happy holidays

lots of snow

This is more snow than I've ever seen here in Reading! Loads! White stuff! Fluff! Everything looks really lovely and I really like the quietness that comes with snow. The cars are muffled, the people walking by is just a soft crunch, etc... Anyway...here's a photo of the snow beginning and then how it is now, we reckon a good 2 inches fell at least just here.

phhhhhhhhhew

Phew - last craft fair of the year over. Christmas tree decorated. Snow falling. Temperatures falling. Presents ready to be wrapped. Only a couple of custom jobs to do before the weekend. Rage Against the Machine single purchased*. And commissioned piece turned out really nice....here's a photo of it - 18k yellow gold peek ring with ruby:
* there's a group on Facebook trying to get everyone to download the single "Killing in the Name" by Rage against the Machine so it can beat the latest Xfactor dross to be Christmas number one. I support the sentiment - a "handmade" song over a manufactured bland one!

today today...

is my last craft fair of the year - get ye down to Farnham for mulled wine, mince pies, and an amazing array of homemade goodies perfect for those last-minute presents!

In other news, I'm shifting around my online presence a bit. I'm moving off some sites and possibly on to others. I have now stopped using DaWanda because it wasn't working that well for me and I just don't have the time to keep on top of Etsy, Folksy and also DaWanda. Plus I think DaWanda works better if you're also fluent in German and French so you can use the other parts of the site. So hey ho, I'm focusing on Etsy and Folksy. This way I have shops that are in good shape and I can offer PayPal or Google Checkout and dollars or pounds. So hopefully this will make things a bit neater and easier to manage!

In the meantime, I'm working on finishing custom pieces before Christmas - hopefully all will go well and it'll all be finished by this Saturday - here's hoping! And here's a photo of one such custom job....

ONE MORE

One more craft fair to go - this Tuesday evening there is a Christmas market at Farnham Maltings in Farnham, Surrey. Open 5pm - 10pm! Last chance to get your handmade, unique pressies straight from the makers. 150 stalls and mince pies and mulled wine from the bar. See you there...

www.farnhammaltings.com

exciting stuff going on....

1. Reveal - a fantastic showcase of talent right in the middle of Henley. Private view this Thursday evening. Details on this flyer or on the Reveal website. (I'm at this show!)


2. My lovely friends over at ToDryFor (tea towel experts) are giving away FREE TEA - can it get better than that? Go check it out over here.


3. Art show displaying the talents of artists who live in Caversham, Reading. Caversham Artists present "Exhuberance". Details on this flyer (click for larger view)! (I'm not at this show, but the lovely Lauren is!)

gold

Here are some photos of my bud hoop earrings - now available in 18k yellow gold:

Post for Christmas

Have you seen a pair of earrings that are perfect for your friend this Christmas? Or cuff links for your dad? You can order direct from me or see me at a craft fair (see side bar for details).
Just a quick reminder of the deadline dates for posting items before the Christmas holidays:

Rest of world (including Australia and New Zealand): Thursday 3rd December
Japan, USA, Canada and Eastern Europe: Wednesday 9th December
Western Europe: Thursday 10th December
UK: Friday 18th December

custom order

Just a quick post of a photo of a custom order - similar to some of my existing earrings but with a hammered finish on the outer circle.

Open 11am - 5 pm Oxford Town Hall

Here's the link for more info about exhibitors and so forth: http://handmadeoxford.blogspot.com/
Really looking forward to this one - should see a lot of old friends :-)

Events tomorrow...

Wondering what to do tomorrow? Plenty on offer! First there's the Jewellery Showcase at Norden Farm Arts Centre in Maidenhead.


Then if you have time, you could go to the events on over at South Hill Park in Bracknell (free admission):

Season on Englishness and Bracknell

OPENING RECEPTION: Bracknell on Saturday 28 November, 1pm – 3pm

Opened by The Mayor Chas Baily, Bracknell Town Council, 1pm

An Act to Follow at cinema, 2pm

In the Bracknell Gallery, Observations on a Town by Janet Curley Cannon is an observation on the peripheral characteristics of the urban environment before they are lost by way of destruction or regeneration. Through this she creates a visual record of the rituals and habits of modern life, capturing the ordinary and everyday surroundings in which we live.

