KIKI BEDDING.

Thank you to Bev, who brought us this wonderful package in Spain.
'Kiki, Pelo Especial Para Nidos' is luxury bedding for baby chicks.
It is just rough goat hair sold in a beautiful packet.
Genius.
Why can't all packets of things be this cool.
Bev has a shop on Columbia road, and she makes fabulous clothes, and witty bits and bobs. Do pop in if you are passing.

FORTUNE TELLING.

Today we told fortunes in our house made of old coats, at the Art Worker's Guild Christmas fair. We have never been fortune tellers before, but it seemed to work. We wrote of good things that could happen, and household tips. The Brothers were then asked to sit on a tin bath in our tent, which was lit with a torch, and then we spun a Chinese wicker hat, containing all the folded papers. The customer picked a paper and we discussed its relevance. There were some freaky co-incidences. It's suprising the belief that people put into this ancient ritual.
Many were warned of moth attack, blocked drains, and hidden abilities to sing, which will hopefully now be worked on over the holiday period.
If you are an art worker and want to apply to be a brother, let me know. Next year's lecture program is very good and I can take up to two guests and propose new members. Lectures are every second Thursday.

SUPPORT THE CHILDREN BEHIND OUR COTTON. PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY.

Aketsun Loveable, our artist in residence, is collecting money for our favourite charity,
The Environmental Justice Foundation.
EJF highten the awareness of the true cost of cotton.

"More than 3/4 of cotton output is accounted for by developing countries" - John Baffes, Senior economist at the World Bank.

Those countries are forced to live with deadly chemicals on the fields, which cause serious illnesses and birth defects. Child labor is common. Water is short.

Cotton fields drink loads of water and in Uzbekistan the Aral Sea has been drained to 15% of its former volume. The draining has uncovered 40,000Km square of the sea floor. An area the equivalent to 6 million soccer pitches. The area now takes the form of dry mud flats, contaminated with salt and pesticide residues. The winds carry huge dust clouds to poison the neighbouring regions, and the local climate has changed.

The true cost of cotton is too high to explain here, but it might be worth noting that North America and Europe account for 45% of global cotton product consumption, despite being home to just 13% of the world population.

Our Christmas tree is decorated in pictures from the EJF literature, and Katherine E Hamnett postcards saying 'SAVE THE FUTURE'. Aketsun Loveable is offering little wind up and whistling plastic toys, (great for bath time) for which we suggest a donation of £2.
We have collected over £50 already, but there are enough plastic toys to hit our target of £100.
Please donate generously next time you visit!
Thanks!

Thanks to EJF for the photos.

THE ULD PIXIE STRIKES BACK.

Our Zara, The Uld Pixie, who works here on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, has been busy knitting Christmas gifts.
You could buy an Angelic Sheep to put on your Christmas tree year after year, or why not purchase a Mince Pie Tape measure to check the difference of waist circumference before and after the Christmas meal?
Beautifully made, and reasonably priced.

AKETSUN LOVEABLE!

Welcome Aketsun, who has flown in from the land of the rising sun, to bring us a pot pourri of fantastical dolls attire, little bird necklaces, handbag bears who carry a change of clothes,and new directions in Christmas decorations! Aketsun collects tiny gems from micro plastic high heals, miniature spoons, to pretty beads. With delicate stitches in sewing, knitting and crochet, she creates a utopia.
It takes several moments to appreciate how much work has gone into each piece. In Aketsun's world, everything is loveable, hense I presume, her name 'Aketsun Loveable'.
Doll collecting is massive in Japan. Aketsun showed us several copies of a Japanese Magazine 'Dolly Dolly', a bizare publication featuring over sexualized dolls that might have died on their wedding day, complete with roses around the coffin etc. Then, as you turn the pages (backwards) Aketsun's joyus world leaps out from the rest, and is, I imagine, very collectable.

It's the best example of contemporary Japanese doll craft I have seen. Paper dress making patterns, and crochet diagrams are also on show. Recognising, that the English might not get the doll world, she's made beautiful fantasies which you can wear, and decorations for Christmas. We are very proud to be showing something so bright, happy and completely alien.

OUR NEW BOOKCASE!

Built in rather a hurry, due to lots of new books arriving, (including the much awaited 'Dinosaur Iron- On Transfer Patterns') our new bookcase, of which we are most proud, cost a grand total of £8.99, due to the price of mat black paint, covering up the tatty wood, which was mostly found on the roadside between here and Soho.
The irregularity of materials, made it impossible to design on paper, and I love it's No-Wave feel.

NICK CAVE -ART IN MOTION.