.

There’s a slim chance I might have a mini break before Perthshire Open Studios starts on September 6th, although that is very dependent on if I can get a number of projects I have planned suitably nailed by then! More on that another time…

So I hope you can make it to one or more of these lovely events – they’re always a good way to support local creatives and the local economy! I just have to avoid spending all my profits while I’m there…

Back soon with more new work, but in the meantime, TTFN!

Cal

image credits: Made In Stirling, Ceri White, Tea Green, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Hufton & Crow

Spring Exhibitions

Hooperhart

It’s been a while!

Needless to say the first couple of months of 2025 have zipped by – I don’t know why I think I’ will’ll have time at the start of each year to do things like read books, do jigsaws and generally chill-out, it’s never happened yet! And suddenly we’re into March (and joyously) lighter evenings, so I for one am not complaining, it would just be nice if time could slow down for a wee while and give me the chance to catch up…

So anyway I’m here to give you the heads-up on a couple of group exhibitions which you should definitely check out if you can:

Whimsical Imaginings, Artisan And, Aberfeldy:

I’m very happy to be back at Artisan And – a lovely gallery in Aberfeldy in Highland Perthshire. The owner Angela thought the theme of Whimsical Imaginings would suits my work perfectly, and I have to agree! The exhibition is open until March 18th 2025, Thursday-Monday 11am-4pm

New Perspectives, Green Gallery, Buchlyvie:

I’m very excited to be showing at the gorgeous Green Gallery, located outside the village of Buchlyvie in Stirlingshire. New Perspectives is a mixed exhibition showcasing work from artists and makers new to the Gallery, so is sure to be well worth a visit! It’s open 11am – 5pm every day except Thursdays until Sunday 30th March.

Also, I don’t think I’ve mentioned that you can now find my work south of the border! I’ve not long topped up the beautiful Blue Tree Gallery in York with a selection of dioramas and I hope to keep doing so in the future, so if you’re in the area please pop in. One day I hope to do just that – I’ve never been to York but it looks a really fascinating place.

I’ll be back to let you know what else I’ve been up to soon – new things are afoot!

TTFN,

Cal

Winter Events 2024

Hooperhart

So once again time has befuddled me and we are somehow on the cusp of the clocks going back and being plunged into darkness once again. Yes, it’s late October and the busy season is just around the corner, so I’m going to cut to the chase and let you know where you can find me and my work in person this winter.

Tea Green at the Burrell Collection:

On November 9th & 10th I will be returning to the glorious Burrell Collection in Glasgow with Tea Green Events which are always top notch, showcasing the best of Scotland creative talent. Open 10-5, free entry.

Something Different For Christmas:

Another Perthshire one, this time in our nearest village, the delighful Dunning! It’s a special occasion, being SDFC’s 25th and sadly FINAL year, so you will not get another chance to visit this lovely, twinkly, super festive event. Doors open at 11.30am on Sunday, November 17th at Dunning Village Hall, Perthshire.

Creative Exchange Winter Market:

Creative Exchange in Perth is where I spend most of my time – home to my studio share and my part-time job! The winter market will showcase work from super-talented creatives from Perthshire and beyond. PLUS there will be an Open Studios event where you can find, among others, my sibling Ceri White and my studio buddy Ali Price. Not only that – there will be mulled wine AND a pop-up cafe! It’s a great building and a hub of activity so this will be a really enjoyable event.

You can find me there on November 30th & December 1st, 10am-4pm.

The Briggait Winter Market:

Back to Glasgow for my second WASPS event, this time at the beautiful Briggait. There’s been a major refurb and development of the Briggait’s Clydeside Market Halls which is due to be unveiled imminently – another reason to stop by on the market weekend of December 7th & 8th. Doors open 11am – 5pm.

Made in Stirling Christmas Market:

For those who live somewhere in between Perthshire and Glasgow, there’s the Made in Stirling Christmas Market, which runs for 2 months starting on November 4th.

Hope to see you at one of these events but remember if you can’t buy from me in person this year, I will be stocking up my online shops Folksy the week beginning December 9th. And you can always drop me a message through Instagram and Facebook.

Ta ta for now!

