Tag: unique

Posted on by

Meet the Maker – Laura Llewellyn Design

Laura Llewellyn designer and jeweller

Laura Llewellyn – Meet the Maker

I initially started making jewellery whilst studying for my Foundation Degree in Art and Design; having always been creative this was a fantastic course to do. When I first started the course I thought I would go on to study graphics or photography at university as these were 2 of my A level subjects.  After a few weeks one of my tutors suggested trying jewellery making; I signed up for an evening class and the rest is history!

Amethyst gemstone necklace handmade in sterling silverI went on to study at the University for Creative Arts in Rochester and my degree is in Silversmithing, Goldsmithing and Jewellery Design.  Once I finished studying I worked in the jewellery industry in various roles including retail, wholesale, designing, manufacturing and managing a shop. I’ve always worked for small independent companies so my responsibilities were always varied giving me a great overview of the industry.

After a few years I also began to teach at our local college
in the evenings eventually going on to take over the course I had initially began my jewellery journey on! After a few years of juggling jobs I decided to go completely self employed in 2016 and set up Hampshire School of Jewellery which I still run now.

Green Chrysocolla Malachite gemstone set in a sterling silver handmade necklaceHaving always designed and made jewellery for friends and family I set up Laura Llewellyn Design in 2017.  I work mainly in silver but do on occasion use gold and platinum. I love to search for beautiful gemstones to set in my pieces; I tend to only purchase one (or two for earrings) of each gemstone so you really are getting a one off unique piece of jewellery.

My work doesn’t have a set style; I love to work in different mediums exploring materials and making jewellery that I would love to wear myself.   It can be hard to part with the one off gemstone pieces I make!  I use a mixture of sterling and fine silver in my pieces and combine traditional silversmithing techniques with the more modern way of using silver clay depending on what I want to create. Each element of my designs is handmade including the individual stone settings.

If you see something you like but you would like it altered please get in touch to enquire from changing a chain length or sourcing a different gemstone I will always do my best to help.  I also work on bespoke commissions if you have a particular design in mind and I will work with you to create this.

I am proud to be a member of the British Society of
Jewellers and in the summer of 2020 I passed my Accredited Jewellery Professional Diploma with the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA)

I was thrilled to be chosen as a winner of Small Business Sunday by Theo Paphitis in August 2021.

My hallmark is registered with the London Assay Office and any work requiring hallmarking is sent here to be checked.  Please see my hallmarking blog for more information.

My other interests include baking, travelling, sewing and mixing cocktails. My hubby and I dance ballroom and latin.  We compete around the country at various competitions and in July 2024 won our couples category at the Blackpool finals. I am also addicted to nail varnish which is highly impractical for a jeweller!

Thank you for taking the time to visit my shop and read my blog.  You can stay up to date with my
latest creations by following me on social media.

 Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions at all

Laura x

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

New Venture

60th birthday celebration collage with hand embroidery

As a few of you will know I have changed direction from making fabric handbags and accessories to hand embroidered collages. Over the years making 100s of the same thing has got a bit tedious and standing out in all weathers has taken its toll, so time for a change.

So now I design and make mixed-media collages that blend vintage finds with miniature treasures, each piece carefully brought to life with intricate hand embroidery.

Heart shape collage with lots of 3D details

This little heart was for a commission for a wedding, I sent out a questionnaire asking lots of questions for example What’s your favourite animal? Where did you meet? What are your pass times? Then I spend quite a lot of time finding vintage bits and pieces to arrange into a collage.

The time, detail, and dedication that go into every creation are reflected in the pricing, making these keepsakes truly special-perfect for those who seem to have everything.

50th wedding anniversary celebration made up of 3D items hand stitched into a 50 shape

I also take commissions, sending a personalised email with questions about the recipient, from their favourite chocolate bar to significant life moments. This ensures that each piece is as unique and meaningful as the person it’s made for.

Posted on by

A Mouse for all seasons!

Earlier in the year I was wanting to do something a bit different with my very popular little mice and came up with the idea of combining them with my love of embroidery.

