Golden

It's been a glorious start to the Autumn. A proper Indian Summer  - all misty mornings, hazy sunshine and glowing evenings.  We've crammed a few adventures into these golden weekends; a bit of kayaking, some swimming while the sea is still warm and calm, a little foraging, sleeping out in the camper van, exploring the coastline... I wish it would never end.

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I have just finished working on a few freelance jobs (pictured above) and am now making a start on some of my contemporary pieces for Christmas.  This year I will have some pieces available for sale at Mostyn, as well as at The Stained Glass Museum Shop.  I will also be making a large batch of singing birds for my Etsy shop. To find out when the listings are going live, sign up to my mailing list in the side bar as I will be giving advance notice to subscribers first. These usually sell out pretty quickly at this time of year, so keep an eye on your inbox.

Postcards from Sisterhood Camp

Such an inspiring and refreshing weekend, with a fantastic group of women, in the beautiful countryside of the Hartland Peninsular, North Devon.  We stayed at Loveland Farm, in their brand new geodesic domes.

Pictured top to bottom:

Shibori fabric dying workshop with Heather Young & Bethan John

Leather cuff making and decorating with Golden Bear Belts

Clifftop picnic lunch

Evening portrait photoshoot, led by Xanthe Berkeley and Louise Gibbens

Spekes Mill Waterfall swim

Exploring the Hartland Peninsular coastline (2 images)

Elderflower Mojitos 

Packing to go home

There was much, much more that I haven't posted, like the delicious evening meal, and the flower crown workshop, and the impromptu folk musicians who serenaded our picnic...

Thank you to Xanthe Berkeley for capturing it all so perfectly...

If you're interested in finding out more about Sisterhood Camp 2016, or getting involved in any way, you can sign up to the mailing list here.

Massive thanks to Lou Archell and Hannah Bullivant for all their hard work in bringing it all together.

I made a playlist on 8tracks to capture the spirit of the weekend, featuring songs from Laura Veirs, Paper Kites, Lord Huron, Fleet Foxes, Beth Orton, Alela Diane and Michael Kiwanuka.

Sisterhood Camp 2015 / Victorian Stained Glass Roundels - Blue Tit and Goldfinch

This weekend I will be joining 24 inspiring women at the Sisterhood Camp, a weekend spent under the stars at beautiful Loveland Farm.  

Organised by the amazing Lou Archell of Little Green Shed, and sponsored by Toast, the weekend promises creative workshops, feasting, wild flower gathering, dancing, waterfall swimming and camp fires.

The aim is to share skills, dreams and goals.  To encourage, and hopefully develop, a working relationship together and inspire new directions and future collaborations. 

Feeling very lucky and excited to be invited to what will hopefully become an annual event.

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I recently painted this pair of my always-popular British Bird stained glass roundels, for a stained glass studio in London.

I spotted a real goldfinch the other day, and now they might have just taken the lead in my affections from the long-tailed tit.

Work in Progress - One Square Foot

I've been continuing with designing and making my three panels for the upcoming One Square Foot contemporary stained glass exhibition which opens on 24th May.

It's been liberating to turn some ideas that have been inside my head for some time into actual pieces.  The process has also generated a lot more ideas for future projects and designs I'd like to work on.

If you are in the Bridgend area in May/June, do try and visit Chris's studio to see it.

Gypsy Caravan

It's nearly the end of the Easter Holidays.  I haven't done a stroke of work.

We stayed in a proper Gypsy Caravan set in an orchard in a very beautiful part of the world.  Our stay coincided with beautiful spring weather, clear skies and a massive yellow moon rising as we sat around the campfire.  There were frisky little lambs to coo over and big scary cows to run away from.  We took our wildflower and bird books and spotted-and-jotted.  The girls wrote and drew constantly.  We climbed hills, swung on rope swings, paddled in rivers, fell in nettles and slipped in mud.

Details here.  I can't recommend it highly enough.


(NB. Not a sponsored post.  Just an actual holiday)

Logo Design, Soulshine Cafe Bridport, Dorset

I've been itching to post about this for ages, but wanted to wait until the café was open so I could get some shots of the interior as well.

My friend Lisa approached me a while ago to ask if I'd design a logo for the new café (including shop, deli, juice bar, coffee house) that she was opening.  I sketched a few initial designs involving coffee cups, juice drips, that kind of thing, but nothing really encompassed the whole of the venture.

So Lisa suggested the idea of a character that summed up the ethos of the café: creative, wholesome, curious, adventurous, playful, fresh...

She had kept a party invitation I had drawn for Isla's birthday about 5 years ago, and said she had always loved it.  So that little sketch of mischievous, bold 2 year old Isla became the basis for The Soulshine Kid.

The café is stunning.  Lisa and Chris have done a fine job of creating a place that people are already flocking to, because it is just such a great space.

Selling independent magazines, children's books, Moomin mugs and other delights, alongside artisan bread and deli-produce, this is way more than just a café.

Their attention to detail is awe-inspiring, and the fact that they have used pretty much all local tradespeople and craftsmen in the build, as well as suppliers of the food and produce is commendable.

I'm thrilled to have played a small part in this endeavour, and lucky for me it's just down the road from my house.  My flat-white consumption just increased ten-fold.

Even more thrilling is seeing random people out and about sipping from their takeaway cups, with the kid on.

Catalunya

So, some pictures from our trip.  Only a week ago and already it feels like a dream. But maybe that's how these things work - you have a great time, then you have to crash land a bit.  

This post (from last week, but I've got catching up to do), by the always articulate and insightful ceramicist Nina in Vorm, brightened my grey mood today.  Comforting to know even the most talented and successful folk have days like these.