We’ve now got a limited quantity of t-shirts online. Visit our online shop.We’re adding more t-shirts to the shop, but if you don’t see your size or favourite design, please get in touch– we may be able to help.
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Shop Local!
You might have seen various calls this Christmas urging you to shop local and support local and independent businesses (Shop Local Saturday this year is taking place on December 7th.) If you’re around the West End of Glasgow, there are loads of opportunities to do this. The area has just won the Great Neighbourhood award from the Academy of Urbanism, praised in part for its community spirit and the wealth of creativity in the area.
It’s no surprise then that independent retailers, bars, restaurants and designer-makers and artists across the West End are banding together to put on Christmas events to give residents the opportunity to shop local, support independent businesses and have a great time! Here’s a quick round-up of the events we know about; they’re all on different dates so you can go to all of them if you so choose!
First up, quite shamelessly, is an event we’re involved with: Yuletide at Cushion & Cake. It takes places on November 28th from 6-9pm and will be in the Cushion & Cake tearoom and across the road at the new Cushion & Cake Too function room (where the C&C Crafternoons are hosted). Sellers who’ll be joining us include Glasgow Craft Mafia alumni Pumpkin Sputnik, Ding Dong Designs and Make Stuff With Us, as well as A Canny Squirrel, Jill Kirkham and loads more! Keep an eye on the Cushion & Cake website and Facebook pages for details of more sellers as they are confirmed.
You’ll also be able to buy from Cushion & Cake’s lovely selection of regular suppliers, including Lovely Pidgeon, Cherith Harrison and Herb Lester. Local traders on Old Dumbarton Road have chipped in to sponsor the event, Duke’s Bar are hosting carol singers and serving mulled wine, and the Old Dumbarton Road Cake Club will be selling cakes in aid of Yorkhill Children’s Hospital.
A week later, and a bit further down the road Festive Finnieston is happening (5th December). Artists and makers based in the Hidden Lane including Finch & Fouracre, Shona Jewellery and Pink Grapefruit will be taking part in a pop-up shop in the Hidden Lane tearoom, and other laners will be welcoming the public to an open studios event.There’ll be lots more happening; follow @festive_finnies on twitter to keep up to date.
The Shop of Interest is also participating in Festive Finnieston- but if you’re about this Sunday, 17th November, they’re hosting their annual birthday sale.
Up at Queen Margaret Drive, the Queen Margaret Drive Winter Festival will take place on Saturday 30th November and Sunday 1st December between 12 noon and 6pm. Queen Margaret Drive is home to lots of independent businesses, including Ae Fond Kiss, the Black Orchid florists and the North Star Cafe. There’ll be a brass band, DJs, stalls, and a whole lot of fun to be had.
Finally, we have to mention ethical fashion retailer Think Boutique and Rapa Nui Gallery, who are once again teaming up to open a festive Pop Up Shop on Byres Road from 21st November to 21st December.
We’ve only mentioned a few of the businesses involved here; if you’re taking part in any of the above events, please leave a link to your business in the comments. Likewise we’ve listed West End events because that’s where we’re based. If there are any similar events happening elsewhere (Glasgow or other cities and towns), please stick a link in the comments.
A little update – and lots of action!
So we’ve been a little bit quiet around these parts for a couple of weeks, but here’s what we’ve been up to:
- Received, quality checked, folded and squirreled away 80% of the t-shirts you ordered via our indiegogo campaign
- Had our first public appearance with actual t-shirts at Inver Cottage – thanks to their lovely patrons we are currently out of all additional stock of the Treehouse design, and down to very limited stock of Puffer
- Finalised the last two designs of our original collection and continued working with exciting new designers behind the scenes for next year’s collection
- We’ve been in talks with potential stockists of our collection and put plans in place for our first trade fair
- Worked on the packaging for our first orders, which will be shipping soon (once said packaging and remaining 20% of orders arrive in the post!)
- Discussed arrangements for the colouring books and badges so they are ready to ship with the t-shirts at the end of the month
- Planned for our next event, at Yuletide in the West End of Glasgow on 28 November – there’ll be reindeer and everything!
- We’ve also eaten A LOT of chips and drunk A LOT of coffee in the interests of getting things done and we also spent a couple of weeks slowing down and generally being kind to ourselves so we didn’t get ill or burnt out.
We can’t wait for the next step – to send you your packages and hear your feedback, too.
Find us at Inver Cottage – this Sunday, 10 November
Inver Cottage really is one of the West Coast of Scotland’s best places to visit. A restaurant, a visitor attraction, a cosy (and well-stocked) bar, a view you could bottle, space for events both public and private, and home this weekend to the annual Christmas shopping event, which we’re proud to be a part of.
An independent, family-run business, Inver Cottage is one of the UK’s top restaurants for ethically-sourced fish, including local hand-caught scallops and langoustines. You can have a delicious lunch then take a walk to the ruins of Old Castle Lachlan, to build your appetite back up for scones and tea. Although you should definitely bring your wellies, we’ve seen hardier locals swimming in the bay just outside the picture window at the front of the restaurant at this time of year!
All the information can be found on the Inver Cottage website, and facebook page. We’ll see you there with a small selection of our t-shirts, which are being couriered direct from the printer as I type. We can’t wait!
Winter wrap up
Did anyone else have to scrape ice from the car this morning? It’s getting chilly out there. Our thoughts have turned to getting cosy, and we’ve found some very nice things out there to warm up your day.