Cal x

Perth Museum

Hooperhart

Hello again! I hope you have had a good start to 2024; for one reason and another it’s been an unusually busy one here at HooperHart Headquarters. The first 3 months of the year were mostly devoted to a project which I received VACMA funding for last year…I’m going to delve into that in a separate post but for now I quickly want to share some exciting news with you.

Firstly, the brand new Perth Museum opened its doors on Easter weekend after a long-awaited refurbishment and repurposing of the former City Hall. The museum’s main attraction will undoubtedly be the Stone of Destiny, returning home to Perthshire for the first time in 700 years. Another good reason to visit though is the museum shop, where you can purchase a selection of my work! As you can imagine I was very chuffed to be asked (who doesn’t love a museum shop?) and also encouraged that they were approaching local makers to be a part of it, celebrating Perth’s new UNESCO status as a Creative City of Craft.

Now to my second piece of news – I have moved in to an actual proper studio! It’s in Perth Creative Exchange which is a fantastic former school building near North Inch Park. It’s lovely and bright, light and warm – no more struggling to see or jostling for space in my cold and dark spare room.

I’m sharing with the very talented Alison Price in a really wonderful community of creative people. After spending most of my time working on my own for the past 8 years, this comes as a really welcome change…it can be very isolating being a one-woman band. After only a week at the studio it feels like home already.

In addition to all this I started a new part-time job and joined the committee of Perthshire Open Studios. This year we have a comprehensive programme of events, including a month-long summer exhibition at the very grand Perth Civic Hall, a showcase exhibition at the beautiful Barn Gallery at Blackruthven, and of course Open Studios itself at the end of August. Keep an eye on my ‘shop’ page where you will find details as they become available.

Well, I think that’s enough excitement for one post! I’ll be back with an in-depth one on my project soon.

Thanks for reading x

Thank You & Happy New Year!

Hooperhart

Well, that’s the festive fair season over for me for another year, and once again I am pleased and relieved to report that it was enjoyably frantic! Back in October I was quite concerned about how it was going to go, with online sales down and the harsh reality of the Cost of Living Crisis properly kicking in for many of us.

Happily however, people turned out in their hundreds (and sometimes thousands!) to support local events. Fortunately for small creative businesses like myself, folk seem to be really considering carefully how they spend their money and who they spend it with, and they also really appreciate handmade craft and the uniqueness of it…I can’t tell you how much all the purchases, interest, kind comments and general enthusiasm for my work means to me. It gives me such a boost and carries me through the times when my motivation is at a low, and for that I am very grateful.

Some of my favourite HooperHart pieces from 2023

2024 will likely bring many challenges, financially and creatively; Production costs continue to rise, and I need to re-evaluate my materials and range to make everything more streamlined and sustainable…and of course like many creative types I have lots of ideas, some of which I’m pretty sure cannot be brought to fruition using laser-cut wood! It would be lovely to devote some time to experimentation…but I think I might have said all this at the end of last year..!

Whatever happens I will be back next year with news of what I’m up to over the coming year.

For now I’ll take my leave with a massive THANK YOU to everyone who supported my artistic endeavours this year…I wish you happiness and good health in 2024!

Inverness Creative Academy & Perth Creative Exchange

Hooperhart

So amazingly there’s only two more events left in the festive fair calendar and it’s two that I have really been looking forward to!

First up we’ll be hitting the road north once again and heading for Inverness to the beautiful Creative Academy! The newly restored former Inverness Royal Academy building in the heart of the city is now the first creative hub of the Highlands established by Wasps, providing studio/office spaces, events spaces and galleries. The Winter Market will take place in the beautifully refurbished Gym Hall and Science Room.

Spread over 3 days, we’ll be there on Friday, Nov 24th 4pm-8pm, Sat 25th & Sun 26th 10am-4pm.

The following weekend we will be back closer to home at one of my favourite events: the Winter Market & Open Studios at Perth Creative Exchange!

I spend a lot of time at Creative Exchange, whether it’s using the machines at the Famous Grouse ideas room, or having stationery printed at Craigrossie Printing or even just visiting Ceri White Studios, it’s a hub of activity and this is always a really enjoyable event.

