Things have been pretty hectic here lately...

It started with an exhibition I was in recently... I'll post some pics soon I promise, but until then I'll keep the subject matter a surprise. I had a huge amount of work to do in the run up to it, and at the same time I was as always ensuring that I had some work for my etsy and foksy shops too. Anyway, here's a pic of one of the new products I made during the madness, my Caribbean leaf bowl with recycled glass. I love the effect of this glaze and glass combination, and am really pleased with my new shape bowl. It's really good to be able to recycle glass too!

The glass makes me think of swimming in calm warm sea... Time to book a holiday I think!

Summer is nearly here...

And there are some really beautiful things going on in my garden! I love the centre of these African daisies, and they gave me a fantastic opportunity to try out the macro on my new camera.
I can't wait for these next ones to turn into strawberries. I always grow strawberries because they taste amazing when they are freshly picked and organic, and with a bit more space this year, hopefully there'll be plenty.
This last one is like a big soft cushion of pretty white flowers - fabulous!

Inspiring stuff....

This week I have been really inspired by some wonderful stained glass. I've had an odd run of noticing it everywhere lately, and have taken a few shots to share with you...

These first few were taken from inside a church. I'm not really a religious person, but seeing these reminded me of going to church as a child. I especially loved the next one, with the gorgeous blues and greens in the sky and scenery.

This next one had names in it, and the areas around the lettering had been blocked out so that the names themselves shone when the light caught them. Wonderful.


These ones are of the entrance to my friend's home. The porch itself is absolutely stunning, dark and moody. I'm guessing it's Victorian, just from the sombre feel it has, but feel free to correct me if you think otherwise!

Whilst the entrance looks dark from the outside, when you stand inside it and look out through the glass, it really comes alive. Beautiful!


I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did.
On a more serious note, I have had a couple of odd comments on my etsy shop's feedback lately.... I have a feedback score of 100% positive. However, two people have complained recently that their packages smelled of smoke, despite still giving me positive feedback, and being otherwise happy with their purchases. I want to categorically state that there is no smoking at all in my studio or packaging area. I can't understand how on earth this could have happened. I recently complained to an etsy seller that I felt they were copying my work, and did have a little backlash (coincidence?) whereby a large number of orders were separately placed, but never paid for, and I wonder if this strange feedback is genuine at all. Of course, I have to take it seriously, and taking it to be true, I am absolutely gutted that the recipient were disappointed in that way; the last thing I would ever want is for people to be greeted by the aroma of stale tobacco smoke when they received their item. I feel sure that it has not happened at my end, and with thousands of miles between me and the recipients, it is, I suppose, possible that there was some kind of burning or smoking near to a batch of post that I sent, either at the post office, in the post van, or at the port somehow. But what I do want to say, categorically, to all my customers, is that neither myself nor anyone else would ever smoke here. Even if I wanted to smoke, smoking is illegal in any workplace in the UK, and my own workplace is not exempt from that law, and nor should it be.
I have checked everything I can think of. I did recently change suppliers of my packaging, and I even went sniffing around the boxes that I have in storage to see if they smelled... I'm happy to say that they don't!
Anyway, all I can think of is that there was some strange occurence with that batch between it leaving me and arriving with those two customers. You have my word - no item will ever leave here smelling of smoke.

Wedding season continues...

A big thank you to Christine Olson Photography for sharing these fabulous photos that Christine took, using one of my heart shaped lace bowls as a prop.




For any of you who are planning a wedding, Christine is based in Utah, and you can contact her through her website. Some of the pictures there are absolutely beautiful, and I'd definitely recommend having a look around. It is a treat to see the bowl being used in such a lovely way - thank you Christine!