Markets this weekend. Yes, really!

Statement Artworks markets

I'm now officially bonkers. This Saturday I'm at Urmston market and on Sunday it's Knutsford. Hopefully the mercury will rise just a tad to stop my fingers and toes dropping off. I'll have all my usual stuff for sale, plus the newbies shown here. See you at the weekend (huskies optional).

Cheers - Eric

Mancunian Way, Statement Artworks

Two new post-Christmas posters - Wythenshawe and Bowdon

Wythenshawe and Bowdon, two South Manchester places that are quite close geographically but miles apart demographically, which is why doing this northern poster malarkey is so much fun! And it shows I've not just been sitting on my arse doing nothing since Christmas.

Wythenshaw poster - by Statement Artworks

Wythenshawe

It was a wonderful dream on a post-war town planner's drawing board. Houses fit for heroes on a large, modern estate, or 'garden city', with none of that old mish-mash of narrow streets and diverse design. No, this was going to be uniform, clean and functional. And my parents bought into that dream, so that was the first Jackson family home, in Baguley, a district of Wythenshawe, the new town on the edge of Manchester which became the largest estate in Europe. Most of my aunts and uncles and cousins lived there too. But the dream turned sour, and Wythenshawe became a byword for problem families, crime and town planning gone mad. What's this, though? Wythenshawe, by degrees, is turning itself around, thanks in no small part to the tram line and the train line, both going to the nearby airport and the city centre. Young singles and families are discovering that the housing stock is affordable and not too bad either. Posh apartment blocks are springing up, and the once-dire Civic Centre is looking lively again. Just a pity the old theatre is no longer functioning. Now that would have been the icing on the cake for the new Wythenshawe. This poster in available at statementartworks.com in any size you like!

Bowdon poster - by Statement Artworks

Bowdon

Whereas its nearby neighbour Hale loves to flaunt its chi-chi trendiness, affluence and desirability, Bowdon presents itself as understated, restrained and 'old money'. Hence there's not a lot going on really - a few posh gastro pubs, a posh hotel, a posh looking green with a few posh shops, posh sports clubs,  and a posh Indian restaurant. Oh yes, it's posh, especially when you look beyond the high hedges and gates and wonder at some of the finest houses - indeed mansions - in the whole of Cheshire. Wow, are they grand, which is why they say you're going 'up the hill' when you go from Altrincham or Hale, and that is meant in so many ways. Footballers, TV stars and the generally well-wadded live there, in a very understated way, of course. This poster is available through statementartworks.com at any size you like.

A better bruschetta! Hale, the new poster from Eric Jackson

On the outskirts of Altrincham, Hale is the chi-chi suburb most people in Trafford aspire to. It's the place to be seen and, occasionally, spot the odd celebrity. It's got the lot, from artisan bakeries to trendy bars and restaurants. It's a bit of a mystery how the very wonderful Railway pub has survived. It's only a pub, for god's sake. Of course, it's not all sweetness and light - most locals hate the clock tower, and it's a constant niggle that although posh, Hale isn't quite as posh as Bowdon, which is just 'up the hill ' and is where most of the celebs actually live. This is my latest poster and it will be available at numerous markets in Greater Manchester and Cheshire from this weekend (Jan 16-17) onwards. It's also available on the www.statementartworks.com website

Eric Jackson