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Well, this year is shaping up to be full of exciting new ventures!

I’m super-dooper excited to announce that, along with three other local artists, Phia will be popping up in OUR OWN UNIT in Bangors’ Deiniol Centre (LL57 1NW) for 6 weeks from the 7th April!  Stiwdio 9 opens its doors at 11am on Sunday 7th April and will be open 9am-5pm Monday-Saturday until 18th May – find us on Facebook or at https://stiwdio9studio.business.site

Come and meet the artists, watch them create their work and shop for a fantastic selection of local arts, crafts & gifts and handmade clothing. I’ll be showcasing some pieces from my brand new “Phia Ecouture” collection for the first time and working on more unique creations at Stiwdio 9 every day!

I’ve also been busily making funky easter chicks, bunnies and welsh dragons as well as mass producing weaving kits – now on sale for the first time at Ewe Felty Thing in Llandudno!

And you can catch me at Phia’s Pop-up shop at Ty Glyndwr, Caernarfon on the second Thursday of the month, now from 4-7pm.

Our relaxing Crafternoons are proving to be a huge success with lots of lovely new participants each month, as are my upholstery, curtain & soft furnishing and weaving workshops which are all nearly fully booked (see “Workshops and Events” for more details).

Lots more new from the world of Phia coming soon, now for a day of dyeing wool for craft kits and recycled silk curtain lining for my Ecouture creations!

‘Til soon,

Phia x

With the days finally getting longer, snowdrops and crocuses blooming and daffodils sprouting, spring is just around the corner!  And as usual it’s been all go here at Phia with the return of monthly Crafternoons, extended Bangor Arts Initiative exhibition, lots of painting and upholstery!

Following is my busy Spring programme of workshops, pop-up events and exhibitions – please come along and support local!

I’m very pleased to announce the return of Phia’s Crafternoons! Now being held in our local community centre here in Glasinfryn 2-4pm on the last Sunday of the month, Crafternoons are your chance to indulge your crafty side, learn and share skills and meet new friends in a relaxed and cosy environment. No need to book, just come along with your crafty project or learn some fab new crafting skills! If you need materials or craft kits I’ve got a lovely selection on sale to tempt and inspire 🙂
Just £5 per drop in session including organic teas, coffee and homemade cake.

Bangor Arts Initiative Exhibition and Phia’s Pop-up Shop – now on until 24th February at the BAI Gallery, Deiniol Centre, Bangor, Gwynedd. The gallery is open 12-5pm Monday – Saturday showcasing a fantastic selection of local artists including yours truly, and for a limited time you can purchase unique Phia eco-clothing, jewelry and goodies such as handmade weaving kits, hand dyed welsh wool packs and interesting gifts!

Wild Weaving at Crafty Rhino will introduce you to the wonderful world of freestyle weaving. You will learn how to create your own wild wall hanging on an easy to use custom built weaving frame, using natural hand dyed wools and yarns and incorporating foraged materials such as slate, lichen and shells.
£65 for 4 monthly sessions of 2 hours – includes equipment and basic materials with lots more to buy

Ty Glyndwr Pop-up, 12noon-7pm on the 2nd Thursday of the month, beginning 14th March. In the centre of Caernarfon old town, Ty Glyndwr is a stylish Cafe/Bar and bunkhouse and host for Phia’s new monthly Pop-up shop! Pop along for a delicious cup of coffee and peruse my range of unique and individually designed eco-clothing, crochet jewellery, accessories, gifts, creative craft kits, locally sourced natural crafting materials and hand dyed wools and yarns!

Create your own Curtains and Soft Furnishings! 10am-4pm Saturday 27th April at Ganolfan Glasinfryn, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 4UP.                                                             Learn how to make your own gorgeous curtains, blinds and soft furnishings with artist/designer Sophia Ingham. Gain useful skills and techniques to help you to save a fortune and create your perfect home!
You will need to bring your own sewing machine, fabric, lining plus trimmings and accessories, however a selection of fabrics, lining, trimmings and accessories will be available to buy.
£55 for the days tuition including organic teas, coffee and homemade cake!
For tips on measuring up and any questions you may have, plus bookings please contact Phia via messenger, call 07391930719 or email phiaeco@gmail.com

Wild Weaving at Pensychnant Conservation Centre, 10am-5pm Saturday 11th May.  Spend an inspirational day with artist/designer Sophia Ingham creating your own woven wall hanging incorporating wild materials such as slate, lichen, shells and learning how to dye natural wool and yarn!
Basic materials and refreshments are included in the price of £45 for the day, plus lots of exciting materials and craft packs will be available to buy.
We’ll also be offering a tasty vegetarian lunch for £5 per head – allergies/intolerances happily catered for!

