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: