Behind the creatures and characters of Minu is talented designer and prolific maker Heike. Based in Wellington, Minu regularly features at Craft2.0, so if you’re in the vicinity stop by and say hello to Heike at the next Craft2.0 on Saturday 11 April at TheNewDowse, Lower Hutt.

What do you make?
… just nice stuff ^_^. My aim is to produce affordable art, small things to decorate your walls as well as home textiles and plush toys. Most of my drawings or prints on paper or fabric show strange little creatures… characters form a yet untold story like a childhood memory.

Your favourite materials, tools and processes?
I love all kinds of printmaking, be it screen printing, etching, woodcut or drypoint. I use water based inks and high quality paper. I love natural fibres like felt, cotton, wool and linen, but I also use polar fleece and polyester filling where it makes sense.

What inspires you?
Absolutely everything! An old wire on the street, a walk on the seaside, a word or phrase I read somewhere, lines in old wood, the shape of a cloud as well as browsing through blogs, magazines, flickr, galleries and exhibitions.

Describe your workspace:
I am working at home in a small spare room and on a desk in the sun room. Organised chaos rules the scene. I have a wall of inspiration with sketches, drawings and prints between newspaper cuttings, letters and used or found items. I try hard to keep at least my desk sorted. I love transparent plastic boxes. They pile up in all sizes containing fabric, stuffing, threads, pencils. I would love to have more space and I am looking into leasing a studio in Wellington but without success so far.

Five words that describe your mind:
Chaotic and organised, crazy and sane, happy and sad, black and white… all at the same time

What are you currently listening to?
Kafka On The Shore by Haruki Murakami (audio book)

Your favourite childhood book?
‘Oh, wie schön ist Panama‘ (’Beautiful Panama, land of my dreams‘) by Janosch

What are you reading now?
With Borges on an Ordinary Evening in Buenos Aires, by Willis Barnstone

A favourite quote:
“Find out what it is that makes you want to stay up all night and work, and do that.” Keri Smith

If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?
Black on one end white on the other.

Visit minu’s Felt shop and read more about Heike in issue #5 of World Sweet World.

I’ve been getting a few enthusiastic emails from fans of Felt lately (which really is the most awesome sort of email to get) so I thought I’d post some ideas here of how you can show your support for Felt and help spread the word.

Head on over to Made From New Zealand and give Felt some love. Each new fan gives Felt a little boost in the popularity rankings – every bit counts!

Felt has its very own Facebook page – become a fan and introduce your friends to the coolness that is shopping handmade.

Got a Flickr stream? Join the Felt Flickr group and add some photos of your work.

Pick a Felt badge for your website or blog – don’t forget, if you sell on Felt, you can link the badge directly to your Felt shop.

Each of these actions sends more traffic to Felt, helping it to grow and develop and in turn, promote the amazing things that New Zealand’s many talented makers are producing. It’s so exciting to see it happen and I’m so grateful for your support.

Yet another exciting event on this weekend: Newtown Fair starts at 10am on Sunday.

The signature event of the Newtown Festival, the Street Fair is Newtown’s community party to which all of Wellington is invited. Head along to Riddiford Street, Newtown for a smorgasbord of music, buskers, food and craft.

Keep an eye out for gorgeous cufflinks and homewares by Lynda of Little Stella and stylish copper jewellery by Sonya of Copper Red. If you manage to spot these lovely ladies, stop by and say hello!

If you’re also selling at Newtown Fair, drop me a line or comment below and I’ll add a link to you Felt shop here.

On Monday we got a new and improved automatic email system up and running on Felt, and the update caused a small hiccup with registration emails. This has now been fixed, but a few unfortunate souls may have experienced some difficulties signing up.

If you registered on Felt this week and haven’t received your login details, worry not! Select “forgotten your password?” under the login box or simply click here to enter your email address and generate new login details which should arrive in your inbox in a flash. Thanks for persevering!

There’s crafty happenings in the Wairarapa this weekend as well, with the legendary Martinborough Fair kicking off at 8am on Saturday.

Martinborough Fair gives craftspeople a chance to display and sell their wares and it’s a major fundraiser for the Rotary Club of South Wairarapa to support local charities, especially those in South Wairarapa, with special emphasis on the provision of opportunities for young people. So if you’re in the area, it’s an amazing day out and fantastic way to support local crafters and a great cause.

Look out for colourful Free Range baby clothing and accessories, and beautiful jewellery by Art Divine.

Felt sellers, are you selling your wares at Martinborough Fair? Drop me a line or leave a comment below and I’ll add a link to your Felt shop here.

New Brighton Market runs from 9am till 2pm this Saturday 7th March (and every 1st Saturday in the month) in New Brighton Mall, Christchurch. I went along to this last month, and it’s a great market with a friendly vibe and live music (pirate music, no less!) so if you’re looking for something fun to do in Christchurch on Saturday, head along to New Brighton. Make sure you stop and say hello to Prue of Citrus Daisy, who makes a lovely range of bags from vintage fabrics.

Citrus Daisy will be on display again on Sunday at Swannanoa District Country Fair, which is happening from 10am till 3pm on Sunday 8th March. The fair is at Swannanoa Domain, Tram Road, Swannanoa, just outside Christchurch.

If you sell on Felt and you’re running a stall at either of these events, drop me a line or leave a comment and I’ll add a link to your Felt shop here.

In the Autumn issue of World Sweet World, learn how to turn old blankets into warm curtains, beer cans into fondue sets and get the low down on foraging for your seasonal greens and on how to reduce your green waste.

The Great M.I.Y. Badge Carbon Action Mystery Swap Adventure continues – check out the five newly elected Carbon Action Badges and get involved! Start making badges, send them in, commit to taking action on Climate Change yourself and be rewarded with a unique set of badges, handmade by other people fighting for the same cause. I’m taking part in the badge swap – watch this space for the low down on my progress!

Go on, you know you want a copy – order yours now on Felt.

Sue was back on Good Morning on Friday showing Steve and Sarah how to make marble magnets. These are gorgeous fridge magnets which are easy and inexpensive to make and can also be made into jewellery. They make an awesome wee customised gift as well. Check out the videos and tutorial on the TVNZ website:

Sue Tyler makes marble magnets – Part 1 (video)

Sue Tyler makes marble magnets – Part 2 (video)

Sue Tyler’s craft – Marble Magnets (tutorial)

As if all that weren’t exciting enough, Sue has marble magnets kits available here on Felt – visit her Felt shop, supervery, for everything you need to make some shiny magnets all of your very own.