You can find me there on Sat Dec 2nd & Sun Dec 3rd 10am-4pm.

Remember if you can’t buy from me in person this year, I will be stocking up my online shops Folksy and Etsy the week beginning December 4th.

One final thing before I go – just a wee reminder that the HooperHart 2024 calendar is available from my online stores and at all my events! Each month is illustrated by a miniature scene reflecting the time of year, inspired by the wonderful wildlife, countryside and coastlines of the British Isles. I am donating £1 from the sale of each calendar to Hogscroft Hedgehog Rescue, Perthshire, who were flooded during October’s storms.

Well, I had better go and get on with more making before our impending road trip to the Highlands! Thanks for reading and have a fantastic festive season!

Tea Green at Bowhouse & The White Church, Comrie

Hooperhart

Hello again! After an extremely busy weekend at Aberdeen Art Gallery I’m back to quickly let you know what’s on the agenda here at HooperHart Headquarters. I’ve got a lot of replenishing to do, with a broad range of items proving popular with the Aberdonians including brooches, Paint Your Own Flowers, hanging decorations and a selection of framed dioramas:

So it’s going to be making, making, making in time for my next event at Bowhouse in St Monans, Fife. Organised by Tea Green Events it’s always a fun day out with tip top talented artists, makers and designers, loads of yummy food stalls and refreshments galore! I’ll be there on Saturday, November 11th from 10am – 4pm.

Then on Sunday, November 12th I will be back in Perthshire for the White Church, Comrie Winter Craft Fair

Into its 22nd year, Comrie’s Christmas market takes place in the most gorgeous setting on the river Earn and showcases the work of over 25 talented Perthshire artists. You can find me there on Sunday November 12th 11am-3pm.

I’ll be back with more news next week but in the meantime you can find details of all my events on my ‘Shop’ page. TTFN!

Bowhouse images: Visit Scotland, Love from the Scotland, Scotland the Bread. Comrie images: Good News Perthshire

Aberdeen Art Gallery Festive Market

Hooperhart

So somehow it’s November in a few days’ time, and once again I am wondering how that happened (like I do every year). Autumn obviously decided to take the year off – wet and windy weather has been the order of the month, and with darkness falling at 5 o’clock we seem to have been plunged rather than eased into winter. On the upside it means that the festive fair season is just around the corner and this year it’s kicking off with a very exciting one – Tea Green’s Festive Market at Aberdeen Art Gallery

It’s exciting for me because I have never done a fair in Aberdeen, and it will also be nice to revisit the city I lived in for two years as a teenager (back in the mists of time) while I got my portfolio together to apply for art school!

I’ll be there all weekend, November 4th & 5th from 10am – 4pm. With a fabulous line up of over 50 of the best independent creative business based in Scotland, it’s the ideal place to start ticking off your Christmas shopping list!

See below all the places you can find me over the next two months, and I’ll be back soon with more details

Stay safe and cosy!

HooperHart 2024 Calendar

Hooperhart

It’s nearly a whole month since Open Studios finished and I am happy to say it went very well.

There were lots of new faces, interesting chats and healthy sales, all of which I am very grateful for. It was the first time I’d taken part and I didn’t really know what to expect, but it was all good, and the (mostly) warm and sunny weather definitely helped!

But looking out of the window this morning those sunshine-filled days seem very distant now…

There are weather warnings in place for most of Scotland with roads and railway lines closed due to flooding. The vibe is wet, windy and wintery! With weather like this there’s no denying we are approaching the end of the year, so it’s a good time to let you know that my 2024 calendar is now for sale online!

I’m very excited about this – it’s the first time I’ve designed a calendar and I wish I’d done it before! It was a hit at Open Studios and is selling fast in my Folksy and Etsy shops. It features 12 photographs of my original dioramas, with each month illustrated by a miniature scene reflecting the time of year – all inspired by the wonderful wildlife, countryside and coastlines of the British Isles. The calendar was printed by a small local company in Perthshire and £1 from the sale of each calendar to Hogscroft Hedgehog Rescue.

I hope you like it!

I’ll be back soon with more new products and a timetable of events for the coming months. In the meantime coorie in!

Thanks for reading

Cal 🙂