'The Stories of the Somme' exhibition at the Experience Barnsley Museum began 24th of August and runs up until 20th of November. Alongside their other Barnsley memorabilia, stories from the Battle of the Somme were presented with items, literature and memories of by-gone soldiers. Dotted around the museum were also garments created by Barnsley College Fashion students from their World War one project earlier this year which brought the theme more to life. The exhibition is definitely worth a visit as well as seeing all the other items within the museum.

Here's the photo journal of the visit.



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We all make silly mistakes even at the best of times and when running a business and facing your customers, the best corkers come spilling out. The thing is, we're only human and we all do it at times so don't beat yourself up about it because in the years to come, you'll laugh about it. Some things are just what we've learnt not to do and things to remember to do the next time we're in that situation, but these are all growing points for us and our businesses. Here's what some Barnsley Fashion Creatives admitted to..

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Emily Roberts of Emi B Designs, "At the start of my business I wasn't very organised at keeping everything in one place, such as writing down what I'd sold or keeping all my receipts in one place. It meant I had to hunt high and low for all the bits of paper with this information on when I needed it ! Now I am much more organised."

Here's a few things you can take from that, get a receipt book where it duplicates everything and then you have a record of everything you've sold, the day it sold and your customer gets a copy of it as well! In my own dressmaking studio I have a 'receipts tin', everytime I buy fabric or some other items to run my business they went in that tin until the end of the month when I log everything into my accounts and then go into monthly envelopes.

Nicola Whitfield Make-up Artist, "I Forgot my make up brushes on a photoshoot once, fortunately I had time to nip to the shop and pick up some to use, now I have a checklist so when I pack my kit up and I know I've not forgotten anything"

Lists can sound tedious to some people but are definitely an effective tool when done well (and you don't loose that list!). There's many ways to do list-making such as apps on your phones or tablets, special notebooks specifically for lists, a plain old pad or the ever favourable, post-it notes!

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Laura Fletcher of Something New-Wedding Specialists, "I do remember going to a dress fitting without my tape measure lol... the bride had to borrow one from a neighbour!"

If your business has a few main tools that let you do what you do, it's always good to have spares and stuff them in places where you're likely to be when you need them. For example, stuff some tape measures in a pocket in your car. Or have a couple in the zipper pocket of your bag. If they're small things that always come in handy, why not grab a few extras next time you go shopping.

Sandra Hill, "I used to just randomly pluck prices out of the air when I first started. No working out costs, profits etc, I've had to be more methodical in the business side of things."

This is always a tricky subject when working out your prices. Do you work at a cost that your customers will pay? Or work it out perfectly adding in all your costs and profits and hope that it's still an affordable price? It's a hard decision, but one thing you should remember is to never work at a loss! Make sure you are at least covering the material costs, otherwise you aren't doing business.

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Kellyann Garforth of Klue by Kellyann, "The only one I can think of is always forgetting my business cards and having to write my email down on random bits of paper, but then I still do this now "

Ok, some daft mistakes are still alright to happen and they aren't the end of the world. Like I said, we're only human! Do you have any things you used to do and have learnt from? Silly mistakes that you laugh about now? Comment below or drop an email to hannah456@hotmail.com

 

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The Alhambra Shopping Centre has held a Fashion Week event to coincide with London's Fashion Week to spotlight some of the shops, give away prizes and put on some shows.The event has been on since Tuesday with the Barnsley Hospice having a pop-up shop and fundraising. On Friday there was some vintage style Paparazzi's taking photos and giving away £150 when they entered the competition. Saturday was the main day with their 'Fashion On The Move' shows, consisting of 5 models and doing a shows every half an hour at various spots around the centre to show different shops' selection of clothing. At each show, they were giving away £50 vouchers to spend in those shows, the winners being picked at random from the audience.

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From Tuesday, the Barnsley Hospice charity was in the centre selling pre-loved clothing from their charity shops and promoting their upcoming events. On Friday they had two vintage style paparazzis in the centre, taking photos of local shoppers and then giving them a card where they could download the photos for free and also have the chance of winning £150 to spend in the retailers. These were a nice touch to the event and created a fun atmosphere.

