Leicester is full of quirky creative types doing amazing things and we wanted to pick out just a few of our favourites who are plying their trade in the city and county. Read on to find out who you need to know about and where you can buy their wares.
BARRY BULSARA
I make no secret of the fact that I’m a huge Barry Bulsara fan. I tell people all the time. I have 2 of his prints up in my lounge and have bought at least 3 as gifts for other people too. Hailing from Loughborough, Barry describes his products as “Original prints for your inner geek”. With his inspiration coming from contemporary culture, his artwork plays on films, TV shows, books and themes that will be known in every household. Barry’s also a member of Leicester Print Workshop and remains connected with them having taken their Introduction to Silkscreen weekend course back in 2011. With most prints priced at around £35 and sized to fit in the Ikea Ribba frames you know you’re going to want to buy one!
Here are a couple of our favourite Barry Bulsara prints and you can find out more on his website.
BITSY’S CUPCAKERY
People who say a cupcake is just a cupcake have clearly been eating them at the wrong place. Leicester’s Bitsy’s Cupcakery has been in the business for a few years now and has made a name for herself due to her amazing bespoke designs in cakes big and small. Not only does she make unique designs to order for birthdays, weddings and more but she’s also been commissioned to make cakes for the stars, having turned album covers into cupcake designs for Mcfly, Example, Billy Bragg, Warpaint, Frank Turner and more.
Cupcakes not your thing? Bitsy also does her unique designs on big cakes and on smaller cake pops too (the Minion cake pops are my favourite). We heard that she loves a challenge so why not see what whacky baking project you can offer her next?
Oh yeh, they also taste flippin’ awesome.
We’ve only got space for a few of our favourite here but for more images of her various creations please see Bitsy’s Facebook page or follow her on Twitter @BitsysCupcakery.
EM’DUCK UPCYCLING
We first came across Em’Duck at Saddington Car Boot Sale where we spotted them selling their amazing guitars. Their bio says it all… “Anything can be created into something else” Up-cycling creates a way for us as artists to do our part of saving mother earth.
Their idea is to bring disused items back to life and give them a new identity. Upcycling isn’t necessarily a new thing but we’re a big fan of what Em’Duck are doing with their items. Their selection of guitars in particular are a must have for any musician or make a perfect present. That’s not all they do though, with other products including drums turned into tables and even upcycled boots!
Prices are very reasonable with a mirror snare drum table priced at £25 and the guitars priced at £35 for the guitar and choice of comic, or just £25 if you have your own guitar to upcycle. They have a huge range of design choices from any comic you can lay your hands on, wallpaper, wrapping paper and even photographs.
Here are a few of our favourite products below. You can find Em’Duck Upcycling on Facebook and appearing at various festivals and events this summer.
WATCH.THIS.SPACE
Watch This Space is a boutique located in St Martin’s Square. It’s a not for profit social enterprise and sells the work of independent artists, designers and crafts people from across the country.
Stephanie MacDonald-Walker, who owns the shop, is also a fashion designer who started the boutique having graduated and showcased her designs at London Fashion Week. Stephanie sources all stock personally and houses over 150 independent designers that hand-make the products at Watch This Space. If you’re familiar with the boutique you’ll know just how fabulous the selection is in there. We can’t go in without wanting to buy something so make sure you have a few pennies on you before heading down. The best part is that they’re always receiving new items and stock from designers so week to week there are new products to browse.
Products range across ladies clothing, art, jewellery and accessories. You can find out more info on the boutique over on the Watch.This.Space website but for the real experience I recommend heading down to the shop and seeing the products first hand. Let us know what you buy.
Last time we went in we came away with this leather and suede necklace, which we couldn’t resist for £18.
Watch.This.Space is located at 6, Silver Walk, St Martin’s Square.