In Tall Hall and Reception, Bracknell Re:views brings together the silversmith Jane Tadrist and local residents’ spectacular canopy of 2,500 postcards, appropriately red and brick-sized, to represent 10% of the original designated population of the new town. These accompany Jane’s display of souvenir items, expressing her creative response to the town. Views expressed in the project are as myriad, diverse, as the estates that characterise Bracknell that is “full of hidden gems”, as Jane puts it.

In Atrium Projection Space, Patricia MacKinnon-Day and Beverley Carpenter with Rainforest Walk present An Act to Follow that explores Bracknell through moving image by artists and the residents of Look Ahead Housing and Care’s Rainforest Walk, a supported housing project for young people. This disjointed, poetic and colourful trip uses the 32 cameras of Rainforest Walk to capture unique scenes offering a fascinating glimpse of young British life.

The exhibitions also include new work by the Bracknell Camera Club in Community Gallery, looking at aspects of what makes us British today, including British culture, leisure, sports and favourite foods, as well as references to British law and authority.

In addition to these Bracknell focused exhibitions; we are delighted to present We English, the photography series by Simon Roberts. Simon travelled throughout England in a motorhome for this photographic enquiry into the character of Englishness. The series is the most significant contribution to the photography of England in recent years. Simon’s photographs have been exhibited widely, with recent shows at Klompching Gallery in New York and the Museum of Modern Art in Shanghai.

South Hill Park Arts Centre

Ringmead, Bracknell

Berkshire RG12 7PA

Directions at: http://www.southhillpark.org.uk/aboutUsTravel.jsp

made to order...

I just finished this - a made to order Christmas present for a friend of a friend's girlfriend (I'm 99% sure she doesn't know of my existence, let alone my blog, so I think it's pretty safe to put these piccies up!). He liked the earrings, so wanted them with a matching necklace. All the headpins are handmade, so it took quite some time. So here we are! The colour didn't come out that great in the photos, the beads are actually a lovely dark purple. Anyway, here are some photos and then I'm back to making some commissioned pieces and preparing (again) for craft fairs this weekend!! Maidenhead and Oxford - see my links on the right for details.

Exhibition in 2010

I had to laugh when I read one of the newsletters I get this morning - there are always lists of shows to apply for and applying is always required well in advance of the bigger shows. It's now time to apply for the autumn 2010 shows, but there was a typo and there was a call for a show in 2020! ha ha, that would be crazy in advance booking...heh...well, I guess I'm easily amused. In any case, speaking of planning ahead, I thought I'd put up the link to the next exhibition of the Berkshire Designer Jewellers (ie the Berkshire branch of the ACJ) which is going to be held at South Hill Park Arts Centre, Bracknell.

Evolution

Berkshire Designer Jewellers

The exhibition presents designer jewellery and metal work responding to the theme of DNA as well as selected pieces from the makers’ individual collections. Jewellery will be available for sale.

Opening reception Friday 5 February 6.30-8pm

coming up...

Hi again...wow the weather keeps being dingy and dull. It's raining and grey again. Oh well, good for staying in and being all cosy. I just thought I would post a link over to the Handm@de blog because they are doing a fun feature on the exhibitors for Oxford by going through them alphabetically. Here's the link: http://handmadeoxford.blogspot.com/

