'It’s called the Irregular Art Hub because we’re non-traditional people'

Daisy and Mark from Irregular Art Hub tell Julia Thorley why they welcome unconventional artists into their creative space.

May 17, 2025

There is an Aladdin’s Cave vibe to the Irregular Art Hub in Kettering. The premises are tucked away in a corner of The Yards at one end of what was the pub there. As you come through the door, the shop offers a mass of wonderful, quirky art in the form of pictures, bags, cards, jewellery, mugs, clothing and much more, many items with an interesting story behind them. It’s all created by Daisy Farrar-Hayton (as Daze Made), Mark James (909 Art) or one of around 20 local artists.

But that’s not all. At the far end of the premises is a practical art space, where Daisy and Mark run workshops, as well as working on their own art. They are the only permanent artists on site. Neither has any formal art training, but instead their creativity is driven purely by instinct. Mark is a plasterer by trade, but now describes himself as a full-time artist.

“I’ve always played guitar and painted and done bits and bobs, and over the last five years my hobbies have grown to a point where I’m able to branch out.”

A lot of Daisy’s illustration and merchandise have a strong political message. She talks about her route into creativity.

“I’ve always drawn and done arty things. I didn’t have toys when I was little; it was always drawing and painting. I didn’t do very well at school – I just didn’t like having to fit into a box – and so I dropped out early. I was put in to do GCSE Art early, but I didn’t take it and then I just let it slip. Then later on when I had my little girl I needed something to do while I was breastfeeding her, so I got myself an iPad and began drawing again. I showed the images to friends and family and they started saying, ‘I want that on a t-shirt,’ so I learnt screen printing.”

Mark explains the ethos of their business.

“It’s called the Irregular Art Hub because we’re non-traditional people. Traditional spaces can be a bit cliquey. All my paintings are stencil art and I’ve got them in some galleries around the county. I’ve had London galleries get in contact because they’re interested, but then they ask where I did my arts degree and I don’t hear from them again.
“We’re trying to break the mould of that and make art a little bit more accessible and different, because different is great. Don’t get me wrong, though; a lot of the local arts community have been very supportive.”

Daisy and Mark met about a year ago when they were both involved in decorating BT Openreach boxes around the town, a project run by Kettering Street Art (headed up by Sally Leach, a previous NN Journal interviewee). Daisy takes up the story.

“We set up here on a shoestring, but I think what we’re trying to do can only be a good thing. We have nearly twenty local artists selling their work here now. A lot of them haven’t sold their stuff anywhere else and it gives them something to say to galleries. We sometimes have to tell people to put up their prices and say, ‘You’ve got to pay yourself at least minimum wage.’”

The workshops are an important part of what goes on here. They give children and adults a chance to try something without having to spend a lot of money on materials they might not use. It’s also about offering space.

“You don’t necessarily have to go and buy a piece of art, you can make it yourself if you’ve got somewhere to go that you’re not bothered about getting messy. I think about young people who might be feeling like we did when we were younger: ‘I’m not good enough’ or ‘I’ve not got the space to do art’ or ‘No one’s ever going to buy this.’ We offer a place where they can have the space to do their work and maybe sell it.
“Art needs space. The goal is that anyone who might not be able to do art at home or doesn’t have the money to get all the materials to learn, say, lino-cutting, can come here and try it out. Then if it’s for them they can do it at home. It’s just making it doable for people.”

Mark says:

“I’ve found that once you get into one place, you can get into another, because you’ve got a bit of recognition and it’s a bit less of a risk [for galleries]. That’s what we try to do here. We have much lower commission fees than you might have to pay in another gallery. There are loads of kids coming in, and we’ve done really well with the workshops we’ve done that have been child oriented, like spray painting. We also did ‘Screenprint your own Christmas jumper’, which was really popular.”

Community is as important to Mark and Daisy as their own art projects. Mark believes that where street art appears the community becomes protective of it. It’s all part of encouraging people to take pride in where they live.

Since the success of the BT Openreach boxes, Mark and Daisy have gone on to do other projects around the town. One of the recent examples is the artwork they did alongside the bus stops on Newland Street – Mark laughs as he says they only got shouted at twice while they were doing it – and they have other places earmarked for murals. They’ve also worked with Youth Works at the William Knibb Centre and at Johnny’s Happy Place, run an art club after school at Stanton Cross in Wellingborough, and worked alongside Shine Arts & Well Being, a group for young adults with additional needs.

There is money for these from various community funds. However, admin and bureaucracy take their time, although Daisy says the seeds they sowed a while ago are now bringing forth rewards. There are grants available for some of the work they do, but they can be tricky to access, with lots of hoops to jump through.

Mark says:

“We want to get involved with councils, schools and special needs groups so we’ve got a bit of regular income. It’s nice work that we enjoy doing anyway, but it takes the pressure off and we can do the other creative things we want to do.”

Mark and Daisy will be doing something for KettFest on June 14, and doing an event at Rugby Art Gallery. They’ll also be taking part in Northants Open Studios later in the year, as Irregular Art Hub rather than individuals.

Mark says: