CraftNight

Therapeutic, cathartic and very odd. Nile-on and Galia proudly present CRAFT NIGHT: With cutting edge music combined with the childhood thrill of making something all by yourself. And then taking it proudly home.Craft night is a night where you get to make stuff. Each night promises a different craft from sock puppets and pipecleaner monsters to cross stitch, mobiles and canvasses. It has been previewed and recommended in the past by the BBC Culture Show, has twice been the critics choice for best event in The Guardian Guide. Time out, The Metro, London Lite, The London Paper as well as the majority of broadsheets have featured the event plus several additional features in smaller publications.The night tends to always sell out, the last craft night sold out within 15 minutes of the doors opening and is constantly gaining a higher and higher profile so come early!Acts we have welcomed in the past include John Hegley, Luke Vibert, Piney Gir, Darren Hayman, Fence Collective, Toy, Ralfe Band and many others. Future nights promise more musical thrills in the shape of The Mules, John Shuttleworth, Pram, Tim Ten Yen, Ellis Island Sound and many more.Some press:http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1785059,0 0.html (detail from a longer feature) Over at the Notting Hill Arts Club in west London, something similar is going on, but on a larger scale. Galia Durant and two like-minded friends run a craft night, where once a month you can pay £5 on the door in return for crafty stuff. Durant felt that nights out were sometimes unrewarding. "There was lots of standing around waiting for bands to come on. The idea was to take the best elements of going to see a live band but also to give people something creative and rewarding to do at the same time." Glove puppets, Fimo models, wolf masks and loud music in a smoky basement surely won't be everyone's thing, though? "Our nights are a funny mixture. There have been lots of girls dragging a reluctant boy behind them but even the most dubious attendants soon seem to get absorbed. I think people forget how gratifying it is to be creative."http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguide/clubs/story/0,, 1982694,00.html Knitting your own sequinned crotchless knickers out of the finest Peruvian llama hair? Pah, that's just so two years ago. Stitching a patchwork quilt with a cross-generational selection of your most witless relatives? Passé, darling. Fine art is where it's at now, though how fine is all a matter of taste and where it's at will no doubt be somewhere far, far different at next month's bash. Craft Night is London's latest spot to spray your creative juices over in a sticky explosion of inspiration and questionable talent. Punters are invited to create their own artwork - on arrival guests will be presented with a blank canvas and free rein to do with it what they will. There are prizes for the most magical/beautiful/downright terrifying and, if you're a little shy about doing your amateur Rolf Harris impression, there's some top entertainment to warm you to the task, including live poetry from John Hegley and skewed Captain Beefheart-esque folk rumblings from Mighty Boosh mates The Ralfe Band.http://www.timeout.com/london/clubs/features/1597.html (detail from a longer feature) Popping up around London are some of the cutest, silliest, best-fun-ever parties we’ve seen in a long while. You get DJs and off-kilter live talent just like regular club nights, but getting crafty is key.The conventional wisdom is that Monday nights are only good for one thing: getting some serious weekend recovery time in on the sofa. But given how busy Notting Hill Arts Club is when Craft Night is on, it would seem there are plenty who disagree. You pay your fiver at the door and get a pack of materials and sweets. Downstairs, find a table (it pays to arrive early!) and let your creativity flow. It’s all about sharing, so don’t hog the best colours.Craft Night people are on hand to help transform your hideous disaster into something worth feeling a lil’ proud about, too.It’s a completely different atmosphere over east at HungMunga. Where Craft Night is a relaxed but organised night of creativity, HungaMunga is an far, far messier affair. Started in May, this is a joint collaboration between Moondog Loves You’s Lloyd Ellis (responsible for the cute cardboard cartoons left all over London) and Playtent’s Vicki Senett.What’s On in London The crafting extravaganza The first hundred people to walk through the door at Craft Night London are presented with a kit that contains all the supplies for that night’s activities. Once you find a table, spread out your stuff and attack the project with as much creativity as you can muster – there are prizes at stake. Just remember, paste is not for eating. Crafting and music While you work on your DIY masterpiece, quirky bands and DJs from all over the world provide the music and entertainment. It’ll be a much calmer atmosphere than the smoky and sweaty crowds familiar to most London clubs and concerts, and the drinks are much cheaper too. The venue The Notting Hill Arts Club is a laid-back venue, with underground club nights, avant-garde bands and graphic arts exhibitions. Even though it’s located in a tourist-trap of a neighbourhood, it’s pretty much guaranteed that there’ll be no lost Portobello Market shoppers wandering in. The lineup Craft Night London is held every couple of months, with activities like making puppets and woolly animals. Each person who shows up early enough will get their own craft kit to make their project and be treated to some of the latest indie and underground music. November’s lineup featured artists like My Toys Like Me, Suck My Rock DJs and The Sylvia Plath Charm School. With names like that, they’re bound to be somewhat entertaining. Craft Night New Years Eve Join this crafty crew for a New Years Eve party to ring in 2007. As you make your DIY designer duds you can enjoy canapes and champagne specials while partying to the sounds of the Stamford Hill Gun Club, the Laundrettas and Friends of Gagarin.