So - what's it all about?

New Designers is at the Business Design Centre in Islington, held each year in July. It's a show dedicated to recent graduates in a variety of art and design disciplines from around the country.

It's an important platform for new graduates to showcase their work to potential future customers. In 2009, it attracted around 17,000 visitors in week one, so it's a biggie!

We need to raise around £3,000 just for the costs of our stand (as well as associated costs on top), and we found out today that the deposit is already due...

As we're all committed to doing the show, we have all personally contributed cash to the fund - but we're a long way off what we will need. So we need to do lots of fund-raising, and will be reporting progress, and ideas here.

We're kicking off with a good old cake sale next week and we also have a Christmas Party planned at Ryan's Bar in Derby, provisionally booked for 7th December.

We'll also be holding an auction of sketches and photographs, and a drawing a raffle with a variety of goodies to win on the night.

We're writing to lots of companies to ask for their support either financially or with prizes (and in return we'll have links to their websites, etc), and we will be asking established makers if they can donate something for another bigger art/craft auction to be held in the new year.

We have other ideas in the pipeline, can't say too much at this stage until we have approval, but I can hint at a Masterclass with a well known maker.... watch this space!

So, keep checking back on the blog to see what we're up to, how we're getting on or how you can help.

New Designers 2010

We are a group of students on the BA (Hons) Crafts course at the University of Derby.

We would like to go to New Designers when we graduate in 2010, so this blog will be for our fund-raising efforts and to let you know what's happening.

Please check back soon to see how you can help us get there!