Gone To Pot

Prince Design UK...

2012-02-08T12:31:00.002Z

will be on holiday from 14th Feb until the 5th March 2012.
If you wish to order any of our ceramic pieces for dispatch before we close, please make sure your order reaches us by this Sunday night, 12th Feb. Otherwise, it will not be dispatched until early March - sorry!
I may not be contactable during this time either - very sorry about that - we may not have internet access there you see!
Hope you all have a lovely couple of weeks.

Oooh

2012-01-31T12:24:00.003Z

Very pleased to be featured in Good Homes mag this month!

Processes

2012-01-23T02:44:00.002Z

I wanted to make pottery long before I first found a place with the facilities to make it. Consequently, by the time I arrived in the studio for the first time, I had a sketchbook full of ideas. My drawings were ideas that were not massively influenced by the material, because it had been a long time since I had used clay. Of course they were influenced by clay and what I imagined I might be able to do, but not the subtleties of the process of working with clay. Consequently some of the ideas were quite complex and ambitious structures. This was good. It meant that when I began, I had set myself a series of complex challenges.
After a few years of working with clay, I drifted out of sketching my ideas on paper. I made them in clay to sketch them. I made another one to refine the idea rather than rubbing out and redrawing as one would on paper. Drawing continued, but as a thing in its own right. So I gave this some thought a while ago, and decided that there might be something to be gained from returning to my original paper sketching. That it could be interesting to get back to this for a while. So that is what I have been doing. Sketching and researching and sketching and then sketching again some of the ideas, and this time swapping from paper sketching to clay sketching to paper again to clay again and so on. One of the results is that I am developing more and more two dimensional work, and I have been painting too. My new experiments with clay have taken me in unexpected directions. So whilst I am not quite ready to share my experiments with the world just yet, I am very excited about this experimentation and development, and can't wait to get things firmed up into some more finished pieces!

The book is closed!

2011-12-20T19:44:00.002Z

We have now closed out books for Christmas delivery. The last orders being sent to the UK left today. Among them was a cause for a little celebration - our 2000th etsy sale!!
It coincides with there being enough time to now catch my breath after the Christmas rush, and to pause for thought. It has been a really lovely journey on the whole, and doing this full time was something that once up on a time I didn't think would be possible. I am really grateful to all my customers for having liked my ceramics enough to spend their hard earned cash on them! So to all my customers, past present and future - thank you! And a very Merry Christmas!

New work - Flutter butterfly

2011-10-15T17:11:00.003+01:00

I love all things flighty, and butterflies are no exception! I created the texture of vintage embroidery and lace in the surface of these white porcelain butterflies, and stitched them with sterling silver wire. The aim was to make wall art that was like jewelry for walls. They are available as single butterflies in little individual gift boxes (above) or as larger groups as you can see below.

Each one is unique because they are hand made without using a mold. The position of the lace is slightly different on each one, and I really like the variation that this creates.

They're great even for tricky spaces that need dressing up, because the groups can be arranged to suit your space. They're even suitable for bathrooms because they don't mind if things get steamy!

When I made the first few, I tried them out in my studio, and noticed that their shadows change as the light changes through the day. In the evening with a lamp nearby, or in direct sunlight in late afternoon, their shadows are more dramatic, whereas they are softer at other times. What do you think?! Comments welcome!

Does size matter?

2011-09-14T00:01:00.003+01:00

Apparently it does to lots of ladies ;) - I have had a lot of requests for larger bowls lately, and so I will be running more of them in my shop. Here is the first one I have produced for general sale:

This bowl features recycled glass from wine bottles, and this melts in the kiln to produce the stunning watery effect you see here. It cools to form a perfectly smooth surface, but has tiny cracks below the surface and they cxatch the light and sparkle. I love the effect! What do you think?

Summer!

2011-07-11T18:10:00.005+01:00

Thank you to my friend Andy who bought me this lovely fuschia for my birthday recently. It's a lovely day here, so I thought I would quickly dry the glaze on a few pots in the sunshine so that I can squeeze them in to the firing I am planning for later today.

Willing the sun to come back...

2011-05-23T17:00:00.000+01:00

with ducks in sunshine yellow!

Back from holiday...

2011-05-12T15:17:00.000+01:00

to a very sweet note from a very sweet lady who used a custom bowl made by me to hold her wedding rings.
Check it out on the photographer's blog here.
Right - back to work!!

Meet up next week...

2011-04-12T14:20:00.002+01:00

Myself and Shelby of Good North Vintage invite all local etsy sellers, and anyone thinking of opening an etsy shop, to our informal meet up and drinks at the Cornerhouse Gallery bar (upstairs) in Manchester next Wednesday.
There's a facebook page for it here with the details, but we will be in the bar from 6 - 8.30 pm Wednesday 20th April. The bar has good food, drinks and coffee, and the purpose of the meeting is to establish connections and networking opportunities with like-minded people in a fun, friendly environment. The more the merrier - we'd love it if you dropped in!

New colour flock now in stock

2011-03-06T17:38:00.007Z

Check out my new colour of Flock flying ducks, now available in scarlet red! Boom!

I have some more surprises up my sleeve for this range - watch this space!

Registering and protecting your intellectual property...

2011-02-26T13:50:00.006Z

Is easier than you think. In the United Kingdom, as soon as your design is made or designed and recorded in a tangible form, you own the copyright.
The down side of selling on sites such as etsy, is that now and again, some cheeky **** will copy your work. The upside of selling on etsy IP wise, is that your designs are dated and recorded, assuming you've sold any, in your sold items.
So there you have it - strike one - copyright. United Kingdom copyright is valid worldwide and this is your first line of intellectual property body armour.
Next up: Registering your design.
I was terrified of this for some reason. I though it would involve endless forms and thousands of £... Not true.
If you are in the UK, you can check out how to register your designs here:
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/
You can get a form to fill in here:
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/df2a.pdf
and there are guidance notes about filling it in properly here:
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/df2a-notes.pdf
If you need help with it, you can call them Mon-Fri office hours on 0300 300 2000
It is really not as difficult as one might imagine. You fill in a short form, add photos or drawings, and that is that.
This service is here to protect you, the designer, and safeguard your interests, and your property, worldwide against intellectual property theft. Don't stand for it! How much do you value your design? It costs from £60 to register a design. It is money well spent.
The next part of your defence could be to join a body like ACID. For a small business, this will cost you around £175. Upon joining, you get an hour's free legal advice per problem, as well as having access to network of specialist solicitors who will give you discounted rates.

