One of the biggest design and craft events will showcase talent from the red rose county

Great British Life: Maneggi manipulated ribbon and fabric by Nikki AinscowManeggi manipulated ribbon and fabric by Nikki Ainscow (Image: Holly Booth)

Talented designers from Lancashire have been selected to show off their skills at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair in Manchester.

The show, from October 9 to 12, brings together people with a passion for beautiful and unique handmade items with the designers who create them.

This event, the largest in the north, has itself been a finalist in the 2013 Northern Design Awards for showcasing the work of craftsmen and women.

More than 160 of the most talented UK designers and craft practitioners will be under one roof at the legendary Old Granada Studios, Manchester’s newest visitor destination.

Great British Life: Wooden treasures by Laurence BrandWooden treasures by Laurence Brand (Image: Holly Booth)

Selected by an independent panel for their excellence, the designer-makers will showcase work from a variety of areas of design including interior and fashion textiles, glass, jewellery, ceramics, metalwork, furniture, print-making and more.

The selected makers from Lancashire include knitted textile designer Amy Lawrence who specialises in luxury artisan accessories and is based in Ramsbottom.

Maneggi jewellery and accessories will also be on show. These are created from manipulated ribbon and fabric by Nikki Ainscow from Oswaldtwistle. They are joined by Garstang-based Laurence Brand, who has been selected as a Great Northern Graduate. He makes elegant, refined objects for the home from fine native hardwoods.

Meanwhile, Barbara Webster from Ashworth, near Bury, designs and makes silver jewellery with contrasting texture, enabled by etching the silver surface.

Great British Life: Jewellery by Burys Barbara BrandJewellery by Burys Barbara Brand (Image: Holly Booth)

A vast array of inspiring objects for the home will be available from a variety of designers and over 40 designer-makers will present the latest trends and techniques in contemporary jewellery.

Work from the best new design talent to come out of the north will be on show via the curated Great Northern Graduates showcase which selects the best from the region’s degree shows. The previous year’s cohort will also be given the opportunity to exhibit in Great Northern Graduates ‘One Year On’.

Designer-makers taking part in the Craft Council’s Hothouse scheme, an intensive development programme for emerging makers, will also exhibit.

For the first time, GNCCF 2014 will feature a selling exhibition called Ornament.

This will showcase critically-acclaimed makers whose work is highly collected and features in some of the collections of the north west’s museums and galleries.

The exhibition will focus on the presentation of beautiful collectable objects, the stories of the people who made them and the history of the collections they feature in.

With all work from the makers on sale, it will also provide the opportunity for visitors to invest in high-end work to start or add to their own collection.

Angela Mann, who co-founded the show with Ann-Marie Franey, said: ‘We are very excited about the addition of Ornament to the already-established GNCCF. The north west has a number of excellent craft collections and numerous venues hold fabulous objects by many eminent makers. The curator for Ornament will work with museums, galleries and higher education institutions to identify and choose appropriate artists from each of their collections, whose work will then be showcased and available to buy, adding a whole new dimension to the event.

‘The aim is to help build the market for collectors of contemporary craft and encourage the desire to own, cherish, enjoy, keep and pass on these unique pieces to the next generation.’

For further information on the show, visit www.greatnorthernevents.co.uk