Christmas is Coming! My Upcoming Festive Craft Fairs.

I’m very excited to share with you the festive craft fair events I’ll be attending this year. It’s a super busy time for most makers, so I’ve started planning early!

I’m looking forward to showcasing some great new pieces of jewellery along with my usual favourite designs.  I really enjoy meeting my customers face to face, so I’d love it if you’re able to visit any of my Christmas Fairs!

 

 Here’s a list of my upcoming Christmas craft fairs:

13th November – 20th November: Kentish Made, Aysgarth, High Street, Staplehurst, Kent TN12 0AU opening times to be confirmed

Saturday 25th November: Dandelion Time Festive Gift Fair, Branden Farm, Staplehurst Road, Marden, Kent, TN12 9BT  10am-2pm

Saturday 2nd December: Poppinghole Farm Christmas Fair, Poppinghole Farm, Poppinghole Lane, Robertsbridge, East Sussex, TN32 5BN  10 – 4pm

Saturday 9th December: Kitsch and Stitch Christmas Fair, Vestry Hall, Cranbrook, Kent  10am – 3pm

Saturday 16th December: Meadows School Barnados Christmas Fair 20-22 London Rd, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells TN4 0RJ 11am-2pm

Sunday 17th December: I Heart Whitstable, The Umbrella Centre, Oxford Street, Whitstable, CT5 2BQ  11am-4pm

Don’t forget that you can browse my jewellery designs from my Folksy shop

Do come and say hello, I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

 

Whitefriars – New Food and Craft Market in Canterbury

I’m so pleased to be stocking a range of my handmade jewellery in the new Whitefriars Food and Craft Market in the beautiful city of Canterbury!

This vibrant pop up shop in the retail centre of Canterbury, is packed full of gorgeous handmade goods, gifts and produce, all from Kentish Makers and local businesses.

The Little Chick views the ‘In Bloom’ window display

Gorgeous handmade and local goods

Whitefriars Food and Craft Market was launched during the ‘Whitefriars in Bloom’ festival in the city of Canterbury and the lovely floral themed window display reflected this.

a peek of the beautiful catherdral

Of course we came home with lots of local strawberries!

punting on the river

I love visiting Canterbury, as it’s such a beautiful vibrant city and I’m so pleased with how my jewellery has been received.

I really recommend a visit to the Whitefriars Food and Craft Market, if you’re visiting Kent. I guarantee you won’t come away empty handed!

Take a look at the Whitefriars facebook page, for more information about the shop, designers and their products.

5 Ways To Care For Your Handmade Silver Jewellery

One question I’m often asked is ‘how do I care for my handmade jewellery?’ Well, I’d like to share my top tips with you for keeping your jewellery in great condition. I use Sterling silver in my jewellery designs. One of the problems with Sterling silver is that it tarnishes (goes black) when exposed to the air. Below are my top tips for keeping your jewellery super shiny!

• Wear your jewellery regularly! The oils in your skin help to clean your jewellery.
• Avoid contact with chemicals and always remove before swimming and showering.
• When getting dressed, always put your jewellery on last of all. Perfume, cosmetics and hairspray all increase the risk of tarnishing.
• When not in use, store your jewellery in a zip lock plastic bag or other air tight container. I will be posting out these little bags with my online orders, they’re just the right size to pop in your jewellery box!
• If your jewellery does become tarnished, a quick gentle polish with a silver cleaning cloth will leave it looking sparkly and new again.

These silver cleaning cloths are now available to order from my Folksy shop

The two Sterling silver hammered pendants pictured above are available to order now from my Folksy shop, why not pop over and take a look!

Handmade in Kent – An Exciting New Online Shop

Earlier this Spring I was thrilled to be invited to showcase my handmade jewellery with an exciting new website Handmade in Kent. This is an online shop devoted to sharing the very best of handmade products made in the lovely county of Kent! Of course I was delighted to be accepted, alongside many other talented Kent-based designers and makers, many who are personal friends.

