Meet the maker Archives | Page 3 of 4 | The British Craft House

Posted on 28/04/202030/05/2023 by Lorna Coombs — Leave a comment

The Journey Continues!

Hello again! I have been meaning to do my third blog for a while, but it never seemed like the right time but now, it does.

If you have been following my little business, you may have noticed some changes to the kind of gifts I have been making? My gifts have changed as I feel like I have been on a bit of a journey with both my skills and my creativity. When I first started LouLou & Reg, I knew that I wanted to be able to create and sell gifts that I would buy, that had sentiment and that would bring a smile when gifted. I have always been an admirer of East of India and Sass & Belle and their products; I think it is both the simplicity of their beautiful items and the sentiments that were included with each one that I love. I am and always have been a big fan of dioramas and initially wanted to make these but had no idea where to start as I had no idea how to saw a piece of wood!

At the beginning, I decided I wanted to learn how to make wooden signs which I did after trying lots of techniques, I really do enjoy making them. Then as I started to size, shape, sand and paint the wood myself, my hunger for a little more knowledge and skill grew, so we bought a pillar drill – which I really need to use more; then came the belt sander and finally my husband bought me a scroll saw, that I love!

Since I have started to use my scroll saw my creativity has grown and I am being taken down a different path now, one that I think I have always wanted to get to but didn’t quite know how to get to. I have started to use wire to make shapes and I also use balsa wood shapes to create different elements for each of my items. I am hoping to start experimenting with other elements and using other techniques so that I can create and continue to make the kind of product that I would enjoy seeing in my kind of shop and a product that I would want to buy.

I am so excited to see where this journey takes me, and I really hope that you can continue this journey with me, on a rather exciting path that I seem to be travelling.

(The picture is the first item I created using my scroll saw and I’m rather proud of it as it was a freehand sketch (and I can’t draw) and my first cut……..the product that made me find a different path)

Posted on 09/02/202030/05/2023 by Just Kirsty Sculpture & Gifts — Leave a comment

Traditional V Digital Sculpture techniques?

I’ve been a traditional sculptor for more than 30 years. I enjoy the relationship I have with the medium I use, and also the close interaction with the reference materials I choose, both of which combine to help me create the sculptures I produce.

: Close up of my Harriet Hare sculpture created using traditional sculpting techniques

I am rather resistant to change, and have tended to view ‘digital’ sculpting as… cheating! Well, to some degree any way! However, a figurine designing company recently contacted me after they began following me on Instagram and they commented that they were impressed by my ‘sensational fur sculpting skills’! (?) They went on to ask me to sculpt a type of Tiger for them, even though they employ several digital sculptors. It seems that perhaps fur can’t easily be replicated using a computer and that the hand and eye of a traditional sculptor might still be useful in this digital age!

I was thinking about how I was going to approach this project and I had an idea about how to incorporate working ‘with’ digital sculptors which would save the company time and money and still produce the finish on the sculpture which they came to me for.

I admit to feeling slightly apprehensive when I emailed them my idea… I know nothing about digital sculpting or 3D printing and was expecting my idea to be shot down in flames, but… the reply came back almost immediately hailing me as ‘innovative’ and a ‘genius’! (?) They also believe that they might have quite a bit of ‘traditional’ sculpting work for me in the future!

So, traditional V Digital Sculpture techniques? You’ll have noticed that I haven’t spilled the beans on exactly ‘what’ my brilliant idea is (it isn’t always a good idea to give your best ideas away!), but I’m so pleased that after my resistance to digital sculpting I have found a way to combine it with the way I work to the mutual benefit of both me and the customer in a faster and ultimately a more satisfactory way.

: My Harriet Hare sculpture created in wax using traditional sculpting techniques

Posted on 01/02/202030/05/2023 by Jo Sara — Leave a comment

How It Started – Meet JoSara

: Me, Jo from JoSara

Hi, I’m Jo, thanks for popping in. Where did it start? Well, I was looking for a decorative and practical bird bath for my own garden and I couldn’t find any that fitted the bill. I had seen a few mosaic style designs on my search and I thought, I could have a go at that. So, I researched garden suitable materials, taught myself how to mosaic, and made my own unique pattern Moroccan pool style bird bath (a design that is still one I have in my shop today, and the bird bath is still going strong in my garden). That started me on a train of thought where lots of different mosaic designs I could create were popping into my head.

: Rainbow Hedgehog bird bath

Those train of thought designs included something to help our hedgehogs, because it was around that time that I became aware of the plight they were in with their numbers plummeting. As I read more on the subject I realised water is key to attracting wildlife to your garden and can be a lifesaver for them, too. So I thought what better? You could have something decorative to look at, while the water it provides is helping keep your garden wildlife healthy and you could also enjoy watching the wildlife that appeared. Seemed a win, win to me.

