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Trickle trickle

And that, thankfully, is not the sound of my drains gone wrong and slowly overflowing (a non-fictional occurence), but rather, the motion of post-event sales!

Made in Clerkenwell turned out to be great for exposure. How interesting how things stay in peoples’ minds where they sit and cogitate and then translate themselves into sales!

I’m happy! So thank you to all who came and all who purchased and continue reading me here. There are new project ideas travelling through my grey matter at the moment…

Filed under: Uncategorized

Short n sweet, the time is nigh…

 

Hello, hello dear blog readers! I’m here to remind you that ‘Made in Clerkenwell’ – the exhilarating open studios sale at Craft Central – begins tomorrow, November 25th at 5pm with a Special Launch Night when Koppaberg Cider and Love Brownies will be floating about the premises. Love Brownies?? ooooo, sounds promising! Brownies in the aiiir, everywhere I look around!

So here’s thinking of you and hoping to see all of you who have that discerning shopping eye, right in time to buy your loved ones supa dupa holiday pressies!

Details:
Craft Central
33-35 St John’s Square
London, EC1M 4DS

And
21 Clerkenwell Green
London, EC1R 0DX

Thursday, Nov 25 Special Launch Night: 5-8pm
Friday, Nov 26: 12-8pm
Saturday, Nov 27: 12-6pm
Sunday, Nov 28: 12-6pm

Filed under: Designer sale, jewellery, Mixed media jewellery, Open Studios, , , , , , , , , , ,

Cider, Brownies, Browse & Buy!

Made in Clerkenwell Winter Open Studios 2010 flyer

Hello again!

Well  the clock is now ticking and I’m working on the last bits for Made in Clerkenwell Winter Open Studios 2010! So come and glug down a cider, munch up a brownie, and have a browse at my expanded Fondue collection and some really fun acrylic pieces!

There are 2 venues and will be 90+ designer-makers on hand selling their creations.

You can find me at Craft Central, 33-35 St John’s Square, London EC1M 4DS on the lower ground floor over the 3 1/2 days of this exciting Open Studios sensational shopping opportunity!

So come and titillate your creative senses and buy your holiday pressies here!

Thurs Special Launch Night 5-8pm
Friday Nov 26 12-8pm

Saturday Nov 27 12-6pm
Sunday Nov 28 12-6pm

PRESS RELEASE – Made in Clerkenwell 25-28 Nov2010

Filed under: Designer sale, Great exhibitions, jewellery, Latest jewellery, Mixed media jewellery, Open Studios, , , ,

Made in Clerkenwell Winter Sale 2010

Alas it’s time to begin thinking about Christmas! Christmas you say?!! I say, have you not seen all the Christmas Pudding and Panetone lining the grocery aisles since the beginning of September?!

I know, it’s ridiculously early, but I’m here to let you know that this year’s holiday pressie shopping need not be a hectic, unnerving, overwhelming, fluster-producing, exasperating ordeal. No need to get hot, tired and cranky, I’m here like an angel to tell you it can be a feather-light, exciting, inspiring and oh so fun experience! Just mark it in your calendar, show up, et voilà! Easy peasy! You’ll find a plethora of uniquely designed hand-made gifts for everyone on your list all in one go! Approximately 90 designer-makers, one of whom is moi, will be selling their creations. On hand for your visual titillation will be everything from jewellery, fashion, interior products, ceramics, accessories to traditional crafts all under 2 rooves! Yes 2! But breathe easy, they are just a stone’s throw away from each other. This is Christmas shopping made easy people! Believe it! You’ll be over and done with a whole month in advance! :D ! So while the unknowing ‘others’ are frantically sweating it out and stressing, scurrying from one place to the other, cutting it oh so close, you’ll have your buns in a comfy chair, sipping hot toddies in your local with flushed cheeks and a big warm smile from ear to ear, enjoying the real festive season the way it should be enjoyed!

So I hope to see you there from 25-28th of November! Please come and chit chat with me and see (and buy if you so fancy) the pieces from my expanded Fondue collection as well as some of my acrylic work.

The holiday angel has spoken…

For details of this event go to http://www.craftcentral.org.uk/madeinclerkenwellsummer08

Filed under: Concept jewellery, Great exhibitions, jewellery, Mixed media jewellery

Fear & Desire

The two materials I’ve been using of late have merged in this silver and acrylic ring which embodies a subject matter often investigated in psychoanalysis, literature and art.

I was given the theme of Fear and Desire. I saw desire as being red, that was pretty clear in my mind. The shape of desire here is that of a soft curve. I knew that fear had to be edgy, jaggedy. So I fashioned the silver component with a jagged hand, and then, married the two. The thin edge of the silver is oxydised (blackened) to deepen the fear element. This is but a subtle touch that can be seen when viewing the ring on the side. In this ring the ‘fear’ is visible through the ‘desire’. Interesting if you think of this in human terms. Can we conceal our fear or does it show through even our desires?

