www.frugalcool.co.uk




Designers


If the eco ethos of Frugal Cool fits with your outlook and designs, and you live in Musselburgh, East Lothian or Edinburgh, we'd love to showcase your work too.
Get in touch.

We believe in the talent and imagination of these designers and makers, and hope that their commitment to the ethos of Frugal Cool will make a positive contribution to a sustainable community in and around Musselburgh.

Ruth Alder

Ruth is an inveterate magpie, collecting all sorts of ephemera over the years. Her latest passion has been buttons, fabrics and various haberdashery, all of which has inspired a host of colourful brooches, badges and necklaces. All pieces are one-offs, inspired from 60s Psychedelica to French Rocco and beyond!

Betsy B Designs

Liz Neilson and Ann Dickson work from their East Lothian studio producing textile pieces - jewellery, bags, scarves, rugs and hangings using mainly recycled materials. They explore traditional techniques and combine these with contemporary design.


Claire Duffy, Cabin Jack Design

Claire is a Leith based designer-maker who has finally admitted that she has too much fabric hoarded away! "Sewing was an early passion for me and years of working with fabric and training as a designer has left me with an eclectic collection of fabrics from all sorts of sources. So now it’s time to bring them into the light. In giving these materials another life, I get inspired to make things that I would have never thought of. It is often the fabric that determines the outcome."

Felt Fusion

Felt Fusion is a creative partnership of two friends, Heather Potten and Sue Horsburgh. We make practical and decorative pieces from a range of wool fibres. The vibrant colours, tactile qualities and 3-dimensional possibilities of felt entice us to experiment with each of us developing our own style. Our pieces may incorporate beads, embroidery, vintage lace, silk and buttons. Many of these elements have been salvaged and recycled. We also enjoy sharing our interest in felting by offering workshops for individuals or small groups.

Laura Fleming, Heart Felt Designs

Having grown up in a household who loved to craft and re-use materials which would otherwise have been thrown away, I find it a natural way to do things today. I rummage remnant bins or my local scrap store to find interesting, beautiful fabrics and materials which can be incorporated into something new. I use remnant materials to create unique pieces of craft, this also keeps stock items fresh and ever-changing. I hope every piece I make encourages a smile.

Karen Fiddler

Karen is a trained graphic designer and has a passion for design, colour, line and texture. She draws and paints, as well as makes unique and quirky jewellery. Her original art includes a collection of flowers and vibrant vegetables. Good design for Karen is something that is functional and aesthetically pleasing. “This can be achieved through the use of colour, shape or texture.”

Linda Gibson, Li-Be-Lu Designs

I'm an avid crafter, working in my spare time from home. My creations are constantly evolving with "Sock Pals" being my latest obsession, whereby every one is lovingly hand-sewn and brought into this world by myself, making each one unique. My "babies" are to be loved and played with by children of all ages (from new born to the more mature).

Sue Henderson, Jolly Jewels

I started making felt beads 3 years ago. I love the gorgeous wooliness of the felted beads, and their beautiful, vivacious colours. I mix them with wood, glass and ceramic. I embellish basic wool beads with needle-felted patterns, or with hand-sewn seed bead. My felt work is big and bold. It’s feel-good jewellery!
Solid silver jewellery is a new passion, allowing me to create more subtle designs, to which I add simple beadwork of semi-precious stones or seed pearls. All of my work includes either my own hand-made felt or silver pieces, beautiful fair-traded ceramic and paper beads or treasured old beads which find new life in a new piece of jewellery.

Emma Lawrence

Emma is a textile-designer based in Musselburgh. She works with vintage and recycled fabrics and felt to create a range of accessories. “I love the challenge of working with recycled fabrics, trying to make something new out of what others have discarded. I am interested in the individual character of fabric and try to find it a new purpose and a second life.” Her inspiration comes from natural forms, the simplicity of the plants in her garden to the found pebble on the local beach. Combining this with current trends, she tries to fuse her unique designs with an underlying sense of Scottishness.

Gillian Howard, Yho!Yho!

I was living in Cape Town, South Africa when I first came across the vibrant range of local craft and recycled design that became the inspiration for my business. Yho! Yho!, which means “gosh” in the African language of Xhosa is based in the Scottish Borders. We source handmade textile craft from small co-operatives and businesses in South Africa and finish it into bright and original children’s clothing and homeware. Yho! Yho! works in partnership with our South African suppliers to provide a just reward for labour and products that you can be proud to own, and which, we hope, will make you smile.

Lynn Wilkins, Wee Treasures

I have been a keen eco friendly/recycle person since I was any age. I rummaged in my granny’s button boxes and was always looking for fabric to cut into doll’s dresses. Now that I have reached maturity and should know better, I am even more into buttons, ribbons and fabric than ever before! Having been through the learning curve of dressmaking for myself and my kids, soft furnishing creation, feltmaking, patchwork, quilting and batik, I have now found my niche in quirky handmade gifts and I love every minute of it.

Evie Zaccardelli

Evie Zaccardelli’s paintings show an exuberant and dynamic personality. She works with random unplanned blocks of colour and develops her paintings intuitively into a structured conclusion. Acrylics are the mainstay along with ink, pencil, tissue, and mark-making objects. She likes to build layers of paint which can be scraped back into revealing the mystery beneath. Evie lived in Florence for many years and was influenced by the beautiful chalky frescoes in all their distressed beauty.