So what should you do if you think someone is copying your work?

The first step is to gather evidence. Do this before you contact them. Take screen grabs if they are selling online, and gather as much evidence as possible. Get good legal advice and find out for definite that your design is being copied. There are some really good guidance notes about that here in the ACID application brochure if you are unsure. They dispell some myths, such as the idea that if someone slightly changes an element then it is no longer considered copying. This myth is not true.
Next, ask them to stop. Tell them to remove from sale immediately all your offending material. You can also call them out publicly on sites such as you thought we wouldn't notice if you choose to.
If that doesn't work, send the legal dogs in if you have the funds to do so.

I will not tolerate dishonest, shameless, sneaky people who want to rip off my work, and if you're a designer, neither should you.
If you're reading this and you have copied, or intend to copy my work, beware. Most of my designs are registered or have registration pending, and I will have no hesitation in sending in the rottweilers.
Would you tolerate someone stealing your purse? Would you think it was OK to steal money from a stranger? When you steal someone's intellectual property, you are doing just that. It is not fair, it is illegal, and I will not put up with it. Don't get me wrong, I'd much prefer that the fluffy world of etsy was as fluffy as it seems and we could all play nicely with the other kids. But when one of those kids steals my designs, I just will not tolerate it.

New work

2011-02-24T17:52:00.005Z

I have been working on a project for a company recently, and here is part of the work in progress...

It will comprise a flock of 30 ducks, and I am excited to see the photos after they have installed the piece.

Also new this month is a poppy serving bowl. I realised I hadn't made any of these for ages when a lady asked for one as a special order some time ago. When hers came out I was so pleased with it that I decided to start running them in my shop again, and the first couple came out today. This one's about 6 3/4 inches across, which is a good size for snacks, dessert or as a small centrepiece.
Your comments are as always very welcome!

I made...

2011-02-22T01:22:00.003Z

A new treasury on etsy, and you can see it here. Please check it out if you have a moment! It contains some beauties, such as this from twoinspireyou

and this from okapiknits...

Love these soft stylish colours. Beautiful!

Featured today on new gift ideas for her blog!

2011-02-09T14:59:00.002Z

Check it out here!
We're going to be doing al little interview for this one, so watch this space!

New items in Spring colours!

2011-02-08T18:34:00.000Z

Spring colors for those of you in the US ;) I still now struggle with that concept. I know where you are dear readers, and I know that you mainly live in the US. And I also know that on some level you will think I have spelled words like colour and humour and enquiry incorrectly.... I hope you'll forgive what you might see as my poor spelling, and understand that we just spell some words differently to you!
Anyway... I digress.... I got all excited this week, because I saw my first snowdrop. I have one little snowdrop that clings on to life year after year when all the other ones I planted at the same time never made it past season one. And finally, this year, it has a little sibling - yes, two snowdrops! Sibling snowdrop is still in bud, but number one is in as full a flower as a dainty little snowdrop can manage, and this can mean only one thing - Spring is nearly here!!
Which brings me to my new glaze colour... I previewed it last week here, but there are finally a couple of items in my shop in this colour, and here's one of them - Birds of a feather wall art ceramics in springy lime glaze.

I thought things would be quiet after Christmas...

2011-01-24T16:30:00.000Z

How wrong I was! Of course I am not complaining about this fact, but it has been a craaaaaazzzy busy few weeks. My poor kiln has been on almost constantly, with a few breaks whilst I unload and then load him up again.
I have been working on wholesale orders for some new stockists, including Mercer & Wells, who have two fabulous London stores, and a window display for Stephanie Rose, a specialist florist in Hertfordshire. I can't wait to see how that looks when it's installed!
Aside from that, I have introduced some new colours in a few products, including zesty lime green for my Flock sets of flying ducks...
And also coming soon for Spring is my new key lime glaze for my lace imprinted items. Here's a preview of that, pictured here alongside my Wedgewood and Seafoam bird bowls...
Opinions on the new colours are very welcome of course! Most of my special orders will be out of the kiln in the next couple of days too, and there are one or two pieces that I am really looking forward to seeing.

Treasury...

2011-01-10T16:30:00.001Z

OK, I have a confession to make. I have now been selling on etsy for over two and a half years, and until the other day I had never published a treasury. OK, I had messed around with the idea, started a few collections, and then got really fussy and precious about it and never shared what I found... And then the thought struck me, just how selfish that was. I have been featured in countless treasuries made by other users, and this has generated huge amounts of traffic to my site, and huge amounts of sales too over the period of time I have been on here.
So finally, here it is...
I give you.... (drum roll please) Anarchy in the UK!

I have tried to do something a little different, both in terms of content and theme. I hope that comes through! There are lots of tenuous and subtle links to anarchy and punk, along with some not so subtle UK references, and I found some great items by sellers I hadn't come across before too. Click the image to go through to the list. The drawing of the shoe is absolutely breathtaking - it's aVivienne Westwood shoe drawn in pencil, and the artist, IleanaHunter has amazing skills!! Other faves are renegade potter carriereichardt's print, fight to be arty. Check out her ceramics too. Fab, and also fitting in a time when students in the UK have been protesting, and even rioting, about the cuts to higher education. I feel for teenagers today whose ambitions to study at university have been affected by these cuts. We will all live in a poorer society when only the rich can afford to study the arts.
Politics aside, this treasury malarkey has been a learning curve too. I am a bit of a perfectionist with things like this, and perhaps being more decisive would have been a good idea, as then it might not have taken quite so many hours... But one thing is for sure, I will appreciate all those lists I get put into just a little bit more from today onwards. Thank you to all the people who have treasured me - believe me I treasure you too!

