Tag: craft gifts

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Supporting Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday – Small Business, Big Difference.

 

Small Business Saturday is a grass-roots, non-political, non-commercial campaign that encourages people to support small businesses in their communities, both on the Saturday itself and beyond. The campaign also aims to support, inspire and promote small businesses all year round.

 

On Small Business Saturday, you can help to make a real difference by choosing to shop small, shop local and shop independent.

Supporting my small business 

For me it’s all about helping to fulfil the dream. When you buy from an independent maker, like me, it means that you recognise the dream that I have nurtured and the hours that I have spent exploring and experimenting with my craft. It means that you appreciate the skills that I have honed and the love that I have invested in the piece that you have chosen. It gives me a huge boost to know that someone else can see the value in my work, and in turn it gives me the confidence to continue to grow my small business. In return, I hope that you enjoy the piece that you have chosen, whether that is for yourself, or whether you take pleasure in the act of gifting it to someone else.

 

If you have bought something from me, thank you. 

 

There is no big budget marketing campaign, or team of employees helping to run my small business. It’s just me. I am a self-taught designer and creator, buyer, photographer, marketing manager, accountant, blogger, packer, delivery driver, sales manager and general spinner of plates!

 

I truly appreciate your support.

 

Why I’ll be Supporting Others

 

It’s so important to support independent businesses, artists and makers, and those businesses who try to support them. There is such a diverse wealth of talent in this country and we should be celebrating all that creativity. Supporting small business means supporting your community and the ripple effect which that can have in generating positivity, well-being and goodwill is so vital to the survival of, not just the businesses themselves, but their area as a whole. It’s self-fulfilling, if I buy from my local independents, they can buy from someone else. Maybe they open a shop on my local high street and that in turn encourages other new business and visitors to the area. Investing in my local independent artisans and producers means investing in my local community and that has to be good for everyone.

 

 Supporting each other in our handmade community, here at The British Craft House is something we are all really proud of.

Did you know that Susan Bonnar, founder of the platform, is one of the

Small Business Saturday UK Small Business Heroes!

 This year, I’m doing my bit for Small Business Saturday by supporting some of my favourite British Craft House fellow makers.

Godrevy Textiles

 

Sarah is a weaver/maker based on the beautiful Lizard Penninsula in Cornwall. We met for real whilst I was down on holiday this year! Sarah produces her own exquisite hand-woven cloth on her cottage loom, and the transforms it into wonderful home accessories and gifts.

 

RedheadWondering Hand Bound Boooks

Lizzie is a wonderful wordsmith and loves to encourage everyone to record their thoughts. She handmakes the most beautiful Coptic bound journals with incredible cyanotype designs, each inspired by nature. These books are perfect for journals or diaries, for sketchbooks and photograph albums, or for whatever you might want them to be.

Sally Thake Jewellery

Sally has the most nimble of fingers, creating the most intricate pieces of jewellery using a myriad of tiny seed beads and her work is influenced by the impact of the seasons on the surrounding countryside of the Cambridgeshire Fens.

This year’s Small Business Saturday takes place on December 4th.

Please support your favourite small businesses. 

 

Thank you. 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

All About myself and HRJ!

Welcome!  Let me start by telling you a little bit about myself!


I’m Fallon, a thirty-something year old, living in Hertfordshire with my husband and daughter.  I’m an avid crafter, have been all my life, trying my hand at many different activities for fun and making numerous things for my daughter and as gifts.   I also love home baking and drinking copious cups of tea!  I have a degree in photography and shoot freelance baby and children photography (when global pandemics don’t get in the way!)

 

I’ve been using polymer clay since I was a child, initially making teeny tiny food for my dolls house.  My husband bought me a food themed polymer clay book many years ago, and after experimenting with cakes and sweets, decided to start selling the increasing number of makes I produced, mainly to clear some space!!  The rest is history, HRJ was born in May 2011!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I chose to continue the foodie theme as I love all things quirky and retro – I’m an eighties child, so the retro food you find at old school birthday parties is an absolute favourite at mine – plates of iced ring biscuits, fondant fancies, etc – whenever we have a birthday at home, we always have that kind of tea party to celebrate!  I think the theme brings a sense of nostalgia to childhood/good memories from the past (my allsorts sweetie bracelet was one of my very first makes, and is still so popular today, with the young and old!). I’ve now also started to branch out into homeware and decorations…but more on that in my next blog post!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inspiration strikes me at any time – I generally get distracted by anything cute and quirky, especially colourful eye catching things.  I love kawaii styles, and have incorporated it into some of my pieces.  Current trends inspire me, as well as actual foods; being a keen baker, I follow lots of baking accounts on social media, and sometimes try to recreate something edible into clay form!  I also have had many commissions and special requests over the years, and some I have felt would be really popular, so have then made these into pieces for my shop too.

I joined TBCH in early 2020 and love the unique community of makers here, they are all so helpful and friendly, with each and every one making beautiful high quality handcrafted items.