Norden Farm Arts Centre in Maidenhead

My next event: (click on photo for a better look)

middle of November already

I am baffled as to how it is already the middle of the month and I can see December's nose poking around the corner! It's super busy at the moment with all the craft fairs and sorting out commissions from the fairs. Plus I have the joy of a lost package - a victim of the postal strike, I suppose. I sent a package 4 weeks ago and it hasn't arrived yet. Naturally it was a custom piece, so now I have to make it again and quickly too! I keep meaning to put more items on Etsy/Folksy, but I just can't seem to find the time between everything else. I'll try to get something up today though! I'm also slowly progressing with my driving lessons and have a practical driving test booked - so I better be ready for it in January!!
At the South Hill Park fair I was in the same room as two other artists, one of whom I mentioned in the post below. The other is a glass bead maker (The Earring Cafe) - she demonstrated how the beads are made at the fair and I have to say it was fascinating. So if you're interested in colourful glass beads, have a look at her website. Here's a photo of one of her handmade glass beads:

little houses...

So at the South Hill Park fair, I was in a room with two other exhibitors. One of those two was Sarah Nicol - she makes these cute little houses which are doorstops. They are filled with sand, so weigh about 2kg. She also has smaller houses which are filled with lavender...also lovely. I particularly liked the doorstop houses...such a good idea and they are soft, so you won't stub your toe on them either. Here are some piccies of her houses....you can also visit her amazing website here.

south hill park

Well, the South Hill Park christmas fair is over for this year! I had a great weekend - saw lots of familiar faces and lots of new ones, had a bunch of good chats, and sold really well! Hurrah! I was in a room with 2 other stalls who did really lovely things, I will write about those later this week. For the moment, thank you very much to those of you who came and here's a photo of my stand this year at South Hill Park: (click on the photo for a better look!)

Does Craft Matter to you?

Hello hello it's another super gloomy super rainy blah grey did i mention gloomy day. I'm sort of getting ready for the South Hill Park Christmas Fair, which starts tomorrow. I say sort of because I've somehow neglected to have any tea yet today so I'm warming up slowly! In any case, I thought I would pass on the Craft Council's plea for signatures to let the government know that craft DOES matter in the UK. I did sign it, because I am all in favour of the current and continuing craft revival. I love seeing skills being kept alive - better than complaining years from now that there's nobody left who knows how to do these things. Here's to handmade - from jewellery to silversmithing to knitting and everything in between!!! If you're interested in signing their declaration, see the below letter and link (the link is the last sentence).

Make Craft Count The Crafts Council believes that Craft Matters and we want to show that it matters to thousands of people across the UK as much as it does to us. The government’s own data tells us that “17% of the population took part in a craft activity in 2008/09” – we want to show what that statistic looks like in real support so that everyone can see that craft is highly valued. In the next few months, we will be posting the names* of all our signatories on our website so that we can demonstrate the great support for craft across the UK – and we need your help to show its true extent. *(Your name will feature on a graphic design to show your support, and will be the only part of your signature made public). So, sign up today and pass this email on to friends and colleagues. Together, we will show how much Craft Matters. Sign up to Make Craft Count

featured

Folksy is doing a little showcase of all items red, which you can read about on their blog. One of my pairs of earrings is in the selection:Click on the photo for a better look, or just go straight to the page on Folksy.

random cat information

My sister sent some photos of Pepe (aka the cutie) and she has purchased a ridiculous object to make him look even cuter. This is probably going to be fought over between Josie and Pepe - a cat cave! Here's Pepe in the cat cave...how snuggled up does he look?!

South Hill Park Christmas fair

This weekend 14-15 November!

stand at Craft in Focus

Here's a photo of my stand (click on photo for a closer look) at Craft in Focus at Crowthorne:

driving and many other events

It's that super busy, mad hectic, running around time of year! Many things going on here. First of all I had my first driving lesson yesterday. I was amazed that I was immediately driving around the neighborhood - it was still a bit scary but I hope I can get up to speed (literally because I was going pretty slowly!) in a couple of months and then hopefully take the test in January. That reminds me, I need to book the test!
Also, in big news for me, I have been offered the position of Artist in Residence at the silversmithing studio at South Hill Park arts centre in Bracknell. I am totally delighted about it and am looking forward to all the opportunities this may bring. South Hill Park is a lovely arts centre and there are many other artists working there, so it's going to be a great environment for me. I will also be teaching there - so if you're interested in classes, feel free to email me for details.
Besides that, the next craft fair is at South Hill Park - 14 & 15 November! I hope to see some of you there. I had a brilliant fair at the Craft in Focus at Crowthorne, so I'm doing well!
And last, but certainly not least, one of my pieces is in the latest edition of Craft&Design magazine!!! Here's a photo:

Art in Reading

A great opportunity for Reading and for Reading artists:

October 28, 2009

Empty shop windows in Reading town centre will transform into art exhibitions as part of an ‘Art Windows’ scheme this winter.

Arts organisation jelly, teamed with Reading UK Community Interest Company (CIC), will fill vacant buildings with temporary displays featuring pieces by Reading artists.

Suzanne Stallard jelly owner and a former Pride of Reading award winner, said: “When jelly first started we used lots of empty spaces and filled them with beautiful images – it’s how it originated really.

“We are going to exhibit work by local artists and people who have a connection with Reading.

“Anyone who wants to display should get in touch with us.”

As part of the programme jelly will re-vamp the unit, clearing debris, giving it a lick of paint and making it more attractive for passers-by.

In return the groups are asking for free use of the unit and free lighting and power.

Business Improvement District manager at Reading UK CIC, Guy Douglas, said: “Empty shops don’t look good and they are not the nicest neighbours for the businesses next to them.

“This is a really appealing proposition to estate agents and it is great publicity for the artists.

“It is a positive, warm and interesting street-scape.”

The exhibitions, which can be vacated within 48 hours, will be focused around Market Place and the groups hope to have them set up by Christmas.

Interested parties should contact Suzanne Stallard at suzanne@jelly.org.uk or Guy Douglas at bid@livingreading.co.uk.

bowl

It's the super busy time of year - I'm preparing for the Crowthorne Craft in Focus craft fair, which starts this Friday! I hope to see some of you there :-) I did have time yesterday, though, to squeeze in a quick lesson on how to make a bowl. I only started my bowl, so it's just in the beginning phase! I'm making it with copper and I blocked it a bit yesterday and did just a bit of raising. The blocking went naturally and seemed to get into a rhythm quickly, the raising was a bit harder. In any case, hopefully I'll make this into a very nice little bowl:

Reveal in Henley

Click on this photo for a closer look at the gorgeous flyer for the Reveal show in Henley or have a look at the Reveal website:

Craft in Focus

I shall be exhibiting next at

Wellington College, Crowthorne, 30 Oct - 1 Nov.

I hope to see you there where you will be able to view my latest designs

For further details of the show see below or log onto www.craftinfocus.com

The event displays only the highest standard of exhibitor that visitors to Craft in Focus have come to expect. We hope that you will visit us and look forward to seeing you at the show, as rarely is such a wealth of top quality work seen together at a single event.

Due to a strict vetting and selection procedure Craft in Focus has earned an enviable reputation for presenting events of the highest quality, and over the years, reports in the national media have often placed Craft in Focus above all others in the UK. We hope you will continue to visit our events around the country, and do keep an eye on our website for future developments and other shows in your area - www.craftinfocus.com

Yours sincerely

Craft in Focus

photo of stand

Hm, I was in a bit of a hurry when I took the photo of the stand, so it's not that sharp. But I have another 6 fairs to take a good photo, so that's ok! Here's a photo to give an idea, in any case:

Craft fairs!

So the first craft fair of the autumn is over! The Festival of Crafts in Farnham went very well! There were moments of loads of people flooding in and moments of quiet, but overall not too shabby for the first one of the season! I did better than I was aiming for, so no complaints here! Farnham is a lovely town with a beautiful drive into the center and I'm glad that I'll be back there on the 15th of December for the Farnham Maltings Christmas Market. This market is ideal for anyone who leaves their present-buying until the last little bit before the holiday!
I do have a photo of my stand, which I'll probably post tomorrow after I've sorted out all the stuff I didn't do over the weekend because I was away. Until tomorrow....

craft fairs, ahoy!

