Creative Twinning’s 5th trip to Karlsruhe

 We're off to Eunique again! Here's a reminder about what we're up to...

Each year in late spring Nottingham’s twin city, Karlsruhe, hosts the prestigious Applied Arts Fair Eunique. Creative Twinning’s Jayne Childs (J.C. Middlebrook) and Debbie Bryan return for their 5th visit, this year accompanied by Design Factory members Phiona Richards and Hayley Beckley. The groups hope to wow Eunique’s international visitors with their British take on jewellery, textiles and accessories.

Jayne said ‘We love exhibiting at Eunique and were delighted to be selected again. The standard of work at the show is quite outstanding and it’s such an inspiration to be surrounded by such gifted designers. The range of talent on show is a real eye opener and we hope that Phiona and Hayley will get as much out of the visit as we do. We are made so welcome by the local creative community and look forward to meeting up with and exchanging ideas with our ‘Creative Twins’ in Karlsruhe’

More reading at:
Creative Twinning www.creativetwinning.com 
Eunique www.eunique.eu
Debbie Bryan www.debbiebryan.co.uk
J.C. Middlebrook www.jcmiddlebrook.co.uk
Hayley Beckley www.hayleybeckley.com
Phiona Richards www.rarenotions.co.uk

With hearty thanks to our sponsors One Nottingham and Design Factory!

Gearing up to welcome our Creative Twins!

At the end of March we welcome our Creative Twins from Karlsruhe: Jutta Becker, Leonore Jock and Susanne Högner. We have some exciting events planned where you will be able to meet and exchange ideas with them.

Leonore Jock

Susanne Högner

Jutta Becker

In association with Projector at Broadway, on the afternoon of Thursday 27th March we will be deep in Conversation with designers on the Projector programme, discussing 'Challenges'. 

After that at 5.30pm we'll be hosting the private view of the Creative Twinning Showcase at Debbie Bryan Studio and Shop on St Mary's Gate. All are welcome, but please do book your place!

On Friday we're off to the Craft Centre at Rufford Abbey and Country Park, where Creative Greenhouse will be hosting a 'Kreativ Kaffe' networking session. Refreshments are provided by Creative Greenhouse, you bring the conversation! All welcome, simply book here.

The designers are then being whisked off to have a guided tour of Harley Gallery and Studios, before we return to Nottingham for a more relaxed Friday night in Nottingham.

The designers will be Nottingham based on Saturday with visits to Nottingham Contemporary, the Castle and other art venues across the city. 

Please let us know if you would like to be involved with the designers visits or if you would like to chat to them. They are really excited about visiting Nottingham- so let's make their stay a warm and welcoming one!

Creative Twinning Design Showcase Opportunity

Creative Twinning Design Showcase - deadline extended to 25th Jan!

View and download the Information Document here
View and download the Exhibition Application Form here

Nottingham, Karlsruhe & New York March 2014

Creative Twinning  invite applications from designers based in Karlsruhe to join Nottingham and New York Designers for a showcase of their artwork and to share experiences of running a design business. The successful applicants will be invited to make a visit to Nottingham, UK in which they have the opportunity to:

 1.Take part in a Creative Twinning Showcase with an agreed selection of work at:
Debbie Bryan Studio & Shop, 18 St Mary's Gate, Lace Market, Nottingham NG1 1PH www.debbiebryan.co.uk
Showcase dates Saturday 1st March – Saturday 3rd May 2014
Work to arrive at venue by Tuesday 24th February and any unsold work will be returned to Karlsruhe by the end of May 2014.
With a Private view, Drinks & canapés during your visit to Nottingham on 27th March

2. Showcase an agreed selection of work alongside Creative Twinning Designers in the Apsidal Gallery, Rufford Abbey Country Park from March-May http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/enjoying/countryside/countryparks/rufford/

3. Share your story with an invited audience of like-minded designers, entrepreneurs & creative industrie

4. Participate in formal and informal networking and awareness raising events

5.Visit retail outlets and introduce your work to build links

Please note: The artist is responsible for all postage costs, including the return of your work

The visit will take place between Thursday 27th – 30th Sunday March 2014, candidates need to be available to visit Nottingham for these dates.

To apply please provide your full contact details, a brief CV and a one page summary (in English) of:

1. Your product;
2. The story of your commercial success and any obstacles you face;
3. Your customers and why they buy your products;
4. Any awards or competitions you have been considered for.

Please also include 5 recent images of your work and any web-links. You must also complete a worksheet with information about the work you would bring for the showcase.(Download above)

The closing date for applications is Friday 24th January 2014

Our contact in Karlsruhe is Angelika Schmidt, City of Karlsruhe, Culture Office - Department of International Relations. E-mail: angelika.schmidt@kultur.karlsruhe.de
She is willing to assist with queries about the project.

