Ceramics at the Mill

Last day tomorrow, it’s flown past!

Shall I share some pickies?

Okay.

I love Julie Miles hares, and so did someone else, Cornelius here is now in a new home.

Dan Bridges cups, so lovely to hold and use, we’ve all been drinking out of his thrown mugs all day.

Daisy flower piece by Julie Miles

Vases and bowls by Julie Miles, sorry it’s a tad blurred!

Teapot, always close to my heart, teapots, by Dan Bridge.

I should have made note of his name, but didn’t, but he’s grand isn’t he?

Tiny, tiny thrown on the wheel forms by Eryl Flyer

Again by Eryl, and it’s incredible it looks all puffy and soft, but it’s porcelain people!

Lesley Ann Greene, this is the look that our old cat Asher has on his face when ever he gets mown down by one of the younger cats, it’s fantastic isn’t it?

And again by Lesley, this gorgeous camel with a crown, inspired by holidays abroad and yes camel riding, which she says is most uncomfortable!

Sorry about it being a tad blurry, it’s a phone picture, but it’s one of my new pendants, and I love them to bits – I’m wearing one I could not part with them all!  Porcelain, stunning glaze and real gold, all on a sterling silver chain.  This one a snip at £24 plus p&p.

Green Walk and Ceramics in the Mill

Green Walk, was a blast, had great fun, and people pay me for having a great time.

Great sales, and great people around to talk to.

And now onto Ceramics in the Mill.

Looking forward to this too, it sounds  like it will be a good event, with potters all exhibiting and selling, so looking forwards to lots of lovely chat.

Ceramics in the Mill is at Higherford Mill in Barrowford, Lancashire, and runs from friday through to saturday, 10th to 12th of May.  Friday evening is a preview evening.  Saturday and Sunday are open at 10am with tea and cakes, and hands on work shops, so plenty for all.

Not long to go now before I’ll be there with my table of goodies, good job the kiln is on again!

Green Walk tomorrow and Sunday

The time  of year has come when the event called Green Walk is almost upon us.

Tomorrow and Sunday at 12 noon until 6pm.

I had a great time last year, and I was behind a table full of goodies most of the time.  People were friendly and curious and lots of lovely questions, and chats with some potters too.

So looking forward to it.

New buttons.  New jewellery. And this year porcelain hand made tile coasters with a green felt back in six lovely designs.  Sets of four are £30 and a single coaster is £8.00, and I do orders too if you can’t get there over the weekend.

See you there tomorrow!

6 days to do

It’s six days until the annual event called Green Walk  at Whalley Range, Manchester.

Things have been made, and have been glazed and had their firing in the gas kiln today.

It will be tea time tomorrow until I can open it at the earliest, it takes a while to cool down from 1260°C.

Then decorate, and one more short firing until it’s all ready.

As you may know I did some training as a proper potter, ie one who makes pots.  Though it’s been 7 years since I threw pots at university, and the phrase a bit rusty was an understatement.

So I leapt at the chance to go and have some one to one throwing tuition, and I went yesterday.

The potter is a young man called Dan Bridge.  He looks at pots in a totally unique way, from the point of view of some one with Parkisons disease.  Most of his strength is in his right hand and he showed us ways of centring the clay that placed less stress on the wrists, and other ways to get round limited strength, or sore joints.  I find my thumbs are stiffer and sorer than they were and he showed me how to open up a pot using my fingers which was less painful, and easier than the way I was used to doing it.

Excellent day, and excellent tuition.  Dan is a beautiful potter and his work has an elegance and style all it’s own, and you would never believe that it has been made with a disease in mind.

By the end of the day I was throwing pots with more confidence than I started out with, and I feel much less stressed about sitting at the wheel to throw now.

Dan showing me how to centre using my fingers and pull the clay towards myself rather than trying to push it with the heal of my palm.

You can see some  of Dans’ stunning work here on his Facebook page.

And you can see Dans’ work in less than two weeks at Ceramics at the Mill as part of Craft and Design Month 2013.

And my work will be on show too.

button exhibition details

My buttons arrived safely for the button exhibition this week, and the lady who is organising the display has sent this link with details of the event.

HERE

And here is my button for the exhibition.

And these four are going to be framed as a picture like they are shown here, and should be on sale at one of my shows.

 

 

 

 

two days work

I bid on a slab roller, but didn’t get it.

A slab roller is for rolling slabs of clay into nice flat thin slabs.  I use very thin for buttons and much thicker for the tile coasters.  It’s quite a job rolling all the clay, and my wrists, thumb and finger joints have been stiff and sore over the winter, and still are into the spring.

I think I’ll have to look at getting a slab roller as I really want to continue with my buttons and jewellery.

But at the end of the woe, here is what I’ve done in the last two days.

Doesn’t look very much really, but there are four or five tiles sandwiched  in between the boards drying flat and a selection of buttons and jewellery on the top.

And to prove I really do work on tea

And is that a peek at something new?

 

two weeks until Green Walk

Yes, only two weeks until a lovely and unique event called Green Walk.

Green Walk is a cul-de-sack in Whalley Range in Manchester, with lovely Victorian houses.

Every year they open their houses to artists who gather to sell their wares, there are painters, potters, jewellers, print makers, wood work and textiles, and lots to see.

As well as artists there is tea and cake and food, and if it’s as good as last year it will be very good.

The open weekend is in it’s 7th year now, and I feel really privileged to have been asked back from my first weekend there last year.  It really is a unique event, and everyone is so friendly.

So pop along and enjoy, Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th May, from 12 noon until 6pm on both days.

shed and tea

The day starts with with a cup of tea, I don’t get out of bed unless I’ve had my tea.

I don’t work without tea.

Shed and tea, goes hand in hand, even though sometimes the tea can have a very fine layering of porcelain dust.

Knitting and tea.

Watching TV and tea.

Firing kilns and a cup of tea, unless it’s 2am and it’s going really badly and the you just have to get the hot chocolate out.

So imagine my delight when I found this:

50 best afternoon tea rooms

I love that Annies in Manchester is on there.  I’ve eaten there a few times, but not had afternoon tea – next time!

Mean while, put the kettle on and pass the tea pot, I’m parched……….

 

 

prize day

Despite being determined to have a cat snuggle, my big old cat, Asher did not stop me from collecting all 10 names and selecting a winner.

So names in a hat, well ceramic bowl.

And it’s Morag!

Congratulations Morag, and commiserations to every one else, thank you for commenting.

Morag I’ve emailed you, so check your in box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

british craft trade fair day

Long day yesterday, and most of it on my feet, but at least I didn’t have to drive home, no idea how husband manages after a long day.  He drives and I go to sleep.  Several million brownie points for him.

We were at Harrogate for the British Craft Trade Fair where there were over 400 businesses, often just one or two people getting their work noticed by galleries and shops and other buyers, as well as visitors like us.

It differed from a craft or ceramics fair in that they were not selling a single product, in my case some buttons or a pendant, but they were show casing their whole business, all that they make, and often the promise of the life style that comes with it.

The quality of the work and the stands were amazing, such amazing products, and stand layouts, and so professional.  Think art gallery and not your average craft fair.

One other thing that differed from the usual fairs were the prices, they were all trade prices, not retail prices.  The general rule of thumb seems to be that you half your retail price for traders.  Galleries and shops add on a certain percentage to cover their costs, after all they need to pay for the rent, heating, electricity and staff as well as the maker having to pay for similar costs.

So as well as looking at my work as a whole, as a collection, to try and bring it together as a whole body of work, not buttons, and then jewellery, and then other items, I need to find a way that it all comes together and creates a whole picture, and look at my costs too.

I looked at the costs when I first set up which was two years ago now, and nearly 18 months since I first started selling, and I think I need to re work the costs, as my costs have increased, and the postage recently has changed and the costs gone up.  Also the cost of my time will become a larger factor in costs as I, hopefully, need to make more.

I sew the buttons on to cards at the moment, and thinking about the time spent doing that, after a full kiln it’s two or three days work of sorting and sewing, I need to find a faster and quicker way to put my buttons on the cards.

And thinking about the buttons on cards, I spent time and money putting labels on the cards with my butterfly and name, so could time and cost be saved if the information were printed right onto the card?   If I made my own cards then I could dictate the size and the amount of buttons on a card rather than having the card dictate the amount of buttons.

All decisions to make to bring the collection together, not just the time spent making the items.

It’s like wearing a different head, swapping the potters head to a retail managers/business womans head.

And back to the trade fair, I think I will be doing it next year.  Speaking to many of the makers yesterday it seems that it’s a very friendly atmosphere, it felt like it, and the organisers were friendly and helpful, and there were people from all over the country taking part, and shop, and gallery owners from all over the country too.  So I think it would be worth my while in doing it.

An extremely enlightening day, and met some lovely people face to face rather than through a keyboard, always a huge plus.