Category: Artisans blogs

My Mum was 42 when she had me (I’m a post war baby as my Dad spent several WW11 years in the RAF in India) so not surprisingly I’m now an orphan.

That’s my Mum on the left.
Amy Ashworth, born in Rochdale, 17th October 1907.

She had 3 sisters and 2 brothers but one, the eldest Bertram, died of TB. She left school aged 13 unwillingly, she was very clever, but her mother was having a baby, my Auntie Joan, the youngest on the photo and needed help. That didn’t stop my mother though, she got work, took herself off to night school, became  a super-speed shorthand typist and before she married was PA to the boss at Turner’s Asbestos.

She probably made the dress she’s wearing on the photo above, herself. She must have been working for almost 2 years but she looks so young. Her mum was a skilled dressmaker. I never met my maternal grandmother as she died just before I was born but she supposedly never made any dresses for my Mum, so she must have had hand-me-downs from her  elder sister or later on made her own and she continued to do so for a good part of her life. She made wedding dresses (and bridesmaid’s dresses) for both my elder sisters and taught me so well that I made my own…. twice

This is my Mum on the bike

She taught me honesty and I hope kindness and to love learning and reading and writing and she taught me to  touch type and to knit and to embroider but had to give me a teach yourself leaflet for crochet as I’m left handed and she was right and she admited defeat trying to demonstrate.
And she taught me to cook (I won the Victoria sandwich class at the church when I was 10)  and sent me for singing lessons when I was 9 so I sang my way through my childhood …. and if you happen to pass my house when I’m working in the garage you will probably hear that I’m singing still.

Think I was 9 here, in the cardigan with the different coloured grey cuffs, she must have run out of the rust wool

Even more than all these lessons she taught me I could be what I wanted to be and do what I wanted to do and I did.

I wish my mother was here now so I could show her the glass I make.

I know she would love it and I would fill her house with pretty suncatchers to thank her for everything she taught me.  I make new pieces sometimes and hang them in the window for her to see if she likes it… I know she does.
She was always so proud of me, my singing, my crafting, my university education (the first in the family) and my super IT job ,which she didn’t understand but was happy that it was a good one.

She would have been so pleased to see me still making after all the things she taught me to make.

Thank you Mum xxx I miss you.

Hello, I’m Hayley, the maker, marketer and everything else-er behind Silver Halos! 

I’m a bit of an introvert, so this blog has been a long time in the making, I’m not used to talking about myself at all! Here goes…

Having grown up with creative parents I’ve always enjoyed making things. When I was younger my Mum used to make and decorate the most amazing cakes and my Dad would create giant Christmas crackers full of gifts, we always used to have the best Halloween party props all made by my dad and incredibly inventive food made by my Mum, our parties were the best! These things have definitely passed down to me, I’m well known for my party props! 

That being said, I kind of fell into crafting as a job. I moved from my hometown of Torquay to be with my boyfriend at the time (now husband!) to Hinckley in 2011. We had our little boy Charlie in 2012, and considered our family complete. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I started to feel like I needed a challenge. All my children were at school or nursery, and although I worked part time I was feeling a bit redundant! 

Flicking through a magazine one day I came across an advert for a charity trek. That was it, I decided there and then that’s what I was going to do! After a bit more research I signed up to walk the Inca trail in Peru, to raise funds for the charity Breast Cancer Care. 

If you’re still reading, you might be wondering what this has got to do with anything! Well, having signed up I now had to raise the minimum amount of £3750. This was a daunting task, but I just knew I was doing the right thing. I am a firm believer in fate, and Angels and things happening for a reason, so what happened next really confirmed this for me! 

My mum and I had taken up making jewellery as a hobby a few years before, and one day mum told me about a little bead shop that had popped up in the small part of Torquay where I grew up. The lady inside had some beautiful little angel bag charms for sale. We got chatting to her and started telling her about my trek. This wonderful lady was so touched; she was a breast cancer survivor herself, so she offered to show me and mum how to make these angels so I could sell them to raise some of the funds for my trek. Strangely, the shop closed down just a few months later. Was it fate that we went in and met this lady? Were the angels showing me the way?