But applications must be submitted to: info@creativetwinning.com

Creative Twinning October Events 2012

Creative Twinning October Events - Join us for these unique opportunities to meet a variety of award winning Creative Businesses from the East Midlands and Nottingham's twinned city Karlsruhe in Germany, along with our supporting Partners; South Nottingham College, Design Factory, Designer Forum, Designers Resolutions, Future Factory & Nottingham City Council.

We have some very exciting creative events this October, we hope you can join us. Let us know which events you are coming to by leaving us a message at info@creativetwinning.com

Off to see our Creative Twins

We can't wait to meet up with our Creative Twins in Karlsruhe this week. We're back there showing at Eunique Applied Arts Fair for a second year. This year our ranks have swelled to ten, with designers joining us from across Nottingham and the East Midlands.

Debbie and I are also joined by Mandi, Kate and Georgina from South Nottingham College, who are hoping to set up a student exchange of some kind and are going to see exactly what opportunities there are. Hayley Banks from Design Factory, who have generously supported the ten designers, will be there to make links with creative organisations from across Baden Württemberg and beyond.

We'll be looking for Karlsruhe designers to join us in Nottingham for a reciprocal visit in October 2012 and catching up with Angelika, Brigitte, Nora and Philine from last year's twinning events. As you may know, I (Jayne from JC Middlebrook) have started to work with Brigitte making Nottingham Lace in silver. We hope this year's trip will produce more joint enterprises and design collaborations.

Wish us luck, we'll try and update you whilst we're there. See you soon

‘Creative Twins’ meet up in Munich

JC Middlebrook designer Jayne Childs has just returned to Nottingham from Munich where she visited her ‘Creative Twin’, jewellery designer Brigitte Adolph at the Inhorgenta international jewellery fair.

Brigitte's stand at Inhorgenta

Jayne met Brigitte in May 2011, when she exhibited at Eunique Applied Arts Fair in Karlsruhe. The trip was Creative Twinning’s first trip, and culminated in three German designers making a reciprocal visit to Nottingham in October 2011. Jayne and Brigitte were reacquainted during this visit and decided to start collaborating on some lace designs for jewellery.

JC Middlebrook lace in real silver!

Brigitte has developed a range of silver jewellery from Jayne’s lace designs and the show was the first opportunity for Jayne to see how the designs had worked in the precious metal.  The pair took some time during Jayne’s stay to work out some technical issues with the designs and plan new work for the coming months. Jayne is returning to Germany with Creative Twinning in May, alongside nine other Design Factory members for Eunique 2012. The pair hopes to have more work completed by then, alongside some special pieces to be incorporated directly into Jayne’s textiles.

About JC Middlebrook – Jayne Childs began making lace under the business name JC Middlebrook in September 2010. She is inspired by the history of machine made lace in her home city of Nottingham and uses original designs from the former factories as a starting point for her lace textiles.

More information about JC Middlebrook at www.jcmiddlebrook.co.uk and Brigitte Adolph’s lace jewellery can be seen here http://www.brigitte-adolph.de/en/spitzenschmuck.html 

About Inhorgenta - Inhorgenta is an internationally renowned industry forum offering the most comprehensive overview of current and future developments in the world of jewellery and watches. Inhorgenta covered a total of 66,000 square meters of space, divided over six exhibition halls at Messe München International and around 30,000 trade visitors made their way around 1134 trade stands.  http://www.inhorgenta.com/en/portal

Creative Twinning, Creative Winning

Last week's Creative Twinning events went off without a hitch (or at least none that you could see!) and we thank our partners for their help and support in making it all happen.

Our Karlsruhe guests Nora, Philine, Brigitte and Angelika arrived safely in Nottingham on Tuesday and we kicked off by attending a screening of 'Made in Dagenham' (written by Nottingham's own Billy Ivory) at the Nottingham Girls High School. The screening was hosted by Women in Nottingham, who made our guest very welcome and plied them with nibbles!

Billy Ivory introducing Made in Dagenham

Wednesday was a busy day for all, with Debbie, Philine and Angelika starting the day as guests of Mark Dennison on BBC Radio Nottingham, talking about Creative Twinning and the cultural links we are starting to form.

The first formal event was a forum, or panel discussion held in the Paul Smith Suite at the Broadway. we had over 50 attendees and the audience really engaged with all the designers. No awkward moments where noone wanted to ask a question. What was lovely was that the first and last questions in the session were directed at the audience by panel members! Thanks to Sarah McNicol from Antenna for her lively and informed chairing of the discussion.

Waiting for the forum to start

Then we were off to Designer Forum, where we had more nibbles and refreshments. A slightly hairy moment for a couple of the German designers who took a left in stead of a right on their way to Designer Forum and ended up ringing Jayne from outside the Victoria Centre, admitting 'We are lost!'.  We really enjoyed an opportunity to network and have a look round the DF facitlies including the truly amazing trend books.

