Made By Gee Clowes

31/03/2026

Good evening me ducks!

A sad one today unfortunately; over the weekend Leek lost one of its largest pieces of architectural history - the monolithic “Big Mill”, due to a devastating fire, which has meant the whole building has had to be demolished.

The mill was originally built in 1857, designed by renowned architect Larner Sugden (an absolute belter of an Industrial Architect) and originally tenanted by Joseph Broster of William Broster and Co. In 1867 Henry Wardle, who was the landlord of the Britannia tavern on West Street in Leek partnered up with George Davenport, a silk throwster, and formed Wardle and Davenport. Their first manufacturers was based on West Street, but moved to part of the Big Mill in 1872 alongside William Broster & Co and Frederick Hammersley & Co.

In 1888, after both Henry Wardle and George Davenport retired, the company that had continued to be run by George Davenports brother Henry, partnered up with a W.H.Rider and purchased the mill as a whole from W.A.L.Hammersley. By 1899 Henry Davenport had died, and his son Fred took over his stake in the partnership. Also that year, the company officially registered as a limited company, which it continued to be known as until they went into recievership in 1970.

In 1920, the mill was enlarged and in 1925 the western end was rebuilt as an office block, both designs drawn by architect R.T. Longden. During its years of manufacture, the company became the first in Britain to make artificial stockings using the new material Rayon, and honed in on mercerised cotton production as a subsidiary company founded in 1912 called Peri-Lusta Ltd. continuing to manufacture mercerised cotton at the Big Mill well into 1990’s.

Although I’m not a native to Leek, living locally since July last year has meant that all these wonderful new local buildings have become part of my everyday life and surroundings, and the Big Mill was one of those “you know you are home when you see ____” places. Everyone here (hopefully) knows how much I love my architecture, especially Victorian and Georgian era, so its always heartbreaking to me when one of these wonderful institutions gets left derelict or has to come down for safety. The history behind the building and the companies that worked in these buildings is always fascinating and should never be forgotten.

https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/179669916

17/01/2026

Music on + work = Bliss.... bit of Neds Atomic Dustbin's "God Fodder" and up next Electric Light Orchestra's "Time".... having a Black Country Bonanza over here!

What's everyone else up to on this fine Saturday evening? Anyone else spinning an LP or two? 😃

05/01/2026

Anyone else snowed in? 😂 given I do my art at home and my boy had an inset day, we stayed toasty warm and I've worked on a new piece.... who knows if school is open tomorrow... its a good job we did a food shop after Christmas just in case it stays like this! 😂

If you were snowed in too, what did you get up to today? ❤️

04/01/2026

Hello me ducks 🦆

I have uploaded 2 new designs, with a second variant of each!

The first is my digital painting of the Nicholson War Memorial in Leek town centre, one has a painted background and the other has a plain/transparent background. The Nicholson War memorial celebrated its centenary year last year… dominating the skyline of Leek alongside monolithic mill chimneys and beautiful church spires for 100 years! The design with the background looks fantastic as an art print/framed print/canvas and the one with the plain background is perfect for stickers, T-shirts and magnets.

The second is a reproduction of an A.W.N Pugin/Minton style tile design. It’s been a while since I’ve done a tile reproduction… they are one of my favourite things to draw and they always look fantastic on products, especially home wares! With two variants, you could mix and match the same design on throw pillows or blankets… or mix and match with my other tile reproductions!

To find these designs, head over to my website at:
MadeByGeeClowes.redbubble.com

02/12/2025

Well… it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these posts hasn’t it! 🫣🤭 hello everyone!

I do apologise for disappearing off the face of the earth, SO much has changed in the last six months with the house move that I needed a well earned rest. But you legends have continued to purchase even in my absence and it is appreciated so much! ❤️

For those that are new here, hello I am Gee 👋 I am mum to my little boy with severe disabilities and in my spare time I do hand-drawn digital art on Procreate. I specialise on the history and heritage of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire and The Black Country, but do just about anything! I generally do a new exclusive Christmas card design every year and this year is no exception. So without further ado, here is the exclusive design… the medieval cross on the market place in Leek ❤️

There are two versions, one with text and one without text should you prefer it. You can find them both by heading to my shop at:

MadeByGeeClowes.redbubble.com

07/06/2025

Hi all, today I've been packing up my coin collection ready for our move, and thought I'd post these beauties again for you all to see.

Years ago, when Burslem and District Co-Operative Society existed, you could prepay for your bread and milk by purchasing however many of these two tokens you wanted. They then would be handed in at the counter for you to swap it for your loaf and milk. Handy if you were sending the kiddies to go fetch the weeks loaf and milk without them pocketing the remaining cash or spending it on penny sweets! 😆

The third one is an advertising token from Bovril, celebrating the diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. How clever is the use of the Queens royal cypher to make the VR in Bovril 😄 to get one of these tokens, most likely youd have had to have collected however many lids off your Bovril jars and sent them off, or paid a small sum and sent it off and covered the postage. Aren't coins and tokens just wonderful 🥰

02/06/2025

Hiya ducks 🦆

Massive shout out to those who purchased from my shop the last few weeks. I've sold a few odd bits here and there, such as my Lemmy Statue, City of Stoke-on-Trent crest, Stoke-on-Trent Centenary, Cats Britain in Stoke-on-Trent etc. It's so epic to see people's love for the city come out during its centenary year 🥹❤️ So what are you planning to do to celebrate? Have you been to any of the city events, and are you planning on going to the People's Parade? I'd love to know what you're up to ❤️

Also the last month or so I've done not one but two request pieces for my comedienne friends Samantha AKA "Lady Haha" who is currently doing a set at Rik Mayall Comedy Fest this evening, and Sarah and Ali Downing for their new true crime podcast Hooked On True Crime. Go give them both some major love -samantha 's page and group.

