The Scaredy Cat gets Braver....

Hi folks!

It's blog time again so what to talk about.......

Like a lot of people who work creatively, I'm a great big scaredy cat when it comes to selling myself and my wares.  I love the whole making process and I have a sneaking feeling that I would be happy to do just that, however, I have visions of our house filling up with jewellery like the never ending porridge pot in the fairy story, so I must try to sell my work. 

Just over a year ago I needed surgery on my right shoulder which meant no making for a few months, so in preparation, I made as much as I could in advance.  I challenged myself to learn about using social media to increase my visibility during this time.  I was already using Twitter socially so I started to focus more on that, set up a Facebook page, started blogging and joined LinkedIn.  I've learned as I've gone along, sometimes by making mistakes, and I've also realised that how something sounds in my head when I write it may not be the way it's read!! I've attracted many a spambot by not thinking through a tweet before pressing 'send'! My Twitter use is a combination now of social and business chat with virtual colleagues and increasing my brand through pictures of my work and links (trying to remember to use my hashtags - Ash!). I've read a couple of articles recently that I'd like to share with you because they're really well written and very useful.  The first article was a blog by Plymouth's local social networking guru Ash Mashhadi and I'd definitely recommend it. http://inspiration.co.uk/the-7-deadly-sins-of-social-media/  The second was a really useful article by Pete Mosley on Twitter for creative workers.  It was in the September/October issue of Craft and Design magazine http://www.craftanddesign.net/magazine/223/.

I think it's safe to say that I am embracing the need to put myself out there virtually and more recently I've started to do it physically too by attending local artists's markets and other events.  I also exhibit regularly with Flameworks.  This week, however, I've really challenged myself.  I attended Plymouth Business Networking at the Devonport Guildhall.  I took along my jewellery, not quite knowing what to expect, but guess what? I really enjoyed myself!  I wasn't as hard as I thought to chat to other business people, exchange cards, ideas and plans and I've already booked myself in for the next one! Who would have thought?

My stand at Plymouth Business Networking Event

I've had a very busy week in the studio too, cutting up the aluminium sheets I made the week before. I'm actually really pleased with how these have turned out, by which I mean that it's difficult sometimes to know whether a design is pleasing or not until it's cut. This time when dyeing the sheets I experimented with dipping skeleton leaves into sticky aluminium ink and pressing them onto the metal before applying powdered pigments and dyes. I'm happy with the results. What do you think?

Falling Leaves collection

I also wanted to create some warm and richly coloured pieces for the winter and so I made the Harlequin collection. 

Harlequin collection

These collections and much more besides will soon be available on my website so keep checking so you don't miss out http://www.slicksilverjewellery.co.uk.

If you'd like to see more of my jewellery in the flesh, I've got two more stockists to tell you about this week. Yay!! If you're in Derbyshire you can see my work at Studio 61 Gallery http://www.karinagoodman.com/ and if you're in Somerset then why not visit The Cottage Gallery http://wwwthecottagegallery.co.uk .  If you are near to Tavistock, then why not come and see me personally on the 4th November and 2nd December at the Artists's Market in the Pannier Market, Tavistock.  Look forward to seeing you!

Blog Collaboration Time Again!

Hello, it's me again and, fantastic news, it's another blog collaboration - this time featuring the fabulous work of ceramicist Alison Graham.  We met Alison in the One Year On marquee at the Contemporary Craft Fair in June in Bovey Tracey, Devon and we both loved her work which features lines scratched into the surface of her ceramics to create landscape effects and beautiful serene colours. I recently asked Alison a few questions about her work and this is what she shared with me, so I will let you enjoy it the way we did!

Trees

 1. Where do you get the inspiration for your designs?Inspiration for my designs comes from observations and sensations I have experienced in rural environments, from surfing in the Gower Peninsula along the coast of south Wales to memories of walking in the Lake District in Cumbria, where I grew up and studied before moving to Cardiff. I am inspired by painters such as J. M. W. Turner, Bridget Riley, Mark Rothko and Paul Cezanne whose works explore the ways colour and light interact both on and through a surface to create illusions of depth and movement. I also like to play with child-like fascination when I am working with clay, allowing new ideas to present themselves and then work with them. I believe in fate and serendipity and work spontaneously whilst listening to classical, 80s rock or easy listening music.

Landscape1

2. Is there a craft medium you’ve always had a hankering to try your hand at?
I have always fancied having a go at making my own paper and doing some mono-printing with an old printing press. I must look into that...

Beyond The Surface

3. If you could see one famous person owning one of your pieces, who would it be?
Prince William & Kate Middleton (they count as one choice now right?)

