Last week I got an invite  to attend the private view of Crossing Borders Textiles Exhibition at Espacio Gallery. One of the highlights of the exhibition was Suzie Tucker's 'Poverty Maps' which was inspired by the famous 'Poverty Maps' of Victorian London. It will certainly grab your attention. She looked at an era where buildings were colour-coded based on income and social class. Her work somewhat reminds us that inequality still exists in the 21st century.

Also saw works from other artists like Rosemary Chapman who I had the pleasure to talk to. I have posted some pictures below. If you'd like to see the exhibition, it ends on the 1st of July 2018. Basically, you've got one more day to see it. Enjoy!

Was delighted to see the pressing time exhibition, showing work from Ten artist printmakers at R K Gallery in London. One of the artist was my friend Patricia Gaudron, so it was a really special moment to see her work! Here's some pictures from the exhibition:

When they say something's sucked the living life out of you and drained you till you're devoid of emotion, this unfruitful online business of mine is definitely it. I spent a decade horning-in on my craft and spent 4yrs running an online business that's only yielded few sales with a great amount of 'Likes'. Meaning, people like the products but it's not translating into sales.
 
In that time, I spent countless amount of money building the business and at the end of the day, have nothing to show for it. So, I sought advice as usual from my father and on his wise counsel, I decided to close down the business.
 
I will still take-on commissions as I seem to get more work offline than online and have repeat customers offline too. I will also keep writing my blog as it's my creative outlet and even if I don't make crafts to sell, I won't stop crafting, as it's an extension of who I am.
 
I just had to face some home truths about running an online business and realised that I no longer have the energy to pour money down the drain. Especially in the days of algorithms.
 
I have given this business my all and it has taken a decade of back-breaking work that has yielded no fruit, so like my father said, 'A business that's not yielding profit is no business at all' and on that note, I've decided to take a break to re-evaluate things.
 
As I write this, I feel somewhat excited and free at the prospects of spending more time crafting just for leisure. This is by no means the end of my business escapades, as I'm not one to give up on things. Actually, I'm like a dog with a bone and this time, I must simply let go of this bone, for there are other bones I can surely chew on.
 
So, as I take a hiatus from selling online, you can still contact me through the links below:
 
Website: www.kemiwest.net
Instagram: www.instagram.com/kemiwest
 
You can also find me on my You tube channel by clicking the You Tube Channel Icon on the top right corner of the website above.

Please note: Kemiwestdesigns.com will no longer be active from 30 June, 2018.
 
As they say, it's not good bye, it's see you later.  Stay blessed and well loved! Kemi xx