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
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.
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!
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
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.
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 detailAbstract floral pattern copper pendantPhoto credit:Yeshen Venema for Folksycopper 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.
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?
Leaves, recycled silver & lots of elbow grease! That’s what is involved in creating my eco silver leaf pattern pendants.
These pendants are one of my favourite things to make. They are always popular, as being simple and elegant they can be worn for a variety of occasions, if not everyday!
My leaf pattern pendants are handmade from Precious Metal Clay, a fantastic material which incorporates fine silver particles in a non-toxic binder. There are lots of different products available, I like to use Art Clay Silver which has a slower drying time and less shrinkage than other metal clay products I’ve tried.
Another reason I use Art Clay Silver is it’s a great eco-friendly product. It uses silver recycled from items such as circuit boards, dentistry and photographic processes and mixes them with an organic, non-toxic binder. This binder burns off when fired in a kiln (it can also be torch fired) to leave behind a piece of jewellery that is 99.9% pure silver.
First the clay is rolled and shaped (a bit like play dough), then I use a leaf from the garden (a skeleton leaf from craft shops works well too) to make an impression on the clay. I have a collection of clay cutters, which are a bit like miniature pastry cutters, to cut out the desired shape of the pendants. My favourites are the heart and teardrop and these always seem to be popular with my customers too!
Rolled soft clay and craft shop skeleton leaf.
I like to use a cocktail stick to make a hole for the pendant jump ring to go through, being very careful not to disturb the delicate design before it’s dried. Then comes the drying, which can be done at room temperature over twenty-four hours, or in a cool oven within an hour. There’s always drying instructions included in the Metal Clay packet and I’ve found oven drying to be the best and speediest method for me.
It’s important for the clay to be completely bone dry before it is fired in the kiln, as any residual moisture can cause the silver to crack. Any little imperfections can be sanded away at this stage, however this has to be done with extreme care as the dry clay will be very fragile! I’m afraid I’ve had a few casualties in the past, so have learnt the hard way to be very careful.
Following the instructions on my clay packet, I then fire my dry pendants in my table top kiln. This little kiln is one of my favourite tools as it’s so versatile and easy to use. I always look forward to hearing the timer ping and seeing what the pendants look like, once they are cooled down.
I like to burnish my fired pendants with a brass brush; this brings the fine silver to the surface and gives them a subdued, satin finish. I tidy up the edges and reverse side with polishing papers, this is where the elbow grease comes in! Then give them a quick spin in the tumble polisher too if they need it. All that’s left is to buff and shine with a silver cloth and then the finished pendants are ready to be boxed up awaiting their new homes.
I love wearing these pendants as they go with everything and suit every occasion, but are really special too. They are available to order from my Folksy Shop and Etsy Shop
Why not take a look and let me know what you think!
I’m very pleased to have been involved in a photo shoot with the talented Yeshen Venema as part of an exciting promotion with Folksy. Along with lots of other lovely products all handmade by Folksy sellers, my jewellery took a trip to Wales. It was to be part of a shoot in the beautiful, rustic surroundings of the Welsh House and styled by Hilary Lowe.
I’d love to share the finished images with you, they are really beautiful!
Floral copper bar pendantEco Silver Teardrop Pendant with Leaf PatternRainbow Fluorite and Oxidised Sterling Silver NecklaceThe front view of the same necklaceRed Aluminium Folk Heart Pendant with Garnet BeadOxidised Copper Folk Art Bird Stud Earrings
I’m really pleased with them and can’t wait to use them in my Folksy shop, where all items are available to order.
Last Friday, we had a rare day off and took a trip to Greenwich Market. We hadn’t visited for a while and wanted to see what the recent renovations were like.
We walked through the leafy park and then set off to explore the new, updated market.
I’ve had some of my jewellery for sale in the shop Things British for a while now and wanted to visit in person to restock.
Things British is a lovely little shop, just off of the main market and only sells gifts designed and made in Great Britain.
My shelf at Things British, all nicely restocked!
Sterling, Eco silver and copper goodies, all handmade by me!
Luckily there was time to have a proper browse of the market and walk past the Cutty Sark towards the river.
It was a lovely day; my husband and I rarely have time to go out together unaccompanied. We’re looking forward to visiting again soon, next time we may even bring The Little Chick!
It was a lovely day; my husband and I rarely have time to go out together unaccompanied. We’re looking forward to visiting again soon, next time we may even bring The Little Chick!