Created in Birmingham

How2crafts are a Birmingham based publishing company currently residing in the Jewellery Quarter, who’ve put together this series of step-by-step books on various crafts, including soap making, printing, jewellery and felting.

Designed to expand over time, craft makers are invited to contribute images of what they’ve made using the books, to the website. Collected images will be put together in a ‘readers appendix’, offering inspiration for other readers.

Currently on sale in the We Are Birmingham shop, they’ll also be at the Kitchen Garden Cafe’s Christmas fair on 30 Nov, and in Kings Heath on Dec 13. For a bit less, you can also download the ebook over at www.how2crafts.com

A book written and published independently by local writer Matt Wilding.

Tristan Marley is a drunk. He is dishonest, work-shy, selfish and a murderer of kittens. He has no self respect, failed dreams, and feels as though the world, which is crueler to he than any other man, owes him one.

Forced to take up menial employment, and instantly despising it, Tristan concocts a devilish scheme to secure the big pay day that he undeniably deserves. Chewed up, and spat out, Tristan is left at the brink of his own sanity, maimed and drowning in a constant supply of whiskey, when a chance encounter with a magpie changes everything.

If you like the sound of that, you can read the opening chapter in full and buy the book over at Magpie Press.

The lovely cover art has been designed by local illustrator, Charlotte Audrey Owen-Meehan, who also curated the Not My Type exhibition which you’ll probably remember from the CiB Shop.

• Changing Faces of Small Heath & Birmingham Exhibition
  An exhibition of photos taken 10 years ago by pupils from Small Heath School and photographic work by Rubina Bibi. Small Heath Library until 30 May.
• Self-published author takes competition to bestseller rivals
  Birmingham-based Irish writer Mary Rochford’s collection of short stories Gilded Shadows (Tia Publishing) has been longlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award (the most prestigious of its type) alongside Roddy Doyle and Anne Enright.
• Inside The Animal Book
  “ITV Local have produced a fascinating behind the scenes look at the making of The Animal Book, the RTS-nominated, stop-motion short by Birmingham’s Second Home Productions”. I can’t get the vid to play unfortunately.
• Ikon Gallery – Ruth Claxton in conversation
  Artists Ruth Claxton and Richard Deacon joined Ikon Director, Jonathan Watkins before an audience during Richard Deacon’s Ikon exhibition. You can click through to the audio. Good to see the gallery doing this, others should take note.
• Birmingham Architectural Association – lecture from Maciej Hawrylak
  What does it mean to be a second city? The next in the BAA’s series of lectures is form Maciej Hawrylak, leading tutor of the urban design course at Wroclaw University of Technology. At the Old Joint Stock, 20 May.
• ArtsFest – Free arts board training weekend for people aged 18 – 25
  Applications are now open for young people aged who want to take part in a training weekend to learn about what being a member of an arts board involves.
• CreativePeople – “CPD for the CPD providers”
  A one-day event on continuing professional development, 25 June at the Hippodrome.