Nina welcomes the guests for networking at Designer Forum

One very quick change for us designers and it was back to the Lace Market Gallery where the Creative Twinning collections looked lovely in that unique space. Many attendees stayed to round the day off with wine and nibbles and took the chance to talk more to the designers and other guests. Photos were taken by Affari magazine and are available to view here. By the time we said goodnight to the last guest we were pretty bushed but still managed to go for something to eat at Edin's on the way home.

L-R Debbie Bryan, Nora Rochel, Brigitte Adolph, Angelika Schmidt, Hannah Lobley, Jayne Childs, Philine Kempf

Thursday was our designer's last day in Nottingham and they used it well, Brigitte visited a lace manufacturer and came away loaded down with samples, whilst Philine and Angelika went on a whistle-stop tour of Nottingham Castle. Nora headed off to New York (what a jet-setter!) at midday, so we said goodbye to her mid morning as we went off to attend a lecture at Nottingham Trent University by Eco Fashion author Sass Brown.Thank you to Future Factory for organising that!

Finally we all had the pleasure of a look into NTU's Lace Archive, for which we must thank Amanda Briggs-Goode. Amanda is in charge of this amazing collection of lace and lace industry and was very tolerant of our oohs and aahs as she revealed yet another layer of Nottingham's amazing design history to us.

Angelika and I nipped off to the New Art Exchange where we were greeted by CEO Skinder Hundal and team, and treated to a personal tour of the new Leo Asemota exhibition.

One last meal together and it was goodbyes all round as our guests had to catch a taxi to the airport at (whisper it) 4am! I do hope they have recovered and have finally got back into the real world since thier visit. It has taken me this long to come down from the ceiling and evaluate all the opportunities that are coming Nottingham's way as a result of this twinning week.


Thanks again to our partners, to Debbie and Hannah for being good sports and to all of you who came to the events.

Finally don't forget you can catch the showcase at the Lace Market Gallery, 25 Stoney St Nottingham until 27th October. Please do leave your comments if you go, just like these! 

See you soon, Jayne x

Counting down to Creative Twinning events

The Creative Twinning events this week are the culmination of months of planning. We hope you'll enjoy them and join us as we exchange new cultural sustainable ideas with our Creative twins from Karlsruhe.

There's still time to register for any of the events, including the Creative Twinning Forum where you can find out more, join the conversation and shape the future for Creative Twinning with your ideas and involvement.

Afterwards, network with other Creative Industry professional at Designer Forum. Find out more abut the fabulous facilities they host in the heart of our creative city. Click here to register for Creative Networking

Finally, join us at a private view of our Creative Twinning Eco Showcase at the Lace Market Gallery on Stoney Street in Nottingham's historic Lace Market. Register here

We're really looking forward to seeing you there! Jayne, Hannah and Debbie (the Creative Twinning team)

update: read about us in Affari Magazine

Creative Twinning Partner - Future Factory

The Creative Twinning team have been supported by Future Factory at Nottingham Trent University (NTU). Lynn Oxborrow, Angela Scott and all the FF team have been so encouraging and really helped us to focus on  delivering the best Creative Twinning events that we can.

Future Factory helps small and medium sized companies from across the East Midlands access the resources and expertise held within NTU. Their focus is on building sustainability, so the Creative Twinning showcase gave us the perfect opportunity to join forces with them to promote and explore eco-design in the UK and abroad. Future Factory is supported by the European Regional Development Fund. For more information visit http://www.ntu.ac.uk/future_factory

Find out more about our Eco-Showcase and register to attend any of the Creative Twinning events by clicking here www.creativetwinning.eventbrite.com

Our Creative Twins from Karlsruhe

We are very pleased to announce the names of the Creative Twin designers joining us from Karlsruhe in October. They are*:

Brigitte Adolph - Brigitte Adolph’s elaborately crafted pieces look like delicate lace. What seems to be finespun fabric, however, turns out to be pure precious metal. The graduate designer likes to play with optical illusions. Although inspired by the past, her rings, brooches, pendants and earrings are nevertheless characterized by an authentic, contemporary formal idiom.



Philine Kempf - Philine's work combine different materials in collages. The focus on the one hand, the portable art objects in the foreground. Different metals, stones, wood etc. adorn the people, but the carrier can also direct references to art and to produce energy: Physical, tangible, visible to constantly changing places, transformable by the background.




Nora Rochel - Nora Rochel's new work is called “Phytophilia” which means “love for plants”. She draws inspiration from the miracle of life, the cycle of growth, bloom and decay. The emphasis is on life affirming energy and the positive symbolism of plants and flowers representing growth and fertility.

The designers will be accompanied by Angelika Schmidt who represents the Department of International Relations in Karlsruhe Culture Office and has been a great help to us in organising the Creative Twinning visit.