Festival of Crafts, Farnham Maltings:

£2.50, under 15s free
17^th & 18^th October 2009
10am – 5pm

Farnham Maltings is pleased to continue celebrating the creative traditions of the town of Farnham with the 13th annual Festival of Crafts in October 2009.

Festival of Crafts brings together over 80 designer makers and offers a unique opportunity for visitors to buy bespoke craft pieces, gain inspiration & a greater knowledge from skilled professional makers.

Click here for the event programme and list of exhibitors

Contemporary crafts on show include ceramics, textiles, glass, metal, jewellery and wood. Established craft practitioners will show alongside new exhibitors, with many offering demonstrations to engage and encourage both ‘craft connoisseurs’ and new audiences.

Demonstrations will offer a more interactive experience for visitors to the festival and encourage involvement in and a greater appreciation of the processes behind the work exhibited. Open Studios in the East Wing will also allow visitors to meet the Maltings resident artists and companies and learn more about the creative businesses that are based here.

As well as over 80 craft makers exhibiting and selling work, an exhibition will be held in the East Wing Gallery of new works resulting from collaboration between artist Anne Kelly and Cas Holmes – an ongoing project, 'Resonant Textiles'. Farnham Maltings will be the first venue in the UK that will exhibit their new work, before it tours in 2010...

more gloomy weather

It's rainy and gloomy and the garden looks soggy. My first craft fair of the season is around the corner (Festival of Crafts at the lovely Farnham Maltings!). Things may be cooling down outside, but they are heating up in the studio. Last night my second class teaching silversmithing/jewellery over at South Hill Park arts centre went very well. It went smoothly and everyone was happily working away at their projects. Lovely to see the bangles, rings, etc forming over the course of the class. Today I did lots of phoning - sorting out where to order a sheet of copper at a reasonable price without massive delivery costs. I also phoned for the...hm, I've lost count how many times...nth time to try to get some little post earring display do-dads. I have several of these thingies already and they are perfect for displaying small post earrings. But it's a battle...the supplier still hasn't received stock. It would be so great if I could get some of these things before all the craft fairs are over!!!! Right, now I'm off to paint the last little bit of my backdrop structure. I've done the base coat of paint and now I just need to paint it black and then it'll finally be finished! Hurrah!

random wishlist

There are approximately 10,202,395,385,103,204 different types of skills in silversmithing/jewellery making. As soon as I learn one, I find another two I'd like to learn. Some are more appealing than others, and some I'm happy to get an expert to do, since they are their own specialised fields. Many types of stone setting, for example, I feel are better left to the experts. They are going to do a better job and a good job straight away because they do it all the time. However, there are things that I'm just interested in and someday I'm going to get around to getting some lessons or demos, or at very least some videos! I'm not counting bezel setting as stone setting, for some reason, probably because I can do that and it usually involves quite large stones (or stones that aren't faceted, anyway).

Here's a random wish list of skills I'd like to learn:
1. engraving (see previous post about drooling over hand engraver's course)
2. granulation (this intrigues me and luckily I know a jeweller who knows a thing or two about this, so it's not a pipe dream to learn more)
3. stone setting (yes yes I said I'd rather leave to the experts, but I'd like to be better at doing gypsy settings and possibly roman settings. I like the flush style of setting as opposed to prong settings.)
4. enamelling (I'm sort of interested in this because of the colour options, but then sort of not because of all the extra tools I would need)

Anyway....that is what's on my mind at the moment.

happy october!