Fear and desire merged, married, layered, overlapped, fused. Like love and hate, is there also a thin line between fear and desire?

Filed under: Mixed media jewellery, , , , ,

Animate/Inanimate jewellery?

The Vase Ring with an orange Daisy

One of my latest designs is a concept ring. The Vase Ring. It’s all about frivolity and fickleness. The idea is to buy a flower (or two or three) that you love and to WEAR it!

I think most people would agree that a bouquet of flowers lifts the soul. The freshness, the colours, the smell… Flowers can make you smile…breathe…relax and just take you away from the daily woes for a few moments. A moment is all we need to change the space in our minds. Everything in life is in flux and the Vase Ring reflects this.

When the flower wilts, the idea is to cut another one from the same bouquet or to simply change the flower at your whim and fancy! This ring is for sheer lightness of being and meant to reflect one’s ever-changing moods (or conversely, it may be the catalyst of a mood change).

Whatever the case, it’s fleeting and exhilirating. It may last for an hour or it may hold up through that chi chi cocktail party you’re planning to go to. You will be wearing a conversation piece on your hand. Enjoy the flair, the fun, the levity and the looks you’ll get. The Vase Ring is a real attention grabber.

I came up with this idea when my very good friend’s birthday was approaching. She LOVES flowers and she loves my jewellery. So it hit me. What if she could WEAR her flowers?!

She loves her ring but as a person who gesticulates alot, she prefers to insert a plastic flower. This too invites alot of attention and draws many smiles she says. Ultimately, the ring has potential to be your creative outlet, however it was designed as a concept ring and it’s true purpose is to house a live, fresh flower that bursts with colour! It’s not about the ring, it’s about the flower, and it’s about YOU!

Filed under: Concept jewellery, , , ,

Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb – An interactive playful ring with grit

Bespoke man's multi-wear thumb ring

Who out there remembers this great Dr. Seuss book (Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb)? I was an avid Dr. Seuss reader as a child (well, my mother read them all to my brother and I and we absolutely devoured them with excitement!).

This is a  bespoke ring with the brief being simply to make a thumb ring, in silver, that was specially made for my client with him in mind and that no one else would have.
That was pretty open, so I went a little further, and created a ring that can be worn 5 or more different ways [a multi-wear ring as I call it] so that he never gets bored (just as we never got bored of my mom reading the same Dr. Seuss stories night after night – each time feeling like it was the first!).

Being able to create a different look as the feeling grabs him, this ring becomes interactive and playful! (Again, the Dr. Seuss experience!) For example, just by spinning it to misalign it, gives it a whole other look.

The photos below depict some of the different ways it can be worn. I didn’t photograph it as a single band, but of course that’s one of the many options!

Bespoke man multi-wear ring

This image shows the ways in which it can be worn. But don't forget it can be worn singly as well!

And now to bring you behind the scenes with a couple of pics of the making and a few idea development sketches.

Hope you enjoy them…

Flat metal with stopout

Two rings shaped

Thumb ring development sketches_1

Thumb ring development sketches_2

Thumb ring development sketches_3

And below, my beginnings in art, inspired by ‘Hand Hand, Fingers, Thumb’ a childhood drawing based on the book…

My childhood drawing inspired by the book "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb'

Filed under: Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

Wearable art at the V&A!

Aaaah wearable art! This is music to my ears!

This is where I aim to go with my jewellery. To bring together all my disciplines, to return to my sculpture but this time to be worn by the human body.

Today I went to see the work of David Watkins at the V&A where you can have a  retrospective view of his work from 1972 until now. David started out as a jazz musician and a sculptor. His long-spanning career has produced many off-the-wall creations! Wonderful, intelligent, very graphic and geometrical.

Click on this to see his work on show right now:

http://www.dezeen.com/2010/02/22/artist-in-jewellery-by-david-watkins/

And if you can, go see it at the V&A!

Filed under: Great exhibitions, , , ,

Matt Kingdon interview – ‘What if”

Hello bloggers, I want to share this interview with you. It’s about innovation. It’s refreshing to hear some of his views!

I love to bring anything design to my readers, so designers out there (and everyone else), let’s wake up that creative child within us and innovate!

http://www.smarta.com/advice/general/matt-kingdon-what-if!

Filed under: Cool interviews

Silver ‘Fondue’ earrings

Silver Fondue earrings (Each approx W15mm X H23mm)

These are my latest addition to the Fondue collection! Very meltingly organic, reminiscent of Dali’s viscoulsly oozing objects. The pair is assymetric featuring a different design for each ear!

These will be breaking into the world for the first time this evening at Annabelle’s Attic Sale taking place upstairs in the Alma, Old York Road, Wandsworth, SW18 (this is just opposite Wandsworth Town Station). From 6-9.30pm. There is a £1 entrance which will be donated to the Macmillan Cancer Relief and the NSPCC.

For more info on the Alma pub: http://www.almawandsworth.com/whatson.php



Filed under: Latest jewellery, , , , , , , ,

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