Oh dear – I’ve just noticed how long it’s been since I wrote anything on here. That may give the impression that I haven’t done anything, but far from it…the last few weeks have been full of exciting things, so here’s just a taster!
Another necklace project that I’d been dying to share with everyone can now go public. I was really thrilled when Chloe Menage asked me to design something to contribute to a ‘shabby chic’ themed edition of Bead Magazine. One tiny problem…I didn’t really know how to define ‘shabby chic’, but this is exactly the sort of challenge I love – something different that requires me to do a bit of research and think outside my comfort zone. After trawling google images and looking up definitions of the term, it actually didn’t take me long to find inspiration. I wanted to make something very feminine and delicate, it needed to nod towards valentine’s to reflect the timing of the magazine and I soon discovered that the traditional colouring of this style is white and soft pastels, so I was away! I ended up with a necklace that combines beads and soft ribbon, delicate pearl drapes and a centrepiece foil heart. I had so much fun making this design that I went on to develop a few more Valentine’s inspired patterns. My ‘Love Heart’ earrings have been proving popular – I made that a strictly limited edition and have just one kit left now. I’ve also been playing around with herringbone a lot, so you can expect a few more patterns using that stitch to appear. I started out with a little herringbone heart and I have some plans to develop this pattern – it’s just a matter of finding the time!
I have also just done my first proper bead fair – the first time I have had a full table and sold patterns, kits and books. This was the London Bead Fair at Kempton Park on Sunday 9th February. This event is so well organised by West of England Events. I had previously been to a couple of their other bead fairs, spending a day demonstrating (any excuse to sit and bead!), so I soon discovered that these events have a regular following. I saw a lot of familiar faces there on Sunday and it was so great to have a day catching up with people I had met before as well as meeting lots of new people. A really big thank you to both the fair organisers (Lynn Firth of Stitchncraft beads and Stephen Mobsby of Wellhead Books), and also to everyone who stopped by my stall for a chat. I had the best day and am looking forward to the next bead fair at which I will be exhibiting. At the moment, that’s scheduled to be ‘Beads up North’ at Haydock park and this is promising to be an exciting event with demonstrations and plenty of chances to try your hand at learning some beading. You never know though, I may find myself at another fair in between times! I already know I’m going to be teaching a couple of workshops at the Big Bead Fair, Sandown Park, on 6th April, so I can’t wait!
I don’t know how many of you have tried selling your work at craft fairs or bead fairs, but for me, the biggest challenge (apart from remembering to take everything!) is working out how to display things. Beadwork is often quite small, so I find you need a lot of it to fill a table, but this causes the dilemma of not only how to display it, but how to display it in such a way that you don’t end up needing 6 hours to set the stall up and pack it away again. I have some lovely necklace busts which are always handy, but I realised that I actually have so many different necklaces now that I don’t have anywhere near enough displays for them, so I needed to get a little more creative. I had the idea of using photo frames. I’ve been scouring my local charity shops for frames that have a stand (something that is just designed to hang on the wall is no good, unless you have a stall with hanging space). Having found a few, I took out the glass front and replaced it with a padded board covered with material. I then pinned my work onto this. It stands up really well, looks eye-catching and best of all, I could attach it all at home, where I had time to play around with positioning, and then just whip out the ready-made displays on the day! It also means that I can swap around what’s on the display, so I can pick and choose what I take with me, depending on how much space I have to fill. I’ve tried a lot of different solutions over the years, including some ready-made display equipment, which was far from cheap. I think on balance, this has proved an excellent solution and it didn’t break the budget. So hopefully this will be a useful tip for some of you as well.
Meantime, I have another exciting new project in the pipeline, so you can expect some more announcements soon. I’m off to have a little more beading fun!
