Brighton's Handmade Co-operative shop

In last month's interview, jewellery designer Misha Brigemohane told me that Brighton Handmade Co-operative were setting up shop on St James's Street.

As of today, said shop is open for business and is full of wonderful unique crafts, from pins to pants, at very reasonable prices. Items range from just 50p to £50 - suck on that Cath Kidston!

The Co-operative was founded when Kirsten Stride started running craft fairs at the Komedia once a month, attracting 22 designers selling their wares. The artists now all rent space in the former sweet-shop, owned by a friend of Kristen's, volunteer their time as shopkeepers and take away 100% profit from the sale of their goods. A 'lovely' concept, as a sign in the window points out.

My favourite items in the shop are the vintage material cushions, retro-patterened underwear and a gorgeous black lace and white pleated skirt dress - only £35! Next pay day, it will be mine.

The shop is the perfect place to pick up a little something different for a gift, or just a treat for yourself and there are some fab homewares with which to make your place unique.

Visit the co-op's blog here and pop in for a peak if you're up that way - I have a feeling I'm going to be making many more trips to Kemp Town in my lunch-breaks...








There are a couple of stalls and wall space still available to rent in the shop. E-mail handmade.co@hotmail.com if you're interested.

What Misha Makes

Marvelling at the tiny trinkets on Misha Brigemohane’s stall at Brighton’s Upper Gardner Street Market a couple of Saturdays ago, I could feel that it was a love affair in the making. But Irish was becoming impatient – there’s only so much time he can spend riffling through dog-eared books whilst waiting for my magpie impulse to wear off – so I took down her e-mail address and voila, we has words on the topic (and a few pictures too):


How long have you been making and selling jewellery?
I started making charm jewellery two years ago just as a hobby to begin with, but by the following year I found I had so many pieces that the only thing for me to do was to see if anyone else out there would enjoy wearing them. Suggested by a friend who is also a crafter, I set up my etsy page, www.mishamakes.etsy.com, in January 2009 and did my first stall in May.

Where do you take inspiration from?
I take inspiration from everywhere - memories, eras, film, music, art and current fashion trends. I draw a lot of inspiration from trends on the high street - they help me notice more themed charms. I also love anything that looks vintage, even if it's not and love Victorian style.

Where do you source your materials?
I collect things from all over the place - buttons, beads, anything small enough to go onto a necklace or ring. I'm a bit of a hoarder! They could be from car-boot sales, antique shops, flea markets, haberdasheries to the deep realms of the internet. Most of my charms these days are from the internet as I don’t have as much to hunt around as I did.

What are proving to be your most popular items at the moment?
Every week is different from the week before. At the moment I've sold a lot of ‘Drink Me’ necklaces inspired by Alice in Wonderland which is incredibly popular now the film is out. I also always sell lots of tea themed items like tiny tea cup and saucers on rings and necklaces - everyone loves a cuppa!

What are the top trends in jewellery design at the moment?
Vintage styled jewellery and trinket charm jewellery have a really strong presence within design at the moment and have done for a while, but I honestly don't pay much attention to current trends in jewellery design, I tend to just go with what I want to do and what I like and hope for the best!

Do you find it difficult to create original designs when there are so many independent jewellery makers trading on etsy and similar sites now?
Not at all, I have so many designs that I want to create and will never have enough time to make them all! I make jewellery because it makes me happy to create: it's my hobby and so it doesn't matter how many other similar sites there are. Whatever I sell is just a great bonus and so far I've been pretty lucky to sell enough to continue with my hobby!

How often do you create new designs?
My weeks are pretty full but I love creating - making jewellery is my therapy. When I get home from work I make two or three pieces of jewellery in the evening while there's a television programme on in the background.

Do you make much money from selling your jewellery?
Well I still have a full time "day job" – working five days a week in a boutique in the North Laine - but I make enough money to pay for my stalls and for more stock and that's enough for the time being. I'm gradually building up my reputation and setting up my own website, so we'll see how it goes!
Do you sell your jewellery any where else?
I recently set up a new page on Folksy.com which is pretty much the British alternative to Etsy.com - it's less vast than Etsy which can be overwhelming. I'm also part of a collective of crafters called Handmade Cooperative, a group of crafters who make handmade items. They hold an indoor market every other month at the Komedia and are currently about to open a new shop on St James's Street, Kemp Town, with the same idea. All crafters get their own space to sell their wares. It should hopefully be open by mid April and I'll have my own little section in there which is so exciting, I can't wait!

Look at the prettiness…see the things that are smaller than they are in real life…you want these trinkets to make you happy? You will find them here:
www.mishamakes.etsy.com
www.mishamakes.folksy.com
www.mishamakes.bigcartel.com