For those who can’t get enough of DIY, Chrissie Jeffrey from No Chintz is the person to talk to. A fabric designer and craft guru, she has spent 30 years in the business, and thanks to this week’s Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair, you get the chance to learn from the woman herself!
“I will be showing how anyone from novices to creative geniuses can turn humdrum living spaces into incredible rooms using DIY interiors, creative patchwork, curtains and wallpaper ideas,” explains Chrissie. She’ll also be hosting daily, 50-minute ‘Make & Take’ workshops, where you can create your own lampshade using a pre-made kit and your own fabrics or a choice of 10.
Chrissie has created homewares and furniture for designers and architects for many decades, through her store, No Chintz Textiles and Soft Furnishings. Giving people retail access to well-designed fabrics off the roll as opposed to having to order them in through designers, No Chintz makes getting crafty a whole lot easier. They also offer goods to order, manufacturing anything from lampshades through to bed quilts, curtains and blinds.
However, one of the things Chrissie and her team are most known for is their new spin on patchwork, something that you will get the chance to hear more about at the fair. “We have been experimenting with patchwork on furniture since Vogue asked us to do a patchwork chair, curtains and tablecloth for them in 2007,” says Chrissie. “We love to piece together uneven, large pieces of assorted patterns. We have put together a kit for creating a blue/green quilt or a pink/cream quilt for the craft fair and online.”
While Chrissie admits she sees far more bad DIY interiors than good ones, she believes that through her workshops even novices will be able to create something beautiful. “Visitors will learn how to make something well through the step-by-step processes that we use in manufacturing ourselves,” explains Chrissie. “These are simple projects that even inexperienced sewers and decorators can easily master, are cost-effective, visually interesting and can totally transform any room.”
Chrissie’s lampshade classes, Handmade Room display and wallpaper demonstrations will be amongst a host of other Make and Take classes and displays at the Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair this week.
From Wednesday 9 to Sunday 13 July, Sydney Exhibition Centre. Buy tickets here.