THE RESULT OF THE POTTERY LOTTERY!

2011-01-07T15:55:00.001Z

Cheers, applause, whoop, yay!
Her absolutely free lovebird bowl is going out to her next week.
Getting positive feedback is one of the nicest things in my job. The internet can be impersonal, and it is great to hear what works, and have that as a point of contact. Here's what the winner said about me:

"Positive feedback as always! Your items are absolutely beautiful and i've been recommending you to my friends. I have my eye on another dish so i'll be back soon i'm sure! Many thanks, S."

We picked her out at random after literally putting names in a hat, shaking it up and picking one out. So congrats Stonefox, you are the winner!!!!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-07T00:32:00.003Z

Hope everyone reading had a lovely time. I love this time of year - out with the old and in with the new! I'm not one for going on short-lived detoxes, diets or gym memberships, but I do love returning to normal, maneageable workloads after crazy busy October-December, and then Christmas and New Year celebrations. I have been flat out this week, as I am completely out of stock of some items, and wholesale orders are still coming in. If there's something you've seen before Christmas that you'd like, please get in touch, as most items can be made to order in approx 4 weeks, sometimes more quickly.
The draw for the pottery lottery is nearly here too - I'm hoping to anounce the results tomorrow! Watch this space!

Anyway, before I sign off, I thought I would share this image of an unusual hydrangea that I took last year.

It might seem unseasonal, but it I love the cool pastel green tones, and it makes me feel optimistic and look forward to Spring. Bring on longer warmer days - winter's half way through and summer days will be here before we know it!

Just catching my breath...

2010-12-28T19:52:00.002Z

after my busiest Christmas period ever! After the Christmas rush comes a moment to pause, take stock, to think about what worked, what could have been done better, but most of all to be thankful. In the middle of a busy time, it is easy to lose sight of the reason I do what I do. I do it because I love it. I love ceramics, I love making things in general, I love the adventure, the creativity of the business side of things, I love working for myself, making objects that make other people smile, interacting directly with my customers, and making it happen. I think it only right that I send out a big big thank you to all my customers, for liking what I do, for their continued, and often repeated custom, and their kind words. An extra big thank you to a lovely lady called Jenny, who sent me the image below to show how pleased she was with the Christmas ornaments she bought from my shop.

I am so privileged to do what I do every day, to have customers that are a delight to work with, and to be supported by a worldwide family of bloggers that have promoted my work since I very first began. Thank you everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and have a healthy, prosperous and happy 2011.

Last chance for Christmas delivery!

2010-12-16T13:00:00.000Z

UK customers, you have until Monday morning to get delivery before Christmas! Worldwide customers - sorry but the deadline has now passed. A big big thank you to all my customers; this last few months has been incredibly busy, and great fun. And, a little reminder about the pottery lottery - leave positive feedback on any of my shops during December for the chance to win a lovebird bowl in January :)

The POTTERY LOTTERY!!!

2010-12-03T17:40:00.004Z

To all my lovely customers - want a chance to win a lovebird bowl?

This contest competition is really simple to enter, and you stand a reasonable chance of winning!
If you're buying Christmas gifts in December, just leave positive feedback on any of my shops for the chance to win a treat for yourself in January! I'll be picking a winner at random in the new year :)

More lil birdies flying round the studio!

2010-11-19T18:00:00.000Z

These cuties are flying out fast! A very lovely lady just bought a huge bunch of them to send to each of her friends as a little pre-Christmas present... Sweeeeeeetness!!

Check out the full Christmas ornament range here. And incase yyou didn't read my last post, I am soooo excited about hitting 1000 etsy sales that I am adding a lil free gift with every order this week :)

Whooooop yay toot toot tooooot yeaaaah!!!

2010-11-17T01:02:00.002Z

I just made my 1000th sale in my etsy shop!!! Yaaaaay! Happy me = lovely treats in every order this week!!!!!

Get em quick before they all fly away!

2010-11-11T01:42:00.000Z

This year's new Christmas ranges have been flying out out of my shop this year... I can only make so many!! If you want some, don't leave it too late ;)

Check out these lil fellas and more new Christmas decorations here!

My new website is now live!!!

2010-10-30T04:22:00.003+01:00

And you can see it here: www.elizabethprince.co.uk
A big thank you to Perri Lewis for mentioning it in her blog - makeanddowithperri.wordpress.com

Rainforest leaves...

2010-10-14T01:50:00.005+01:00

o

More of my recycled glass leaf dishes that have just been uploaded to my shop.
I really love the effect of the glass mixing with the glazes, and it is a great way to re-use an old wine bottle. They remind me of lagoons or when you look down at the Meditteranean in summer, as well as the rainforests after which they take their names.

Unseasonably cold weather...

2010-08-12T22:15:00.003+01:00

Boo! I know it is a cliche; I am English, and I am banging on about the weather. The reason us Brits are so obsessed by the weather in my opinion is because our weather is so unpredictable. It has been cold for a month now. I just went away for a few days camping, and was blessed with some warm sun and no rain, but now I am back home and it is COLD. So cold in fact that I have made warming soup and put the heating on...
So, for all of you out there who may be feeling the same, and for anyone reading from the southern hemisphere, here's a little recipe to warm up a cold summer's day.

Lentil and chickpea soup with ginger, coriander and tomato.

