Good Lunches, Good Business Books and News

Well, another week's over! It's been a bit of a grim one as I've had tonsillitis so have had a bit of time off from making.

So, have you all been and treated yourselves to some fabulous Debbie Orr, Skein Queen, products? I hope you enjoyed looking around her website and I would just like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to her for taking part. I have met some lovely people through my collaborative blogs so long may it continue - and I do have at least one more in the pipeline for you and I'm always open to suggestions of artists so do let me know if you come across someone we should all know about.

Last Friday, before the sore throat, I attended a really gorgeous lunch at the River Cottage Canteen and Deli at Royal William Yard, Plymouth.  The lunch gathering was held by Ladies Wot Tweat and consisted of a group of ladies who had met each other through Twitter, other social networks, business and word of mouth.  It was slightly daunting to walk in, not knowing a soul, however, I did find I knew one member when I got there and I definitely knew several more by the end of a fantastic meal.  I believe they meet regularly so I shall look out for the next date!

So whilst I've been feeling under the weather, I've been reading.  My husband bought me a great little book for Christmas which is a short punchy business guide, literally only a page or two on each aspect of business for artists and designers.  It's by Alison Branagan and as soon as I started to read it I felt that I also wanted to read her more in-depth essential guide on the same subject.  They're really well written and assume no previous knowledge which is just brilliant for me as I'm just taking the next steps with growing my business into full time hopefully.  I bought both books from Amazon and they're my recommendations for the week!

A Pocket Business Guide for Artists & Designers by Alison Branagan
ISBN 978-1-4081-2992-0

The Essential Guide to Business for Artists & Designers by
Alison Branagan
ISBN 978-1-4081-1903-7






If you fancy a read, these are interesting and not heavy going at all.  I've learned a lot.

So I'm hoping to work on a few designs in the next few days and I'll let you know how I get on and there might even be a Valentine's competition next week!!!

Are you all going to read this next week then? Be in with a chance of winning a very pretty piece? See you all then!!

Collaborative Blog with the Skein Queen!

Well last week I was trawling around the net looking for an artist/designer to feature on my blog and here we are - all done and ready for you to drool over!

When I was little I was taught to knit and well remember my grandad teasing me by suggesting I was knitting a waistcoat for a flea as my knitting never seemed to grow much!! My mum is a fabulous knitter (no cable design too difficult for her!) with a mega yarn stash, but it was my nan who taught me and like her, I knit in her style with the right hand needle tucked under my arm! I'm an occasional knitter only now as most of my free time is spent making jewellery but I love the colours and textures to be seen in a good wool shop.

This brings me to the mouth-watering hand dyed yarns of Debbie Orr aka the Skein Queen.

I asked Debbie a few questions and this is what she shared with me.

Blush

1. Where do you get the inspiration for your designs? For yarn colourways, inspiration comes from fairytales, birds, the sky, botany, food, literature and images in my head of rich, luxurious European palaces. For knitting designs, I always think of what the finished item will be used for, hence Lazy Sunday bedsocks and Day Trip mitts or how the finished item will make the wearer feel ie Cloud Nine socks.

Day Trip Mitts

2. Is there a craft medium you’ve always had a hankering to try your hand at? Two years ago, I learnt to spin and don't feel that I've truly mastered that yet, but if you're talking a brand new craft from scratch, I think weaving would be top of my list. Anything textile-related.

 

Delectable

 

3. If you could see one famous person owning one of your designs, who would it be? For yarn ownership, I guess it would be one of the famous knit designers I admire rather than an out-and-out celebrity, someone like Stephanie Dosen of tinyowlknits or Ysolda Teague. That would be cool.

Squash

4. Where can fans buy your work? My yarn and patterns are available on www.skeinqueen.co.uk. I have shop updates every couple of weeks adding more hand-dyed to the shop. Or to be guaranteed of a monthly delivery of SQ yarn, you can sign up for the Queen's Surprise Club to get colourways inspired by books or film. I also have stands at Unravel in Farnham Maltings on 25th and 26th Feb. and at Fibre East in Thurleigh 14th and 15th July this year. And limited stock is available at yarn stores such as Loop, All the Fun of the Fair, Cornwall Yarn Shop, Lighthouse Yarns and Yarn Cafe.

Desire

As you can see Debbie's yarns are just gorgeous, and as knitting is now trendy and cool once more, why not treat yourself to something very very special? If you knit a garment in one of these yarns you will always love it!

Like Debbie Orr I am motivated by colour and texture and just looking at these fabulous yarns makes me want to dye some aluminium!

Lavaflow Cuff and Necklace

This piece is available from the Signature Collection on my website at http://www.slicksilverjewellery.co.uk



So that's all from me this week, apart from saying a massive thank you to Debbie Orr, Skein Queen, for sharing her thoughts and yarns with us.

Launch of the Signature Collection!

Well, hello again!

This week my husband's been away working so I've been cracking on with my list of things to do and working on my new designs.  I've also added a Signature Collection to my website although it needs a little tweaking here and there when my better half gets back.  I'm lucky to be married to someone who has a great eye for design and  website stuff!

I've also been on the search for new blog collaborators and have approached a couple of really exciting artists so we'll just have to wait and see if they want to be involved here.

So, last week I showed you one of my new designs and I promised to show you more as I developed the idea. So here we go, these are the latest explorations of my theme of 'Heart of the Matter', a kind of lateral thinking from Valentine's Day! These two pieces will be part of my Signature Collection as they are handpierced, forged, rivetted and completely finished by hand using all of my silversmithing skills.

Today I've been in the studio making jewellery for Valentine's Day. I'll put up some pics of those hopefully next week and you let me know what you think of them.

See you next week!

A New Direction!

Hello everyone and hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.  I also hope that everyone who received my jewellery as presents were happy with it.

Well, we had a crazy, but wonderful Christmas Day with 9 of us gathering at the home of my daughter-in-law's parents who are very good friends of ours for a lovely family day.  As is usual for any family gathering Jeff managed to set light to something, however, this time it was only a paper napkin in the bin! The indoor fireworks left us all staggered by their beauty.........

New Year was very quiet and saw me writing lists of things to do in 2012, mostly for SlickSilver Jewellery as it will be a period of change and hopefully growth as I plan to spend more time working in the business, funds allowing.

So on to some changes - I shall shortly be adding a Signature Collection to my website where you'll be able to see the highly individual pieces that form a crossover between my silver and my aluminium work.  I shall be featuring, as part of the collection, some new designs I've been working on which explore simple basic leaf shapes with handpierced centres.  The following design started as an idea for an alternative to hearts for Valentines Day, however, I feel that the shape lends itself to further exploration which I plan to do.

This example would make an ideal gift for Valentine's Day or at any other time of the year so don't forget to point the relevant people in the right direction!!

I had a week off this week from my day job and it seems to have vanished into a pile of paperwork for my tax return, however, it's all done now, but I have had a lovely treat to cheer me up.  Those of you who read this blog regularly will know that I often feature other artists in my collaborative items and you may recall that I featured Phiona Richards of Rare Notions with her exquisite recycled books.  I was thrilled to received this from her in the post the other day and I'm really looking forward to wearing it - thank you Phiona - do make sure that you check out her website http://www.rarenotions.co.uk

Ok I must get on with finding some more lovely artists to feature on here - suggestions anyone?

My Amazing Present!

Hello folks!

Another very busy week even though I've been on leave from the day job! I've been visiting family 200 miles away to swap presents and visit relatives.  I think I've now posted all my Christmas sales and I really hope that all my customers are pleased on the day.

It's well known that my husband spoils me, however, today he presented me with a un-xmas present that totally blew me away.

This stunning book was created in secret over some weeks and represents samples of my work, past and present. It is beautiful with large glossy pictures.  My husband is familiar with the concept of these books as he's an artist and he produced his first book of paintings last year, following it very recently with a second book, but I had never thought about having one for my own work.  I've included some sample pages so that you can see more of my pieces. 

The books are manufactured by http://www.blurb.com to your own design using their template and you can order just one or multiples.  I think this is a great idea for creative people who are a little shy about showing their work.  It isn't too difficult to show a range of designs to prospective customers, galleries or stockists by carrying the book around.  It might even work for small groups of like minded people to share a book.






I've also included some sample pages of some of my aluminium collections that I haven't previously featured on my blog.

This collection is called Lemon Drizzle Cake and is available currently from http://www.fromthewilde.co.uk

This collection is called Bamboo Jungle and is mostly available from my website http://www.slicksilverjewellery.co.uk. If you take a look at the site and can't see the piece you're looking for let me know - I might still have it.






This is the Purple Rain collection and some pieces can be found at http://www.love-local.com









If anyone would like to take a closer look at the full preview of my book or even buy a copy (?!?) it can be found at http://www.blurb.com/books/2771499. If you'd also like to see my husband's artwork, his books can be found under David Muddyman at http://www.blurb.com/books/1774024 and http://www.blurb.com/books/2720532.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to wish you and all of my SlickSilver Jewellery customers and friends old and new a really happy, peaceful Christmas and New Year.

Clocks, Cuffs and Penguins' Feet!

Hi everyone - sorry for going AWOL last week - life seems to have somehow overtaken me mentally and physically in the last little while so I hope I'm forgiven!

In my last blog I told you about the Flameworks Art2Go exhibition at Royal William Yard, Plymouth.  Last Friday I turned up for my day long stint as a steward and worked with lovely ceramicist Sarah McCormack in the morning and jeweller Peter Reeves in the afternoon.  The exhibition looks stylish and the work available to purchase is of the highest quality and diversity.  We were, however, colder than penguins' feet by the end of the day in the old stone building!

I did approach my display cabinet with fear and trepidation when I arrived to see if I'd sold anything and yes, I'd had 2 sales.  There was great excitement late morning when we sold one of Sarah's quirky and cheeky-looking ceramic clocks to a really nice couple. To contact Sarah visit http://www.sarahmccormackceramics.org/

Clock by Sarah McCormack

The afternoon wore on and just before closing we had a bit of a rush and a young man came in and asked to buy one of my twisted cuffs so it was my turn to be excited!

Frosty Morning Twisted Cuff

Working alongside Peter Reeves was a really good experience and we shared our feelings about how we both like to work, with his jewellery being very different to mine, but beautiful and contemporary. I particularly liked his square silver bangle. To contact Peter visit http://www.peterreevesjewellery.co.uk/

The exhibition ends on Saturday so make sure you get down there to snap up any last minute special presents or you could just treat yourself!!
For further information visit http://flameworks.co.uk.  Make sure you take a look in my display cabinet too!

It has felt like a very busy time lately, despatching orders for Christmas, being involved with the exhibition, birthdays (mine and my son's) and life changing plans for the day job and so I've found myself mentally and physically tired and not as creative as I'd like to be, but I'm back on it now!!

See you next week!

My Twitter Support Group!

Hi folks!

Well what a week it's been! Times, they are a changing...... they could write a song about that I reckon....

Last week I told you about my submission to Flameworks Art2Go Christmas Exhibition at the Royal William Yard, Plymouth.  Last time I entered this I turned up on the night to see a few of my items displayed and felt a rush of pride, and when I had an urgent message to contact them on Tuesday I thought the worst.  Not so!! They want even more so last night was spent sorting, coding, labelling and pricing lots more work for them to choose from today.  The downside of this was that I completely forgot to attend a pre-arranged Twitter party at 8pm.  I was one of 2 birthday girls and I forgot to go to my own party!!! How lame is that?!?

This brings me on to this week's subject matter - Twitter.  Now I know some of you will be sitting there shouting get a life at the computer screen, however, I figure if you're reading this, you're already half way there yourself!!

The fact is, I blooming love Twitter!!

This week has been a rollercoaster, with potential plans afoot to change my whole lifestyle and as well as the support of my husband and family, I've found great props in a couple of my Twitter friends.  Yes, I know it's strange because we've never met, but we do support each other when we can see that it's needed. Emails have been flying back and forth as well as tweets with ideas and plans - you see what could be better than bouncing ideas around with people of a like mind? It makes perfect sense to me, because often, we can't rationalise something and we get bogged down by it, but someone else comes along and offers a simple solution and off we go again.

The party organiser last night was Sarah Marks from http://www.tiny-gems.co.uk and she makes gorgeous sparkly wedding jewellery and heirloom bouquets and is a bright and chirpy tweeter and along with Tara from http://www.daisyicecreamvan.co.uk who serves the most amazing goodies from her vintage van at weddings and events, we regularly meet up on Twitter to give our very knowledgable opinions on Strictly Come Dancing and anything else we all happen to be watching!

There is one person who's given me her time and ideas tirelessly this week though and that's Sarah from http://www.sljewelleryandaccessories.co.uk and she makes stunning bespoke bead and wire jewellery.  We've emailed and supported a lot and she's decided that I need a plan of action!! Her help has been invaluable and many months ago she spent time explaining a lot of SEO jargon to me as well. I really hope that you'll go and visit the websites of all these lovely ladies and buy lots of nice things from them.  If you're in Wales, look out for SL Jewellery - she may be teaching somewhere near you soon!!

Ok I'm off now to deliver my jewellery to the exhibition - come and visit if you can - photos next week!!

Exhibition Time

Hello again! Hope you all visited Rare Notions after my blog last week!

Well this week it's been all systems go, pieces of jewellery have been finished, listed, coded, labelled, packed and finally today they've been delivered to their destination.  It's time for Art2Go 2011 - Flameworks Christmas Exhibition!! I visited the exhibition last year but wasn't involved personally and I saw some wonderful work on display.  This year I have submitted jewellery for consideration for this year's show.  It's a real thrill to walk in to the opening night and see your work on display as I did in a previous year.

There's a real variety of contemporary work available to buy and for anyone who hasn't been before it's housed in the stunning setting of Royal William Yard.  To find out more visit http://www.flameworks.co.uk.  Art2Go 2011 runs from 26th November till the 10th December. Make sure you take the time to visit to finish/start your Christmas shopping and you'll be able to buy some really unique presents!

Flameworks is a Plymouth-based creative arts facility which has communal workshop areas available for members to hire.

Just a short blog from me this week as it's a been a busy old time and I'm a little bit sleepy!!

See you all next week!!

Collaborative Blog with Rare Notions!

Hello folks! Well I promised you a stonker of a collaborative blog this week as I feature the work of the lovely Phiona Richards of Rare Notions who some of you may have seen on Channel 4's Kirstie's Handmade Britain.  In that programme Phiona taught Kirstie how to make a rose ring from the page of an old book - recycling at it's very best!

With my very best interviewer techniques I asked Phiona some questions and here's what she told me about her fabulous work.

Smocked Book (closed)

1. Where do you get the inspiration for your designs?

The inspiration for my designs comes from literature, etiquette, traditional feminine crafts and historical costume. When reading works like Little Women or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, you really seem to get an insight on perhaps how life was for women; the manners, the social standing, and the rebellious woman.

Curved and Crotcheted

2. Is there a craft medium you’ve always had a hankering to try your hand at?

I have to say, I’m a bit naughty that way. I’m so craft driven that if a new tool or medium appears on the market and sparks my imagination I just have to try it. I think my favourite at the moment is UTEE, I’ve found ways of using it as a substitute for resin, which to be honest frightens the life out of me.

Organic Repose Collection

3. If you could see one famous person owning one of your designs, who would it be?

As I’ve already seen one of my sculptures in situ on the mantelpiece at Meadow Sweet Cottage in Devon, I would have to say Kirstie Allsop.

Ruffle Bead

4. Where can fans buy your work?

There are galleries up and down the country that stock my work but this changes regularly depending on where I’m exhibiting. A good way of keeping informed is to sign up to my newsletter via my website www.rarenotions.co.uk. I also sell online with www.theculturelabel.com, www.handmadeonline.com and www.nationalartandcraft.com. There is list of current stockist on my website, but if you’re look to have something created from your favourite book, I welcome commissions.

Eva Collection - Ring with Tatted Tag

If you really love Phiona's work as much as I do, you can contact her at http://www.rarenotions.co.uk/ and follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/rarenotions and if you'd like to follow her blog (she blogged about me last week which was lovely!) that can be found at http://www.rarenotions.blogspot.com/ and I would just like to thank her for participating in the collaborative blog idea.

Well, what have I been up to this week? I've been busy with the day job, I've actually made myself a necklace for a change, but I'm looking forward to a weekend of making, especially as the weather's rubbish! This collection is called Animal Instincts - hope you like it!

Make sure you visit Phiona's website to start your xmas shopping and if you've got the time take a look at mine too http://www.slicksilverjewellery.co.uk

See you next week!!

Collaboration with Poppy Treffry

Well, here we are again and I'm enjoying Kirstie's Handmade Britain once more!  For those of you who've also been watching this series, remember I was going to get in touch with Phiona Richards of Rare Notions with a view to finding out a little more about what makes her tick - well, we're going to have a collaborative blog with her next week!!

On to this week.  All my buses have come along at once!  I have another blog collaboration featuring the work of the amazing Poppy Treffry who can be found in gorgeous St. Ives, Cornwall.  Her lovely shop just makes you wish you had a bottomless purse!  Over to Poppy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Where do you get the inspiration for your designs?

I try to sketch as much as I can and these sketches inspire my designs. There's so much to draw just on my own doorstep in Penzance and I always take a sketchpad on holiday with me to collect inspiration. I also love sketching in museums because everything stays nice and still!

 

2. Is there a craft medium you’ve always had a hankering to try your hand at?

 

Not really but I would love to have more time to knit - I'm knitting a fair isle tank-top at the moment but I don't expect it to be finished this decade! I would also love to have some time to paint. I always thought I would grow up to be a painter but I got sidetracked into textiles - lured in by all the pretty colours!

 

3. If you could see one famous person owning one of your designs, who would it be?

 

Will Young of course! Team Treffry Love Will Young! (Rumour has it that Ben Fogle has a coffee cosy - and we also love him!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Where can fans buy your work?

 

You can buy online at our own website www.poppytreffry.co.uk where you'll also find a list of stockists throughout the country.

 

 





If you like Poppy's delightful bags, accessories and household items then why not do your Christmas shopping online - there's surely something for everyone.  If you fancy having a go yourself then why not buy yourself the book above and get sewing?

As for myself, I've been continuing with the work on my signature pieces and I've included some pictures for you to see what I've been up to.



I've been looking at how best to marry my silver work with my painted aluminium and I've been working on deeply textured aluminium and so far I'm liking the results.  What do you think?

 

So have you all done your xmas shopping? No? Then check out Poppy's website and mine too whilst you're there!! http://www.poppytreffry.co.uk and http://www.slicksilverjewellery.co.uk

 

See you next week with another collaborative blog by Rare Notions!

Craft on TV!

Well hello folks and yes I did promise another blog collaboration, but yet again it hasn't happened - sorry, but other artists must be very busy!

Did anyone else watch Kirstie's Handmade Britain last night?  It's so good to see craft on mainstream television.  Particularly good to see Phiona Richards from Rare Notions who recently started following me on Twitter which was quite a coincidence as I'd been admiring her work only a few days before in Nicola Hurst's lovely gallery in Plymouth! Phiona makes the most exquisite jewellery and art from old and damaged books - who knows, maybe I can persuade her to be a blog collaborator in the future so that we can find out a bit more about her work!

What was a joy on the programme last night was seeing Kirstie Allsopp's total enthusiasm for the crafts she was trying.  It can only be a good thing for the handmade movement that this programme is making it look cool and is trying to show that crafting is also loved by people of all ages and both sexes!  I do hope that more programmes are made that look at handmade, not only as art forms, but as businesses.  Theo Paphitis' programme focussed more on the business side when he looked at Liberty, Habitat and Boots, but it would be great to see a series that took an individual craft each week and looked at the experts, new businesses and novices within each discipline with a view to mutual support and inspiration.  Any programme makers reading this???

On another front - this week I've returned to my part time day job which funds my business at the moment following my shoulder surgery.  This has also meant a return to making jewellery and as I said last week I've been experimenting with deeper textures and combining silver with my aluminium as a signature range.



This piece was handpierced from a small amount of double-dyed aluminium which was textured with grasses and features a handmade silver toggle clasp and a reticulated silver component to the necklace. It sits beautifully at a the base of the neck at a choker length.

Right I'm off to try to push another piece of aluminium to it's limits and I'll let you know what happens!!

See you next week!

It's A Double Giveaway!

Hello again!  Well, it's been a funny old week as my husband has been away and Layla the cat seems to have taken the absence of her favourite man personally.  She keeps glaring at me as if I've got him hidden somewhere and I wouldn't mind, but she's actually my cat and I had her before we met!

I also started another blog on food - we are foodies after all.  Look out for http://slickysfantasyfoodhaul.blogspot.com/

I was hoping to have another blog collaborator this week, however, things have not quite worked out that way and we shall have to wait until another time for the person I had in mind.  Next week, however, I hope we shall have another exciting collaboration to look forward to! So, to make up for not having another artist this week I thought we'd have a little giveaway - details at the bottom of the page.

So, what else has been happening on the jewellery front?  Following my shoulder surgery I've only just started making again so I've been mixing up new dyes (a mid pink, a deep coral and a lovely gold) and trying out some new dyeing techniques.  I tend to texture my aluminium after dyeing and cutting as that helps me to maximise the best areas of the design, however, I have been experimenting with cutting a much smaller sheet, dyeing it once, heavily texturing it and then dyeing it again.  As this only produces a small amount of usable material (commonly the edges of the sheet are lost through trimming) I plan to use this technique to produce some very special signature pieces.

This week I've been chatting by email to Twitter friend S L Jewellery and Accessories about our dreams and plans and about approaching galleries to feature our work.  Today I went into a new gallery and looked at the jewellery on offer.  There were a couple of empty shelves in their display cabinets and I noticed that they didn't sell anything like I make.  I took a chance and introduced myself to the owner.  I always carry business cards and leaflets that show my work, although I don't normally take the cold approach as it doesn't often work.  I guess today was just pure luck, right time right place, etc etc because the gallery owner is very keen to stock my jewellery.  Hopefully it will come to fruition!  Normally if I see I gallery that I like, I email them and ask them to take a look at my website and to let me know if they would be interested in stocking me.  What does everyone else do in this tricky situation? Similarly if there are any gallery owners out there reading this - how do you prefer to be approached? I'd love you to let me know what you think.

So the competition then! The above sample is taken from my Poppies collection - what I'd like to know is - how many different aluminium sets are currently available on my website for sale?

The prizes? Yes, there's two!! And you're not going to be able to see them this time! I'll be giving away two aluminium rings which are adjustable to two lucky winners and the competition closes on Monday 24th October at 7pm.

So get checking and leave your answer as a comment below!

See you next week!

Jewellery as Art

Well, last week I blogged about Amazon's new Universal Wishlist Button which allows people to add goods from anyone's website to their Amazon wishlist and the possible consequences for people like myself who sell one-off items.  I have tried to contact Amazon to ask if we can choose to opt out of this system, but haven't had a response as yet.  The editor of UK Handmade is also looking into this on our behalf and I will keep you posted.

Those of you who read my last collaborative blog with Carolyn Saxby will recall her gorgeous beads and I'm thrilled to say that I received a package of the golden pink beads and I shall enjoy making myself something stunning with those - thank you Carolyn!

So, following a suggestion this week on Twitter from ShellyBobbins I thought I would look jewellery as art.  I have always sought to introduce colour into my work and in the early days I did that with patinas of various kinds, and now I feel that I can really explore my painterly side using anodised aluminium and inks and dyes.  I'm often inspired by a photograph, but more commonly, a close up texture or a flash of colour will be enough to give me an idea.  I also find inspiration in pottery and textiles.  When I colour and dye a sheet of aluminium it looks like a painting before it is cut up.  I belong a small group of artists who like to push their boundaries and at a recent meeting we decided to work towards a theme for this year.  This has caused me to think about how I can portray my jewellery as art and so I've cut up a sheet of dyed aluminium and suspended it in slices within a frame to make a free standing sculptural exhibit which the viewer will be able to run their fingers through should we get an exhibition!