The 'Fashion On The Move' shows were a delight to watch, they had 5 models of which were 3 gals and 2 guys. Dressed in the retailers, the shows were right outside of that shop amongst all of the shoppers. They would then put on a dance routine and then a standard catwalk show. The compere would then talk about the clothing the models wore and what prices they were at. The shows were on roughly every half an hour and the models did do the same dance routine every show, which I thought they could have maybe had 2 dance routines to switch it up a little. Despite this though, each show was kept lively, intriguing and informative by the host. In the show that was outside TK Maxx, my boyfriend that had come along with me whispered 'I want that shirt that model is wearing.' so we headed straight in to find it, proving the shows worked as they should have!

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It would be great that next year when they do this again, they try to add even more to the fashion week event and bring more people into the Barnsley town centre. Maybe some more pop-up shops? Live mannequin window displays? Let us know what ideas you have. The Alhambra Shopping Centre is one of our 10 places to visit in Barnsley and putting on events like these ensure its place on that list!

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Credit given to first 2 pictures, all rest belong to Barnsley Fashion Creatives.

Barnsley photographer Liam Gilroy talks to us about styles, editing tips and photoshoot planning. He constantly surrounds himself by all the right people to ensure his authenticness in his photography and his parents old photos ignited that spark. Read the full conversation below and see some of his photos. Visit  www.liamgilroy.com



BFC:  What first attracted you to photography?

Liam: What first attracted me to photography was mostly how, when I was growing up, my parents took a lot of photos of me and my siblings just as people do now, except they weren't lost in the cloud for ever, they were actually developed and printed and acted as physical memories. I always loved that idea of archiving memories this way, and I think that's what's lead me into my love of capturing people, moments and atmospheres.

BFC: Its a shame people don't really print out their photos anymore. So how has your style developed over the time?

Liam:  I think over time I've developed a more earthy tone and started to focus in on a certain aesthetic that excites me, usually the more gritty and mysterious. I usually do this this now by creating more of a 'shot on film' feel, which perhaps relates to the last question. With fashion photography I think it's good to have models that have an uniqueness about them, which ultimately makes the clothing more desirable!



BFC: Following from your styles, where do you tend to get your inspiration from?

Liam: A lot of the time I'm lucky enough to work with people who express a theme in their products, so in those cases I can draw on that iconography and try to match that with a real world setting that helps to build a narrative.



BFC: What was one of your favourite projects that you've worked on?

Liam: One that springs to mind is a Fear and Loathing Clothing shoot we did for their Up The Dosage collection. We shot all the lifestyle shots around this huge abandoned house which was a lot of fun to play around with. We decided to run with some more unusual ideas, like building a prop satanic ritual in the barn, the location was a playground for photography. Here's a behind the scenes video of that shoot.
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BFC: Oh wow that's so cool! What were your post-shoot processes after that?

Liam: I'm lucky enough that my brother Jordan Gilroy co-runs F&L and is a very talented designer, so we get to collaborate a lot and that extends into the editing of the photos, which we always agree on! Outside of F&L I still get a lot of freedom in editing (mostly in Photoshop). I think because fashion based photography is usually more dramatic, you get to take more liberties with colouring and balancing the image and it's seen as being part of an overall process.



BFC: What tips would you give about photo editing to those who want to make their own products look better? Maybe they only use their mobile phones, so is there anything they can do just to bring them more to life?

Liam: A big thing for me is not getting too caught up on gear, so I tent to find kit and software and stick with it until I feel like it hasn't done the job. For me I use photoshop, because you can always play around with depth by using layer masks or tilt shifts etc and play with the contrast a lot. I use a cool piece of software called CameraBag2, which has some awesome customisable presets for specific tones etc. Honestly, I think Instagram is great if you're working on mobile. For example, you can get a really great looking tone just by pumping up the contrast and and taking the saturation way down on your image just like you would in Photoshop. I think it's just good to experiment.

BFC: And last question, what tips would you give to someone who's planning their own photoshoot?

Liam: My advice for anyone planning their own photoshoot, if I'm qualified to give advice, would be to first create a good atmosphere, make sure everyone's on the same page about what you want to achieve and make sure that everyone's having a good time! Your shoot will benefit massively from this. Second of all I'd say try something different. With the exemption of practising before you shoot, try and do something new that you finding challenging.