Lanterns

 

4. Where can fans buy your work?

From the following craft fairs: Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair in Manchester (October 4-7th), MADE London in Marylebone (October 26-28th) and MADE Brighton (November 23-25th). At the following exhibitions: 'Wells Art Contemporary' Wells and Mendip Museum (October 12-26th), 'Inspire' Walford Mill Crafts, Wimbourne, Dorset (November 3rd-Dec 31st). My work is always stocked at the Oriel Makers Gallery, Cardiff and will be stocked at Just Make in Wells from December 2012. Work can also be purchased privately from me in my studio in Cardiff. Please check my website for details and updates on forthcoming events. www.aligrahamceramics.moonfruit.com

I'm sure you'll agree that Alison Graham's work is stunning so I hope you'll take a closer look and treat yourself to something beautiful!  Thank you Alison for taking part.

So what have I been up to this week?  Well, yesterday I was at the Bank Square Artist's Market in Tavistock, Devon and I still haven't got warm!! The sun was out but never made it inside my stall and so I gave up and wore everything I'd taken! I met some lovely visitors to my stand, gave out plenty of cards and now I'm looking forward to the next event which is on Sunday 4th November - thankfully indoors in the Pannier Market!!  Come and see me and start (or finish!) your Christmas shopping, but don't forget to drop heavy hints to your other halves about what you'd like for Xmas and then send them back to me afterwards!!

In other news, I have another stockist! Welcome to Mangojuice Gallery in Worcester http://www.mangojuicegallery.com

Today is going to be spent dyeing some more sheets of aluminium and I plan to try out some mono-printing myself but kind of in reverse.  Normally when printing in this way inks are applied to aluminium and then prints are taken from that with paper or acetate, but I'm going to apply my inks to acetate as I want the aluminium sheet to be the end result. We'll see how it goes. I noticed yesterday when laying out my display that most of my work is in the colour colour spectrum so I am in intent on warming things up! Will start by putting on some socks...........

I also made this Daybreak Collection this week and this is just a quick photo to show you the colours before it's photographed properly by my husband who does know what he's doing, unlike me.........I panic if I can't just point and shoot!!

Why not start your Christmas shopping from the comfort of your own home? Visit my online stores at http://www.slicksilverjewellery.co.uk and take your time to choose.

If you're interested in hosting a jewellery party and you live within a 25 mile radius of Plymouth please email me for further information info@slicksilverjewellery.co.uk.

See you next week!

It's a Wedding Blog Collaboration!

Hello folks!

It seems a while since I featured a collaborative blog which is because I've had a couple promised which have fallen by the wayside, however, I now have a great one for you!  Let me tell you a little about Sarah, my guest this week.  Well the first thing is, she's a very talented lady, obviously, but the second thing is she's the keeper of my sanity!  We met through Twitter and we check in with each other most days and have a natter about what we're up to and if either of us is having a bit of a rough patch, we email.  We've never actually spoken and she's years younger than me, but that doesn't seem to get in the way of us being friends.  This means a lot to me, having gone from having a lot of work colleagues this year to lone working - as I say she keeps me sane!

Sarah makes extremely pretty jewellery and lovely weddingy things and I know that she's happy to work with brides to come up with a whole range of co-ordinated goodies. With that in mind, let's let Sarah of S L Jewellery tell us a bit more about what she does.

1. Do you make and sell your lovely bridal bouquets or do you prefer
to work individually with a bride?

 

I have a couple of sample bouquets which I sell off occasionally as
new designs are created but the joy of these bouquets is that they can
be created uniquely for each bride.
I love working with brides to create a piece unique to them. They know
that the bouquet they take down the isle is likely to be a complete
one off and there will be no other the same.
We sit down or chat over the phone and come up with the scheme and
begin to gather together some pieces to create a mood board. Once we
are happy with the ideas I begin the making process. I photograph each
step and keep the bride fully involved to make sure they are happy
before each step is completed. Once the complete bouquet is assembled
the brides gets to see it in the flesh which usually results in floors
of tears.

 

 

2. Where do you find all your sparkly bits and pieces to go into a bouquet?

Some brides prefer to gather all the pieces for a bouquet whether this
be for budget purposes or if they are lucky enough to have lots of
pieces within the family. Some receive pieces as gifts from friends
and family once they tell them they are having this type of bouquet.
If they prefer I can collect the items. I love all things sparkly and
wherever I am I always pick up bits and pieces. I have a secret box to
keep them all in. I love getting it out and going through it with
brides :)

3. Where can people see more of your work?

I'm a well known twitter addict so come and say hi at
www.twitter.co.uk/s_l_jewellery or here on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/S-L-Jewellery-and-Accessories/94160226703
You can view my website here www.sljewelleryandaccessories.co.uk or
why not email me on info@sljewelleryandaccessories.co.uk

So if you're thinking of getting married, or you know someone who is, then why not take a look at S L Jewellery's amazing bouquets and bits and bobs?

When thinking about weddings, no matter what the season, there's always the desire for the bride's mum to want to to wear something that no-one else will be wearing.  Even the simplest outfit can be made special and unique by the addition of bespoke jewellery.  Here at SlickSilver Jewellery we can offer just that.  Show us pictures of your outfit, close up shots of the fabric, and select the style of jewellery from my website, email me with your requirements and I can make aluminium and silver jewellery just for you and you'll know that no-one else will be wearing it! Tempting, isn't it! Just email me for a quotation!

This is some of my latest work. If you're interested in finding out more then please visit my website for further details http://www.slicksilverjewellery.co.uk

Oh, and there's some exciting news - I've got another stockist - visit Mangojuice Gallery in Worcester to see (and hopefully buy!) something for yourself!

Next week I've got another exciting blog collaboration - completely different, but just a beautiful!! Why not follow my blog so that you don't miss it!

Parma Violets Necklace

Summer Dreams Necklace




 

Updates and News

It's raining, the wind is howling, the cat is wet, it's Sunday, the coffee's on, the bread is made, scones to be made later, so all of that means it's update time!  Does anyone else set aside a particular time to do their updates?

On my Facebook page last week http://www.facebook.com/SlickSilverJewellery?ref=hl#!/SlickSilverJewellery I mentioned that I had a heap of finished jewellery ready to be photographed, so yesterday my husband did that for me.  That means today I have a load of lovely pics to play with, hence the updates!! So, this morning I feel I've achieved quite a lot.  I started off by updating my LinkedIn profile which was something I've been meaning to do for ages, followed by my website, then my Facebook page, Twitter and then finally here I am, all ready to blog! It does take time to manage it all, but it's worth it.

Those of you who've followed my blog will know that I left my day job in March and since then I've been fully concentrating designing (and selling!) my jewellery.  I'm sure that some of my old colleagues must think that all I do now is sit around at home chatting on Twitter, but believe me I work much longer hours now than I ever did before and I do find it really hard to take a day off in the week because I really do love what I do!

So what's new?  Well both my husband, artist and composer David Muddyman, and myself have a new stockist.  You can now find us at West Gallery, West Putford, Holsworthy, Devon http://www.westgallery.co.uk/index.html which is a lovely tranquil place to visit and to have a chat to Rob and Belinda.

I've also been working, as I said before, on some new collections which have been added to the Signature Collection today. I really hope you like these - they are some of my favourite pieces so far. Mermaid's Tale only consists of the three pieces shown - a very limited edition!

Summer Dreams

This long necklace is in the Summer Dreams Collection and slips easily over the head as it's 25 inched long.  You can wear it whichever way you want, with it's off-centre rings and uneven circles, it has a contemporary feel.

Mermaid's Tale

The Mermaid's Tale Collections consists of just these three pieces which makes it a very exclusive set of jewellery.  The colours are just gorgeous and the deep texture gives it an iridescence. Again it is entirely made by hand from anodised aluminium and sterling silver.

Watermark

This stunning collection is called Watermark and the three dimensional quality of this piece means that it turns slightly when it's being worn and it always shows a glimpse of hidden pattern of colour - trust me, it's gorgeous!! There's also matching earrings and cuff for this one.




You can find all of these new pieces on my website in the Signature Collection.  Why not treat yourself? http://slicksilverjewellery.co.uk/userimages/Signature-Collection-Shop(2625802).htm

That's all from me this week as I really should go and make scones, after all, I have jam and clotted cream so it would be rude not to..................

Excellent Service!

Hi everyone!

I'm sitting huddled on my sofa and I really think that autumn has arrived.  On my walk into town this morning I went through the park and noticed how much the leaves are turning on the trees and I don't feel like I've had summer yet! I'm sure that I can remember endless hot days during my summer holidays as a child!

So we've all said a sad goodbye to the Olympics and the Paralympics and I thought it was all fabulous. Lots of memories will stay with me from both games and there were plenty of inspirational moments and I certainly got through a lot of tissues during medal ceremonies.

Over the last month or so I've taken on two new stockists - Boo Gallery in Northamptonshire and Workshop 22 in Bristol and today I had to send more cuffs up to Boo as they'd sold out! Brilliant!

On another positive note, yesterday I heard about a really excellent service and I thought I would pass the information on to you all.  I hand pierce all of my aluminium shapes for necklaces etc, but if I'm using a repeating shape, I tend to use jewellery templates/stencils for uniformity.  I bought a new template last week and it arrived pretty quickly with a CD catalogue of all of the company's stencils.  I looked through the vast array with relish, but the shape I'd had in mind for a while wasn't available.  I contacted the company to ask if they'd ever had anything like my requested shape.  I was amazed to receive an email back saying that if I could send them a drawing they would make me the template I wanted for the standard price and in fact they would be happy to make one-off stencils any time for me.  How amazing a service is that??? So, here you go folks, check them out for yourselves!
http://www.technical-drawing.co.uk

So, what have I been making? Lots of lovely new things! Last week I finished working on the Cherry Blossom Petals Necklace below.  It's a really lovely lightweight piece of jewellery which has a soft tinkling sound when run through the fingers and is extremely comfortable to wear. Do you like it?  If you'd like to look at any of my other jewellery take a look at my website http://www.slicksilverjewellery.co.uk

Cherry Blossom Petals Necklace

After the anodised aluminium is dyed each individual petal is pierced out with a piercing saw, the edges filed and polished and then each piece is textured with a rolling mill, drilled and then assembled.

