Tag: Meet the maker

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Who is LouLou & Reg

Hi and welcome to my very first blog.

My name is Lorna and LouLou & Reg is my small business that I love with a passion. I started LouLou & Reg last year (2018) because I had another small business selling home décor but could never find the kind of items that I wanted to sell, so I thought I would make them instead of sourcing them and voila LouLou & Reg was born!

I live in the South of England with my husband and our son and we live in our forever home in a lovely part of Hampshire.  I have always been very creative but woodworking was new to me (except the woodworking that you did at school – did anyone else make a wooden robot?)

 I knew that I was doing what I loved and what I should be doing, when I bought my first sander with some birthday money that I was gifted and after that my husband bought me my very first multi tool and screwdriver set, which made my year!

 When I applied to be a seller on The British Craft House, I was very nervous as I know this website is and will be amazing for hand crafted
items.  When Dottie accepted me as a seller I was over the moon and still nervous as I want my little piece of The British Craft House to be a success which means hard work but I am up for the task. All of my items are made from start to finish by hand, from cutting each piece of wood by hand, to sanding and painting by hand.  I design the wording, choose the font and paint with acrylic paint, each sign that has wording and I love it.  Where I can I recycle old and discarded wood and MDF as I love that each piece of wood has it’s own story and re-purposed wood is an unwanted item being given a new lease of life!

 Thank you for reading my first blog and I hope to bring you updates that will take you on a journey with me, in this wonderful new home for handcrafted items.

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.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Meet the Artisan, Max Pring, aka The Crafty Welsh Mam

For me it’s all about the metal, the thing I love most about it is that it’s so versatile, you can melt it, recycle it, hammer it, bend it, stamp it, shape it, fuse it, mix it, add stones to it and if that’s not enough you can texture it, paint it, heat it, etch it and polish it too.  You will see the majority of these techniques used in my work as I do love to play!.

I find my inspiration from the lush Welsh countryside, living near Pontypridd in the Rhondda Valleys I have beautiful views across the rolling hills and a wildlife reserve just down the road. There’s also a lot of old industrial sites where nature has stepped back in, but you can find some really old interesting textures and patterns on abandoned machinery so I’m never short of inspiration and try to protect the environment by being as environmentally friendly as I can be in my work using recycled materials where I can and plastic free packaging.

I learnt to knit and sew when I was really little, sat next to my lovely Nan, my first make was a hand-sewn dress for my Tiny Tears Doll, I can even remember the colour it was purple with flowers and made from an old dress of my Nan’s. I still knit and sew  nowadays but only occasionally as my real passion is for metal jewellery, though I’ll always find time for a bit of papercraft or drawing, often sketching out new designs and little pictures for etching or making my own boxes or hand finishing my packaging with hearts and making little matching gift cards to go with each order.

I have a small bench in the spare bedroom, but have to decamp to hubby’s garage for hammering and using the blowtorch.

As well as being a maker I have a day job working in the NHS in Human Resources and I am very fortunate that I love both my jobs, my passion for metal matches my passion for people. When I’m not metalsmithing or working you will find me colouring in with my granddaughter, baking or reading with an occasional night out at the theatre.