We want to snuggle with Mabel the Hedgehog, available from Sara Carr on Folksy
As t-shirt makers, we are also big fans of the winter layer. This basic but stylish pattern for a cover up is available from The Velvet Acorn on Etsy – crochet versions are also available, and patterns for all kinds of winter woolies come in styles which work for boys or girls.
One for the mums and dads, here. Cashmere socks are a staple of my winter evenings. This oatmeal textured pair are from Toast, which is a fine purveyor of all things toasty-making.
Although Brora.co.uk is new to me, the brand has been making fine cashmere products in the Scottish Borders for more than 200 years. They also have a very generous sale right now, with this traditional blanket for children reduced from £72 to £45.
Be warm out there!
Busy busy!
We’ve been a little bit quiet this week as we focus on fulfilling our first orders and preparing our online shop for launch.
Looking around the internet, it seems that our designers are just as busy.
Neil Slorance, designer of our Supersaurus t-shirt, was featured in an interview by a local TV company.
Julia Smith, designer of our Puffer t-shirt, participated in the Make/Works tour of Scotland, who’ll be making a short film about her ceramics work and processes. Some stunning still photos are published on the Make/Works blog.
Like us, Lucy Farfort has been busy, but found a minute to post this time-saving pizza recipe on her blog. Yum! We recommend it followed up by jelly and ice cream, obviously 😉
And we have a busy weekend ahead of us – you’ll find Jo here, at the Rowdy Roddy Ghoulish Gathering at the Sparklehorse in Glasgow and Katy here, enjoying herself with the family in Dublin for the weekend.
Halloween Goodies
It’s a couple of weeks till Halloween. Here are some goodies to get you in the mood…
Handpainted Wooden Halloween Peg Doll by Lottie Lollipop
Halloween Party Tissue Decoration Pack by Pearl and Earl
Vintage Image Temporary Tattoos from Rowdy Roddy Vintage
Fondant Pumpkins by Green Calligo
Halloween Postcard Set by Lost Plots
Badge Set by Asking for Trouble
What next?
At the time of writing this, we have around 36 hours to go on our indiegogo campaign. We’re nearly at the end! We’ve been running this campaign since August 31st, which seems like ages ago. You might be wondering what’s next on the horizon for Mimi and Will. And, if you don’t reserve a t-shirt now, when will your next chance to buy come along?
Well, one of the key reasons for running the pre-order campaign was to help us build inventory in the most popular sizes and designs of our ethically-sourced t-shirts. So for every design we sell now, we’ve ordered a bunch more in that size and design for our online shop, which is coming very soon to mimiandwill.com
We’re also liaising with the designers who have contributed designs for the rest of our first 12-shirt collection, these shirts will go on sale in the New Year – purchasers of our colouring book will get a sneak peek at these designs first!
Talks are also ongoing with a handful of carefully-selected independent boutiques to bring the new collection to a high street near you. But if you can’t wait for that to happen, place your pre-order now!
Remember you can buy a colouring book, badge, single (earlybird price) t-shirt, or even a year’s worth! If you’ve already reserved one or more t-shirts, we’re in the process of contacting buyers to reserve their preferred shirt size and design. We’ll be sharing your 10% store discount with pre-orderers once our online shop is up and running, too.
If you’re a designer, maker, writer, shopkeeper, blogger or anything else-er who would like to work with us, please drop us a line using the ‘contact us’ form, DM us on Twitter or catch up with us on Facebook. We’d love to hear from you!
What we’ve been up to this week…
We had a stall at Gin in Teacups at the Arches, had a great time, met some marvellous people and ate fantastic onion rings.
We got a lovely write up on the Life is Peachy Blog.
We ‘re nearly at the end of our Indiegogo Campaign. Thanks to all who’ve supported by buying, tweeting and sharing so far. It’s really appreciated! Only a few days left!
Space Week!
Every October, World Space Week celebrates mankind’s greatest achievements in space. This year, the focus is on the exploration of Mars.
In recognition of World Space Week, here are some space-themed reads, activities and goodies:
The Comic Strip History of Space– read a review here
Aspiring Astronauts Space Dress by Sewing Circus. Sewing Circus make clothes that encourage an interest in STEM subjects regardless of gender. As well as the space dress, check out the dinosaur skirts and space trousers.
Make your own constellation viewer– a DIY by Glasgow Science Centre. The Science Centre‘s a great day out if you’re in Glasgow. If not, try this DIY at home.
Inspired by vintage 50s and 60s flashcards, here’s the first octopus in space: Space Octopus Card by Ketchup on Everything.
Doodle on the Moon . Printable activity by Mr Printables. Draw on a giant moon for your wall, or a smaller one for doodles.
Space Shuttle Cushion by MyWifeYourWife. For space shuttle fans of all ages.
Australia’s Lotta Magazine produced a space issue with lots of activity ideas, from baking alien cupcakes to making your own space station. Buy the magazine or check out the activity templates.
And some reading material for the older/ big kids amongst you…
The Amateur Astronomer’s Journal by Neil Slorance. Neil’s story about a girl who escapes the stresses of everyday life by stargazing was nominated for several SICBA awards. Read a review here.
Read an interview with NASA’s spacesuit designer and find out how to cook your own rocket fuel in Oh Comely, issue 17
Mimi and Will 