Winter Open Studios Weekend

We invite you to join us for Open Studios Weekend at the Chocolate Factory N16 on Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd December from 11am to 6pm.
Come and meet the artists, do some Christmas shopping and take a look around our studios which are built around a pretty cobbled courtyard, nestled in a quiet street between Dalston and Stoke Newington. It’s free to get in and a great day out for the whole family. Here’s some of our work…

Helen Rawlinson in F5 will have Christmas Stockings, goody bags, lamps and shades, cushions and tea towels. / Alexandra Blum in Studio G10’s watercolours painted by the coast in Hampshire. / We’ll have a bar serving mulled wine in the courtyard during the private view night on Friday 30th November from 6.30 to 9pm.

Lydia Bauman in F9 is an established landscape painter with commissions from the likes of Gordon Ramsey and the Dorchester. / Sophie MacCarthy in Studio G1’s range of ceramics inspired by leaves strewn on the pavement, gathered around a drain grid or man-hole cover. / Emily Bucknell in Studio F2’s latest hand printed textiles collection, inspired by intricate patterns in nature.

Rude in Studio F11 with their wide range of colourful printed products and homewares. / Brian Innes in Studio G15 is holding a 60th Retrospective Exhibition. / There will be a Typography Emporium in Studio F7 selling Glow-in-the-dark Christmas Cards with ‘secret’ messages, Alphabet Christmas Decorations, screen prints and Typographic Greetings Cards.

Sandy Craine in Unit G7 works in a range of materials including porcelain, clay, silver, fur and other materials to create stoneware vessel forms and jewellery. / Lina Peterson in Studio G5’s colourful one-off pieces of jewellery made from wood, plastics and textiles as well as plenty of stocking fillers. / Thomasina Smith in Studio F12 will have a range of her enchanting prints, paintings and christmas goodies with handpainted personalised labels.

Siro Carraro in Studio F8’s large canvasses and paintings “It is an endless journey … It is a never ending story” / Keith Ashley in Studio F1’s large scale oil drawings on canvas make up a single installation which revisits, in part, work completed by him in the 1980’s. / Check out Jo Davies in Studio G4’s elegant range of ceramics.

Catherine Jacobs in G14 will be showing be showing limited edition abstract landscape photographs and mixed media mountain-scape paintings. / Andrew McDonald in Studio F4 will be showing all new work from the last six months including a painting that was selected for the Threadneedle prize exhibition. / Mark Warrington in Studio F2’s paintings are based around the relationship between man and nature, synthetic vs organic. A majority of the paintings are used for sleeve artwork for the record label, Claremont 56.

Akiko Hirai G3 creates beautiful ‘practical ceramic ware and tea utensils’. / Sandy Craine makes small scale sculptural pieces / Catherine Hennessy in studio G1 will be showing small sculptures that use familiar things in unfamiliar ways.