I also subscribe to Craft & Design magazine http://www.craftanddesign.net/ and you will be able to see a sample of my work in the Makers Gallery in the next issue!

In other news, my jewellery can now also be found at www.love-local.com which launched yesterday and I wish them loads of good luck!

 This aluminium collection is subtely textured and was dyed first in turquoise and then over-dyed in a beautiful deep blue and these three items are the only ones I produced in this pattern.  I think that they would look stunning with a party outfit.

Oh well, I'm off to find another stunning blog collaborator!  See you next week!

Important News - Wish Lists and New Collections

Well, plenty of views of last week's blog about Carolyn Saxby's gorgeous work! Good to know I'm not the only person who gets excited about textures/colours!

Last Thursday was my husband's birthday and so we went for a picnic by the estuary near here and were privileged to see an otter happily swimming about and fishing for his tea! On the downside, I was bitten to pieces by some evil insect and spent the next 3 days in agony with massive bites and no sleep!!

Ok, time for some important news (well it was news to me!) - a couple of days ago I was happily adding items to my Amazon Wish List when I noticed that you could download a Universal Wish List button to your favourites bar and add items to your wish list from websites outside Amazon. Great, I thought, now I can add specialist tools and all sorts of jewellery making goodies and so I did.
Later that evening I gave it some thought and realised that my customers could add their longed-for pieces from my collections to their wishlists.  Great, I thought, but then a niggly little thought started squirming about in my poor old brain. 

Wonderful news if you produce multiples, however, not so great if, like me, you only produce one-offs.

I like to change my stock and add new stock regularly on my website so an item added may have disappeared by the time purchase takes place.  Ooops!

I spoke to the lovely Amazon people today and they hadn't really thought about this problem and do not currently notify a vendor that an item has been added to a wishlist although they might look into this for the future. As it's open to all, I don't see how we can opt out of this service if we chose to.

The way I see it is that it is lovely that fans can add our work to their wishlists, but we must make sure that they tell us they have, otherwise an item could already be sold or reserved more than once, leading to embarrassment and difficulties. As makers we can choose to reserve an item for a customer, but we must also then take the risk that the purchase will not be made after all. 

Hmmmmmm, a thinker! I'd really welcome your thoughts on this one.  For the moment, I've put a note on my home page asking fans to let me know if they've put one of my pieces on a wishlist.

Shades of Autumn Collection

So, onto my new aluminium collections!

The first collection was intended to celebrate the gorgeous autumn colours that are just beginning to appear in our landscape.

The collection on the right is vibrant and really looks like neon lights, perfect for that little black dress.

The collection on the left is very pretty and delicate and would suit anyone. They are all available from www.slicksilverjewellery.co.uk


That's it for this week, folks.  Do leave me comments about your feelings on wishlists - look forward to hearing from you.

Neon Lights & Party Nights Collection

Pink Ladies Collection

Collaborative Blog 3 - Beads To Die For!

Well it's been a little while since my last collaborative blog as lots of artists have been on holiday, however, the artist I'd like to introduce you to is well worth the wait!

I found this very talented lady whilst trawling through the internet and as soon as I saw her blog I was completely hooked - her backgrounds, her style, her colours and her textures were all my kind of thing and I was blown away by the beauty of her work and I knew straight away that our pieces would work well together.  I'll let you be the judge!!

Carolyn Saxby is a textile artist who is fortunate enough to live in my most favourite place on earth - St Ives, Cornwall.  It is the most inspirational of places as you will see.  I asked Carolyn a few questions about where her inspiration comes from.

Where do you get the inspiration for your designs?