Oh and if you’re wondering…my favourite biscuit to dunk in my cup of tea is….a chocolate bourbon or Lotus Biscoff!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Hearts aren’t just for Valentines!

I have had a lovely time over the Christmas lock down period making fused glass hearts in a cast iron pan. Thanks to an excellent tutorial from glasshoppa.com me and my daughter whiled away the time, when we couldn’t see the rest of the family, coming up with various combinations of glass to pile up in the mold ready for a hot fuse.

Once out and cooled down they needed a bit of grinding and cleaning before going back in the kiln for a nice fire polish.

Now I’m waiting for some little box frames to be delivered so I can mount them and then put on sale in my shop. Should make a lovely little letter box gift to send to those we love.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Metal Window Box …..what will you grow in yours?

Metal Garden Planters Handmade Metal Window Boxes
Metal Garden Planters Handmade Metal Window Boxes

In many towns and villages around the UK you will often see this beautiful ironwork frames sitting underneath a stunning set off windows, usually the sash wooden framed ones, not your modern uPVC triple glazed designed to lock the world out. This image was taken last year, on a damp grey drizzling kind of day, the triple story house in question is undergoing a mammoth refurbishment, formerly a butchers with the thick wooden floor and huge shop windows on one side of the property, and the other corner the image you see attached, the “private” entrance to the living quarters, notice the railings at street level to the cellar, or coal store as it may well of been.  Anyway the reason for my picture…..  whilst this one was made from wood, I can very easily make one out of metal, to sit inside these ironwork frames? I can also make the metal boxes to sit either sit of the entrance door, to plant a clematis or ivy from. 

Of course you don’t need a fancy pants iron frame to hold a window box in order to breathe some life and colour into your windows, you just need a cill – here is an image from a very happy customer who loves gazing out of her kitchen window and seeing some flowers, some colour and not just her neighbours wall 

So, I do take commissions, I always try to manufacture out of the “scrap” pile to reduce our carbon footprint, so if you would like to inject some colour in your window cill, maybe grow some lettuce leaves or have some herbs on your window ledge, do drop me a line and let me help you get growing! 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

“Tis the season to be jolly ….

‘Tis the Season to be Jolly, I have always loved Carols around a tree, the pretty lights, the anticipation of piles of gifts on Christmas morning,  the buzz of excitement in the air but I will confess as I have got older the magic is fading for me. I see adverts on the television of happy families sat playing games and enjoying themselves but in reality as I read the papers I see a different world one where many families are separated and the older generations are possibly spending the day alone as they don’t want to be burden on relatives, or those families who don’t have money to put food on a table let alone buy gifts, who then have to deal with the question why Santa leaves lots of gifts for some Children but not them.

I read a lovely article in the Telegraph yesterday, saddened slightly by its content, but felt it was also full of Christmas Spirit as it made reference to a school in Blackpool where the Head is opening the school up on Monday to have a Christmas Eve eve party for the children, with Santa and hot food, to ensure that all children had that magical experience and a hot meal over the holidays. I am sure this isn’t first school to do this, and I doubt will be the last. 

For many of the gifts I will be giving this year they are sourced from small businesses not large corporations, I will try and avoid the pressure of the sales post Christmas, and only purchase something if I really need it.  

It is a most wonderful time of the year, but we do shop all year round, not just a Christmas so if you could continue to buy from the small business owner I can hand on heart tell you that really does help put food on the table, and keep a roof over someone’s head. Perhaps you can spare the odd gift for a child who is without, or pop an extra roll of toilet paper, or can of soup in the trolley for the food bank at your local supermarket – you never know the joy that small act of kindness could bring someone. Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against the corporates (I am an Amazon Prime Customer ?) , but I am hugely aware that by using them we are feeding anonymous shareholders but by buying from an independent you are helping keep that small business afloat, and that alone does deserve a happy dance ? Merry Christmas and wishing you a Happy New Year 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Jewellery by Camilla

Hello my name is Camilla, a bit of background on how I started making Jewellery.

I took up knitting and crocheting when I was a child, and I have always loved making things. As time went by I put my artistic leanings to one side and chose a career in computers, and later went on to raise a family. My children have now grown up and no longer need my time, so I decided six years ago to return to my creative side, and began making jewellery – using my knitting and crocheting skills to make a different type of jewellery.

I love to create new ways of using different threads, wire and beads and to juxtapose different colours in my jewellery. Choosing colour combinations is exciting as well as therapeutic. Inspiration comes from all around me, whether I’m walking through the woods and fields, by the sea, with my dogs, down the high street, through the shops, or looking at the new season’s clothes.

I took up Japanese Braiding (Kumihimo) five years ago to add to my jewellery skills. This offers another way of using different textured threads and beads, adding a vast array of techniques and colour combinations to create interesting pieces of jewellery. The colours and effects are endless.

In 2016 I got excepted by the Surrey Guild of Craftsmen, to become a Member and to sell my Jewellery through their Gallery, which I was thrilled about.

Everything I make is a one-off and is never repeated, each piece is unique to the person who buys it.