It’s competition time over at Lucy’s Happy Place! Illustrator, crafter and designer Lucy Farfort is giving away a hefty haul of lovely stuff.

You can win the Whale and Me art print, shown partially above, a handy Robot Love canvas tote, a zippy Russian Dolls pouch and a Mini Monsters pad for all your doodles and notes.

You have until May 13th, so to check out all the goodies and enter the competition click here.

Even if you don’t win, there’s still something to smile about as the lovely Lucy has provided a tutorial for the Russian Dolls pouch. Have a go at making your own here!

Image courtesy of Tatty Devine

In issue one of Pica Pica we investigate the murky world of intellectual property theft and copy cat designers. It’s taken a while, but thanks to cases such as Hidden Eloise vs. Paperchase, the mainstream media have begun to pay attention to the problem. Ahead of the pack, open blog You thought we wouldn’t notice… has been calling out the copycats for a few years now so we spoke to them to find out a bit more about the site and the inspiration behind it.

What inspired you to first set up the blog?

I come from a street-art background and I was seeing so much of my own work & that of my peers used without our permission. Most of the time it is just not worth a legal battle but I thought it would be nice if we could at least let people know that this was happening.

Was it always an open blog? And why did you choose to do it this way?

Yeah from the start I wanted anyone to contribute. I knew I couldn’t supply enough content from what I see, and it also meant that it would include much more subjects than I was knowledgeable in, such as music or web.

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As London slowly  makes it’s way toward spring (and hopefully some more sunshine!) why not treat yourself or a lucky someone to some hand crafted goodness?

“Where might I do that?”, I hear you ask…

The Annual UAL Arts Market of course!

Open to both students and the public and running for four whole days, there’s no excuse! The Pica Pica girls will be there, and you may even be lucky enough to nab yourself a limited edition Pica Pica badge….

Opening Times:
Monday 8th March | 11am – 6pm
Tuesday 9th March | 11am – 6pm
Wednesday 10th March | 11am –6pm
Thursday 11th March | 11am – 9pm (Late night!)

Location: Upper Street and Eckersley Galleries, LCC, Elephant and Castle.

Here at Pica Pica we’re feeling inspired by the Chinese New Year celebrations! Here’s my attempt at a fish made from ang-pow envelopes…

You can try making your own here
Or if you’re feeling really ambitious why not try your hand at origmai master Sipho Mabona’s tiger!

Image Courtesy of Sipho Mabona

If you’re a UAL student or lecturer and find yourself in the lovely ‘hood of Elephant and Castle tomorrow come on down to the Pica Pica Make and Bake at London College of Communication!

It’s a chance to have a chat with us if you’d like to be involved in the magazine, try your hand at some crafty crafts or simply grab a delicious snack between classes (at highly competitive prices ). We can’t guarantee there’ll be an elephant serving the cake though….

You’ll find us on the first floor, just before the cafe, from 10am.
Don’t be shy, come say hi!