All in all - sore fingers!!

Cherry Blossom Slim Cuff


 

I also made a slim cuff to go with this necklace and I'm pretty pleased with the end result!

















I've also made quite a lot more this week but we'll leave that till next week.

Just to let you know, I working on another blog collaboration at the moment, which I really hope will come to fruition as it would feature a very talented young lady who practices an old craft that is not seen as often as it should be these days, so let's hope she agrees!

Ok folks, that's all for this week.  See you all soon! xxxxx

New Work and News!

Hi all, thought I'd start straight off with my latest news - following on from your suggestions for a name for the blue collection last week (and tons more suggestions on my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/SlickSilverJewellery?ref=hl) I found that I really liked the Rebecca Adlington suggestion!  With that in mind I've contacted Rebecca via her manager and hope to hear back soon as I'd really love to send her a piece to wear and hopefully if she lets me have a photo of her wearing it I can put it up on here.  If the lady who made the suggestion would like to contact me at info@slicksilverjewellery.co.uk she might get a little something!!

Would you like to see what I've made out of this particular sheet?

Each piece has been saw pierced, filed, polished, textured, forged and cold connected!! Carrying on with the water theme I explored various shapes of droplet for these pieces of jewellery. Hope you like them.






So, what else has been happening? Oh yes I've grown quite a few more grey hairs following a text from my son who's travelling in Australia.  In the last few days apparently he's flown a plane, woken to hundreds of wild kanagroos outside his cabin, is off gliding (the whole 'no engine' concept worries me slightly) and is conducting some music later (yes that is his job!)  and he has yet to do his skydive - lordy, lordy!!

Another little bit of news to share with you all is that Workshop 22 in Bristol now stocks my work!

So that only leaves me with the exciting bit to tell you!  I'm in the running for a Great British Makers Award! Yay!!! What's more, you can vote for me! You all, out there, can actually make it happen!
All you need to do is follow this link which will take you to the Meet The Makers section at Seek and Adore http://www.seekandadore.com/MeetTheMakers.aspx then choose Devon in the dropdown menu, then hit the Facebook Like button beside SlickSilver Jewellery. How exciting is that?!?

See you next week lovelies!

A Golden Weekend!

Yes it's me again!

I'm sitting in a sunny room thinking about my subject matter for this week and noticing that I've missed a bit when cleaning the windows!! A small matter in such a fabulous weekend! 

Now anyone who knows me will testify to the fact that I'm about as unsporty as it gets - a sloth may well be more energetic, so I hadn't really imagined getting quite so into the Olympic Games as I have.  I love a bit of gymnastics and was looking forward to cheering on fellow Plymothians and South Westerners but I really thought that would be it.  Not so!! I have found myself screaming at the TV, willing the last drops of energy out of already super-human beings and generally thoroughly enjoying myself! Not a medal ceremony has gone by without the tissues at the ready! I do appreciate the irony of the fact that this new love of all things sporty has all taken place from my sofa, but it's a start, don't you think?  So proud of all of our athletes, regardless of where they've been placed, they are there by merit, which is more than I'll ever be!

I did have my own personal best on Saturday though.  It was a gold in the 8 and a half hour stand! My first artist's market and I forgot to take a chair. Doh!! 

I was pleased with my stand and met some lovely people and had quite a few sales so all was good, apart from my back at the end of the day!

I've also started working on another couple of collections this week.  Haven't got round to naming them yet so why not make a suggestion for the blue/green cuff?  The golden peachy cuff really has the relate to the phenomenal sporting achievements made this week I think so it will possibly be called Going For Gold, what do you all think?

I don't have a name yet - suggestions??

This is a pretty cuff with shades of turquoise and pale green, looks almost like water so why not have a go at naming this collection yourself?

So what do we think of this one - Going For Gold or Jessica or something else related to the Olympics?

That's it for this week folks - leave em a comment or email me your suggestions - who knows there may even be a little gift involved!!

TV Shows and Exhibition Experiences

Hello all!

Well I think we've finally had summer! Hopefully that week won't be all of it though, however, it has been nice to break out the sun cream instead of the rust remover!

I said I'd tell you all about the Flameworks exhibition that my husband, artist David Muddyman and I have had our work in this week.  The summer exhibition was entitled 'Pushing The Boat Out' and it co-incided with the Jazz and Blues Festival and with the Classic Boat Regatta so there has been plenty to see in the Barbican, Plymouth.  The venue, Relegacy Gallery, was a really lovely space with a gorgeous garden to show off some of the outdoor sculptures and a light and airy space upstairs. We've popped in a couple of times to see how sales were going and sadly for us, they could have been better.  Maybe the sunshine drove prospective buyers to the beach instead!  The staging of the exhibition by Flameworks personnel was superb, with Pimms and strawberries and cream at the private view. I would just like to say a big thankyou to them.

It was also lovely to meet a couple of new members, Rebecca Crawford and Peter Lanyon.

This brings me on to TV shows.  We're suckers for contemporary art and whenever we're on holiday we spend our time looking in galleries.  An artist friend recently told us about the BBC2 programme Show Me The Monet which aimed to find artists from around the UK to sell in the Mall Gallery, London.  Anyone could enter and the finalists had the opportunity to come in front of a panel of 3 experts who would then critique their work and if 2 or more of the panel voted for a piece it was put into the gallery for sale.  As a show I've really enjoyed it, but the very last episode made me more than a little bit mad!! A silversmith from Cornwall, Abigail Brown, introduced her magnifient three dimensional silver sculptural piece http://www.showmethemonet.tv/artwork-show15.php and was told that it was just decorative!! I work with silver and I cannot begin to imagine the hours, the skill, the precision and the passion involved in producing such a piece from one flat sheet and then to have to listen to experts as they decide 'it's craft and not art and therefore isn't right for the exhibition' - my heart went out to her. Ever since I've been wondering about how on earth we break down these barriers between art and craft.  Any ideas anyone?

So, what have I been up to this week?  Well, exciting news from Hung http://www.hung-inverness.co.uk/ who are selling my work apparently faster than I can get it to them - they have put the latest jewellery into a pop-up gallery Crochte http://www.crochte.co.uk/.  This means that for the first time I get to sell alongside my good friend Mhairi Wild who featured on my very first Collaborative blog and we've stayed in touch through email, Facebook and Twitter ever since.

My work on show at Crochte

Also in my latest news is that you can now find my work at Boo Gallery, Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire http://www.boo.uk.com/

So what else has been happening?  Well there are some new aluminium designs on the way! I will introduce the first one this week and it's called Parma Violets - let me know whether you like it!

So I'll see you all soon and if you're in the vicinity of the Tavistock next Saturday - come and say hello to me at the Craft Market in Bedford Square!

How Do Galleries Find Artists?

Hello again folks!

Funny old weather this! I've been away to see my family and en route got diverted because of floods, saw another 4 closed roads that had me doubling back on myself more than once and finally ended up in a storm.  Saturday morning saw us diverted yet again for major flooding - my hearts go out to those affected.  It's supposed to be summer....... when's it going to happen????  Come on weather get your act together!  I'm really fed up of wearing my winter clothes!

Today has been another day where I've been thinking about what to do next.  I need some more galleries to stock my work - those that already stock me are showing good sales, but I really need more spread across the country.  I'd love to know how others approach stockists - I fear there is a magic formula unknown to me!! I've tried asking in the past, but that hasn't always worked either! Is there a way to become un-shy when approaching sellers? How do galleries find their new talent? I'm open to ideas so do let me know!

This weekend sees the opening of the Flameworks Summer Exhibition 'Pushing The Boat Out' at the Relegacy Gallery, New Street, The Barbican, Plymouth.  I've submitted work, but won't actually know what (if anything) will be included until I get there.  My husband, David Muddyman, is also hoping to exhibit this time so we'll keep our fingers crossed. For those interested the exhibition runs from 21st until the 29th July and is closed on Mondays.

Over the next week I plan to work on dyeing some new designs (preferably without the black thumb debacle of last time *note to self, buy sturdier gloves) and cutting them into some very exciting designs.  I'd really like to see if I could combine bronze with aluminium......... hhhhmmmmmm........new ideas............. watch this space!! And remember, you saw it here first!

Finally, did you all tell your other halves that if they really loved you they'd buy you a Shades Of Grey pendant? If not, whyever not? Direct them here with indecent haste!!! http://slicksilverjewellery.co.uk/page16.htm

See you all next week!

Launching Bronze and Grey

Hello folks, it's been a couple of weeks since my last confession.......

No really,  I've been busy, busy, busy.  I've been working on new pieces which are destined (hopefully - they still have to get past the selection panel!!) for a summer exhibition by Flameworks which is being held in the Relegacy Gallery, The Barbican, Plymouth from 21st July to the 29th.  My husband, www.davidmuddyman.co.uk is also hoping to exhibit this time too. The theme is 'Pushing The Boat Out' and this is the first time that I will be showing aluminium, silver and bronze. Would you like a little sneak preview?

This bronze Wood bracelet is destined for the exhibition

This busy time has also seen the launch of my Bronze Collection on my website. http://slicksilverjewellery.co.uk/page15.htm Why not take a look at these organic pieces and let me know what you think? It is possible to add a beautiful heat patina to bronze and that is what has been applied to the bracelet above and I plan to introduce more of that to the website collection soon.

So, what else have I been up to?

Well, there's been so much in the press and media of late regarding a certain trilogy of books and it made me think that I could start a Shades of Grey collection.  As there is so much interest and many people are posting pictures of shade charts and paint charts so I thought that there might be a demand for a simple, beautiful pendant.  I used dip dyeing techniques with aluminium dye, deliberately letting the dye dry in 'tidemarks' and repositioning the sheets every few minutes to create the lines you see as well as aluminium ink in black.  (My thumbs are still showing evidence of this 5 days later owing to a blowout in my latex gloves!) Every single pendant is different and are reminiscent of landscapes, seascapes or even cloudscapes and I'm really happy with the end result.  I think they look stunning and will certainly appeal to anyone who enjoyed the books and those who haven't read them.  These are my take on 'Shades Of Grey' and they have their very own Collection on the website http://slicksilverjewellery.co.uk/page16.htm  Who knows - I may make another colour collection if these prove popular! 

So, if anyone would like to know more about any of my pieces, or about the forthcoming exhibition, or even where else you can see my work, please do email me at info@slicksilverjewellery.co.uk - I'm always pleased to hear from you.

I'm also looking for new gallery stockists, particularly in Cumbria and Wales.  If you know of anywhere do let me know.

Favourite at the Fair and Inspiration Pics

It's been another busy week folks! What's new, I hear you groan......

You may recall that last blog I was telling you that I was meeting the Ladies Wot Tweat for another lovely lunch and so last Friday, 10 of us met up for lunch at Jolly Jacks.  A fast-paced and hilarious few hours ensued and I didn't return from lunch until well after 4pm! I got chance to speak with those I hadn't managed to chat to before and met another new member and we found that we had musical offspring in common amongst other things.

The weather on Saturday was dire, but, as my husband was on a photography course, I spent the day working and on Sunday we woke up to sunshine so set off as planned to visit the Contemporary Craft Fair at Bovey Tracey, Devon.  I've been before, but the familiar excitement of seeing so much beautiful jewellery soon set in and no, I wasn't disappointed! I couldn't go last year because of surgery on my shoulder but really enjoyed the opportunity of chatting to makers whose work I was already familiar with.  I also met some really lovely designers, who had stunning work on display and who were really friendly.  To the two ladies who were manning stalls and who didn't look up from their mobile phones or acknowledge me the whole time I was looking at their work - bad move! I cannot pass up the chance to mention just a few designers who really caught my eye.  Anne Morgan for her amazing ability to reticulate large pieces of silver, Bryony Stanford's amazing crumpled cuffs, Jed Green's incredible shaped glass tube jewellery and Kokkino for some absolutely stunning new work. I also loved the aesthetically pleasing designs of new jeweller Katie Roberts in the One Year On marquee.  I'm a real sucker for ceramics too and have contacted two of my favourites in the hope that they'll take part in a collaborative blog. Fingers crossed!

Anyway, this week we've had a visitor to stay who was mixing an album with my husband, so after hearing many snippets of music many times, I retired to my studio to work!  I'm hoping to exhibit in the summer so I'm currently working on pieces for that theme.  I'll tell you no more than that, but you can see a picture of one of the pieces so far.

I thought that you might also be interested in seeing what inspires me.  We took a little trip down to Royal William Yard yesterday for a coffee and a look at Plymouth College of Art Degree Show which was well worth a visit, so if you get a chance to visit their two venues down there, do go.  Anyway, on to inspiration.  Texture and colour, every time.  We wandered round and I took some photos for my inspiration board - I hope you like them too.

An amazing rusty old door!

Old stone wall

Peely paintwork

Well, that's all for this week, hope you like my pictures!

Finished Work and New Plans

Well what a week!

I've had a couple of interesting meetings, one with a web designer who might possible be helping me with a completely unrelated project (I'm now investigating the minefield that is known as funding!!) and another very motivating meeting yesterday with a business mentor who caused me to look at how I view my own work.  As a result I shall be updating my website in the very near future and will use the opportunity to launch my new bronze collection. Do keep checking here http://www.slicksilverjewellery.co.uk for updates.

So what have we all been up to?  I've spent a very long time working on my latest Cherry Blossom piece which has led to some problem solving as I really wanted the central flower to appear unsupported from the front.  Eventually I managed to construct something that worked in the way I wanted it to. So here it is, Flowering Cherry!

Flowering Cherry

My other production this week has been my bronze bracelet.  I have taken pieces of scrap wood foraged on local woodland walks and have cast the pieces in bronze before connecting them into a stylish and unusual piece of jewellery.  Those of you familiar with my work will already know that I'm passionate about organic textures and I can already tell you that a number of rocks and stones from Wembury Beach have been cast and will feature in bronze in my next piece of work along with some gorgeous unpolished gemstones.  I have tried putting a heat patina on to the bronze and it works beautifully, producing fabulous shades of blue and pink, but I think that this will work best on single pendants so again, keep your eye on the website for the launch of the new collection.
Here it is then, Bronze Wood I.

