LGBTQ+ Creatives You Need to Know About
At Hobbycraft, we love to celebrate all those who craft! This Pride Month, we're recognising a few of our favourite queer artists and top LGBTQ+ makers across the UK. There's no better time to discover the work of these talented creatives.
The illustration used for this blog post has been designed and produced by the talented artist Dom&Ink.
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Yusuf is the UK's leading fine leather goods craftsman. He discovered leatherworking after stepping away from a career as a solicitor and was instantly hooked! He gradually improved his skills by taking short courses with craftspeople he admired and by spending all his free time practicing in his tiny bedroom. In 2019, he quit his job and moved into Cockpit Studios, which led to the launch of his now very popular teaching practice and, during the pandemic, he developed and launched his first collection of homeware and handbags.
Over the years, Yusuf’s work has been exhibited at the Walsall Leather Museum and featured in Crafts Magazine, International Leather Maker and The New Arab. He has taught leatherworking to hundreds of students from all over the world, including actor John Malkovich and magician Drummond Money-Coutts. He has also worked with brands such as eBay and Jo Malone.
From sketch to final stitch, every piece is conceived and made in-house using the finest leathers and a unique blend of contemporary and traditional techniques.
I am Artist Named Nobody and I’m a 21-year-old self-taught visual artist based in London. I specialise in digital portraiture.
I place black faces at the centre of my work to highlight the beauty of blackness. I believe that instead of categorising ‘black art’ as a niche genre which isolates black people as abnormal, we should be a common feature of mainstream art. After all, we don’t have ‘white art’!
Black people in art are also used as objects to tell stories about slavery and oppression, so I paint black figures with plain backgrounds to humanise black people in art.
Follow @Artistnamednobody on Instagram
Crochet designer Daniel is a queer creative born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. Daniel is the hands and name behind Leinadwear.
A former textiles student at the Glasgow School of Art, Daniel has always had a passionate interest in designing and making handcrafted products. Daniel designs and makes crocheted pieces for the home and the body, from baskets and coasters to bags and scarves. All Leinadwear products are crafted by hand using 100% recycled fibres, with a strong consideration for the environment and a zero waste approach.
Leinadwear products draw inspiration from the simple Scandi approach towards design, whilst combining the textural craft of crochet with bold and unusual colour combinations to create unique pieces that are not only stylish but also kind to the planet. Leinadwear aims to provide simplistic yet well-crafted pieces with a contemporary edge and eco-friendly consciousness, bridging the area between craft and design.
Shop Leinadwear products on Etsy >
Follow @Leinadwear on Instagram
Jade is a queer/nonbinary creative specialising in bright and emotive illustration.
Intersectionality underpins their working ethos as they strive to create meaningful impact, no matter the topic. They're a single parent from a working-class background, who's been dreaming of being an artist since they were five years old. They studied for a degree in Commercial Art Practice alongside parenting, building their career and a successful online store, trying to make the world a little easier to exist in. Currently they work freelance and host a bi-weekly Zoom art class ‘Queer Egg Club’, which is free to attend and as accessible as is possible. Egg club is designed to be a low-pressure, wholesome space with no criticism, all encouragement, for queer and trans folk to socialise without hurdles like physical access or unaffordable costs.
Jade also designs bits and bobs for their Etsy store, including rainbow ‘Queerings’ alongside fun prints and stickers with affirming queer themes and the occasional rude word.
Discover @nonbinary_baps on Instagram
Hello! My name is Lily Deason (they/she) and I am a ceramicist based in Walthamstow, East London.
I have always loved making and have been learning and improving my skills in ceramics for a little over six years. Mainly focusing on functional pieces for the home, I strive to create pieces that are exciting to look at and bring a little joy to your day when you use them. Bright colours and bold designs are an important part of my ceramics, while the structural shape of the piece is often simplified for easy, everyday use. Mainly using underglazes to decorate my work, the Bauhaus Movement has influenced aspects of my ceramics, specifically bold shapes and angular abstraction alongside harsh lines and bright colours creating geometric patterns.