I bought enough beads and supplies to make 10 angels that day. I set up a page on Facebook, Halos was the obvious choice, what with selling angels and my nickname Halo! I ended up selling hundreds of them in various forms, from charms to earrings, necklaces to wine glass charms and even Christmas tree decorations! Every penny went to charity. I am still thankful to the lovely lady, whose name I can’t remember. 

Fast forward now to 2016. I completed my trek the year before, and had decided to keep my page on Facebook to try and make a go of it as a legitimate business, but the angels were becoming more readily available elsewhere, and my love for making jewellery had diminished. Scrolling through Pinterest one day I saw a wreath. A new passion was born! I bought my first artificial flowers and wreath base on Boxing Day 2016, and I’ve never looked back! I now sell worldwide, with several sales to Europe, USA and even Australia and New Zealand! I also run wreath workshops from my home and at a local hotel. 

I honestly have a lot to thank the little bead shop and it’s owner for, as well as the Angels for showing me the way ?

Thats me, 3rd from the left at the back, having completed a 26km trek with an amazing group of people! 

I don’t know about you, but one thing I have noticed since being a mum is that time just flies by. Ok, at 3 am when the crying doesn’t stop, and you are panicking you have missed something vital and questioning your skills as a parent, time is pretty slow. But overall, it really does fly. I have spoken to friends with grown-up children, and they say the same. The memories are so precious and yet it is hard to keep them fresh in mind. This is one of the reasons I created personalised, keepsake jewellery. Initially, it was something I wanted for myself but, the result was so fantastic I began to wonder if other parents would like the same.

Treasured and loved

Our children start out so small and dependent it is hard to imagine them leaving home and even starting families of their own, but we all know that is how it will be someday. It is natural to want to hang on to the amazing memories they create as they start to walk and talk, as the first tooth is lost, and they wave goodbye from their first day of school.

We can love so many people in our lifetime that this is not limited to children of course. For some, the memory of a parent or sibling may be the most poignant, especially if they are no longer with us. Our pets can play a significant role in our lives so for some, our dogs and cats, horses or other pets are what we treasure most. The beautiful thing with this keepsake is that we can encapsulate anything you want, a clip of mane, a small bit of fur, whatever will bring you the happiness of a memory created forever.

Your Memory, Your Way

My keepsake is a lock of my daughter’s hair from her first haircut. I tied it with a sliver of ribbon and encapsulated it in resin. I chose to add a little sparkle with glitter, and the result is a permanent memento I know I will treasure forever. For my customers, I am committed to creating the vision they have in mind. So, your personalised jewellery doesn’t have to be the same as mine, although I am happy to share my inspiration and replicate it with your keepsake.

You can use hair as I have, but equally, we can seal any small treasure into your pendant. Pretty much every part of the process can be personalised to make sure you have the same feeling of love and satisfaction as I do every time I pick up the necklace. I chose a hemisphere shape, but you can have a heart, a teardrop, cross, square, hexagon, or butterfly. Whatever form you feel represents the memory you are creating. I can add a coloured background, glitter like mine, dandelion seeds or flowers. You have choices when it comes to the chain as well, and I will go through all the options with you

We are very proud that TBCH seller Sophie from Imogen’s Imagination has been selected to appear at London Hat Week 2020.Sophie’s “Nautilus” hat has been selected as one of the 200 designs to be be shown during this week long festival of all things millinery.

With milliners from all over the world submitting their designs, she is simply over the moon that her hat has been chosen for this accolade.

London Hat Week takes place between 16th and 22nd April 2020 at a variety of locations across the capital.

The week kicks off with a Launch Party (naturally!) and the schedule includes exclusive tours, workshops, talks, and social events bringing milliners together from all over the world.

The X Terrace Exhibition: To the Future and Back will run between 16th and 24th April and tickets for admission can be bought here.

Menier Gallery, 51-53 Southwark Street, Bankside, London, SE1 1RU

11am-6pm  (Closed Sunday 19th April)

You can see more of Sophie’s amazing designs in her shop!