In what ways have you grown or developed to make your business better? This is the question we asked Barnsley creatives about themselves and their businesses to provide some tips for your own company. How have they become more efficient? How have they grown their business? And how have they become better? It's all here.

Emily Roberts of Emi B Designs

My business has definitely developed since I first started in many ways. The style of my products is something that has changed as before I was all about bright and colourful, which I still am but now I look for more of a vintage feel in both the colours I use and the styles, this change has made my business better because that's the sort of things people love these days. I also try to make my bags more practical than I used to. I make bags for everyday use instead of the tote bags I used to make a lot of.

Laura Fletcher of Something New Wedding Specialists

I'd say I've developed more by adding more to the range in terms of what the business has to offer. So in the beginning it was just dresses, then I went on to add decor like chair covers and the cart, then now i do ties too.

Trish Evans of Spirit Original Designs

I started with jewellery and bags. Then clothes and then crafts. All bespoke and we provide a commissioning service.

Kellyann Garforth of Klue by KellyAnn

It would definitely be finding my brand style that's true to me. In such a fast paced industry I always felt like I needed to keep on trend and change my whole style each season, but now I feel I have my own signature style. A way of branding that I stay true to but I try keep my designs on trend, fresh and bringing something new each season. KLUE DOLL is what I am changing my brand name to on the 1st of October to start my vision for a stronger more recognisable brand.

Nicola Whitfield Make-Up Artist

I would say I provide a much better service to my clients than I did when I first started out. I have a much more comprehensive knowledge of the products I use I have adjusted and tweaked this over the years so I provide the best service for my customers.

Raychel McGuin of Angels From Demons

I've stopped worrying what people think and do what makes me happy. If I don't sell, I look at it as a hobby - so all sales are a bonus. I see stalls at events as a 4D advert - I can 'sell' my stuff much better in person than a photo/advert - so the cost of the stall is like paying for an ad. I always used to try and do a mish mash of stuff to please the customer and found it just confused them, now I specialise in one thing (I may be expanding to two but very closely linked). I find people get it, it's easier to market and discuss and as it's very niche it makes it easier to pinpoint my audience rather than the scattergun approach I used to use!

Sandra Hill of A Pawfect Fit

As for what have I learnt. What haven't I? More or less ALL the business and internet stuff (I didn't even have a Facebook, Twitter page, etc until I needed one for business). I've learnt to think laterally and to find ways of sticking to my ideals and ethics, whilst not judging, or offending anyone else's. That and to focus. I've cut out so many of the products I started selling at events as my secondary business, to the point I'm contemplating just selling those online, Etsy, Ebay etc, and not having a proper 2nd business but I love creating, so need an outlet. So to focus is probably another thing that I've learnt.

Have you learnt something from these experts that you could start to put into practise? Let us know your thoughts.

Blogging can be a huge leap forward for your business and when done right, it can funnel potential customers through to buying your products or services. Giving background information about you and your business can make your customers feel closer to you and get to know you better. They can see how you work, what events you go to and what your personality is.



Blogging can take some time, on top of the many other list of things you have to do with your business. But if you set aside just 2 hours a week and publish 1 good post a week, this can enhance the richness of your work. Say you did a fair that weekend, or you're working on a new product, or you have an exciting commission on the go, these can all be great content to put on your blog. Take photos throughout your event to create a journal of the day, or share some tips on getting commissions, there's numerous things you can put on it to share to your viewers. Be careful though, don't throw things on there, try and keep things either insightful or helpful to keep their attention. If you want to dive deeper into blogging, many bloggers post everyday or every other day but you don't have to! If you can commit to post once a week, or once every two weeks, then that's perfectly fine and your readers will know you post regularly.



There are so many free resources and guides on how to do blogs and there is no surefire way to do it, you just have to find your own rhythm to it and try and be consistent as you would with your other social media platforms. It can be more time consuming than say Facebook or Twitter but that's because its more content rich, you can say much more with text and images. Even if you're not much of a writer, photo blogs are just as popular if you just say a sentence or two of what the photos are and then post a few good quality images.


There's a few ways of getting a blog, Google's Blogger and Wordpress are the main ones, Tumblr is another but it is more image based. However if you already have a website, add a 'News' page and use that as your blog to update your readers. This can also attract more customers to your website as they're bound to search through the rest of your site once they've done reading. You just have to find what is easiest for you.