To see more of my work and what I’m currently working on, you can visit my Instagram page @Lilydeason and my website. I also love taking on commissions, so if you have an idea, feel free to get in touch through my website.
Megan Preston Elliott (she/her) is a writer and artist based in London and Brighton. She is the founder of Clay Wild, a travelling pottery studio teaching classes and selling handmade ceramics.
Megan’s mission with Clay Wild is to make pottery accessible for all, utilising air-drying clay and hand-built techniques with few tools needed. At a Clay Wild class, Megan facilitates an inclusive, calm atmosphere, helping attendees reconnect to their own wild and unlock their own creativity. Megan is trained in Fine Art and holds pottery classes for a wide range of people in different settings: corporate, schools, community, and private events. She regularly teaches queer classes in collaboration with Sappho Events at Glass House London and is currently in the process of setting up a regular queer class for all levels in Brighton.
Outside of Clay Wild, Megan loves to write. She was selected for the London Writers Awards 2021 by Spread The Word and is currently working on her first novel.
Find out more about Megan and Clay Wild here >
Follow her on Instagram @ClayWildStudio
My name is Idara and I am a 24-year-old artist from London. Like many others, I came into the arts as a child, navigating my way around the world and my place in it. I'm primarily self-taught but found my love for all things creative in school. It was only after I finished my education that I realised how much I learn better whilst doing things my own way and, in 2020, during the lockdown, I found myself surrounded by my everyday comforts.
The ordinary objects we see in our lives that ostensibly have no meaning – such as breakfast on your table or the hair products you use every day – became beacons of my identity as "home" was no longer a choice but a place we were all forced to retreat to. I took these little moments, these symbols of home and comfort and everyday prosaicness, and made them the subjects of my paintings.
By bringing the classical genre of Still Life paintings into the modern world, I took the realities around me and immortalised them in my art.
Follow @idaraudoart on Instagram
Limbo was created whilst being in a period of “limbo” during the first lockdown. I initially started making candles to keep myself busy and soon found it very therapeutic. My friends then convinced me to start selling via Instagram and here we are!
We launched officially in November 2020 and since then we have continued to create and develop candles and homewares from our little flat in South West London, along with the help of my amazing mum, Jayne! Big shout out.
I make and sell candles, but also host candle making and painting workshops in and around London. Since starting the business, I have worked with some incredible brands and have encountered some amazing opportunities. Limbo is a real labour of love and continues to be just that even a year later.
Discover the Studio Limbo website here >
Follow @LimboCandles on Instagram
Sophie Kathleen (they/she) is a queer illustrator/artist based in Surrey, whose vibrant and often political work focuses on their passion for feminism, LGBTQ+ empowerment and taboo tackling subjects.
They use their art as activism and aim to highlight the need for inclusivity and queer representation. They aim to build community, promote equality and inspire others by sharing their work online, running creative workshops in the community and working with likeminded clients as a freelance Illustrator.
You can support Soph’s work through their Etsy shop where they sell prints, stickers, greetings cards, a range of stationary and handmade jewellery. They are also available for commissions and collaborations; you can view their portfolio and contact form through their website or follow them on socials @sophiekathleenn.
A House Like This (AHLT) is a London Aromatherapy and Candle brand specialising in diffuser oils, soy candles and melts, and paraben-free luxury skincare. Founded in 2018 by partners James Burrow and Ky Ismet, AHLT’s mission is to create beautifully scented products that elevate your home décor and provide moments of mindfulness when you need them most.
AHLT continue to evolve their range whilst sharing conscious home styling guides and renovation tips on Instagram @ahouselikethis and the full product range on @ahouselikethis.shop. All of the AHLT range is made in small batches from the founders home!
AHLT's Signature Scent Library of 12 carefully curated scents has been featured in the likes of British Vogue, The Independent and Attitude. In 2021, AHLT launched an immersive essential oil blends collection, The Mindful Edit, that fuses original music, mindfulness tips and the power of plant essences to give an aromatherapy treatment like no other.
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