This is a pretty simple soup, I don't measure things out - add my ingredients to suit your taste. I am vegetarian, so this one ticks the boxes for me. I use two types of lentil, and also chickpeas, so there's a good mix of proteins in with all the vitamins.
Firstly, fry some chopped onions in a little olive oil with some cumin seeds, turmeric and dried coriander. Next add some sliced carrot, and cook a little more. Next up are some tomatoes, either a ton of fresh, or canned is fine too, and the larger of the lentils. I don't bother to soak these - life is too short, and I find it unnecessary. I used a handful of green and red lentils for this soup; if you're using the same then make sure you cook the green for about 15 mins before adding some red ones, as they take longer to cook. During this time, add some water, grated fresh ginger, chopped fresh garlic, and I used a huge handful of fresh coriander and a large green chilli. After the red lentils went in, I added a sliced leek, salt and pepper, and a tin of chickpeas.
Pretty much that is it - just cook it until the lentils are tender, and there you have it. I found that it wasn't quite spicy enough for my taste, so I added a couple of little red chillis too. Add salt and pepper to taste, et voila!

I am also hoping that all that goodness will tempt my voice to come back, as I lost it recently. If you find it, please return it to me!
So if you're feeling virtuous, or having this for lunch, I love it followed by a jasmine tea, but if it is to be eaten at night for dinner, then I can recommend a lovely glass of red. If you fancy some bread with this then my personal fave is a wholemeal pitta, but it's great on its own too :) Enjoy!

I am absolutely thrilled...

2010-07-22T20:00:00.004+01:00

to have this little porcelain bird bowl... featured in this post on decor8 blog this week!!! Yay! I cannot say what a huge compliment this is to me - for any of you that haven't seen it, it is a blog well worth following, and always has gorgeous interiors, products and photos. I know it sounds cheesy/sycophantic to say this, but it really is one of my favourite blogs!! The author of the blog, Holly Becker, and columnist Leslie Shewring, write posts that are really inspiring, and the blog as a whole just oozes creativity. So a big thank you to them for placing my bird bowl in a place that has inspired me so much - I'm seriously touched!

Good things come in threes...

2010-07-20T19:32:00.006+01:00

Three Graces...

Now available in my etsy shop, set of three porcelain flower wall sculptures.And a little preview of my new colour in my set of three flying ducks, Flock. What do you think? I like the way that the reflective silver finish emphasizes the texture of flock wallpaper imprinted into the surface, and think the colour might work well in kitchens and bathrooms.

Back from my break...

2010-07-03T02:44:00.005+01:00

...with some new functional tableware. It has been a while since I made serving plates and bowls, and have been getting lots of requests for them lately, so here are a few of the first ones to be released to my shop...

This set is a fun way to serve snacks, sushi or little side orders, and can also be used to hold jewellery or candles. I have been having lots of fun with the bird footprints :)

The next piece is a set of two small poppy serving bowls, designed for snacks such as olives, dips, or dessert.

I have really been enjoying making some tableware since I got home - my drying racks are bulging under the weight of the new pieces I'm making at the moment! I can't wait to get some of them, and the other new pieces I have been working on, out of the kiln :)

Flock

2010-06-08T18:19:00.001+01:00

Some images from my recent installation, Flock. The piece comprised 100 porcelain swallows with subtle feather imprints in the surface of each, spanning all four walls of the room in which they were installed. It is available to order, and suitable for indoor or outdoor installation.

Bank holiday weekend arty fun...

2010-06-06T15:03:00.007+01:00

Last Saturday, Islington Mill studios Mill24 project had lots going on. We caught Bill Aitchison's fantastic performance/lecture piece on the subject of consipracy theories, and saw the making of a great animation piece by Manchester artist TXLW. Check it out on youtube here - guaranteed to make you smile.

Katie and I had to get into the drawing den as it looked so appealing with its lovely brightly coloured interior...

After that it was a civilised dinner and glass of wine, and then came Sunday's fun at Eurocultured street festival in the city centre...

Loved sneaking a peek at people's sketch books, and watching the artists painting, especially with a lovely beer or two and some good friends :)

There were some great artists there as every year, and it's great to see the wall pieces still there later in the year, brightening up what would otherwise be a pretty dull stretch of road in the city centre. There was some great music on too, with live artists and DJs. Great to see Manchester has so much to offer!

Things have been pretty hectic here lately...

2010-05-19T19:24:00.000+01:00

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...

2010-05-16T23:35:00.013+01:00

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....

2010-05-08T18:36:00.009+01:00

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...

2010-05-05T01:39:00.006+01:00

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!

It's wedding season...

2010-04-14T00:52:00.008+01:00

and I recently had the pleasure of meeting a lovely lady called Debbie, from who makes absolutely exquisite, sculptural wedding bouquets, corsages and button holes from vintage jewellery, silver wire and other found objects. Here is a detail of one of her bouquets...

The amount of work that must have gone into such an intricate piece is breathtaking!
You can visit her etsy shop here. Having seen her work in the flesh, I can honestly say that the photographs do not do her work justice. There was a delicate sculptural elegance to every piece I saw, and I hope she can find a way to truly capture that in a photograph.
We discussed working together and the possibility of my making some components for some of her pieces, and it was great to experiment with the idea. Here's a little glimpse of a couple of experiments I made with that in mind.

I love the delicate effect of the porcelain on these lilies, and they were great fun to make too.

Choosing a camera for product shots

2010-04-07T20:51:00.008+01:00

I hope you all had a lovely Easter! My new camera finally arrived yesterday. I say finally, as it has taken a very long time... I can't blame this on the supplier, as they were very quick to deliver, rather it took me a very long time to choose. I finally decided on the canon ixus 100is, because it came out well in tests on its macro, colour faithfulness and performance in low light. I read lots and lots of reviews, and decided I wanted a point and shoot, because I really don't often use the manual settings on my old camera. I also wanted a tiny one that would fit into a small bag or pocket. The other consideration was that it had excellent automatic focus. I drove myself insane with reviews, which guides etc, until finally I headed over to flickr.com
There are groups for pretty much every type of camera there, so it was helpful to see what other people had taken using my shortlisted cameras. Anyway, the Ixus (or powershot as it is known in the states) won, and arrived today.
Today it was finally warm enough to step outside without a big coat on, so I decided to explore the garden and take a couple of shots as it was a reasonably bright afternoon.
My favourite was this one of a ladybird...

