Start the year with a bargain or two!

Studio Sales
Sat 9th January – Sat 6th February 2009

Banish the January blues and bag yourself a creative bargain at our Studio Sales. A once-a-year event where you will be able to purchase all the things you really wanted for Christmas at super affordable prices. Featuring work by established regional artists, designer and makers based at the Mushroom Works, including furniture designer/makers, Michael Armstrong and Nick James, illustrator, Bethan Laker and artist, Natalie Bell.

It's a great opportunity to buy work by our studio holders at a fraction of the original selling price (some up to 75% less!) – it's a great way to start buying art and design pieces from established regional artists and designers.

Mushroom Works is part of the Own Art, an interest free loan scheme designed to make it easy and affordable for everyone to own high quality contemporary works of art and craft.

Afid Design WOW! shelves (pictured): were £50 now £35

Well Done Wishart!

It's been a great weekend for Joanne and Ross Wishart.



Last Friday night Hilton, Gateshead held the North East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2009. The awards ceremony was hosted by Women into the Network, and was an evening dedicated to the North East's leading female business women; lots of successful women in one very large room. It was a glitzy affair.

And our Mushroom Worker, Joanne won the North East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year award in the Best Creative Business category. If you'd like to know more about Joanne (and to read her thank you speech in full! No tears though,) click through to visit Joanne's blog.

Getting excited for Ouseburn Open Studios

There's less than two weeks now until the eight artist studios based in the Ouseburn Valley throw open their doors and welcome in the public for Ouseburn Open Studios weekend. Here at Mushroom Works, we are all very excited! It's probably one of our favourite weekends of the year. Last year over 7,000 people came to the Ouseburn to chat to artists, buy Christmas presents and commission new works.

All the artists at Mushroom Works have been working hard and late into the night to have as many 20x20s ready as we can get on the walls. (It all gets a bit competitive, really, but it's great fun nonetheless). For the uninitiated, 20x20s are original artworks that won’t break the bank! They're now considered an Open Studio tradition, a fantastic opportunity to purchase artworks (measuring 20cm by 20cm) by leading North East artists for the special price of £20, making them perfect for unique Christmas gifts!

But you've got to be quick, we have people queuing up to get one (or 10!) on our preview night (which is Friday 27th November 6pm. See you there?)