back in the swing of things

After a couple of weeks of holiday and a long weekend, I'm getting back into the swing of things. I'm feeding items back on to Etsy, Folksy and DaWanda. I'll be adding new items this week and next. Just letting you know I'm working on it :-)
I am amazed, but we are having a sort of heatwave here. It's nice that it's warm but it's not so nice to have it so hot when I want to sleep. Anyway, I guess I should enjoy it while it lasts. I've ordered a fan though, for the bedroom. Almost all the fans were out of stock, so I'm guessing that there are a lot of people with the same idea! Reminds me of several years ago when there was a really hot spell and we decided to get a small inflatable pool - they were all sold out, which is why we have a purple plastic hippo in the back which although it's supposed to be a sandbox for children, is also a good paddling pool for cooling your heels! ha!

street art

I just got back from a fantastic weekend in Berlin - such a cool city!! There are lots of things going on, lots of new things and it's got such a creative vibe. I saw a lot of little boutique stores with new ideas. And the street art was really impressive. There were HUGE murals and lots of impressive graffiti. I like graffiti when it's creative, ie not just a tag. So I took lots of photos of these things and here are some of them:

new new and so on

Many new things afoot for MagpieNest, most of them long term plans. It's going to be a busy year with lots of ideas finally being realised. I have loads of ideas, but it takes time (a lot of it) to make the items and then get everything around it all properly ready. As you can see over on the right side of this page, I have lots of craft fairs coming up in the autumn. I'm also increasing the number of shops that carry my items. I will be putting a 'commissions' page on my website because that is becoming an increasingly large part of what I do. I have done commissions that are a design specified by the customer; I have also been asked to take stones from existing jewellery or just loose stones and make a new piece with the design up to me. I've made brooches and clip on earrings and toe rings and engagement rings and wedding rings. I've also made rings smaller and larger and necklaces longer and shorter. In short, I've been gaining a lot experience! So I'm now able to put a page on my website about commissions with confidence! I also know by now what I am not an expert at doing - but I know who to refer people to if they need unusual or other services.
I'm especially excited about my display unit for all the craft fairs. It's built and I just need to decorate it. I think it's going to look pretty darn good - it's different and it's friendly. It makes it easy for people to look and try on the jewellery while showing clearly that there are separate collections. I also have to make a backdrop for some shows and I have that finally planned out now and just need to purchase the pieces for that. I hope to have photos soon!!

prjeto gallery and things

Over the weekend I had the chance to visit the Projeto Gallery in Silsden, up in Yorkshire. As you may know, I have some of my pieces there and finally had the opportunity to have a look in person and this lovely gallery. The gallery is on the lovely main street and has a wide variety of jewellery and prints - something to suit most tastes, I'd say! I spoke to Paula, who runs the gallery, and there are many plans afoot. I also dropped off some new items - new for Projeto - the silver bud collection and the star collection. Paula felt they were just right for the gallery - so if you're ever near Silsden, do pop in! It's also down the road from one of the best bridal wear shops in the country and Paula is planning on working with that shop so brides can get not only the best dress but the best matching piece of jewellery. A good match, I think :-)

custom job

These are some photos of a custom job I did at the beginning of this year. The cuff links are made in the exact shape the customer wanted - she has a pendant that her boyfriend really likes, so building on that she wanted something the same shape but for him. These cuff links were the result. And, best of all, when I ran into them together somewhere unexpectedly, he was wearing them! That's the best compliment I can get :-)

designer tea towels

I know I've mentioned this site before, but if you haven't had a look before or recently, go check out www.todryfor.com - they sell amazing designer tea towels. Some of the tea towels are even especially commissioned for todryfor, designed by up-and-coming British artists. You can see under 'new' that there's quite a few different designs available now. I actually like the tea towel that has the Barbican on it - first because I love London and second because the Barbican center is really odd and reminds me of Planet of the Apes.

working...

I'm working on another lace imprint bracelet with a hinge and padlock clasp. Incidentally, I've called the collection with all this lace imprinting "Lingerie & Lace" because it's made from old lingerie printed into the silver. I've even made separate boxes for it and have a whole separate strategy for the collection. I'm speaking to some different vendors about the collection and will be telling you all more about it hopefully later this year. It's not yet available in any of my shops - this lingerie & lace collection is actually the top secret project I mentioned in a bunch of posts earlier this year. I have earrings, bracelets, rings, tie clips, cuff links and pendants thus far. I'll reveal more when I can!

ha...

This is one of my favourite ever jokes. I have it hanging next to the computer monitor because it makes me laugh so much.

finished ring

This is the finished engagement ring: It's 18k white gold with two dark sapphires and a large medium blue sapphire.

oldie

Bringing out an oldie to show you...my mom bought this beautifully embroidered jacket in the photo below and I made a pendant to match it. I made it a while ago, so my sawing was a bit shaky compared to now, but still not too bad. The pendant is pure silver and the stone is turquoise.

spring, erm, summer cleaning

So I'm doing some sorting out of stock and boxes and inventory and so on. This means a trimming down of my online shops until I know what I want to put back into them and what new items I want to add. Hence a wee bit quiet on the online front. I figure this'll be a good time to do it - it's lovely weather and summer so people are out and about. It's a kind of quiet, outdoor time of year. At least, it is if the weather stays this way, which I'm really hoping it will. Wouldn't it be great if we had a whole summer of this? That would be so nice. Also very unlikely. Anyway...so I'll be blogging but my shops are getting a dusting out!

Festival of Crafts

Hurrah - I got a letter from Farnham Malting on Friday saying I've been accepted for the Festival of Crafts show there in October! It's 17&18 October in the lovely building at Farnham.
I had a fabulous weekend - lots of sun and warmth and activities. My cold is nearly gone, I think, as I've been up for over an hour now and only had to blow my nose twice so far! ha!

I saw a great band on Saturday night - Televised Crime Wave. If you get the chance to see them live, don't miss it! Good indi music with lots of jumping about. They were really nice and friendly too. Plus, if you followed that link, they have a great pic of a cat on guitar as their background image......