Makers' Market table rehearsal...part 1

My second ever craft fair is looming on the horizon (ok, it's not until 3rd July but that feels quite soon!) - this afternoon I tried my first 'dry-run' of my table set-up, so I know what still needs to be done.  I have a lot to go on from last time - so I have most of the necessary bits and pieces.  The challenge this time is that I have a greater range of pieces that I somehow have to arrange and fit onto the table!

Here's my first attempt:

(so my kitchen table is actually 2' shorter than the 6' table I'll have at the fair, but you get the general idea!)

I haven't finished a few things as yet (there'll be more bracelets, more felted rings, and the box on the far left will be filled with greetings cards rather than cake :P) so this is just a general idea.  I've gone for rings on a piece of Indian slate, and some earrings on a plate (I'll source a more interesting and suitable plate somehow before the event!).

As always, any comments or suggestions are more than welcome.  What do you think of the earrings display - too busy?  Too busy in general?  Should I group similarly shaped brooches together or mix them up?  So many options!!

The other most exciting crafty thing happening has been the arrival of some new threads from the ever-wonderful Sarah of therainbowgirl.  She has produced the most amazing custom selection of hand-dyed mixed threads for me to use for new kumihimo bracelets - check out these beauties:

yum!

Prototype hairband...

Here is the other prototype I have been working on that I mentioned recently: a prototype hairband/fascinator:

I've found this particularly difficult to take photos of!

It's a gunmetal grey hairband, with two circles of beaded and embroidered felt in pinks, purples and blues with a hint of yellow. 

The felt pieces have a wee 'sleeve' of felt sewn to their back so that the hairband can slide in and out - meaning that it can be worn on either side of the head and with the larger circle top or bottom.

Here it is in situ, modelled by my friend Rachael and her beautiful hair :D :

(thanks Rach!)

I'm quite liking this hairband idea - but have found it so difficult to photograph well that it almost puts me off making any more!  I have other ideas for different shapes to try out though, so I think I'll persevere :)

Brooch prototypes....

So here is the result of one of my recent projects: an experimental fibre brooch - this one is made from the raw materials in the first photo in my previous post.

My aim with these brooches was to explore making something less 'tidy' and more freestyle.  Fibres feel so good to touch I quite like having the edges left raw and fraying, and to be able to watch them wear over time.  I made the brooch by layering cotton fabric, fibres (silk hankie fibre and cotton nepps), cotton scrim and mixed threads. I held them together with 'magic film' and then machine embroidered over the top to trap them in place.

Here are some others that I made:

They all measure about 6cm x 6cm ish.

I'm not totally sure what I think about them, to be honest.  I like being able to feel the raw edges of the fibres but I'm so used to having neat edges, having a more freestyle look like this takes a bit of getting used to!  Maybe the idea is good but I need to develop it a bit.  I made more prototypes than this, but the 'magic film' malfunctioned a bit and they had to be abandoned (the magic film gets trapped by the machine embroidery and then you iron the piece, which is meant to make the film evaporate - but if you don't do it right it just goes sticky and that is disastrous!) - so before I try to develop the idea further I think I'll try an alternative - maybe Solvy.

Work still progresses on the other project - photos to follow soon!

Current projects...

A couple of projects I have started this long weekend:

Something green...

and something in rainbow colours...

Both hopefully will become things to wear; one is a development of a previous prototype, and the other is a new idea for me.  More details to follow as they progress!

Another craft fair...

Well, I've bitten the bullet and have decided to do another craft fair - on Saturday July 3rd, at the Columcille Centre in Morningside, here in Edinburgh:

It's organised by Craft Fairs Scotland  but also has its own website and blog. 

You may remember I did my first craft fair last May in Portobello - organised by the same company - so I'm sure this one will be just as well organised.  

I've had mixed feelings about doing another fair - mostly because my Etsy shop has been rather busy lately and I'm slightly worried about being able to keep up with demand as my pieces are so time-consuming to make.  After a lot of thought though I decided that the face-to-face feedback you get from being at a fair is so valuable it was worth giving it another go.  Many of my current jewellery styles have been directly developed from constructive criticism or comments that people made at the last craft fair - mostly about making the lines of my jewellery shapes softer and more curvaceous, which let me to make my curved necklaces:

'Solferino'

and my Paisley-shaped brooches:

'Terne'

-so that sort of feedback is worth doing the fair for in itself.

So now I just need to work on building up a selection of items and planning how I'm going to coordinate everything with the Etsy shop - I think I'll avoid listing online everything I have made, and I also plan to make use of the handy 'vacation mode' in the shop for a few weeks before the fair just so I'll have a clear idea of what pieces are available to show.

I have to say the bit I enjoy most is doing the practice run-through of my table set-up :D - watch this space for photos closer to the time!

Silver and felt necklaces... the sequel!

In Autumn 2008 I started developing some ideas for a series of sterling silver and embellished felt necklaces during my jewellerymaking evening class.  I wrote about the first prototype here, but never got around to finishing the other pieces I started.  In fact, I confess that I all but forgot about my selection of silver pendant bases that I had made that were hiding in my metalsmithing workbox.

Well, they finally made it to the top of my projects list again, (I have to admit that actually I've been a bit scared to finish them, as working with silver always seems terribly serious!) and I have made two more prototypes:  'Quezacotl' and 'Materia'  (if anyone can make the Otaku link to those names then I'll sort you out with a special prize :P).

I sawed sheet silver into a tag shape, filed the corners to gently round them, and then added a matte brushed texture and an asymmetrical hammer texture pattern.  Then I made the bezel settings from tiny strips of thinner silver sheet and soldered them onto the base tag.  The pieces of felt are made with silk hankie fibre, and embellished with tiny glass beads and hand embroidery stitches.

'Quezacotl'

I'm still not totally sure about jewellery photos featuring live models, but I wasn't sure how else to best show the necklace's scale...

And here's 'Materia':

So satisfying...

Phew!

Only a couple of yelps of frustration, and surprisingly few intractable knots :D - yay!