To find out more about the designers and about the creative sector in Germany more generally, why not attend our Creative Twinning events on 12th October?

For more information and to book your place, please click here http://www.creativetwinning.eventbrite.com/

*Please click on the designer's name to visit their website. 

Creative Twinning October events

Following on from the success of a collaborative showcase in Karlsruhe in May, we have created a programme of events on the 12th October 2011, including the launch of a  3 week exhibition at the Lace Market Gallery, Stoney Street, Nottingham.

12th October 2-4pm - Paul Smith Screen Room, Broadway Cinema - FREE EVENT

Creative Forum - This is a unique opportunity to find out about the Creative Twinning concept and meet the designers involved from Nottingham and Karlsruhe. During question time, ask the designers anything! It's a great opportunity to find out about exhibiting abroad, get their views on eco-design and sustainability or maybe what it's like to run a business in 2011?

 The questions are yours to ask, places are limited so booking is essential. Click the button to the right to register now. alternatively, find out more on the event web page www.ctforum121011.eventbrite.com

12th October 4.30-6pm - Designer Forum, Lower Parliament Street- FREE EVENT

Informal follow on networking event to meet like minded creatives and small businesses within the East Midlands. Booking essential and mandatory.Please see the http://creativetwinning.blogspot.com for booking procedures

12th October 6-8pm - Exhibition launch event at Lace Market Gallery - FREE EVENT

Private view of the Creative Twinning Exhibition, a Collection of environmental and ethical sustainable work including jewellery, textiles, lace & paper.

Come and join us for this unique event, view the artwork and meet new people in a great venue.

12th - 28th October - Lace Market Gallery, Stoney Street, Nottingham - FREE ENTRY

Creative Twinning Exhibition- a collection of Eco-Creative work by J.C Middlebrook, Paperwork by Hannah Lobley, Debbie Bryan Collections and 3 designers from Nottingham's twinned city of Karlsruhe, Germany. Private view Wednesday 12th October from 6-8pm



Remember you can find out more and register here  www.ctforum121011.eventbrite.com

Creative Twinning for Creative October

We're onto the next stage for Creative Twinning! Designers from Karlsruhe have been sending in applications and we have to thank Angelika Schmidt for her hard work in promoting and supporting us. Angelika works for Karlsruhe Culture Office in the Department of International Relations. She has acted as a point of contact for designers in Karlsruhe and will be joining us here in Nottingham in October for our eco-showcase.

Things are moving on at a fast pace, we are designing a programme to exchange ideas and experiences. The visiting designers will be involved in talks and other networking events during their stay in Nottingham. Future Factory at Nottingham Trent University have been a major partner in organising this.

We have also secured an exhibition space in Nottingham's historic Lace Market Gallery, thanks to New College Nottingham. Alongside our work there, we'll have images from portrait photographer Nick Rawle. More on Nick in a later post, but here's one of his images to keep you going.

So all in all, it's going to be a busy couple of months in the lead up to Creative Twinning's next showcase. We're so excited about the possibilities!

Our project- feedback on the first stage

As three Nottingham based designers, we decided to put the cultural agreement between Nottingham and the twin city of Karlsruhe to the test by organising a trip to Eunique. We have just returned from there on the first stage of our ‘Creative Twinning’ project. We’ll be returning the favour by inviting three designers from Karlsruhe to join us for series of events and a showcase during Creative October.

So it was that we found ourselves in Germany during the beautiful month of May, with three stands to celebrate Nottingham Designer/Makers, Debbie Bryan, Hannah Lobley (Paperwork) and Jayne Childs ( JC Middlebrook). Whilst talking to the show’s visitors, we found that about half of those from Karlsruhe knew about the twinning. Many weren’t aware of Nottingham’s creative heritage but luckily we were armed with some great NTU DNA (Design NottinghAm) brochures, Experience Nottinghamshire pins and postcards, and maps to show off some aspects of our creative city.


Over the three days we talked ourselves hoarse and even persuaded some folks to note down what they thought of Nottingham design in general and our work in particular. The language barrier was a bit of an issue as many people weren’t confident to write anything in English, which was something to reflect on for future events. One of the loveliest comments was a beautiful German phrase ‘Blütenträume aus Nottingham’ which we were told translates as ‘Blossom dreams of Nottingham’ but it just seems more poetic in the native language! (And I do hope I have spelt it correctly, translation being one of the other stumbling blocks of our trip!)



We also introduced ourselves to designers from Karlsruhe and local officials who can help us to find the three designers to invite for the return leg. They were all just so kind and very keen to be involved. So, what are my impressions of Karlsruhe? Calm, clean and green. My impressions of Karlsruhe design: modern, creative and light. We can’t wait to get started on the second stage, and show off our creative city to our german counterparts.