If you have anymore questions about Blogging, feel free to get in touch!

We have our first Barnsley Fashion Creatives project! We have been in touch with Trish Evans from Spirit Original Designs who would like to do a photoshoot of her clothing and accessories and is looking for other locals to participate. Here is the run down of the brief with subject to changes as more details are confirmed.

At Barnsley Fashion Creatives, our main aim is to get people connected in Barnsley to work together and help each other out to further enhance our experiences and business. If you have a project in mind and not sure where to go with it, we can help. We can get in touch with the right people to get what you need, find suitable locations and help get it all organised. Feel free to enquire about your project.

Brief by: Spirit Original Designs

Proposed Location: Spring bank Farm (waiting on confirmation)

Date: October

Theme: Rustic, old, quirky, historical, woods

Who we are looking for: Models in sizes 10, 14 & 16, at least one blonde and one brunette. A Photographer and anyone else who'd like to participate. We already have hair & makeup.

Project is unpaid, all participants will get full use of the photos.

This is a fun project for people who are based in Barnsley to all help each other out and get their own use out of it as well, if you require some photos of particular areas that show your own work, we can get those done for you to put in your own portfolios.

If you yourself or if know anyone who would like to help out on the project please use the contact page quoting the brief and with any links to your work. All participants must be agreed by the project leader to ensure you fit the desired brief.

Whether your business is fashion based or not, it's strange how much it can influence all aspects around you. Many different industries look to fashion for their inspiration, they might look at the shapes, colours, textures or details. These can all transfer to different things like architecture, homewares, art and fabrics. This continuing circle or taking inspiration from each other can affect your own business whatever field you are in, therefore it's good to get in on the loop and know whats coming.

London Fashion Week, beginning next Thursday 15th September to Tuesday 20th, will be showcasing designer's Spring/Summer 2017 collections, meaning you can see what trends will be popping up after the winter. Planning ahead is a main component of all businesses and if you can decide what items you'll create for the next season, you can be right on trend when the time comes. Whether you just want to see the colours, beauty looks, fabric prints or shapes, it's all here at your fingertips because LFW live stream many of their shows onto their website. The Live shows don't start until the Friday but a lot of main contenders like Burberry, Jasper Conran, Mulberry, Topshop Unique are all live streaming and usually last around 30 minutes each.



Pop it on in the background whilst your working or schedule your day around which shows you really want to watch. Make sure to write notes of anything you see that keeps re-occurring or if there's anything that aligns with your own business' brand that you can work into your next season products. Doing all this means you will be on track and already have insider knowledge of what will be popular and what consumers will be looking for, which means more money in your pocket. You don't have to pick up on every single trend and stuff them all into your business though, pick just a few that already match your theme and ethos whilst still keeping your own style in the mix.

Keep track of the shows on the London Fashion Week website here: http://londonfashionweek.co.uk/

In an obvious way, well all want to be a Professional. Whatever your subject or field is, we want to be the best and most knowledgeable at it and there's nothing wrong with that. Being a Professional can open many doors for you, maybe a higher wage or be more respected. But there's a small problem with once you call yourself a professional, you hit the wall. You've learnt it all. You know the industry standards. You know the boundaries. You. Become. Comfortable.

Amateurs can have the advantage over Professionals, hear me out. When you start out in a new craft, you don't care how silly you look or how inexperienced you are. You just throw everything at it, experimenting in different ways and techniques. You might even find new discoveries doing this. Amateurs have nothing to loose and aren't afraid to make mistakes and fail. You are constantly learning new ways around those mistakes because you know how much of an amateur you're being and don't care! An amateur's mind is more free and loose, open to new possibilities. I'm constantly learning new things and not just in my own field, in anything that has an effect in my day-to-day life and interests, things like Facebook algorithms, up-cycling furniture and even ways to train dogs! But I don't really know anything, I'm an amateur so I have to keep learning and evolving.

If you've been doing your business or craft for quite some time and would put yourself somewhere on the professional spectrum, that's fine! By all means, get it on your CV! But stay in the mind of an amateur. Continue growing, continue making mistakes, continue learning. Embrace any uncertainty or 'the unknown' and wear your heart on your sleeve. Wear your amateur mind on your sleeve, keep that raw enthusiasm at the front and never take what you already know for granted.

