Craft Fayres, Committees and the Dragon Boat Festival

Where I work, many people have hobbies and are very crafty! A long while back my very dear colleague Caroline suggested that some of us run a craft fayre at the Dragon Boat festival that was going to be run (and is every year) by the Portsmouth Rotarians. Well it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss, so a bunch of us set up a committee which we called the 'craft committee' and started meeting on random Sunday mornings to have a coffee and come up with ideas etc. This was the first time I had ever been involed with a 'committee' and it was nowhere near as dreadful as I expected, in fact it was quite fun.
Slowly it all came together, and the weekend, although not exactly a Summer's weekend, fuelled some funds to go towards the charities.

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Blogging

Blogging? well what do you write about? I know for myself I find it quite difficult sometimes to come up with new things to put down, however, I decided that I would try and go through A to Z as the title, and that might give me some inspiration. Problem is what? Blogs? Beading? Blatant Copying? Beating the system? Bloody website?

So, todays will be about blogging, because I have been trying out both word press and blogger and come to the conclusion that I prefer blogger. However further than that, I also decided that for my website it would look better to have a blog that was directly linked to the web rather than a link coming over here. I read somewhere it was better and have to agree. So now any new things that happen on my site, new products, new services etc gets put on my news feed blog directly linked. So this is independent really, which means I can just whinge, moan or generally gossip -sounds like my kind of place ;-)

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Always on the lookout

As a jewellery designer - maker - fiddler, you find that you never rest. There is always an idea hovering somewhere in the back of your mind, and usually the absolute best idea pops up when you just cannot do anything about it. I used to try and carry a little note book round with me, but even then I couldn;t always take it out when I needed to.
Even worse, running a little business, you always have ideas that you can go with, new business cards, flyers, show idea,s something extra to put on the web, all of these things come just when you are in the middle of a meeting or an important conversation or telephone call.
Or is it just me?
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Generic Etsy

Was just thinking about the top sellers on Etsy, and something that strikes me is that although etsy promotes itself to be hand made site (what ever that means nowadays, with all the resellers and collectives nonsense going on), the best selling items are generally really quite generic. If you have a look in peoples shops, very often there tends to be a best seller or two (I'm talking about the better sellers not just the few items sold people.) and they are very often not one of a kind things, they are standards, just they have been made by hand by one person (hopefully) so are 'unique' in that way, but not really extra ordinary.
And when you start scrolling through the pages, you just keep coming across a pretty 'samey' feel all the way through. Is this just my imagination or has anyone else noticed this.


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Inspired from Africa

For many years I adored and collected Tuareg jewellery.  The skill of those craftsmen is amazing.  I have been wanting to try out something a little similar for ages but never have the time, this weekend however, I got a spare hour and this is it.  I'm happy with it, no where near as intricate as the gorgeous stuff from the Berbers or Tuaregs but I wanted it have a slant not to actually copy so I'm happy.

New Paper Stuff

Just updated my wrapping paper, so it is more in keeping with my logo and added some greetings cards to go with the wrapping.

Make do and mend - or something out of nothing!

You know what it's like, you have loads of bits of silver around the house (you don't know?) Okay rewind.... you know what it's like when you are a maker of something, you have lots of little left over bits.  As a silver maker I have loads and loads of little bits of silver around (and some big bits).  There are the projects that didn't go quite according to plan (the rings that were too big, too small, too wrong) the off cuts etc etc.  I have a blinking stack of the stuff.  So I have projected myself to do something about it.  This weekend, I got the roller out and either melted it down to balls, flattened it out with the roller or hammered it with my hammer into rings and earrings, affordable little non perfect little extras.

And I have to say I have had a blast, I get just so so much fun from sitting there wither with a torch in y hand or with a hammer banging away.

Here are a few of the things:

The one I am the best pleased with is the belt buckle ring, but the others are also acceptable for me.  They would make nice little everyday earrings and I have priced them accordingly, well better to have them go to someone who might like a pair of hand made silver earrings rather than have a pile of silver in the pot staring woefully at me.  Can't wait for this weekend to start with the next batch.

I've got a Tuareg inspired brooch on the go at the moment, that's the next thing on the bench!

What a difference 10 years makes

People I love (the one on the right is the one
whose ring I wear ;-)

They say that you are a completely different person every seven years, that every cell has been shed and renewed. I think for me it took a little longer, but my life ten years ago and today is like midnight and midday.
Ten years ago I had just moved into a new house. It was a house bought on the cheap with the idea of 'doing it up', there was so much that needed doing to it, but it was liveable in till all the things were done. My parents came round to see it, and you could see they were less than majorly impressed, maybe a little disappointed that I had now moved into something that was so much less that I had had 15 years before that when I had been living the suburban dream. But it was a move up from the one bedroom flat that had been previously. Dad was getting progressively weaker with his emphysema, I was estranged from the rest of the family.
I was in a decidedly destructive relationship, addictive and black, however I was still harbouring hopes of finally getting pregnant, even though I was past forty.
Twelve years on and I continued to teach, in the same position I had been from the outset, even though I was well qualified and pretty experienced. Life really was really quite mundane, quite different from a few years previously when I had been teaching and living abroad, firstly in Paris and then in Singapore. I didn't have many friends, the destructive relationship put told to that.
A couple of months later and things really took a slide downwards. In the few short months that followed moving into the house, my father died, followed by my mother's death, accompanied by the realisation that I had gone through the menopause which put paid to any chance of ever getting the longed for child, and to top it all off, the destructive relationship got even more destructive and broke down yet again (and again).
As you can imagine - all in all it was a very very black period.