Bronze Wood I

These two pieces have been featured in the Orchid Gallery which forms part of the world-wide Ganoksin Project - an online jewellery community for the whole world, and it has been wonderful to receive some nice comments from members in far flung places.

Anyway, the rest of this week will see me producing even more jewellery, no surprise there! A real treat on Sunday though will be a visit to the Contemporary Craft Fair at Bovey Tracey.  I've been before but couldn't go last year, so I'm really looking forward to seeing the work of other jewellers I admire and am inspired by. I'll let you know all about it next week!

See you then!

Celebrations and Work In Progress

Hello folks! As I type this the jubilee celebrations have just come to an end and I have found myself enjoying it all more than I thought I would.  I have felt proud of our traditions and full of admiration for the queen who can't just think she's going to 'take a day off' and have a sofa day. I imagine she would love to put on comfies and watch rubbish on the tv like the rest of us!

What this weekend has bought home to me though is that no-one any longer gives me a paid bank holiday so today was back to the grindstone!!

Last week I cut out two very curvy painted aluminium shapes and it's taken considerable time to file and finish all the little nooks and crannies and I have to say that there have been moments when I wondered why I started it in the first place! Today has mostly been spent cutting some flowers out of my Cherry Blossom sheet and filing the edges.  I've shaped the original pieces and textured them and my next job will be to dap the flowers and put the piece together.

What do you think so far?

I've also been working on a really stunning and unusual bronze bracelet.  Hopefully I'll have some pictures of that next week to show you.  I'm really enjoying working with bronze at the moment as it means I can explore the organic textures I love so much. I suffered very sunburnt shoulders a couple of weeks ago, gathering rocks on the beach just so that I could have some interesting textures! What it does mean though, is that my bronze pieces are totally unique.

Off to the library in the morning to do some research for a little idea which is lurking in the back of my mind, so watch this space.

See you next week!

Bronze and Blossom

Hello folks, today is our first wedding anniversary and so much has happened during the last year - very many changes on a personal level.  I no longer have a day job! Now I feel properly self-employed (my business was formalised in 2008 but was very part-time up until recently). I've expanded my aluminium range to launch my Signature Collection on the website, which marries the material with silver elements and designs where I can explore my creative ideas.

On leaving my job after 17 years, my lovely colleagues gave me some money 'to be spent on jewellery tools' and so I bought a kiln and I've been experimenting since it's arrival with textures from nature on bronze.  These are not yet available for purchase but will be in to not too distant future.  I'm always drawn to texture and colour around me and I've been making moulds from just about everything I can find! Even the cat's started to eye me up warily and not stay in one place too long!!

I've used silver clay many times in the past, but always torch fired it which was fine.  Bronze clay, unless it's a very small piece, doesn't fire as successfully with a torch and not all of the pieces fired successfully in the kiln, but I think I have the measure of it now. #crossesfingersandtoes









These pieces were cast from pieces of wood and the ring was taken directly from a lump of lavarock and has an adjustable silver ring band.

I've finally launched my Cherry Blossom collection on the website this week too.  Thank you to all those of you who've given me such lovely comments on this one.  I think it's going to be a favourite of mine in the same way that Surf's Up was.  You can find Cherry Blossom at http://slicksilverjewellery.co.uk/page10.htm

So, in other news, yesterday was a bit of an emotional one! All mums out there will know that no matter how big your kids are etc etc.....
Yesterday I packed my very grown up son off on the train that would take him to London, then Heathrow, then Australia - where he's off travelling for 3 months.  He's going to have a fabulous time and he'd better bring me a wallaby back or else......

Tomorrow we're off to our favourite place in all of UK - St. Ives.  We went to St. Ives for our honeymoon so where else could we possibly go for our anniversary? Galleries, here we come!!

SlickSilver Jewellery - The Return!

Well hello all - I'm back from my travels yet again!

We had a wonderful week in London, housesitting for friends in West Hampstead and getting out each day to visit galleries and exhibitions and new places.  My husband, artist and composer David Muddyman, spent most of his life living in the capital, indeed until 5 years ago when he moved to Plymouth and met me, so he truly knows his way around.

As we both love contemporary art, we're perfectly happy to wander around looking at new work and great jewellery and we both found things to inspire us especially in Tate Modern and Electrum Gallery, such exquisite innovative jewellery.  One moment that was really lovely was going into Studio Fusion Gallery in Oxo Towers http://www.studiofusiongallery.co.uk, where we met Louise O'Neill. She took time to tell us about all of the artists involved in Studio Fusion and even showed me her kiln - in all, a really nice lady to have met.

Last monday saw us visiting Brighton (a first for me) which was great but very wet.  It literally poured with rain so we dashed into a shop, bought 2 umbrellas and came back out to glorious sunshine and blue sky and no more rain - oh well!