I am lucky to live in a very rural part of the country which makes me always aware of the turning seasons.  I always look out for the first lambs in spring, the first swallows, elderberry flowers, blackberries, the first frost and the first flurries of snow on the hill.

It felt natural for me to design my Seasonal Mice.  I started in Spring with the first embroidered Mouse, to me the colours of Spring are vibrant greens, yellows and blues.

From there it was early summer, and the garden was full of pink foxgloves and the lavender was just starting to show some colour, I put together some ideas and came up with my Summer Mouse.

Autumn seemed to be coming quickly this year and my thoughts turned to a new mouse, not a harvest mouse but a celebration of the hedgerows with purple brambles, and spotty toadstools.  Also, I love late dahlias, so the brown stems and orange blooms were included.

And so, we are into autumn and the mornings are getting a bit crisp and chilly, so my next Mouse is of course Winter.  Still a work in progress but watch this space as they say!

I hope you enjoyed my seasonal mice; my hope is that they will become an annual feature of my work, but I won’t ever make too many of each, I just have an idea of the design and embroider them freehand so no two are ever totally identical. Next year’s may be different again.

Thank you so much for reading x 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Father’s Day Gift Ideas 2021

As I am a small independent business I can usually customise all my products, so you’ll be sure to find something that can be personalised to suit your Dad’s tastes. If my wooden products are not quite right for your Dad – don’t forget to check out my fellow small business makers that can be found on The British Craft House – it really is a treasure trove of wonderful creations.

The Beer Loving Dad

Whatever your Dad’s favourite tipple is –  he’ll love one of these boozy themed presents.

boozy gift for dad

The Well Groomed Dad

Has Dad got a well trimmed beard or a finely tuned skin care routine?  Will Dad soak for hours in the bath?  Does he look sharp in his suit and needs somewhere for his cufflinks? Everything you need for the well groomed gentleman can be found here!

storage gifts for dad

  • Relax Bath Caddy – a perfect gift if filled with his favourite bath goodies
  • Coin/Cufflink Tray – versatile tray for coins, cufflinks, jewellery and more!
  • Skin Care Storage – another caddy that could be filled with his favourite products
  • Shaving Kit Box – this would make a great eco gift if filled with sustainable products.

See HogWash, Holly Botanic and Saponista for some great eco beauty products ideas that would go great with the above storage pots.

The Sentimental Dad

If your Dad is a big softie then he’ll love a Memory Box to let him know how much you care. It could be filled with his favourite treats, or photos or smaller gifts.  The text and imagery is 100% customisable, and some examples are listed below:

sentimental gifts for dad

Animal Lover Gifts

For the Dad that is an animal lover perhaps a wooden box decorated with his favourite animal and text of your choice would be an ideal gift.

animal gifts for dad

The Foodie Dad

Does your Dad love his food? Maybe he enjoy some nuts with his beer or does he have more of a sweet tooth? Whether he’s into cheese, snacks or sweets – these gifts will be ideal for him.

foodie gifts for dad

The Organised or Messy Dad

Whether your Dad is super messy or really organised – he’ll still love these storage options to help keep his “stuff” under control.  In a range of sizes and styles – these wooden storage boxes can all be customised with personalised text to suit YOUR Dad.

storage gifts for dad

Special Interest Dad

Whatever your Dad is into – I can personalise a wooden item just for him.  Whether it’s storage for his fishing, bike or DIY bits or a KEEP OUT sign when he’s gaming – I’ve got a gift for all Dads!

gifts for dad

  • Personalised Storage – create a bespoke gift with your choice of text and image
  • Cycling Crate – a storage solution for his bike helmet, gloves, glasses etc
  • Gamer Door Hanger – so Dad can let you know he does not want to be disturbed!
  • DIY Box – help him get organised with this quirky “SCREW IT” box.

Don’t forget the card….

There is a huge collection of cards to choose from on TBCH – browse the selection of Father’s Day Cards available.

More Gifts for Dad ideas from The British Craft House

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

More Squashed Glass!