Considering how tiny it was, and what a breezy day it was too, I think the shot came out pretty well. I liked that I could even see the pollen in the centre of this flower on the next photograph...

After that I took a couple indoors, to see how it did with colour faithfulness. It is really important to me that this is right. I had a camera a while ago that was frankly a nightmare for that. I had to edit every single photo because the colours were so different on the photos. As you can imagine, that was a very time consuming process. Here's a shot of some children's fake flower garlands, taken in the same conditions that I take my product shots...

The colours are nice and bright, but also they are very very close to the actual objects. So far, so good! Fingers crossed it will do a good job of my product shots. After a lovely hour experimenting with my new tool (or playing with my new toy, depending on how you look at it) I had shelves to put up and a kiln to unload... The shelves are necessary as I will need more drying space to make the required work for my upcoming exhibition at the end of this month... Well they are up, and looking very long and empty. I'd better go and fill them or there will be no exhibition! Watch this space for more details and wish me luck :)

What an honour!

2010-03-20T21:41:00.005Z

A big thank you to a very lovely lady for sharing this image of the bowls I made for her and her husband to use to carry their wedding rings on their wedding day. It really was a pleasure to make something specially for them, and an honour to make something of such importance to two lovely people. I wish them both every happiness in their lives together.

This photo is just wonderful. The colours make it feel so earthy and natural. It is a rare treat for me to see the items I sell in use!
Anyway, the lady herself is an etsy seller, and so I found myself having a look around her shop, The Bride Gene... She has some great items, and I particularly love these...

These are great big hanging pompoms, and are a snip at a teeny weeny $10 for a pack of three! They'd make magical decorations at a wedding, or would be dreamy in a little girl's bedroom. She makes them in a pretty choice of other colours too.
Last but not least this week - today is the first day of Spring! It is official, winter is over, summer's on its way, and very soon it will be flip flop weather - yay! I have made a new variation of my Spring chicken bowls to celebrate :)
These are available in my etsy ($) and folksy (£) shops. Readers of my blog will get a little free gift with any purchase until Easter. All you have to do to get yours is send me a message with your order mentioning my blog :)
Happy Spring!

The road less traveled

2010-03-12T23:52:00.011Z

Two muffins sat on a plate and I -
I took the biggest one
And it made absolutely no difference.
I am blessed with a fast metabolism and I'll eat the other one later.

Yes, this is the Elizabeth Prince plate version of Robert Frost's poem. It's not deep, it's a plate. It has to be shallow.
Besides, if he could only travel one, how did he know it made all the difference? Always kind of bugged me...
OK I may be in serious danger from the poetry mafia here, back to the pots, quick...

After a couple of months playing around with ideas, my first bird footprint pots are out.

No poetic title as yet for this one... This whole thing started with our snow. For those of you reading this from overseas, we had more snow this winter than anyone can remember. I kept noticing little bird footprints everywhere, and I loved them, so this is where it came from.

I love...

2010-03-03T23:00:00.004Z

these...I found these on the beach in Brazil - half an ocean-weathered coconut shell and a few sea urchin shells. I love the intricacy and simplicity of the forms. I keep them on a windowsill and hadn't looked at them for ages until the other day when I found myself transfixed.
The other thing I find interesting about the sea urchin shells is that before they lost their spines they would have been anything but tactile, but these skeletons really invite me to hold them somehow.
Anyway, there it is - the thing that inspired me most today.

Whooop, yay - I'm in the Guardian online Valentine's gift guide!!!

2010-02-09T18:46:00.004Z

Wow! A little before Christmas, my Christmas decorations were featured in their Christmas decoration guide, but I wasn't credited or named, and they didn't know who the maker was, because they picked my product from an online retailer who stocks my work.
So what a huge thing for a mini business like me to have my work picked again, this time directly and credited to my online shops! Yay!
Here's the link if you want to check out the full guide - there are some really nice things in there, all handmade by various makers. A big thank you to Perri Lewis from the Guardian online for choosing my bowl and saying such lovely things about it :)

Group photos...

2010-02-01T23:04:00.005Z

The photographs of my new porcelain wall flower sculptures are here, and I have uploaded some of them to my etsy shop. Here are a few of them...

Grace...
Three Graces....

And after my initial reservations about the grey background, I have embraced it :)

Wall flowers...

2010-01-29T22:42:00.008Z

The journey to making my poppy bowls in porcelain has been a long one. I mean really long!! It just doesn't like the way I work!!! Or at least it didn't until I got my hands on a new type last year that seems more suited to my methods. So I have been experimenting for a while, and considering where I was going with this. I did make a couple of poppy bowls, largely to prove to myself that it were possible, and then I developed the idea into something slightly different. Wall flowers. Here is the first one out of the kiln...

I made a batch of these, and the rest of them came out this evening... They look great as a group - as soon as there is good light I will take some shots of them.
They are pinch pots, and I have always been a little obsessive about making my pinch pots as thin as possible. I was told a long time ago that thin pinch pots wouldn't work... that was like a red rag to a bull - I have made hundreds that worked fine since I was told that! Making pinch pots this thin from porcelain has been a challenge I have to say, but I got there in the end... I won't tell you how many casualties there were along the way. The effect of making them so thin out of porcelain, and firing it pretty hot is that it vitrifies, and becomes translucent. The next image shows what happens when you hold it up to the light.

