Artfire is coming!

Finally, I have opened an artfire shop! I have been thinking about this for ages, but have struggled to come up with a name I'm happy with. I needed something that could go with the jewellery, but which also could go with any other future art/craft things I come up with (I do like bags... hats.... felt... !). So finally I have picked a name, and will be launching the shop soon :o)

the new year...

I often find it difficult to decide whether the New Year is a blessing or a curse! I find this time of year inspiring, because it makes me think of the future, and all the possibilities, and what I'm going to achieve. But it can also make me rather depressed, because I get frustrated that I'm not where I want to be. The wonders of the internet have just let me locate an old school friend, who seems to have done very well for herself in a field which I originally set out to work in. I don't want to work in it any more, and i'm very happy for her, but it has made me very reflective about what I've achieved, and where I still want to get to.

Hopefully the reflection will pass shortly and I'll progress into the 'take action' stage!

One of my goals is to post here more often.. once or twice a week if I can manage it. I have some new pieces which I need to take photos of; I've been experimenting with making beaded beads and I've been very pleased with the results.

2011 craft fairs - Bridge of Allan and David Lloyd

I realised I haven't posted about 2 craft fairs I attended this year. The first was the Bridge of Allan Art and Crafts festival. This was held on Nov 5th this year, and was the first time Bridge of Allan, just outside Stirling in Scotland, had held this sort of event. I grew up in Bridge of Allan so it was great to be able to take part. There were 3 different venues in the village, and I was in the Royal Hotel.
This is the facebook page for the festival: click here
It was a great success, with loads of different artists there. I had a lot of lovely comments about my jewellery, as well as some sales. I also had some ideas to expand my range after suggestions from interested people. If I met you at the craft fair, thanks very much for looking at my work and stopping to chat. I received so many nice comments from people, it was really encouraging!
I even made it into the paper as a result of the fair...

That's me, bottom left of the page!

I also took part in the David Lloyd Anniesland Christmas Fair at the start of December. Unfortunately it was less of a craft fair than just a sale - mostly manufactured stuff; I think I was the only one selling hand-made items. Which meant I was quite a bit more expensive than everyone else! However, I made a sale which more than made up for my time there that evening. Thanks to everyone who took a business card and stopped to chat :o)

Hopefully in 2012 I'll attend some more sales, and I'll try to post advance notice on this blog for anyone who'd like to come along. I'd really like to get a stall at a high class craft sale, but we'll see what comes along....

The end of 2011...

2011 is almost over! I'm hoping to make 2012 the year of my jewellery - at least as far as I'm concerned. I hope to be able to update this blog more frequently, and also post more pictures of my jewellery pieces. I'm hoping to expand my soutache jewellery, and also start on my bead embroidery pieces as well - I've made a few but not enough to put on the website yet. This is my resolution for 2012!

I'm also going to occasionally post some reviews of bead shops around the world. This might sound a bit odd, but wherever I go I always like to try to find a bead shop, because you never know what you're going to find. So I go to local bead shops in Scotland, but also far away bead shops, like Las Vegas, Rome and Vancouver!!

I have a lot of news...

but for the moment I will just give one update, hopefully I will get to the rest shortly!

I have spent today working on the website, and have uploaded a lot of new jewellery images. The main 'featured' section now has some new pieces, but you'll now find the soutache section divided into two - a 'statement pieces' section and a 'pendants' section. There were just too many images to have them all in the one area.

I hope you like the new pieces - as I said, more updates coming soon. Here is just one of the new pieces I've added:

Pictures from the fete

Rather belated I know, but here are a few photos from the fete. I've been busy working on new pieces as I'm going to be at the bridge of Allan craft fair in November and need to build up stock! Pics coming soon...

Ardmaddy fete

Just back from the Lorn Garden Club fete at Ardmaddy Castle. Although I love the highlands, I forget how really amazing they are when the sun is shining. There were some stunning views on my drive there and back.
I got a lot of lovely comments from people looking at my pieces; only one sale but to be honest I was not expecting a lot, I really wanted some feedback on how my jewellery was received and I certainly got that :o) Lots of people took cards.

If you're one of those people, thanks very much! A 'shop' section will be appearing on my website soon with some of my smaller pieces available for sale.