If you'd like to request a design for some merchandise, send me a message and throw me some ideas! If you'd like to purchase any of my existing works, go to:

MadeByGeeClowes.redbubble.com

29/05/2025

You guys are absolute legends for sharing my last post far and wide! Let's keep going so the Council know we mean business!

Don't forget, if you want to do more to make sure IFK Legacy CIC can fund the creation of Kilmister Halls, you can donate to the GoFundMe at this link here. Whether its £5 or £500 it all adds up!

https://gofund.me/cc13a27f

IFK Legacy CIC was set up to create a memorial to Lemmy of Motorhead in his birth town of Burslem… IFK Legacy CIC needs your support for Lemmys Legacy Project

27/05/2025

***QUEENS THEATRE, BURSLEM DEVELOPMENT FOR LEMMY'S LEGACY... AND WE NEED YOUR HELP!***

Hiya ducks 🦆
As you all know, IFK Legacy CIC and sculptor Andy Edwards have been on a mission to immortalise the legacy of Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister of Motorhead in his home town of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent (rightly so!). They recently revealed the first part of the project, Andy's epically incredible statue earlier this month on Market Place, and fans are already flocking from across the globe. I've lived in Burslem for 7 years and this is the busiest I've ever seen the town!

The next stage of the project, however, is creating a venue in Lemmy's name that will benefit the community, bring further global attraction to Burslem, and create even more of an impact on Lemmy's legacy. Who knows, it could even ignite a spark in the next generation of Burslem and wider Stoke-on-Trent musicians!

The chosen building is derelict Queens Theatre across the road from the statue. The building, sometimes referred to as the Blood Tub in yesteryear, has had a rich past life as a town hall, a theatre, and also importantly a music venue. When Lemmy was a resident of Burslem, there would have been a veritable schedule of entertainment available behind its doors.

So, this Thursday (29th May 2025) there's going to be a meeting between IFK Legacy CIC and Stoke-on-Trent City Council about project proposals, which have been backed by Motorhead Management. We as a community now need to take this opportunity to make Stoke-on-Trent City Council understand that Lemmy's legacy is so incredibly important to us, and that the proposals will benefit the town and ultimately the entire city so much!

So, what can YOU do? Well, you can share this post to all your friends, family, neighbours cat etc. You can go over to IFK Legacy's Facebook and share their posts far and wide. You can email your local Councillor and tell them you support the proposals. You can go to www.lemmyforever.uk and click on the poster of Lemmy to direct you to the GoFundMe to donate money towards the cause. Hell, you can run around Burslem shouting "WE WANT A LEMMY LIVE VENUE" at the top of your lungs if you so wish (maybe not, but you get my drift). Make some noise people to get this show on the road!

The IFK Legacy CIC project is a significant undertaking centered around honouring the memory and legacy of Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister, the iconic frontman of Motörhead. The project aims to celebrate his life and impact, particularly in his birthplace of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. The first major pa...

15/05/2025

Hiya ducks 🦆

Can I just remind/educate people that copyright laws are different for reproduction of public art. I have been accused of plagiarism, accused of pocketing from charity, people mansplaining copyright infringement laws to me etc for drawing the new statue of Lemmy in Burslem.

I have been an artist for over a decade, but selling art for just shy of 2 years. I am aware of copyright laws in the UK, and as a Redbubble seller have to follow Copyright laws closely otherwise I cannot sell anyway.

Public art such as sculptures are free to reproduce and commercialise, as long as they are in a highly visible place or in a place where the public can pay to visit, and you don't misrepresent the original artists design in a way that can be seen as negatively/derogatory. With my drawing of the Lemmy statue i have drawn a reproduced likeness as to not carbon copy the creators design, without misrepresenting the original design.

Any trademark logos incorporated in my drawings are purposely altered, obscured or missed out completely, except for my official Redbubble Fan Art Programme designs. The logo on the Lemmy statue is an integral part of the statue so cannot be removed or obscured, under copyright laws this is considered to be a breach in representation, so instead it has been altered to not break trademark/copyright laws and not detract from the likeness of it.

Copyright and Trademark laws for artists are murky waters, but chances are, we know our copyright laws better than you do if you aren't a commercial artist.

I literally do this in my spare time. Which is precious because I'm a full time parent carer to a severely complex disabled child. This is my thing just for me in life, to give me a purpose other than being 'mum', which fits around my hectic life and earns me pittance. If you have an issue or question about something I do, inbox me directly rather than publicly berate me, and if you have nothing nice to say don't say it at all.

Otherwise please enjoy your evening! ❤️

14/05/2025

Well, here it is! My latest piece, a drawing of the new Lemmy statue in Burslem 😄♠️🤘 this is one with plain background but I will be potentially adding a few more with varying backgrounds such as in situ in Burslem. Its available on many different forms of merchandise such as tshirts, stickers, post cards etc.

IFK Legacy CIC organised the creation of the statue and unveiling and are raising money for a proposed project at the Queens Theatre in Burslem. If you would like to make a donation via GoFundMe, visit:
www.lemmyforever.uk

You can purchase my 'Lemmy Statue in Burslem' design here:
https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/170664266

And my other works can be found here:
madebygeeclowes.redbubble.com