Join our Facebook group and let us know what you think.

Other than the high streets shops, there are a number of places to get different menswear in Barnsley from independent shops and handmade designers. There's always plenty of places for womenswear and the menswear seems sparce or hard to find. Well we've done the leg work for you, here's our list of possibilities for you guys to explore.

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Down the Victorian Arcade are 3 independent shops, Ashworth & Bird, Originals and The Gallery. Each of these have a different style and look so depending how you're feeling, you can easily pop into all 3 down one short street to figure out what you're wanting.



If you leave the Arcade at the bottom after being inside Ashworth & Bird, cross the road and head to your right and you'll pass the corner shop of Ghia Menswear, for the more sport luxe clothing as well as accessories.



Also On your visit list should be Nomad Atelier, many of their items are unisex, looking amazing on men as they do on women. Be prepared to pay the price for their luxurious fabrics, bu they'll certainly last you many years to come in both quality and style.

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Speaking of handmade, local designer Emily Sharp Fashion creates quirky menswear garments, geometric t-shirts, stylish trousers and one-off cardigans. She can also cater to requests and commissions if there's something you'd like but just can't find in the shops.



And lastly, if you're needing something more formal, Greenwoods Menswear is the place. Now based in the Alhambra shopping centre, they have suits, shirts, ties, jackets and more.

All photos belong to Barnsley Fashion Creatives, except Emily Sharp Fashion's two photos.

Whether it's your office, home studio, workshop, make-up suitcase, or even your dining room! Creative spaces are needed for our hobbies and businesses to make our works of art. From our Facebook Group, some members sent us photos of their creative spaces and we love them!!

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Nicola Whitfield's Make-up setup at a photoshoot

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[caption id="attachment_1300" align="aligncenter" width="536"] Leanne Brooks' Sewing corner[/caption]

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It's so interesting seeing how people work! We've been diving into the world of Pinerest to see their showroom looking workspaces and gather you some inspiration for your creative space and ideas to keep it tidy and organised.

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Pinboards and corkboards are a quick, cheap and easy way to get things up on the wall. Get your calendar up there, inspiration pictures, reminders and more. Getting things up on the wall can continually inspire you and using wall space will always benefit your room.

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Peg and wire boards are so versatile in making your space more efficient, add shelves, baskets, tubs and more. These can be changed up as and when you want as your workspace evolves and you see what you need more of or less of.

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Getting storage right can be the difference between getting something made in a short time or a long time depending on how fast you find the materials and tools to make it! If you have the space to have a good storage system, make sure if has all the comparments it needs. If space is something you're strapped for, get creative using the backs of doors, stack wooden boxes on a wall with lots of cubby holes, make sure its efficient for the space you have.

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Caddies can be great for having all your stuff on show whilst also being on the move, pull it round the room with you whenever you need it. Implement smaller storage systems within them to keep it neat and tidy.

If after all that you have a gloriously messy room and love it the way it is, here's some other chaotic workspaces to remind you that you aren't the only one!

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Barnsley Town centre has a wealth of shops and places to visit when you venture outside the usual high street areas. Independents, quirky arcades and everything-under-one-roof shops are just a few. Here's ten places we recommend visiting when you next go shopping in Barnsley to find those off-the-beat items. Join our Facebook Group here.

The Victorian Arcade

Barnsley's Victorian arcade is a wonderful old cobbled street full of independents shops, restaurants, jewellers and more. Half of the arcade is covered over by this beautiful glass roof and looks glorious when lit up at Christmas time. It's a must visit to find any quirky items, eat some good food and stroll up and down.

The Victorian Arcade, Barnsley, S70 2QN

The New Market

The new market building has literally just finished being built and has already opened it's doors. The controversial new home did cause a stir with it's yellow outer shell but has promise to bring many Barnsley customers in to see all the stalls, selling a whole ray of different products and items.

Kendray Street, Barnsley, S70 1DB

Barnsley Antiques Centre

The Barnsley Antiques Centre is still a relatively new business but is a fabulous shop! Situated just on the other side of Alhambra Roundabout, it's full of antique furniture and homewares but also features some brilliant vintage clothing. There's quite a few Barnsley memorabilia too if you want something more personal to your hometown.