I’ve had another go at the squashed glass technique and this time I used opalescent glass which reflects light as opposed to transparent glass that transmits light.

I love the effect that has been produced where the various coloured pieces have met and merged. There has been some reaction where some different coloured pieces have overlapped and merged caused by the chemical make up of the glass colours I have used in this piece. Various colours have Lead, Copper or Sulphur in them and when they meet you can get some special effects ranging from subtle to dramatic. 

This piece has some subtle reactions where the sulphur bearing red has overlapped the copper bearing greens and blues.

In addition a particular colour called Steel Blue has a tendency to dramatically change to a matt steel colour on the surface exposed to the air in the heat of the kiln. This hasn’t happened to a great degree because it was covered by the kiln shelf except for some subtle areas on the edges of the Steel Blue bits in the piece.

I shall square off the edges and slump this in a gently curved mould to make a lovely platter to be listed in my shop.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Squashed Glass?

So what is squashed glass? This is a fused glass/kiln forming technique that I’ve been having a go at. As described it is glass put in the kiln to fuse but you have to weigh it down with a second shelf to ‘squash’ it as it fuses.

Glass is viscous at high temperature and up to a certain heat it conforms to the glass fusers mantra “the 6 mm rule”. This basically means that however many layers of glass you put on top of each other the finished fused piece will always end up 6 mm thick, unless you dam it, but that’s another technique! 

Squashed glass is multiple layers of glass weighed down with another kiln shelf on top (and any other bits of kiln furniture you might have to hand) so that the pressure of all that weight will go down on the piece and the glass will flow and merge together. The finished glass piece is nice and level and will have a smooth texture from the kiln shelf.

After that you can cut up your sheet of squashed glass and cold work the edges to smooth them out and slump in a mould to get the shape you want for your finished pieces.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

2 year old smile ….

Today, Easter Monday I received a message via the other side beginning with E and ending in Y … from a lovely customer who, 2 years ago ordered some bespoke planters, they took some time to make, I never heard back so wasn’t sure she was happy or not, however I wasn’t fazed as in my experience most people forget to leave good feedback, rarely do they forget to leave feedback for a negative experience, many tell the world so I assumed all was good. 

Fast forward 2 years, to a chilled Easter Monday, and this lovely lady, Sarah, messaged me simply to say, she tried to leave feedback but couldn’t see how to do it, the remainder of her message is below (I did ask permission to post) 

“They look really fantastic, we look like we have a wildly expensive landscaped garden at a fraction of the cost!” “2 years in and these still look new. Thank you so much we are really pleased” 

So there you have it, Sarah G 2 years on and still her planters look like new. 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Winter is slowing creeping away as Spring gathers pace

I have to confess the weather of  late has been confusing, from a cloud burst of snow one afternoon, clear blue skies followed less than 24 hours later, chasing its tail the howling gales and flash floods across the country, it’s cold enough to be winter, but the bright blue skies suggest a different story. 
So what plants, bulbs, or seedlings can you realistically look at panting whilst the weather is so up and down? 

To answer this question it does also depend on a many other factors, including but not limited too the PH levels of your soil, whether you live in a sheltered area or are fully exposed on a cliff top , availability of a greenhouse or somewhere light warm and airy, essentially draught free to give a few answers. 
February gardening is all about getting the seeds planted, so get out your old planters and scrape off the top layer of compost and replace with fresh. Seed wise you can sow lettuces in readiness for fresh leaves in May June time, but do ensure they are protected, varieties such as Winter Gem, and Valdor are good winter hardy types but do make sure you plant under cloches

As a general rule, bulbs can be planted out as well, but do remember they tend to prefer light well draining soil, if they are left in wet, heavy soil they are unlikely to thrive. So you can consider broad beans, carrots, parsnips, beetroot, cabbages. 
If you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse herb seeds, tomatoes, cucumber can get a good start. 

I have started to list a few deeper, larger metal garden planters, these were specifically designed to enable the rooftop or patio gardener to have access to deeper soil thus enabling root vegetables to be sown. grown and eaten from the single metal garden planter. So if you fancy one do let me know! 
Fi