: Moroccan Pool bird bath

I have always been quite arty, but never pursued it, I certainly never thought it would become my career. I also have always had a keen interest in the natural world, but never thought of combining the two things until I made that first bird bath and the penny dropped. There must be other people out there that want something a bit more unique for their home and garden too? Fate had it that I was in a position to leave my long term, very dull, admin job and try starting my own business to find out. The timing was perfect with the handmade boom just getting going and lots of information about how to start a handmade business online was appearing on the internet. So my brand, JoSara, was born with my first online shop opening in 2011.

: JoSara in Birds and Blooms magazine

Since then it’s been going from strength to strength, including more online shops, a website, and being featured online and in print, with my Three Bees bird bath being in the 5th best selling mag in the home and garden category in the US, Birds and Blooms. And in the US that means a LOT of readers, so that was amazing. My ranges have been expanding, with new designs still popping into my head. And it’s all thanks to the nature and wildlife lovers, and lovers of things a little bit different that were definitely out there.

To follow new designs in progress follow me on Facebook – JoSaraDesign

Posted on 27/01/202030/05/2023 by BeckyCoggins — Leave a comment

Meet the Maker: Crofts Crafts

So, here goes on my first blog post EVER! And I thought a good place to start would be to share a little bit more about me and Crofts Crafts!

My name is Becky and I currently make greeting cards and gift tags here in the beautiful North Norfolk countryside. If you’ve checked out my shop, you can probably tell my style is quite minimalist – clean and simple and I try to keep it quite natural and rustic looking! Most of my cards are made from recycled Kraft card which I print the greeting on myself, and then use a variety of materials to decorate them including felt, hessian, wooden embellishments and twine. I try to hand make as many embellishments as I can, which can lead to some pretty fiddly work!

I started making handmade cards when I moved to Norfolk from London a few years ago. It started off as a hobby, to send to friends and family, but I found it to be really relaxing and I really enjoyed doing something creative which was very different to the day job! I slowly started doing a few local craft markets which were great fun, and a brilliant way to meet fellow makers and get involved in the local community.

I make cards for most occasions, and also have several ‘just because’ designs. I’m a big believer in encouraging people to connect via good old fashioned snail mail to let someone know you are thinking of them, especially these days when it’s so easy to use technology to connect! There’s nothing nicer than receiving some happy mail and knowing that someone has taken a few minutes out of their day to let you know they care – especially by sending something handmade! I’m also trying to make my cards more sustainable and am moving away from using cello bags – I’m a big fan of the Naked Cards campaign…but I’ll save that for another blog post!

My aim for this year was to set up an online shop to try selling to a wider audience, so I was so happy to find, and be accepted to, TBCH. I love the fact that TBCH is celebrating British designers and makers, and that it is also a relatively new venture (like me!) and I’m excited to slowly grow my shop and get to know other fellow sellers and the TBCH community!

Posted on 24/01/202030/05/2023 by Fiona — Leave a comment

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

: 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 22/01/202030/05/2023 by Nature by Day — Leave a comment

About Me & Nature by Day

Hi,

I’m Dee also known as Debz. I make unique handmade silver jewellery which is inspired by Mother Nature’s amazing textures and designs. All my work is made by hand, by me, from Silver Metal Clay which is 99.9% pure silver and is a recycled material, I’ll tell you a little more about this amazing medium below.

How it all started

I started making jewellery several years ago after my twin sister bought me a Metal Clay course for Christmas. I immediately fell in love with this fascinating process and knew this was what I was destined to do.

I’ve always been creative and fascinated by the worlds flora and fauna. I went to Art College way back when, but I failed to follow my creative heart for my career and instead worked in luxury retail for over 25 years. While working with some of the worlds most beautiful luxury products, I always dreamed of one day being able to share my own designs and creations with my own precious customers and now I am through Nature by Day.

My Collection

Mother Nature is the greatest designer of all, nothing a human can create is more beautiful than that of nature and this is why I try to recreate natures designs. Sea shells dominate my collection. I’m passionate about them not only because they are among some of the most remarkable designs found in nature, but also because of their spiritual and magical powers which have been used throughout time all over the world. Shells are linked with the feminine energy, where shells are used to draw the things you desire into your life. Each shell or symbol of a shell brings and possess it’s own bit of magic so my silver shells make the perfect gift for every woman if they need a bit of extra power and magic in their life as well as a beautiful piece of handmade jewellery.

Metal Clay is the perfect medium for capturing every intricate detail that Mother Nature puts into her gorgeous designs. I make every item individually by hand so every piece is unique in it’s own little way. All the findings and other components I use to make my finished pieces are made from Sterling Silver.

I make your orders in my lovely home in the Herefordshire countryside that I share with my Scottish husband Ken and my little rescue dog, Tahira.

My real passion is creating and making commissions or personalised designs for you, my customers, there is nothing more gratifying and humbling for me than to make that special piece of jewellery that you can treasure forever.

All my jewellery is beautifully gift wrapped in my eco-friendly branded gift boxes tied with ribbon so they make perfect gifts for every occasion or just a treat for yourself! I’m also happy to add a handwritten note if you want me to send something directly to a friend or loved one.