Upholstery Weekender 25th/26th May and 15th/16th June at Ganolfan Glasinfryn, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 4UP.  Would you like to learn upholstery? This two day workshop with artist/designer Sophia Ingham is perfect for beginners and experienced upholsterers, and will take you through the entire upholstery process, from furniture stripping, through re-strapping & springing, re-upholstery and finishing techniques.
You will need to bring along a project and upholstery fabric (if you’re after something specific), otherwise all basic materials and equipment are provided plus some available to buy.
If you’ve already mastered basic upholstery and fancy trying your hand at something a bit more challenging such as leather upholstery and buttoning this workshop is for you!
Two days expert tuition and all materials, plus refreshments just £95.

I’ll also be taking part in a few joint exhibitions in North Wales – details coming soon, and am always available to create you that extra special something!

Phia x

Well, its been a hectic couple of weeks of blocked drains, builders and feeling grotty: gloomy, grey and glum, not conducive to creativity…

Nevertheless, I’ve been a busy bee fashioning jewellery stands to display my wares at Storiel in Bangor (on sale from Tuesday 23rd Jan!) and weaving frames for my Free-form Weaving and Needle Felting Workshop at Pensychnant Conservation Centre (Saturday 24th Feb) with off-cuts of wood from the shed. Great fun making big noise courtesy of my beloved jigsaw, and lots of lovely mess!

Also found a brilliant use for empty ribbon reels which I’ve been hoarding (can’t throw potentially useful things away): with the simple addition of a Phia eco sticker they become perfect up-cycled bracelet displays!

And whilst trying to reinstate some sense of organisation in my studio, I was excited and surprised to find some free-form weavings I’d made when I was just 15 years old!

According to my mother I was being horribly teenaged, bored and annoying one holiday so she sat me at her loom and these were the results 🙂  I have absolutely no recollection of making them…  but very much enjoying weaving again and creating some exciting new textile art.

My sketchbook is brimming with ideas, and at the rare times I’m not crazy busy I’m slowly starting to realise my sketches using mixed mediums such as crochet and needle felting, dying my own yarns, wool and silk and generally indulging my creativity.

One of my favourite past-times, which I also too seldom get to enjoy, is hunting for materials, either foraging in the beautiful Snowdonia countryside or rummaging through charity shops and car boot sales.

It’s incredible what treasures can be found for free! Porth Penrhyn in Bangor has the most beautiful sea smoothed slates I use in my jewellery and artwork; the rugged local coastline offers the most amazing array of shells, driftwood and perforated pebbles; the many slate quarries scattered throughout the mountains have endless quantities of coloured slates flecked with quartz and fools gold; whilst the wild welsh forests and hills hold limitless leaves, bark, twigs, lichen, pebbles, crystals, and infinite inspiration!

I’ve rescued a lot of damaged clothing and broken necklaces from charity shops saving them from landfill, whiling away the winter evenings sorting beads and unpicking clothes! Latest absolute bargains include a suede coat and a sheepskin jacket for just £1 each which are in the process of being transformed into snuggly slippers, hats and bags for the new Trigonos shop opening soon!!!

Also picked up some great garments at the Bethesda Pay as You Feel Cafe’s Clothes Swap yesterday – great fun, great people, great clothes!

And lastly: Monthly Craft Club will be commencing on Wednesday 7th February 6-8pm at the PAYF Cafe with a Valentines theme, but feel free to bring along your own project and get crafty! As usual, hot food and drinks will be available on a PAYF basis – join the Facebook group “Craft Club” for regular updates and ideas.

Will bring you more from the world of Phia as it unfolds, but for now keep warm and keep creating!