Doncaster Road, Barnsley, S70 1TH

Freyja's Tea Room, Pre-Loved Boutique & Salon No.5

All three in one shop! Freyja's tea room is a sweet little vintage style cafe, next is the Pre-Loved boutique that feature lovely clothing and also dresses by Something New-Wedding Specialists and lastly in Salon No.5 that caters to all your luscious locks needs. All these are under one roof which make for a great shopping experience.

Regent Street South, Barnsley, S70 2HT

Barnsley Indoor Market

The indoor market is a great place to find everything you could possibly need. Over two floors, the place is set out in blocks with such a range of individual stalls from fabrics, to gaming, to pet food, to jewellery and more! The atmosphere is full of a hustle and bustle as it's always a busy place.

Multiple Access Points: Cheapside S70 1SB, Mayday Green Arcade S70 1RG, Market Hall Central S70 1SX, Upper New Street S70 1SY

Peel Street Emporium

Enter if you dare! It's full of individual crafters of a great range. Most items are handmade here in Yorkshire and there is also some great vintage pieces and second-hand furniture. If you are visiting Barnsley and want to see plenty of businesses in one place, put this place on your list.

Peel Street, Barnsley, S70 2RA

Alhambra Shopping Centre

The only main shopping centre smack bang in the town centre is home to quite a few main high street brands like Claire's, Primark, Next and Wilkinsons. You can't avoid visiting here but don't dread that fact! There's some great little stalls throughout the corridors and a couple of cafe's to eat in, as well as some lovely fashion shops.

Cheapside, Barnsley, S70 1SB

The Cooper Art Gallery

Not just a gallery, this place has a great cafe at one side but also the shop holds lots and lots of handmade artistic items such as jewellery, textile items, pottery and more. Definitely worth going and seeing some exquisite items that would make beautiful gifts either for yourself or a loved one.

Church Street, Barnsley, S70 2AH

Nomad Atelier & The Quintessential Kitchen

Nomad is an in-house brand that is mostly handmade here in Barnsley, but also houses it's own gallery on the top floor that sell paintings, homewares, jewellery and more. The Quintessential kitchen is their own cafe that offer a more higher quality to match that of the atelier. The store is based in an old Tobacco warehouse, so results in a quirky backdrop interior.

George Yard, Barnsley, S70 2FA

The Lucorum

The Lucorum building homes the local boutique, Moo Designs but also has The Old Chemist cocktail bar and restaurant upstairs and  Karl Smith's Mens Grooming. It's a beautiful glass fronted building with these quirky places to visit inside.

Hanson Street, Barnsley, S70 2HZ

All photos belong to Barnsley Fashion Creatives.

Chic-yCow are a local handmade accessories business all based on leather. These almost artistic pieces can finish off any outfit and with being such high quality, will be finishing your outfits for years to come. Through the seasons Jo likes to switch things round and try new designs and ranges from natural floral forms to geometric shapes. You can find her Etsy shop here and follow her Facebook page here.

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Jo: These are some of my favourite 'Geometrix' designs, combining leather that has been hand painted in metallic colours and combined with stainless steel hardware like studs. I've always had a passion for all things crafty and over a number of years, I've learnt how to sew, knit, crochet, paint watercolours and make costume jewellery, many techniques I now use in my work.

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Jo: These are items from my best selling 'Autumn Leaves' designs and are again hand painted in metalics and then embroidered over the top, with added beads. Chic-yCow was set up in 2011 when I started to incorporate my love of Art, Colour, Textiles and Painting to produce individually handmade Leather Jewellery, Handbags and Accessories.

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Jo: From the 'Daisies' range, these are also my favourites and some of my best sellers. My products are made using leather that has been embellished with intricately printed and painted designs before being cut, layered and combined to create softly textural pieces of jewellery and accessories.



Jo: Here are a mixture of bracelets, necklaces and brooches. Whilst I am occasionally distracted by geometric shapes and repeating patterns, my main love is working with natural forms.



Jo: These are the updated version of the 'Flower Bracelet', which I've been making now for over 5 years. During the summer, my work features hand painted and printed flowers, combined with glass and ceramic beads and in the winter you can see pieces that are covered with embroidered metallic leaves and bold hand painted leather, combined with metal hardware.