It's October already! There's a chill in the air and I'm looking forward to a possible halloween party and cosy evenings near a fireplace. Well, ok, it's only quite mild out, so maybe the fireplaces will have to wait a bit longer! Also, I have to admit I really like my winter coat, so I prefer wearing that to my summer/autumn light jacket.
Anyway, enough of that. I've had a flurry of posting on Etsy & Folksy. Lots of earrings (see photos of some below) - since I retrieved a bunch of items from Slough (since they're in the process of finding a new curator) I have lots of little earrings. I've added some of those, more to come. I've also got a bunch of rings which I'm going to polish, photograph, and put up on Etsy & Folksy at reduced prices.
Yesterday I organised a whole bunch of boxes and items and I'm definitely getting into craft fair mode! The first one of the autumn is a mere 16 days away - 17-18 October Festival of Crafts in Farnham ! I have a mere FOUR tickets left for free entry. They are actual paper, so I can only post them to you if you're interested. Just send me your address if you are...

brief update

Just a quick one 'cause I have lots I want to get done today! This morning I passed my driving theory test, hurrah! I'm so relieved. So, now on to the harder part - driving lessons. I haven't booked anything yet, so I should get looking.
I'm drooling over the hand engraving course being offered by the Hand Engraver's Association. I think I will try to do it in the spring, when they will hopefully be running it again. It's a wee bit too much to do the course now (well, it starts in November) because it's the busiest time of the year.

bump bump

I thought, I must post something because I must bump that annoying photo of the cheery chef lady further down the page! Ha! Well, I did make the 13 course meal (6 were actually cooked, the rest were more bought or just assembled) and it was enjoyed, so that all ended well! Today I am sorting out lots of bits & bobs. Yesterday I sorted out a package and thought about what I'm doing this week. It's a busy week, I have lots of jewellery to make plus lesson tomorrow and various social engagements. Also, tomorrow I have my theory test for a driving license! Wish me luck - I really, really, REALLY want to pass in one go. Oh please please let me pass straight away! First of all because it would cost me money to fail and second of all because it would be a tad embarrassing to fail the theory bit! Yesterday was full of quizzing about pelican crossing, motorcycles, lights, lines, lanes, etc. I hope I pass! It's going to be soooo useful once I can actually drive and we get a car - I will be able to get to more galleries, not need to hire cars for craft fairs, etc etc. So, I'll hopefully have some good news tomorrow!

oh boy...

See this lady? I don't feel that way about cooking. Cooking is alright every now and again, but I find it rather boring and I'm better at chatting to the cook and setting the table and things like that. Anyway, so it's a novel situation today because I have promised to make my husband a 13 course meal!!!!! That's 13 very small courses. Very small. There will be some weird things, some hopefully tasty things, and some things that I buy ready-made....because there's no way I can cook 13 different things for one meal. Well, I could, but it would take forever! ha! So, that's my story today. Tomorrow I'll be working on my lesson plans for South Hill Park. Oh yes and today I'll put some more earrings on Etsy/Folksy from the Lingerie & Lace collection. I was going to put a photo here, but I just realised I've never taken any photos of these earrings...so I'll add that later....

developments....

I nearly typed, oh it's Friday...but of course it's not, yet! So in an unexpected turn of events, I will be teaching one of the jewellery/silversmithing courses at South Hill Park arts centre starting next week! So, preparations are underway and induction was yesterday. South Hill Park is a lovely arts centre with a grand old building. I say grand old building because it looks like it's old, but I don't actually know the history of the building. I guess I'm going to find out more about it! Yesterday Bev and I were introduced to most of the staff there and they all seem really nice and friendly. I think it's going to be a very pleasant place to work! Bev is also a jeweller and will also be teaching. The current artist in residence, Ciara Lennon, will also be teaching. So there are three of us. I already knew Ciara and Bev from the Berkshire Designer Jewellers group. Incidentally, our current secretary is moving so I've become the secretary of the group. So, I'm busy busy!! Being busy is good for me, I actually get more done when I'm busy. So, that's the update!

