The Hand of Khamsa paintings, by Marlene

The ‘Hand of Khamsa’ or the ‘Hand of Fatima’ has become quite popularised in jewelry, keychains and other accessories. Khamsa literally means ‘five’ in Arabic. While the origins of this symbol cannot be pin-pointed in history, it is believed to offer protection (from what some may call ‘evil eye’)

While the Hand of Khamsa is very often, seen in amulents and accessories, it is refreshing to see it used as part of artwork and paintings. And that is what you get to see at Marlene’s stand at ARTE.

The hand of Khamsa painting series by Marlene

The hand of Khamsa painting series by Marlene

Amidst the paintings of her blooming roses, you will see acrylic painted square canvases with the Hand of Khamsa. These make very nifty gift ideas. Marlene obviously has her ‘eye’ on the Hand of Khamsa (no pun intended). She fills the interior of the Hand of Khamsa symbol with 3 D paints or with flowers. No two are alike.

In this painting, the somber background leaps through the Hand of Khamsa to made a unique statement

In this painting by Marlene, the somber background leaps through the Hand of Khamsa to made a unique statement

Celebrate Mother’s Day with Lilly’s Floral Decoration

When you pass by Lilly’s Floral Decoration stall at ARTE, you can be sure that you will not be greeted by the intense ‘cacophony’ of confusing floral scents – which is a good thing, because you get to admire the tastefully decorated plant and flower installations instead.

Lilly holds an Engineering Degree in Architecture and is an Interior Designer by profession. No wonder, then, that she has blended her love for design, colour with the ‘architectural’ principles to produce towering floral installations that would make grand centre pieces or little candle holders with a dot and a dash of flowering delights.

The flowers are artificial, some are made of silk, and others a mixture of materials which are soft to touch. None of that horrible plastic looking floral finishes. You can choose from orchids, to bougainvilleas, from roses to tulips.

So if you are looking for a special gift for mum, consider Lilly’s Floral Decoration. Her products are designed and built to last.

Connect with Lilly’s Floral Decoration on facebook.

Arabian (Dollie) adventures at ARTE

Sitting regally on her throne, Sayida Amira (lady Amira) looks all prim and proper. Her mascara-ed eyelashes are heavy with expectancy that someone so deserving of her handcrafted beauty and vivacious, will steal away into the night or day.

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This is Lady Amira handcrafted with love by Maggie Tuite.

Like Amira, many a lady and princess has had her dreams come true, thanks to their creator, Maggie Tuite who brands her dollies as Dollie Day Dreams. Some have their hands henna-ed with hand embroidery. Others have flamboyant gowns that go on for miles.

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Note the lovely bejewelled hands on this Dollie.

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Beneath the veil is a beautiful face with handpainted facial features.

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And if you prefer the dollies to have wire-y legs so that they have the choice to fold their legs into a ‘yoga’ pose or dangle like happy-go-lucky gals, then Maggie can customise these for you.

Dollies from diverse communities can be seen at ARTE at Maggie Tuite's stall.
Dollies from diverse communities can be seen at ARTE at Maggie Tuite’s stall.

Visit Dollie Day Dreams on facebook.

 

Mixed Media paintings by Purvi

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When you view marvellous mixed media work by Puvi Verma Saini, expect to see a lot of embossing and 3D type work with ceramic material. Her artwork reminds one of the intricate designs based on the walls of the Rajasthani palaces of old. Such pain-staking work, yet Purvi works them with passion and great gusto.

Ceramic mixed media

Ceramic mixed media © Purvi

Purvi's stall as seen at ARTE

Purvi’s stall as seen at ARTE

 

Her series of doors is a best seller. It somehow reminds one of the Dubai Bastakiya area where the heritage part of Dubai is still kept alive.

Doors! © Purviis

Doors! © Purviis

Purvi also works with stucco and paper quilling techniques. She is a perfect example of a well educated woman with an adventurous heart for art. Armed with an MBA in Finance, she pursues the intricate arty details in a similar way that she pursues numbers, calculations and algorithms at work, albeit with more of a colourful and playful tactic.

3D paper quilling work by Purvi. © Purvi

3D paper quilling work by Purvi. © Purvi

Every line is marked in black,which is in stark contract to the bold colours filling the bordered spaces. © Purvi

Every line is marked in black,which is in stark contract to the bold colours filling the bordered spaces. © Purvi

 

Visit Purvi’s website

and Purvi’s facebook page  (note the double ‘i’)

Celebrate Spring with Sayofles Sandals

It’s time to say Ola Kala Tha Pane (in Greek) to mean All is Well.  What with the UAE winter softly sliding away into the past, pave your way into Spring (literally) with handmade sandals by Sayofles Sandals. Alexia, the lady behind this brand, uses real leather from Greece and actually stitches the sandals herself (ask her to show you her hands that have seen leather, needle and thread and you will know).

After stitching the sandals, Alexia uses various embellishments to adorn them. Swarovski crystals to delightful Walt Disney characters. Flowers to colourful beads.

Sayofles Sandals are available in different colours, sizes and for men, women and children.

Sayofles Sandals are available in different colours, sizes and for men, women and children.

If you don’t like colours and prefer neutral shades of beige and browns, Sayofles Sandals can customise for you.

What's amazing about Sayofles Sandals is that they come in various designs of the actual sandals skeletons (even before the adornment is added)

What’s amazing about Sayofles Sandals is that they come in various designs of the actual sandals skeletons (even before the adornment is added)

Mickey and Minni Sandals.

Mickey and Minni Sandals.

She also makes sandals for men. You can be sure that if there is a particular size that you want to order, then she has them all.  Once a (male) passerby asked her (pointing out to her hello kitty sandals for kids), “Can you make the same for men in my shoe size.” She replied, “Yes,”
in all seriousness.

The point we are driving at is that , there is no size too small, too big; no colour to glitzy or staid; no order too ostentatious or boring for this young Greek lady to work your sandals appetite.

Tutti Frutti sandals for Spring.

Tutti Frutti sandals for Spring.

Join Sayofles Sandals on facebook.

Hats off to the Milliner

For French American Nadege Brunacci, fashion is indisposable. So she takes it upon herself to handcraft each and every piece of art in the form of hats. You will never see the same hat, colour, stitch twice at Nadege’s stand and hand.

Nadege, the lady behind these lovely handcrafted hats.

Nadege, the lady behind these lovely handcrafted hats.

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The girl who grew up loving the styles of Coco Chanel and Audrey Hepburn, wants to recover that sense of  ‘femininity’ so lost to women. If you want a hat, bring in  your favourite dress, and she will stitch a hat just to compliment that dress.  You can be sure that if a hat doesn’t suit you, then Nadege will say so and instead draw your attention to the hat that does suit your countenance, your style, your figure and also add inches to your frame (if you happen to be petite).

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Visit ‘Hats by Nadege’ on Facebook.

(Handmade) Love is in the air at ARTE

We have another full house with over 170 amazing stalls, featuring plenty of great Valentine’s ideas for men and women, so please come and visit us. We would love to see you there.

Here is a sneak peek at some of the lovely heart themed products that you can see on display tomorrow:

Hearts by PepperTreeArts

Hearts by PepperTreeArts

Bags by Maicharles

Bags by Maicharles

Delia's Quilts

Delia’s Quilts

Love to see more?  Here is the full 2013 Valentine album of ‘lovey-dovey’ work by the artisans.

Creativity for artisans doesn’t stop with the actual craft. Many of the artisans now create their own posters to showcase what handcrafted goodies they have in time for Valentines. Check out some of them below.

Books by Surat Journal

Books by Surat Journals

Shoes by Sarah's Art

Shoes by Sarah’s Art

Illustration by Orange Jar Illustrations

Illustration by Orange Jar Illustrations

Cufflinks by Janys De

Cufflinks by Janys De

Want to see more? Check out the 2013 ARTE vendor’s posters on facebook. And if you haven’t already liked us on facebook, please do!

How to get customers to your market stall

It’s nearly the end of January, the time when most new year resolutions start to wear off.

What about your resolution to get more customers to your market stall?  Have you thought about changing the look, or creating a new brand? Perhaps the displays could do with a bit of change in location? What about colours, tones and shades?

Here are some of the how-tos to get more footfall to your market stall.

1) Draw your customers in through your displays.

http://handmademakersmarket.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/displays-how-to-draw-customers-in/

2) Colours, Light, and (more) action

http://www.gazebosaustralia.com.au/pages/13-Ideas-to-Sell-More-at-your-Market-Stall.html

3) Business cards, checklists and prices

http://www.ideastap.com/ideasmag/the-knowledge/how-to-run-a-market-stall

4) Stick with it

http://www.ideastap.com/ideasmag/the-knowledge/how-to-run-a-market-stall

Are there any more ways not mentioned above that you have used that brings more customers to your stall, thereby increasing footfall and also increase the likelihood of people buying from you? We would love to hear your ideas so do share with us, by commenting on the blog post.

 

“It’s a kind of magic…

“It’s a kind of magic”…. Music group QUEEN

Yup, that’s right. The magic has rubbed off on us and our new facebook page is

www.facebook.com/ARTE

The old faceboook page that goes by the name of UAE.ARTE doesn’t work.  So you will need to update the ARTE facebook page link anywhere on your marketing collateral.

Talking about magic, just 17 days more to go for the next ARTE fair at DFC. Who’s magically appearing then?

Thank you from the ARTE Organisers

As 2012 comes to a close, with new sights for 2013, we have many reasons to be happy.

Here are a few of them.

– We are in high demand and we are being found by many who would like to showcase their work

– Our ARTE fairs receive increasing amounts of footfall, souk after souk.

– We receive fantastic and positive feedback. Any constructive criticism we receive are taken into consideration

– We have reached more than 8000 LIKES on our facebook pages and many of our blog posts go viral.

But, what matters the most to us are the stories that vendors share with us:

– I have had such a lovely day

– I made a new friend

– it is a social outing for me

– I sold well

– I have had such lovely feedback

Testimonial by ‘ Kinda Like Wasabi‘

“Another successful day at the last ARTE souq of the season…thanks to all you guys!!! Our heartfelt gratitude to our new and our old customers. To all those who stopped by with their lovely words of appreciation and encouragement. Also special thanks to those of you who spread the word and your love for KLW! And of course to all of you who liked our work and our page :D! We are amazed with the response and results each time and it would be impossible without you…”

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Kinda like Wasabi – Smiling all the way

Testimonial sharing profound words by Hitesh Kanwar of Paper Curves:
“First of all a big thank you to everyone on Team ARTE for organising ARTE and providing all the help. I see so many new fairs coming up (I attended a few) and I can see the great amount of difference between those and ARTE. The way in which you guys handle, communicate and promote( and give feedback), it shows the love with which you do it. Hats off to you.”

Quilling work by Hitesh Kanwar

Quilling work by Hitesh Kanwar

This is just a snapshot as to the joy that we bring to vendors who support us souk after souk.

Sure, we have some strong 2013 goals for ARTE. One goal is to improve the quality of product, and vendor displays. Offer creative help for new products and product displays. And finally, we are planning to introduce a Pinterest page featuring ARTE products.

But it is Your success at ARTE that makes us love what we do. Your good experience is one more than we have and for that we are grateful.

Wishing you a fantastic 2013 and see you at the ARTE souks commencing in January 2013.