Craftsperson and blogger extraordinaire Pip Lincolne guest blogs
to tell us the story of her latest book
Make Hey! – a collection of sweet and whimsical projects
for everyone and anyone, from die-hard crafters to those itching to
try their hands at some beautiful objects.
If you know me, you'll know that I am a bit of a blogger, a bit of a writer, a bit of a crafty lady too. I've written a couple of other books (Meet Me At Mike's and Sew La Tea Do), but I was super keen to produce a book of my own projects, using various different crafty techniques. Meet Me At Mike's is a bit of a crafty compendium profiling some of Australia's best crafters, and Sew La Tea Do is a book about sewing. I wanted to compile a book of lovely simple things to make, whether you are a novice or expert, a sewer or printer or crochet type or something else altogether. I wanted to go a bit broader, be a bit more inclusive and pack in lots of nice-time tips too!
I'm really lucky that the team at Hardie Grant are always ready to listen to my ideas, and they thought that Make Hey! sounded like a great book. The kind of book everyone would want to have on their bookshelf or kitchen table. We had a great team in place to work on this book, Jane Winning as Editor, Michelle Mackintosh as designer and John Laurie taking the photographs. I just had to conceive, design, write and test all the projects! I know that sounds like a lot of work, and I guess it is, but it is my very favourite kind of work. The is nothing more satisfying than working out how to make something lovely and useful, and then honing the design so that it's as simple and fun to make as possible.
I wanted to be sure that the projects in Make Hey! were really cute, fashionable and design-led. I am a big fan of fashion and popular culture, as well as art and architecture. I think it's really important to draw from all of these real life elements when you are making things. I think that ensures that the things you make are truly all your own work, as well as your own style. Craft does not have to be all cabbage roses and hand stitched geese. Those things are nice, but it's super important to bring your own aesthetic to the things you make. I really tried hard to do that with this book, and it's chock full of tips to help readers customise the things they make too. Some of the best bits of making something involve these kinds of personal design decisions, and I really like encouraging people to make the right design choices for them!
Make Hey! was shot over five days at the home of RRR presenter Steve Wide and designer Michelle Mackintosh. Steve and Michelle's cat Bronte takes a starring role. The outdoorsy parts of the book were shot in Melbourne's Edinburgh Gardens, much to the amusement of many passersby who seemed to think our props area was some kind of pop-up flea market. Luckily, we got to borrow Betsy My Vintage Caravan for a guest appearance too, thanks to her owner Fliss who managed to navigate Besty between the pillions and up the pathway without running anyone over! Phew. (We did have a permit, rest assured!)
It really was a lovely book to make. It's filled with lovely things collected from my home, Michelle's place and a few things gathered from friends too. Every little thing in Make Hey! has a special story, and every page was labored over and made with love. Apart from the projects, I really love that our book has a pocket of recipe cards and templates, a Holiday Reading List, a Sunshine Playlist (by Steve, of course!) and lots of tips and encouragement at every turn.
I think this book has the right project for every kind of person. I think it is a great go-to for crafters of any age. I also think that people who are not sure that they are creative or are a bit anti-craft should take a peek inside, because there is not a toilet roll doll or dried flower arrangement anywhere to be seen! It's all GOOD stuff! So why don't you make something?!
Pip Lincolne will be at Readings St Kilda on Thursday 27 October for an evening of craft and conversation from 6.30pm. This is a free event and all are welcome, but book on 9525 3852 or on RSVP on Facebook.