And so how is life different now? Well I still live in the same house, and in fact very little of what needed doing ever got done, oops, it's very interesting how quickly one can adapt to things so much that they end up not getting done - note to self - must think about doing something about those things.
The job? things changed there, I still work at the same place only I got promoted and promoted again and now am assistant Director, which means a lot more variety and a lot more challenges and fun.
My life almost got worse after that period, but what came from it was a friend who I wasn't very close with really pulled out all the stops to be supportive and is now one of my very closest friends in the world, and along with a few others I now have a new 'family' with people who are just the loveliest, most unjudgmental caring people that I love deeply.
I picked up an old hobby (jewellery making) and went into it obsessively and turned it into a business. It takes up every second of my spare and not so spare time and gives me such enormous pleasure and satisfaction I couldn't imagine my life without it.
And finally - I had gotten to the point where I didn't want a relationship, I was happy being on my own, it was uncomplicated and easy. And then the most beautiful man entered my life who made me finally understand what love really was. He calms my soul, makes me laugh, and helps me feel like the most special person in the whole world. We have now been together for four years, and not a day goes past when I am not grateful for what I have with him.

So, if by chance anyone reading this is going through a really tough time, stick with it, things can change, sometimes they just need time, but it can so be worth the wait.
- P

the last photo of my dad at an
outdoor prom - pouring with rain.

The Silver Bird Range

Everyone loves birds, and I know many people do them, but I just fancied having some bird earrings, and it just kinda went from there. I wanted to have a range where it was possible to have everything mix and match, so there are earrings, pendants, rings, tie pins, tie slides, cufflinks and brooches. I have done a few different styles but keep coming back to the Love Birds, with their textured bodies - which look like feathers and a double mounted polished heart wing. I have no idea whether men will wear the tie pins / slides or cufflinks, but then if they were bought as a gift they would have to wouldn't they!! Probably depends on how secure they are, I do know quite a few who would have no problem with them, and that is all my presents sorted for the next bunch of 'no idea gifts'!














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Jewellery is a solitaire (y) Business.

There are many advantages to having your own business, particularly one where you are your own boss.   Jewellery is one of them. You design, you source, you sell, all on your own merits.  And that's just great, however, sometimes you just feel a bit lonely.  What should you charge? is this any good? where can I find blastically pelmuts? 

And this is where the internet is just the most wonderful thing.  You can find your sources, you can get ideas but best of all you can find yourself some cyber friends.

If you belong to Etsy, then do go have a look for a team, they 'can' be amazing.  For example the lovely team I belong to (in fact I belong to many but to be honest only really keep up with this one) 'metalclayheads', is just a joy to belong to.

Over the time I have belonged, tips have been shared from kiln firing times, making rings, how to use different types of clay, how to set stones etc.  The best suppliers for the different elements needed have been shared - imagine how much time that saves.  When something really interesting happens in the clay area, someone there is on it and posting the link.  For example when silver prices sky rocketed last year, it was from the team that most of the information came.  They share stories, and advice, what you need, how to go about doing a show, or doing a jewellery party at home.  

There are charity events, at the moment everyone is on the case of making a charm for a charm bracelet to be auctioned in aid of amnesty international.  Imagine - people from all over the world, all with different skills levels and different backgrounds and interests, all sending an item of value to one person who will sort the whole thing out. 

They have a blog, and many of the members have taken roles and write articles for specific areas - imagine the advantages of that?  You have your own blog and some followers, great, but you belong to a large blog and then you have a much larger audience, the possible knock on effect is brilliant, and all it takes is a little time out of your working week. 

I live in the UK, we are way behind on many of the techniques / supplies that emerge in the clay world.  Something has just been discovered to be a really useful thing to use, but we can't get it over here, so what happens? a whole pile of the lovely team members offer to send some over to the UK.

So, as you can see, although it can seem very lonely, you can find people to connect with, it is maybe not likely you have people in the same road as you, and often not even in the same town, but get on the internet and hey presto you can find many who will fit the profile you are looking for at your fingertips.  The amazing thing about the internet is that they could well be thousands and thousands of miles away but they will be with you in your living room whenever you choose to invite them in, you just have to connect.

If you are on etsy, it is easy enough to find a 'team'. Personally I don't bother with juried teams, I find them a little bit... well let’s just say I don’t bother with them.  But just do a search for whatever it is you make in the teams section.  If you aren’t on etsy I have found loads of forums that seem very active and everyone seems to know each other.  So the next time you are sitting at your computer wondering why you bother and wishing you had someone who understood to talk to, do take the plunge if you haven’t already, I really don’t know what I would have done without the lovely ladies (and Lego) who belong to the team I am proud to belong to.