Rainy afternoons

There is something good about the grey and watery weather we have been experiencing lately, as much as we may not enjoy getting home with soaked feet, carrying around wet umbrellas and lacking on vitamin D.

Rain almost automatically turns on a desire in us to relax, have time for our ourselves, to be lazy, and to get lost in things we love.

Which makes an afternoon of listening to soft drumming of drops on our windows a good time to take out that craft box. Remember when you put it aside a while ago and thought you’d finish that crochet later…

If you think it’s too grey outside, crack-open the slightly dried-out paint tubes you still keep and spill out some colours. Wet the brushes a little. Just like the rain does with everything. And as after a spring rain, it will leave you feeling fresh and new.

Tags: art, rain, time

Join the creative process

A series of workshops to keep you inspired this chilly February:

Saturday, February 4th

2pm – 3.30pm

A Valentine like no other

Go beyond the usual Valentine card design and use wire, origami, wood, lace and ribbons to create an excitement that’s not just for the eyes. Feel free to bring photos or any special items you’d like to make part of your unique gift.

Suitable for over 16s and adults.

Cost: £9

Saturday, February 11th

11am – 12:30pm

It runs in the family

Creative activity for parents and children – spend a pleasant couple of hours exploring and playing with materials from an array of colours and textures. Stimulate your child’s creativity and imagination and have an inspiring start of the weekend!

Cost: £9 per person

Wednesday, Feb 15th and Thursday, Feb 16th

11am – 12:30pm

Half term art and craft club

Keep the younger ones busy and inspired during half term. Activities range from painting and drawing to clay modeling, cards making, origami, calligraphy and decoupage.

Wed February 15, 11am-12.30pm (6-11 yrs old)

Thur February 16, 11am-12.30pm (11+)

Cost: £9

Saturday, February 25th

2pm – 4pm

Off the palette

Watercolour workshop

Whether you want to learn a new technique or just need a little refresh before going back to art, this series of workshops will guide you through various exciting media and practices.

Learn all about watercolour and its supporting elements, try different techniques and experiement with the help of a professional artist. All materials are provided.

Cost: £18

Places for all workshops need to be booked in advance.

For more details and bookings please contact us on:

tel: 020 7284 4762

email: slanchogled@gmail.com

Tags: art, children, craft, creative workshops, families, valentine's day

Painted Love

Turn your gift into gold this Valentine’s Day by adding the incomparable value of … doing it yourself! Dare to create and surprise that special one with something you made just for them.

Wrapped In Christmas Warmth

There are many sources of Christmas excitement to find all around. The first chilly mornings of late November that remind you it’s “that time of year” again, the smell of cinnamon you scent while passing by a small and cosy café, the comfort of a soft wool scarf around your neck… Nothing feels warmer than comfortably escaping the cold.

However, as we’ve all experienced, storming our brains with gift ideas on how to surprise the special ones is a winner in creating that warm Christmas feeling.

Oh the presents! Without focusing on their size or material worth, we have to admit they are an essential part of making that Christmas morning perfect. The wonder, the hiding, the surprise, the covered smiles and hints – all sweet elements that make everyone sincerely happy.

Surprise the artistic ones with a set of professional paints and brushes, or give the more crafty ones an idea how to personalize and decorate their favourite items with one of many craft sets.  Whatever you choose for your loved ones this Christmas, make it extra special with unique and beautiful wrapping!

Free Gift Wrapping with every purchase this Christmas at Slanchogled!

  

Tags: artists' gift sets, craft sets, free gift wrapping, gift ideas, warm christmas

Post-Halloween sentiments

Or how scare and ghosts can leave you smiling

“I want to dress my 2-year-old as a pumpkin. Go!”

The past few days at Slanchogled have been more than amazing. Partly because of the traditional Halloween madness, but even more so, because every single person that walked through our door had a crazy idea, was inspired and dared to think in unusual ways.

Swans, unicorns, vampires and superheroes aside, some of your requests really took us by (a very nice) surprise. And that was the best part, not only was everyone thinking way outside the box for a day, it made us do it too even more than we’re used to. Your ideas were so surprising, funny, original, crazy and … crazy! Some of them caused sudden bursts of laughter by both sides; others caused us to stare at the ceiling for a bit too long trying to figure out how on earth that could be done. Sharing these moments with you, when we can all be imaginative together, are precious to us and reaching a satisfying result is as important to us as it is to you.

If you want to share with us your achievements in costume design with what you found in the shop, please do so! Just leave a comment below with a link to a photo.

See you again soon for more inspiration!

Crafts For All Senses

Hello Friends!

As you may know, we have already been open for almost four months and now that our two floors are getting fuller and fuller with inspirational materials, we’d like to invite you to our very first open event, and also sort of a “Slanchogled Warming Party”

Join us for this fun, creative and relaxed Saturday, we’ll be here to welcome you with a smile and make you feel comfortable among the abundance of colours, shapes, patterns and textures.

We’ve seen how much you love to wander around the raw wood shelves and palettes full of details of all sizes and colours, becoming more and more curious, your faces lighting up from all the ideas that pop into your minds while you’re here. “I am like a child in a candy shop”, an elderly lady says as I am writing this, with excitement you often only see on children’s faces, “I love this feeling!”

We know that you appreciate creativity in your lives as much as we do, and that you want to know and to experience more.

That’s why we want to share with you both the relaxing atmosphere in which to create, and the inspiration, in the form of the diversity of materials you can use, and the advice from the artists working with us.

On this event you will have the chance to learn more about different materials and techniques, go wild with your own imagination, and even walk out with something you made yourself!

A group of artists will be demonstrating how you can use simple materials to create something original, and you will be invited to play with the brushes, paints, modelling clay, papers and many more.

Once you’ve reached a satisfying result, you can relax in the company of gentle, live string music and delicious bites in the cosy “cushion area” downstairs.

Also, this will be an opportunity for us to celebrate with you the successful first couple of months we’ve been here and to return the warm welcome we received from you at the very beginning.

Thank you for sharing our excitement and we hope to see you very soon!

Tags: art, community, craft, open events

The unusual arts and crafts experience

This is the blog for the Bulgarian chain for arts and crafts materials “Slanchogled” in London.

If you’re reading this you are most likely to have already entered our bright and colourful world on Chalk Farm Road, experienced the warm and friendly atmosphere in the shop, and had your imagination and natural creative flair going.

Here you will find more about our philosophy, ideas, experiences, and most importantly about the community that we keep developing every day.  We select our products and materials carefully but it’s the people who visit and come up with original and unusual ideas that make them come to life.

We’re here to surprise, cheer and inspire – be our guests!