My designs come from my head but I find inspiration from my hometown of St. Ives in Cornwall, from my walks on the beach and in the country lanes by my cottage

I walk with my camera and sketchbook and record things that catch my eye … compositions, patterns and colours. I photograph things like rust and peeling paint on fishing boats, natural lichen patterns and colours, rock pools, seaweed, berries, rosehips, seed heads, pods and autumn leaves

Sometimes along my walks I “gather” things that I notice such as shells, pebbles, sea glass and sea washed pottery, seaweed, driftwood, feathers and flotsam and jetsam washed up on the beach. Some of these things find their way onto my stitched hearts, wall hangings and art cards and some of my finds become mini compositions on my windowsill or a temporary still life arrangement which I photograph. These are “moments in art”. I love to add digital textures to my photos which also inspire my work. I love colour and putting tones of colour together and these come out in the fabrics and accessories I choose for my hearts or in the paint I use for my hand made beads (which I use in my work and sell for others to use in their textile pieces)

I am inspired by nature first and foremost. I love living in St. Ives and try to walk most days. There are so many aspects of St. Ives that I love such as the quirky whitewashed cottages with lichen covered rooftops and the cobbled streets that are hundreds of years old. I find peace in being by the sea and walking on the beach and appreciate the changing seascape, how the sea changes colour and mood with the sky, the season, weather, tide and time … I sometimes try to capture a feeling, a fleeting moment … a seaside experience that lingers in the heart and using text in my work I can express that feeling on my seaside hearts and rock pool hearts

Is there a craft medium that you have always had a hankering to try your hand at?

Well … funny you should ask that as there is something that I am itching to try. For quite a while I have wanted to try my hand at encaustic painting. I already love to use wax in my work … covering images and text in wax to use in my collages … so using encaustic wax in my abstract paintings is a natural progression. However, good encaustic materials are expensive so this extravagance is on hold for just a little longer and will happen at time when I am a little more free to enjoy some time to experiment with the wax. At the moment, I am very busy with many sketchbook projects and work for exhibitions which is taking my mind off of the encaustic at the moment!

If you could see one famous person wearing your designs, who would it be?

What an interesting question! Well … it would have to be someone I respect for their fashion sense and someone who also has a quirky sense of humour and likes to be a little different so it would be very nice to see my scarves and jewellery being worn by Kate Winslet. Kate has such a good figure for well fitting clothes and is a lot of fun.

Where can fans buy your work?

My Etsy shop opened towards the end of May and I am blessed to have been very busy with orders since it started. My aim is to sell pieces of my textile art such as my textured hearts, stuffed cottages and art dolls, large and small art quilts, wall hangings and paintings, art cards, my hand made beads, threads and textile inspiration packs for others to use in their textile art. I am passionate about textiles and textile art and love to encourage and inspire others to have a go

My etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/cornishpebbles

So, beaders out there - how fabulous are these? I really hope that some of these glorious beads will be appearing in a piece of work near you in the not too distant future!! Carolyn assures me that her shop will be restocked this weekend so get your orders in!

Looking at Carolyn Saxby's gorgeous use of colour and texture caused me to have a good look through my work to see what could compliment her work.

As you all know I'm passionate about texture and colour and I love the textures and patterns in this particular cuff.



This is my wide Surf's Up cuff and is very reminiscent of the colours to be found in the sea around St. Ives.  It can be obtained from my website http://slicksilverjewellery.co.uk/page11.htm

This pendant from the Jet Trails and Sunsets collection is also available from the link above.

I also love working in silver and other metals such as copper or brass.  I particularly like introducing a heat patina which would normally be removed during the pickling stage of construction, however, I prefer to keep the gorgeous colours which can be achieved by repeated heating and cooling of the metal.  The piece here is made from a piece of reticulated silver which has a rectangle of copper mesh which has been enhanced with heat laced into it with fine silver.

This piece is called Tapestry and is available from my website at

http://slicksilverjewellery.co.uk/page10.htm

All that remains this week is to thank Carolyn Saxby, and hope that you all visit her Etsy Shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/cornishpebbles and her blog http://carolynsaxby.blogspot.com/ and if you like this blog, why not share it with your friends? Feel free to leave me a comment - I love hearing from you and it's nice to know that I'm not the only person passionate about colour and texture!!!

Oh and Happy Birthday to my artist husband www.davidmuddyman.co.uk!!