This was daylight from inside through a north facing window on a bright-ish day. I think it is amazing, the way you can see through the thinner parts more. It reminds me of real petals! You can even see in the centre the indent in the back where I created a recess for a pin in the wall to hold it up.
The only drawback has been how to present them. I experimented with a few different backdrops, and have had to deviate from my rule. Up until now everything I put on my shop had to be photographed with a white background. The trouble with these was that it was like looking for a polar bear in a snowstorm - you just couldn't make out clearly where the flower ended and the backdrop began. I tried pink...

And whilst I liked it in a way, I didn't think it really emphasized their subtlety. But then maybe it shows their versatility. I just can't help but think of these as whisperers not shouters! So I have chosen grey - I think it works a lot better. The only downside is that I can feel the OCD part of me twitching in panic about the fact that now not every single piece in my shop has a white background...
Opinions on the colour, and anything else of course, are as always appreciated!

Interview two is now live...

2010-01-20T14:25:00.002Z

Check it out here at Sassy Glass Designs' lovely blog.
You can also check out her jewellery at her etsy shop - lovely stuff!
A big big thank you for featuring me Sass!

My bird obsession continues...

2010-01-19T18:36:00.005Z

I thought it was about time I made some thing other than ceramics, so last week I finally made new scatter cushion covers for my lounge. Do I have time to do this? Not really but I was obsessed with this fabric so I had no choice... Besides it only took a few hours to make four so it was worth it! It is apparently an urban outfitters fabric, and I ordered it online. When it arrived it was a lighter weight linen than I had expected, so it had to have another similar colour fabric behind it which made them slightly more laborious. I backed them in a plain black for contrast, and recessed black zips into the bottom edge so that they can be easily removed for cleaning but are tidy in shape. My sofa is a charcoal grey L-shape, and it REALLY needed cheering up! The entire room was just too well coordinated and a little masculine; it needed a few bits of colour clash in there to cheer it up. These are just the job :) I love the fifties feel of the print, and all the happy looking birds.

Two interviews in a week?! What's going on?!!

2010-01-15T19:00:00.000Z

Over the last week I have been approached by two different bloggers and sent interview questions regarding my work. I am hugely flattered and thankful of course for the publicity! The first one to go live is here on Kara Annis's blog. She's a talented jewellery maker as well as a great blogger, and you can see her etsy shop here.

After quickly overcoming my initial nervousness about it, I realised that to be interviewed is a nice thing, to be able to show the person behind the work, sort of like I do here, but with some outside input in the questions. Of course there is the benefit of reaching a different audience, but there were unexpected benefits that arose; for example, describing my creative process made me stop and actually think about and analyse my creative process, rather than just doing it. So a big thank you to Kara for the opportunity, for making me think, for the thoughtful questions she asked, and for being so lovely to deal with!

1245 degrees C!!!

2010-01-14T23:28:00.003Z

Saved from a career in baked bean retail by my kiln maintenance... Yes, kiln element change number 2 worked, and new products are out of the kiln at last! See them here in my etsy shop :)
In fact, here's a preview of one of them...

Is this the curse of 2010? Kiln maintenance for complete ameteur technophobes part 2... and 3

2010-01-13T02:27:00.007Z

I replaced the naughty element yesterday when the replacement part finally arrived. It was tricky, but I felt a huge sense of satisfaction when I tested it with a repeat of last week's paper test and all four elements were getting hot again. So I merrily filled my kiln, switched it on and waited. It seemed to be going well, the temperature was rising as expected, and after a number of hours, it had got up to 850 degrees C. All was going as expected. At the end of the expected firing time, I again went to check on the temperature... Error 1. Boooooooooooooo!!!!
The temperature had fallen to 590 degrees, and the cycle had not finished. I went to bed, and left it to cool down. I was not a happy bunny.
This morning, I emptied the kiln out, and repeated the paper test. I am happy to report that the element I replaced was still working fine. Hooray! At least I had done that part correctly. Which was just as well, as the culprit, clearly visible was one of the lower elements on the other circuits. Unbelievably, that had blown on the very next firing. Thankfully I had ordered a spare element the other day, so could change that one today.
For anyone who's interested in how it is done, (or in case I have to do it again in a few months and have forgotten) here in a nutshell is how to replace a kiln element...

BEFORE YOU START MAKE SURE YOU HAVE UNPLUGGED THE KILN!!!
1. Visually identify faulty part. Basically, which one has a break in it? That is the one. Try the paper test in my last post if you ned help narrowing it down.
2. Remove it. This is done by snipping the wire of the element close to the brickwork inside the kiln, and straightening it out. Then open up the kiln controller. This is done by removing the metal controller housing by unscrewing it and resting it on something. I used a box underneath, and a spare piece of wire to hold it in the position I wanted by attaching it to a handle on the side of the kiln. You have to do this, because the other wires coming off the kiln to the controller are not very long, and you can't rest it on the floor as they won't reach.
Then you can see where the element wires join the metal bolts and connect with the current carrying wires.
OK, here's a pic of the element wires (twisted silver colour) joining the bolt part. It makes a connection where it twists around the bolt, and is clamped in place with the blue and brown current-carrying wires by the nuts which are tightened. It then goes through the white ceramic plate that you can see here, through the metal body of the kiln, through a little hole in the brickwork, and then it turns into the coiled springy looking element that you see in my last post inside the kiln.
At this point I had already removed a little silver disk and a nut. I would definitely recommend taking a photo to make sure that you don't do that thing small boys do with bikes sometimes... I figured I needed a photograph as insurance should I get confused about what went where. I removed each part and laid them out in a row in order, so I was sure which order to put them back in. I left a large gap in my row where a wire like the blue one went in the order. I then wriggled the element wire off the bolt, and fed it through the hole in the brickwork, pulling it out from the outside.
3. Fit the new element. Firstly I put it into position in the groove inside the kiln, and fed the long twisted wire tail through to the bolt area pictured above. It was then a simple matter of twisting it around the bolt, snipping off the excess wire, and screwing it all back together.
4. Last but not least, inside the kiln, make sure that the springy bit is well pushed into the grooves and is in the right place BEFORE the first time you fire it. When you fire it for the first time, the elements will be set into that position forever.

