What a great weekend for the Sheffield Ceramics Festival in its new venue - Kelham Island Industrial Museum in the heart of our great city. It was a busy happy event as keen pottery enthsiasts came to support and buy from their favourite regional potters. And plenty of people went away with a super energy boosting AliMacdesigns apron in vibrant African and Dutch wax print. Happy Days!!

What an exciting day! Popping down to see the new  £17M re-imagined Museum of Making was a real treat. How can I begin to tell you what a FAB place this is?! They have rewritten the museum experience. All 30,000 exhibits are on display and its a hands on, have a go type place. The idea is that it will be a growing entity, responding to interest and the ever inventiveness of people making things! It puts Derby at the heart of the story as a cradle of industrial development, espionage and expansion. But it is so much more than a retrospective - it has 'state of art' exhibition space, entrepreneurial opportunities, visiting artisans, workshops, events and as such offers so much to all. So it was such a privilege to be accepted as one of the Makers in the Hub shop! AliMac aprons are stocked here for this season. What an honour and thrill. So, if you are looking for an absorbing and interesting day out, here's your answer. And the award winning  restaurant is tip-top too! 

The World Heritage Derby Museum Group are opening the Museum of Making! This is the reimagining of the Silk Mill, in the heart of Derby: the first factory in the world! ( Really? Yes!)
What will you find there?
Top exhibitions; a taxonomy of materials to explore; state of the art workshops for you to join; artists in residence; shared spaces for ideas and entrepreneurship; cafe, events space and..... drum roll, a Makers' Shop featuring 21 UK makers. I am honoured to have been selected!
Having had a (Covid Safe) tour when I delivered my aprons I can honestly say I was blown away by the space, imagination and excitement generated by this buiding. With its history preserved but revitalised and relevant for today and the future. You must check it out!     www.derbymuseums.org/museum-of-making
Book your FREE tickets now!

..It's fantastic that The Great Pottery Throwdown is back with us for 2021. What timely joy!
And what better time to cheer up your creative self and friends with an AliMacDesigns apron. Above are 3 split skirt pottery aprons for sitting at the wheel or moving freely around the studio. They are hot off the machine! New ones being loaded as they are made by me in my Sheffield studio. So get over to the Shop for a look at my Etsy site! 

AliMacDesigns artisan aprons have been selected for the gallery shop of the Museum of Making in Derby, UK to be relaunched after a £16M refit.
www.derbymuseums.org/locations/museum-of-making
This Museum of Making is part of the UNESCO Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site! www.derwentvalleymills.org/
So pencil in your diary for a Spring 2021 visit to such an exciting new museum celebrating everything great about making!! What an uplifting thought. And I'd better get selecting some unique fabrics for their gallery shop space - that will brighten and welcome one and all!

Wanting to start pottery classes? Are you buying a present for a potter? Look no further.
I am currently making split front aprons for wheel throwers, studio potters, hand builders or slip cast makers. These aprons are ideal for hand spinners, sculptors and not forgetting creative cooks too!

 Extra long and wide for great coverage. 45" (or 115 cm) long. Pocket for that phone, adjustable neck strap and long ties for front fastening if you require. Handmade in Yorkshire, by me!
 Etsy  www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AliMacDesignsUK
Washable on 30C, iron on medium. Perfect for class- roll up and take home!
Look and feel ENERGISED, vital and different: ready to create and make that splash! These fabrics are sourced from Holland or Tanzania and are Dutch or African wax print using a resist printing technique to get bold colour through the cloth. Vibrant, funky and FUN!!!!

Christmas is coming!
I am busy here in my attic studio making split skirt pottery aprons for Christmas. I sell on Etsy so check out the link through my shop www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AliMacDesignsUK These are vibrant and unique pieces for artistic friends and family. They inspire creativity just by putting one on!

I am not doing any Christmas shows this year but will be loading up Etsy with some new makes. These will be the very popular Christmas gift of a Pottery Apron for creative friends and relatives. Great for pottery class, workshops and studio space. Anyone wearing an AliMac apron will feel ready to make and create!

September has had AliMacDesignsUk at the famous Wirksworth Festival. What a crackin' event!
It is so positive to meet such creative people and share the excitement  about textiles, ceramics, glass and all things creative! wirksworthfestival.co.uk

 That was followed by the warm and friendly Sheffield Ceramics Festival in Meersbrook Walled Garden, Sheffield. A great gathering of regional talented potters in the unique surroundings of the walled garden run by volunteers. www.meersbrookpark.co.uk/walled-garden/ I just love this place: Sheffield at its best with a hint of retro romance.