Happy New Year and welcome to my new website! Phia eco finally has its own corner of the web!

After a hectic but productive 2017 I am looking forward to a more organised and even more productive 2018…

Last year I had the privilege of having my work on sale at Trigonos in Nantlle, at Harlech Pottery, and in the run up to Christmas took part in the Oriel Ynys Mon Christmas Exhibition and Storiel in Bangor’s Showcase. As I got into both Oriel Mon and Storiel very last minute it was full on 16 hour days to create enough stock in time for opening! However it all payed off with a very successful exhibition and has led to my stock being on sale in the Storiel Shop in 2018!

As well as my regular showcases at Trigonos and Harlech Pottery, I have new outlets in Scotland and will be returning to Woolfest in Cumbria with my mother and renowned weaver/textile artist, Eta Ingham Lawrie, and hope to exhibit my own textile artwork later in the year.

My 2018 diary is already pretty full and I have an extensive programme of events for you to partake in, beginning with Creative Crochet on Friday 26^th January, 9am-6pm (and again on Friday 11^th May) at Trigonos in Nantlle, North wales.

Nestled by a tranquil lake in the foothills of the stunning Snowdonia Mountains, Trigonos is a magical location and the large, light studio, which we have the pleasure to use for our workshop, overlooks the lake and mountains to inspire and admire.

Creative Crochet is a full day workshop for just £50, including all materials plus a delicious lunch and refreshments kindly provided by the Trigonos team.

Suitable for beginners (as long as you can chain stitch!) or those more accomplished at crocheting, this course will inspire and get your creativity flowing.

I will teach you freeform crochet without the use of patterns, how to create flowers, buttons, motifs, and how to up-cycle/repurpose knitwear, or give a much loved item a new lease of life! I provide all hand dyed yarns, materials and equipment, however if you have a project you’d like to work on please bring it along!

Next on the programme is Free-form Weaving and Needle Felting, Saturday 24^th February, 10am-5pm at Pensychnant Conservation Centre, and again on Saturday 9^th June.

Using handmade weaving frames and hand dyed wools and yarns, foraged materials such as slate, shells, bark, and recycled beads, we will create a free woven and needle felted wall-hanging to proudly adorn your wall!

Pensychnant is an incredible Arts and Crafts Manor house, hidden in the wooded hills above Conwy. Come and lose yourself for a day and make something magical, only £45 for the day including all materials and equipment, with refreshments and a homemade lunch at just £5 a head!

As we move into spring I’ll be holding an Easter Crafts Workshop at Pensychnant Conservation Centre, 17th March, 12noon – 4pm. Suitable for all ages, come along for an afternoon making fluffy chicks and bunnies, Easter baskets, decorations and much more. Adults £10, children £5, includes all materials and refreshments.

And if you are baffled by your sewing machine or its sitting on a shelf gathering dust, bring it along to Pensychnant Conservation Centre for “Understanding your Sewing Machine” 14th April 12noon – 4pm and master your machine under my expert guidance!

I will guide you through setting up your machine and how to use it, basic maintenance, and how to make a nice, easy cushion cover or bag. Teas, coffees, cake and all materials are included, only £25!

If you are a more accomplished seamstress, please contact me if you would like tuition or guidance either finishing an existing project, or would like to learn new tricks and skills… I intend to hold pattern cutting and advanced sewing courses later in the year.

Then hopefully as the weather starts to warm up a bit, I’m taking Phia to Woolfest in Cumbria, 22nd and 23rd June, 10am – 5pm.

Two days of woolly madness with literally hundreds of stalls including livestock, yarns and clothing, it’s well worth a woolly wonder to Cumbria. For the first time Phia is co-hosting a stall with renowned weaver, crafter, textile artist and my mother, Eta Ingham Lawrie, who has won best in show years running J very proud to share a stand!

We’ll both be holding demonstrations of free form weaving and crochet jewellery throughout the event, for bookings and more info contact Woolfest directly.

And as usual I am available for workshops, demos, and to create you beautiful bridal wear, unique clothing and accessories, plus bespoke curtains, soft furnishings and upholstery.

More from the world of Phia coming soon!