I took these new neat little napkin rings to the Desire Fair in London earlier this month:
… and they went down rather well with visitors. Here’s the final few shots of them being put together, from a tightly wired up soldering to a soft matt polishing:
Centrepiece 2013 opens at Symphony Hall this Thursday with 28 local designer makers selling their work in the run up to Christmas.
The show will be open from 10am – 10pm everyday and is always staffed by the designers themselves, here’s a selection of what will be available (to help you out with your Christmas gift buying … )
New beachcomber necklace:
I collected some new castings in the week and finally got them onto my bench today. I made the original copper models of these, looking at pictures I took of the shapes of little fishing boats moored out in a harbour.
There’s a very definite stripe that runs through the centre, on a curve, which I think I’ll put a bright, burnished edge onto once it’s all cleaned up and joined together.
Until then, here’s an idea of what it will be like when it all comes together:
Samples of some new catches that I’m getting ready for the winter season:
I set the workshop up today for the Centrepiece Open Studios:
It was nice to have a bit of a spring clean, blow the dust off the lamps and lay out my wares in the workshop again. I had a few visitors this afternoon (we trialed an evening opening this year which I think worked quite well) and hopefully there’ll be some more tomorrow. Drop by if you’re in Birmingham to see me – and the 30 other Centrepiece members and guests who’ll be opening their workshops:
Centrepiece Open Studios map – Click to enlarge
This year Centrepiece decided to celebrate our Christmas exhibition by getting everyone to make a Christmas decoration in their own special style. I’m really excited to see what so many talented makers have come up with – it’s going to be a really diverse bunch!
I spent today making mine, inspired by the holly tree in my garden which we always take clippings from at Christmas. This one is silver and pearl and really in keeping with my Flotsam range, here’s how it took shape:
Albie
Meet Albie, my Christmas present to myself.
Too long have I perservered with a cheap, ineffective and badly made disc cutter which ruins a good 15% of the blanks it cuts.
Well, no more. I have finally given in and Albie, an American immigrant, arrived in the studio last week. He came from RioGrande, the Cooksons of the USA, and I had to restrain myself from buying a lot of the other lovely clever tools they have too.
He cuts perfect circles and will be assisting me soon in the making of some new Flotsam pieces, plus a few other ideas that I’ve been mulling over for a while …
I had a stand at the Malvern Autumn Show last weekend and, while I was up in the Arts and Crafts hall, I did get a chance to have a quick stroll around the rest of the event – and these inventive displays amazed me.
Malvern Autumn Show 2010
It took me back to the Craft and Produce Shows that my village ran when I was a child. My Dad would spend days hunting for the most perfect, bruise free cooking apples on our apple tree and the whole village would smell of the WI making jam. The children would all get involved with a craft entry or two and, while I don’t think I ever really won anything, I was sad when the event stopped running a few years ago.
So, here’s a Harvest collection, in memory of the good old days:
Top Left: Tomato Tote by Tessa Thomas
Top Right: Go Veggie Apron by Total Radness
Lower Left: Green Apple Pincushion by Woolly Duck
Lower Right: Tomato Slice Studs by Foundlings Jewellery
Becca Williams 