Since I came back I've been producing new sheets of aluminium pattern ready for cutting.  Very soon you will be able to buy Cherry Blossom and Coral Reef from my website.

Coral Reef

Cherry Blossom

I plan to turn these two gorgeous sheets into a limited number of cuffs, pendants and earrings and perhaps a necklace. The sheets are approximately 10 x 7 inches.

I'm always inspired by nature and I've also been making moulds this week of tree bark, woodgrain, lavarock and all sorts of things in anticipation of my kiln arriving.......one day my kiln will come..........

Ok folks off to wait for the kiln delivery man! I think he may be walking......

Galleries, Museums and birds

This blog is being bought to you this week from London!  We're house-sitting for friends and taking the opportunity to visit galleries and other lovely places!

Yesterday was a wonderful day which was spent at the Victoria & Albert Museum, where we idled many happy hours in the ceramics, contemporary glass, silver and jewellery sections.  My husband is an artist and we are both inspired by colour and texture and whilst we don't always like the same pieces, we are generally happy in the same sections particularly the more contemporary works! I found the more modern jewellery so inspirational. This gorgeous collection of blue birds were made as an installation by Claire Twomey using various shades of Wedgewood clay.

Today was shopping day - well, it has to be done, doesn't it?! Of course, we had to look at all the shoe shops and jewellery shops! We finished the day in Hatton Garden - it's a good thing that I'm not into diamonds!!  I did come away with a Cookson's new catalogue and plenty of ideas for my wishlist.

We're hoping to fit in a visit to Tate Modern, the Lanes in Brighton and as many other lovely arty places as we can.

On that note - I'm off for a cosy night tucked up with my Cookson's catalogue!

See you next week.

SlickSilver Jewellery Silver Spring Sale!

Hello again folks!

It's that time of year again and you all know what that means - yep - spring cleaning!! The last couple of weeks has seen me spring clean my kitchen, my bedroom and yesterday, my studio got the full treatment.  I happily went and bought a wide plastic storage 6 drawer chest for underneath my workbench and put it together - it was only then I panicked that it might not fit under - it's ok though it just fitted!!  It looks pretty smart too and has allowed me to clear the top of my workbench a bit and tools used less frequently are easily still at hand.  Books have been redistributed around the walls and so today I felt like making a couple of pieces which, when photographed, will find their way into the Signature Collection so look out for Willow II and Willow III in gorgeous shades of green and purple/blue.

So with that in mind I thought I might have a little sale on my website!  All the jewellery in the Waves Collection, in the Impressions Collection and in the Colours and Textures Collection has been reduced by 10%.  The price you see now shows the discounted price - get in quick while you can!!

Look forward to hearing from you - and if you have a favourite piece - why not check to see if it's been reduced? http://www.slicksilverjewellery.co.uk

http://slicksilverjewellery.co.uk/page8.htm Impressions Collection

http://slicksilverjewellery.co.uk/page7.htm Waves Collection

http://slicksilverjewellery.co.uk/page9.htm Colour and Texture Collection

Blog Collaboration with Laura Parkin

Hello all, ok, I'm back on it!!! Life has taken me by the feet and swung me upside down a few times, but I'm back! The really great news is that for a few months at least, SlickSilver Jewellery is going to get 100% of my work attention! As a result of this new pieces have hit my website, but more on that later.  I want to introduce another blog collaborator, woven textile designer, Laura Parkin.  I found her recently quite by accident and I think her work is really beautiful, so I asked her a few questions about where she finds her inspiration.

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

The coastal areas where I live in Northumberland influence the ideas of pattern and scale in my work. Stripes are predominant in the areas; I can take ideas of proportion of stripe from objects such as boats. These ideas stripes can be transferred into warp or weft designs in my fabric.

 My clients massively influence my use of colour in my work; I tend to work on a bespoke basis. Clients individual colour ways can be influenced by there personal preference of colour.

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

I would love to have a go at spinning, as it would be great to make a product from the beginning. I could start from the raw materials can work all the way through to the final finished products.

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

Amelia Fox. I always see her on Silent Witness wearing lovely scarves, I think one of mine would look lovely on her.

4. Where can fans buy your work?

My work can be bought from my online shop (a link can be found on my website www.lauraparkin.co.uk), Milk It Craft Market www.artandcraftsmarket.co.uk and at local craft fairs I am attending.

So what do you think? Aren't these colours and textures just stunning?  I hope that you'll all rush out and order something pretty from Laura and it just remains for me to say thank you to her for taking part.

As I mentioned I am currently working full time on my jewellery and this week some new work has been added to my website.  I have introduced the Pansies Collection to the Aluminium Collection and Rose Petal Necklace to the Signature Collection.  Both of these items are available from http://www.slicksilverjewellery.co.uk

See you soon!!

Pansies I Necklace

Rose Petal Necklace