So for the second time this week, I have replaced an element and done the paper test... They all work. It is loaded and ready to be fired in the morning... Again. Thanks again to Jonathan for the technical advice, and also to good old Dad who also had some tips. Wish me luck; if it doesn't work I'm going to apply for a job at asda.

The first challenge of the new year... kiln trouble shooting

2010-01-06T17:45:00.009Z

My kiln is playing up. Consequently I am in the middle of a crash course in amateur kiln maintenance, with telephone help from the very helpful Jonathon at Potclays in Stoke where I bought the kiln.
Firstly, I removed the metal housing at the back and examined the obvious wiring. All this looks fine. Pristine in fact. Then I tested the wall socket which I changed recently and felt was probably not the problem. I tested this by boiling a kettle using this socket. It was fine, and at least I now have a cup of tea!
Jonathon's next suggestion because of the symptoms I described (kiln got to half temperature in the time it usually takes to do a full firing and then stopped rising) was that half of the elements had stopped working. My kiln, (L & L Model - Fuego) has four rows of elements, and two of these go into separate element blocks. So his suggestion was as follows - get some small pieces of tissue paper, put a little one so that it touches each of the element rows, and turn on the kiln for a couple of minutes.
If they are singed then current is getting through and the elements are working, if not, then they are not.
He was absolutely right in my case as these images show.
The top two were still unblemished, whereas the bottom ones had fallen out and were scorched. Therefore it is the top two that are faulty.
His next suggestion was to check visually each faulty element with a magnifying glass and see if there are any breaks.
Having done this, I cannot see anything obvious. Although they are blackened more in some places than they are in others, there are no breaks that I can see.
Time to ring Jonathon again and see what he suggests next...
I was concerned that I couldn't see the undersides of the elements, and was worried about damaging them by moving them, but he said it was OK to move them a little just to see....
Et voila! The culprit! A broken wire in the element coil!
He'll have one in the post for me tomorrow, so on Friday hopefully it will arrive, and I can continue with part 2 - changing a faulty element... Wish me luck!
A big big thank you to the ultra-helpful Jonathon, who has kindly said he'll be on the other end of the phone should I need help with the next step.
There I was, thinking that being a ceramicist was all about playing with mud... It is vital that I learn to maintain my equipment, both from a financial and time point of view. Waiting for a specialist to come out and do a job like this could take a week or so, and would undoubtably cost a lot more than learning how to do these things myself. I have learned a lot today, have faced another of my fears of all things electrical, and saved myself a small fortune to boot. Whoop! Bring on part 2!

Happy new year!

2010-01-05T22:47:00.005Z

It seems I am one of the few back to work around here as where I am we have had heavy snow. There has been pretty much no gritting going on from what I can tell, and the snow just keeps on falling... Luckily I can do some work from home, but a couple of orders will be sent out later than usual.
Having had a wonderful Christmas and new year, I finally packed away the Christmas decorations today, and thought I would share a couple of images of these lovely seasonal flowers that Santa brought this year...
A photo could never do them justice, but what can I say... Amarylis, red roses and hot pink gerberas... I must have been a very good girl last year.
So having cleared the decks it is time to make a plan and get my head back into some serious work. I've been busy glazing the remaining bisque that was done before the Christmas rush took over my life completely, and am looking forward to starting building with a clear head once that lot is out of the kiln. My etsy shop is looking somewhat depleated, so I can't wait to get the new pots out and get them on there. One or two are already spoken for, and it's not a huge batch, so I had better get some new pieces made pronto! I'm also running a January sale now to clear a few items out and start the year afresh. If you'd like to see the discounted items, you can view my sale section here. There are no seconds I promise, every item is absolutely perfect, I just want to start the new year with a clear mind and some new ranges.
So 2010.... what will you have in store? I can't wait to get my teeth into this year and find out!

I can't believe how busy it has been!

2009-12-15T21:43:00.005Z

The Christmas rush is slowing a little now, as most of my customers are in the US. I had a little help today from a Japanese work experience student Kozue, and finally feel like I am getting up to date... She was great, really lovely, extremely helpful, and an extra pair of hands was appreciated! She helped out with some gift wrapping and sorted out some of my stationary so that I now feel free to actually make something- I haven't touched any clay in weeks!! It has been non stop admin and parcel wrapping round here, and it has been great, but there is some creative frustration bubbling away under the surface... watch out for some new pieces early in the new year...
I have a happy story today! - someone showed me a photo at theknot.com which is of two of my bird bowls which were used as ring bowls at a wedding - here it is...

It is such a huge compliment when someone uses my work for such an important function, and is a rare treat to see them in use. Thanks also to the lovely Ai Ling Liaw of Ling Photography, St. Paul, MN who was their wedding photographer. I was really touched. I have had a bit of a run of this lately - here is an image of a ring bowl I made for a very lovely lady's wedding recently. So recently in fact, that it is on a plane on its way to Australia as I write...

I used a silhouette that they provided of themselves, and recessed it into the clay. A slight toasting can sometimes occur in the kiln around the glaze, and on this one I think it gives a fitting, warm glow around the bride and groom. I felt that it added to the piece, and I hope they will agree. Ring bowls are definitely something I am considering doing more of in the new year! It was lovely to work with them and create a piece that they had some input into.

So with things calming down here a little, I am hoping that I might just get a little Christmas shopping done by the end of the week :)

Wow! What an amazing day!

2009-12-04T01:31:00.007Z

I cannot begin to say how excited I was today when I found out that my Christmas decorations had been featured in no less than THE GUARDIAN newspaper!!!
For those of you stateside, The Guardian is one of the biggest national newspapers. It is extremely well respected, and I could not believe my eyes when I followed this link to the online version of the article.