I welcome orders from all over the world.

Commissions

Did you find a shell on a special holiday or on your honeymoon that you’d love made into silver? Does a loved one have a special tree or plant that you’d like a permanent piece of to wear? If so, I’d be delighted to create a customised and personal design for you, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me or if you simply have a question about my jewellery please email me at: deeyoung@naturebyday.com.

Silver Metal Clay

Metal Clay is exactly that, silver in clay form, tiny little packets of clay. The clay is made from tiny particles of reclaimed silver mixed with an organic binder and water. You can shape, mould and sculpt the clay like you would with any other type of clay.

The clay is then dried, once dried you can refine it further by sanding, carving, filing etc. until you have the perfect piece. The clay then needs to be fired in a tiny little kiln.

Once fired you are left with pure Fine Silver which is classed as 99.9% pure verses Sterling Silver which is 92.5% pure.

Once fired you can then use normal silversmithing techniques such as soldering to complete the pieces.

The last process like with any jewellery is polishing, I use 7 different steps, all done by hand to polish all my pieces to ensure I don’t lose any of the lovely detail.

Thank you for reading my about page.

Happy browsing and shopping,

Dee.

Posted on 05/01/202030/05/2023 by Just Kirsty Sculpture & Gifts — Leave a comment

Hares, Boxes…and a Big Cat sculpture commission!

I often find that January is almost as busy as December and I certainly have quite a few orders to keep me busy; Harriet Hares to polish, as well as a handful of my lichen keepsake boxes to make! I also have a large Sculpture commission to start of an extinct big cat which will be quite nerve-racking to start with…but I do like a challenge!

: Just Kirsty Sculpture & Gifts

Posted on 31/12/201930/05/2023 by Cheryl Jenkins — Leave a comment

My first blog!

Thought I’d tell you a little about myself and then later, in a new blog, take you through my process of making a bridal hair comb.

Always interested in detail, innovation and processes I studied Aeronautical Engineering at what was then Hatfield Polytechnic and now University of Hertfordshire, obtaining a BEng degree in 1990. Oh, that seems so long ago now!

I then moved to Suffolk and worked in Cambridge as an Aircraft Stress Engineer. Simply put, I was a mathematician who worked out whether any repairs or modifications would be strong enough for safe flight. It involved sorting through paper engineering drawings to find all the relevant details and using hand calculations with complex equations for various scenarios. No computers then and no fancy computer generated models to do all the work, they were just starting to come on the scene when I left work to raise our family.

Always handy and craft orientated I found projects large and small to fit around family life but, gravitated towards jewellery making. After having a pair of amber set gold earrings repaired, which then needed repairing again a year later (gold is in fact a soft metal and wears quite easily. A small gold nugget can be hammered into an incredibly thin sheet and used for gilding) I thought I’d source the parts I needed myself. I ordered a catalogue and become inspired by all the wonderful shapes and colours. That enthusiasm and simple pleasure of creating something so complex out of a few individual tiny beads still drives me.

Inspiration from the colours and shapes of the materials has gained additional input over the years from a love of trail running with my dogs, which I found a love of when the last of our three children had reached school age and I had a little time for myself. As the seasons change and indeed as the days change there is always something new to catch my eye; nature is such a giver.

Posted on 19/12/201930/05/2023 by Fiona — 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 26/11/201930/05/2023 by Fiona — Leave a comment

Welcome!

I just thought whilst I was photographing, listing, measuring and generally sorting what planters and window boxes I have made it would be a nice idea to introduce myself properly.

This is my world of Metal Garden Planters.

Welcome, my name is Fiona, I have 2 children (12 and 9) 1 mini dachshund and an OAP Cat who thinks he is a teenager still. I live in the town of Grantham in Lincolnshire, famous for being voted the most boring town in the UK one year, being the birth place of myself, Margaret Thatcher, Doris Stokes and Sir Isaac Newton to name a few.

The image is of me, no makeup, not having done my hair and dressed for the cold, about to set off in my VW Flatbed, with some roofing sheets on the back. I sell a variety of Box Profile and Corrugated roofing sheets, and manufacture the flashings to finish the edges in house. It was from the waste I was generating in terms of making the flashings which lead me down the path of making metal boxes.

I was on the hunt for an office bin one day, and the cost shocked me, let alone the fact they are all fairly boring looking so after some cutting, measuring, and general faffing with the Guilloline (not the kind the Frenchman used to lop off the heads of Aristocracy) but a blade which can cut thin metal sheeting safely, and my bending machine (its clamp with a lever that once lifted puts a fold in a metal sheet in its simplest form) A bright yellow tall, square bin was created, and 6+ years later it is still used daily.

So thats how I started, if you have any specific questions for future blog posts I would be happy to answer them, in the meantime I will continue selecting troughs, and planters along with a special gardeners gift pack I am pulling together.