Find out more about our current sellers and their work.
Did you know, the Winchester Visitor Information Centre (VIC) sell a variety of lovely goodies, including a selection of work by local creatives? The creatives featured in the VIC change every six months – read on to find out more about the artists and creatives currently on display at the centre.
Josephine Chisholm
Josephine is a Winchester artist and art tutor who produces paintings, illustrations, prints, postcards and commissions of the local area and travels around the world. Using media such as oil, acrylic, gouache, watercolour, pen & wash, pastel Josephine aims to capture the vibrancy, theatre and personality of urban life and the freedom of landscape and seascape.
You can find her work printed on cards in the Visitor Information Centre. All greetings cards (21 cms x 15 cms) are blank inside, supplied with a white envelope in a cellophane wrapper. They make the perfect accompaniment for any gift bought in Winchester! Explore more of her work here.
Ping & Lily
Ping & Lily are two creative friends who share a mutual love of nature and freehand machine embroidery. Sharing a studio, but working individually, they use scraps of Liberty fabrics, silks and vibrant viscose threads to create an exquisite collection of handmade lampshades, cushions, wall art gifts and accessories.
They are inspired by their lived and the countryside around them to create art that evokes scenes from the English countryside that include butterflies, birds, flowers and feathers.
Each piece is lovingly handmade and delightfully unique; no two pieces are the same. Careful consideration is given to every piece of fabric cut and placed, making sure the blend of colour and texture is carefully balanced.
A highlight of their stock in the Visitor Information Centre are gorgeous felt interpretations of Jane Austen's House in Chawton, specially created for the 250th anniversary of Jane's birth. Explore more of her work here.
Hanging By A Thread
Handmade in Winchester by Amy, these beautiful macramé plant hangers are woven using recycled cotton yarn. They will make the perfect addition to any plant-lover's home.
"I started learning macramé during lockdown as a creative escape, and I quickly fell in love with the craft. Now, I love making these plant hangers, knowing they bring warmth and character to people's homes - all while using sustainable materials" - Amy.
One Seven UK
Verginia, with her husband Matthew, founded One Seven UK in 2021. Raised in Bulgaria, she learned crochet, sewing and knitting from her grandmothers from the age of seven.
Her exquisite micro-crochet jewellery - handcrafted with a fine cotton thread using a 0.5mm crochet hook - reflects superb quality and artistry. The chains and earring hooks are 925 sterling silver and each piece is accompanied by a silver cleaning cloth.
Shirt-bag
Shirt-bag was born out of the desire to organise and a pile of good quality old shirts. One year and six prototypes later, the Original Shirt-bag – in three different sizes – began to roll off the sewing machine. Since then, the brand have created 'Cockalou', a chicken shaped hanging bag for keeping pyjamas, toys and teddies inside! Browse the online range here.
Shirt-bags are an ever-changing mix of patterns and colours. One shirt produces about five bags, so each design is a limited edition. Pop into the Visitor Information Centre to get your Shirt-bag while stocks last!
Linda Chew
Linda has been making ceramics for over 45 years from her studio at home in Winchester. After studying ceramic sculpture at Cheltenham College of Art, she had many happy years teaching ceramics to children in Hampshire schools.
A family tradition of mending, sewing , exploring fabrics , patterns and textures alongside the love of spending time in the garden and allotment has been her constant source of inspiration.
A variety of vessels, dishes and bowls are thrown on the wheel or pieced together with parts constructed from thin slabs of porcelain and stoneware clays. Using a variety of resist techniques and bisque plates, surface patterns and textures are added and impressed into the forms, enhanced with oxides and glazes in a palette of mainly blues and green. Explore the range online and in the Visitor Information Centre.
Kristina J Smith
Kristina is an artist and printmaker based in Colden Common, just outside of Winchester. She creates unique and contemporary handcrafted linocut prints and cards of Winchester's beautiful scenery and landmarks, including The Buttercross, the River Itchen and Winchester Cathedral.
Pop by the Visitor Information Centre for prints, cards and tea towels. If you are planning an extended stay in the city, you can also book a printmaking class with Kristina here, run from her home studio.
2Spots Ceramics
Sarah started her pottery journey over 25 years ago after attending evening classes. She established 2Spots Ceramics in 2014 when she decided to turn her hobby into a business.
She as a 'folk-art' rustic style to her work, and each item is completely handmade with earthenware clay. It is created using both a potter's wheel and hand-rolled slabs of clay. The items are decorated with coloured slips and underglazes, the decoration then carved into the clay before firing. It is then glazed and fired once again.
