A Year in Prints: Hogmanay Sale

Well 2010 is drawing to an end and it's time again to get organised and ready for another creative year. What better way to start the new year than with a new calendar! A Year In Prints is collection of hand printed calendar artwork by artists and illustrators in Dundee, Birminham and Chicago IL. The calendar is loose leaf- which means you can display it however you like, in a frame, hung on a bulldog clip or simply pinned to the wall with all your important dates circled.

From the 31st of December onwards, we will be selling the remaining calendars at a reduced price with 25% off so get yours while you still can. There's 12 beautiful hand printed artworks for each month of the year- so visti the A Year in Prints store today and don't miss out!

Winding Down for Christmas & Getting Ready for New Year

With today being my Last-Post day for Christmas orders in the shop I've spent the second half of today having the first proper time to myself in ages!

If you're still thinking about ordering anything from Nikkimade, i'll still be posting up until Thursday this week- however those orders won't arrive until after Christmas time.

If you're off to any nice New Years shin-digs this hogmanay and you 're taking your host a celebratory gift- why not consider a project I worked on this year with the very talented knitted textile ace Hilary Grant- A Year In Prints. This collection of 12 original screen-prints will see you through 2011 with a different piece of artwork for every month. With work from Dundee to Chicago- including hellojenuine, Tracey Smith, Lauren Gentry and Heather Page, this pack of 12 screen prints is an utter bargain at only £2 a print (£24 in total). Check out Hilary's blog for loads more pictures and artist profiles- and the A Year in Prints Shop to buy yours!

Pictured (top: November, by Hilary Grant; bottom, left to right: prints by hellojenuine, Chloe Cook & Jo Foster)

Dundee's Statues & Their Winter Woolies

I don't know if any other Dundee dwellers have noticed- but our city's statues have been looking pretty cosy over the last few weeks. It all started a few weeks ago, when I noticed that the bronze penguins outside Dundee Steeple Church were all wrapped up in very jolly hand-knitted red and white scarves! And it seemed like more than a coincidence when our Rabbie Burns at McManus Galleries started sporting an equally lovely striped hand-knit.

And these are only the ones that I've managed to photograph- also spotted dressed for the cold have been Dundee's Deperate Dan (in front of the Caird Hall) and the little bronze monkey who sits atop the Information board on High Street.

Any why not? Glasgow's famous Duke of Wellington statue famously wears a traffic cone hat for most of the year- and across the water knitta decorates everyday city life with brightly coloured crochets and knits. And the nicest thing about the knitting that's been appearing around town, is that it's been created by resident knitters- Ardler Knitting Group. It's public art, created by those who live and work around the existing monuments- with the simple message of warmth, empathy, good will and community through the cold winter months.