Handmade in Kent are also planning to organise regular events so people can meet the makers and see their products in the flesh. I really love the idea of a fresh new online shop where you can find the best of Kentish made products, with networking; so important when you work by yourself!

eco silver leaf pattern earrings

Why not take a look for yourself? Enjoy having a browse and let me know what you think of my collection of handmade jewellery at Handmade in Kent.

If you are a Kent based creative, you can find out more by emailing hello@handmadeinkent.shop

Star Earrings Giveaway!

The time is certainly flying by; I’ve blinked and suddenly we’re into November! In our house, the autumn so far has been a blur of school settling in and frequent illness. I do hope things have run a little smoother in your households?

To cheer us all up, I’m running a giveaway over on my Facebook page.  Please like the post pinned to the top of the page and comment with your favourite firework, for a chance to win a pair of these cute star stud earrings.

They’re handmade from brass sheet, hand -stamped with a little star motif and feature Sterling silver posts and scroll backs. Perfect for the approaching festive season.

The winner of these star earrings will be drawn at random at 10pm, Saturday November 5th. So be sure to check my Facebook page then!

Good luck!

Copper and Sterling silver versions of these star stud earrings are available from my Folksy and Etsy shops.

Giveaway is in no way affiliated with Facebook etc.

Autumn Inspiration

Orange coloured quartz (looks like amber) & Sterling silver earrings.

After a glorious Summer, with hot sunshine continuing well into September, we’re only just beginning to feel the chill of Autumn. Although I dread the return of dark mornings and even darker nights as the evenings draw in, I do love the Autumn for the creative inspiration it provides.

As you know, I love using copper in my jewellery designs and what better time of year than autumn to create some new autumn inspired pieces!

Textured copper bar pendant, Sterling silver chain.

Leaves feature heavily in my jewellery designs, my favourites being my eco silver leaf range. I’ve recently been experimenting with a product called Copper Clay. It’s handled in the same way as Silver Clay,  when fired in a kiln, you’re left with a product that’s pure copper. Copper Clay produces a more organic, grainy texture than jewellery made with sheet copper. Pictured below are some examples.

copper clay leaf pendant

copper clay leaf rarrings

 

Hammered copper bangle with oxidised silver detail

Abstract floral pattern copper pendant

Photo credit:Yeshen Venema for Folksy

copper handmade pumpkin stud earrings

My favourite autumn inspired piece of jewellery has to be these cute copper pumpkin stud earrings, fully handmade from sheet copper and perfect for Halloween!

You can take a look at all my copper jewellery by visiting my Folksy and Etsy shops.

 

Vintage Lace and Roses

Everyone who knows me knows that I love roses. My love for these beautiful flowers borders on obsession! I just wish my garden was big enough to grow all the varieties which catch my eye.

We moved house a few years ago and were only able to take two of our rose bushes with us. One of them was the lovely Felicite – Perpetue. As its name suggests, it was bought for us as a gift to celebrate the happy times past and those yet to come. It was a lovely gift to give us hope during a really tough time. Of course, with this rose being so special, we just had to take it with us.

Felicite –  Perpetue happily blooming in our garden.

Felicite – Perpetue is a rambling rose, so is really robust and vigorous and once planted, was soon happily scrambling up a cherry tree in our new garden.

The rosebuds are a dark cerise pink and once they open, this pink fades to almost white. The blooms remind me of paint splattered ballerina’s tutus. The rich green foliage stays green all year round, so it’s a fantastic rose for covering an old unsightly shed or ugly tree stump.

I’ve recently made some recycled silver pendants with a vintage lace pattern and I wanted to find a suitable prop to photograph them with before I listed them in my Folksy and Etsy shops.

I have an antique handmade lace handkerchief that was given to me by grandmother and I was pleased with the results using this in my images. However, I felt I needed a flower or two to compliment the delicate prettiness of the lace pattern.

Fortunately, my Felicite – Perpetue was flowering at just the right time and I had lots of fun adding these gorgeous rose blooms to my photographs. Why not pop over to my  Folksy shop and take a look at the finished results. I’d love to know what you think?