phew

As the culmination of months and months of work and planning, I've started adding pieces from my Lingerie & Lace collection to Etsy and Folksy. This collection of tactile silver jewellery is inspired by and handmade with imprints of luxurious lingerie. Each piece is unique – only yours.
Below are some photos of the pieces already up on the sites. I'll be adding more (including another type of ring, small earrings, tie clip and bracelets) throughout the month. Each piece comes out slightly differently, showing a different part or type of lace. It's a great collection for weddings, since the pieces can be 'matching' for men and women, but not the same, so it's not too matchy-matchy, if you know what I mean. Anyway....have a look and maybe let me know what you think?

perfume

good morning....it's Monday again, hurrah. Ok, it's not too bad. It's sunny (sort of) and there's a lot to do this week. In the meantime, here's a photo of part of my perfume bottle collection. I really like small perfume bottles and over the years I've received rather a lot of bottles. Word got 'round that I like these teeny tiny over-designed bottles and my grandmother and her friends found out, which meant lots of donations to my collection! I think over the years I may have purchased a bottle or two, perhaps a total of five. All the others are empty bottle donations or gifts. So I have rather a lot...I think this photo shows about half of the collection. I like the way so much thought and effort has gone into the designs and how they look (in my opinion) so much better in miniature. I keep thinking that I ought to trim down the collection, perhaps only keep the small bottles (not vials) and get rid of all the duplicates. But thus far all I've managed to do is put the large bottles in a cardboard box for storage. I'll sort it out some day....in the meantime, I like looking at the mini bottles :-)

things

This week is flying by faster than you can say September. I can hardly believe it's Thursday already! I sent out my newsletter on Tuesday. Of course I tested it and tested it and all was well. Then I sent it out and the main picture didn't show up! Argh! So I had to send another one after it with the photo...oh dear. Well, lesson learnt and next time I'll attach the photo with super glue...ha! Of course, the craft fairs draw ever closer, so preparation continues. I've also added a page on my website about commissions. Hopefully today I'll add a page about my latest collection. And hopefully today I'll also add a new pair of cuff links to Etsy & Folksy. I'm not sure what to do about Coriandr. I get the feeling that site isn't doing that well. For starters I can't find any sellers on there that have had more than a handful of sales. Also I had a pair of earrings on the main page and the views didn't even increase, which makes me wonder who is looking at the front page! I think it might be better to focus on the sites I know are working - Etsy and Folksy. For now I'll keep the Coriandr shop open, but maybe not for much longer, unless there's a change! What else...I'm still working on a tricky commission that involves lots of stones. I'm hoping to finish the first version of that ring today. It's been a busy week and I have some big-ish news as well, but I want to be 100% sure about it before posting, so that'll have to wait until next week!



ps. if you're in or near Reading, something different to do this Sunday in town:
http://thejelly.wordpress.com/

Slough

So some of you may recall I have several items of my jewellery available at Slough Museum. Alas, alack, the curator at Slough is moving on to bigger and better things. She has an amazing opportunity which sounds fantastic. I think she's going to do great, she has great enthusiasm for art, history and is just a really nice person and easy to work with. In any case, she's moving on and new curator has not yet been appointed. Thus I am collecting my pieces at the end of this week until a new course of action has been decided there.
This weekend we inched a bit closer to finishing the backdrop for my show at Crowthorne. It's nearly finished! hurrah! Just a few more bolts and bit of paint and it should be sorted. Speaking of the fabulous show at Crowthorne (30 Oct-1 Nov) - the normal entry fee for adults is £4 but I have in my possession several discount vouchers for £2 off. So if you'd like to go, please just drop me a line with your address and I'll send you the discount voucher! Also, I have a few FREE entry tickets for the show at the Festival of Crafts at Farnham (17-18 October) - again, simply drop me your address and I'll post one out to you!
(my email is machi at magpienest.co.uk)

busy again...

Just a quick post today. I sent off a big box of many items to get hallmarked yesterday. That means that soon I'll be putting up a lot of new things on the various websites! This month, definitely. I wanted to send out a newsletter this week, but I was just too busy so it's going to be next week instead. So, lots of new things coming up... Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

commission

Here are some photos of a pendant commission. It's with a flower lace imprint and has a gallery through the middle to make it more delicate.