My little hearts have a page, as do a selection of other Christmas ornaments that I am staggered and honoured to be placed amongst, including pieces by Cath Kidston, Heals, Habitat, Liberty, Urban Outfitters and John Lewis.
Wow again! I can't think of a greater confidence boost than this, and also at a time when I am having my busiest time ever in my etsy shop. I really am completely stunned. There amongst such great big names in design - lil ole me?! A picture that I took, a little over a year ago, of my little Christmas hearts WAS IN THE GUARDIAN!?!
Fantastic, wonderful, amazing. Pinching myself.

Today was also the day of the Art Ball art auction at Sale Waterside Art Centre, which included two sets of my ceramic flying ducks. It was hosted by no less than Eric Knowles from the antiques roadshow!!! Hilarious!

I was too excited about the Guardian article to be nervous, despite having a few reservations about having to actually be there when my work was sold, rather than being on the other side of a computer screen. (And often the other side of the world!) A few friends turned out at the event to ensure that we had a good time this evening, even if the ducks didn't sell, but I am happy to say that both sets sold!! And also, they sold for more than I sell them for online :)
So I really am pretty stunned, shocked, happy, and exhausted as I write this... Time for a well earned, long sleep :) Goodnight!

Wehehey!

2009-11-24T18:58:00.002Z

These Christmas decorations from my etsy shop are currently being featured in the etsy holiday ornament voter!
If you have the time, please go over and vote here!

Little bird brooch

2009-11-19T20:37:00.002Z

Here's another little bird brooch, made from porcelain, with antique lace imprinted into the surface.

Christmas shopping giveaway!!!

2009-11-17T01:35:00.002Z

I am giving little surprise Christmas treats with your order during November from my etsy or my folksy shop. Just enter the code GONE TO POT in the message to seller box during checkout :)

More lacy birds...

2009-11-17T01:20:00.007Z

This time with a different texture. I thought I would try something different, and so I opted for a deeper, more graphic looking texture. I think the glaze works nicely, and the pattern is certainly more striking.
I have tried a few wall birds like the ones above, and bowls too...

It has been a great couple of weks in my etsy shop, with the Christmas shoppers starting, a couple of mentions in etsy's storque and gift guides, and a few times on the front page too :)
Fingers crossed that the lucky streak continues...

Christmas decorations

2009-11-06T18:40:00.006Z

Here are a few images of my new Christmas decorations. This year I thought butterfly snowflakes might be nice, as well as some simple, classic lacy hearts...

So far the butterflies have completely sold out, and are now available and made to order with a slightly longer dispatch time. I like the simplicity of the unglazed creamy clay. It shows the texture of the lace off in greater detail, and can be emphasized with a classic red or gold thread for contrast. Both of these could even be used at weddings, and the thread changed to compliment the individual colour theme. I like to tie them to gifts instead of a bow too!

TIMBER!!!

2009-11-04T22:21:00.003Z

For any of you that will be around in London on Fri 13th November, 7 - 10pm, a fab new shop is opening called Timber and it is in the ultra trendy Brick Lane area. It's one of my favourite areas of London, it's being opened by a very lovely lady and it will be the first UK retail outlet that I have my work in. Apart from my own work, Timber will be showcasing some of the best in handmade art and craft. I wish Emma the best of luck with her new venture and am extending the invite to friends and interested parties. There will be the opening of an exhibition by Michael Chapman, titled "The Struggle For Existence" too which will be running in the Timber gallery space.

Timber, 65 Hanbury St, London E1 5JP

Get down there! It's gonna be fab!!

I bought these...

2009-10-26T03:05:00.004Z

because they are beautiful. I am fairly indifferent to the flavour of the ones we get in this country. Pretty bland really. Good baked with something sweet and alcoholic and served with something creamy. Vanilla icecream or clotted cream. I digress... Bland they may be to taste, but not to look at. The colour of a nasty bruise. Except beautiful.
I thought I would try picturing them with my new colander... I am very easily distracted at the moment I have noticed. I know that I should have made the colander the centre of focus of the shot... How will I sell it if I focus on the figs?! After all, I'm not a green grocer. Which is just as well as I think I'd probably just sit there all day gazing at how pretty it all was whilst the fruit rotted.
The figs are no more. I didn't want to eat them because they were better than flowers to look at, but in the end it had to be done. Cut in half they were more beautiful again. I had kept them in the fruit bowl with some pomegranites for a few days, next to a great big pumpkin, and every time I looked at them the colours were just amazing. Autumn in a bowl. Aubergine and purple black from the smooth soft skins of the figs, and flaming oranges and reds from the waxy skins of the pomegranites with little black marks to make them look like they are on fire... It made me feel like I was living in a Peale still life.
A colander or a fruit bowl can look good. It can look beautiful. But no matter what it looks like, who made it, or what they made it from, it can never compete with the fruit that it will hold.

I feel honoured this week...

2009-10-22T17:44:00.004+01:00

To have had my friend, fellow etsian and talented jewellery designer-maker Kathy from Jewels By Kat use one of my bowls in some of her styling photographs. It's lovely to see my work being used! If you haven't already seen her shop, check it out! She has a wonderful eye for detail, and her creations are really special. I thought I would share a couple of my faves...

I absolutely adore the owl she's used here - I have never seen one like that before! Everyone knows how much I love to wear little birdies!! The colour combo's fab too; I love the blue with the metal colour....

I also love this one. It's called Mother knows best, and has a lovely vintage feel. I think this one would be great for a glam winter night out or worn at Christmas dinner.... They're both on my Christmas wish list - let's hope Santa thinks I've been good!

Lucky week continues...

2009-10-04T23:43:00.002+01:00

with my little poppy bowl being featured in this storque article - whoooop :)

Lucky!

2009-10-04T16:00:00.004+01:00

A weird thing happened today... A friend called round last night and said her friend was opening a shop in Shoreditch (London) and she thought my work might go well there. So she said she'd send her friend an email asking her to look at my etsy shop. So, true to her word, she did that today... And she got a response straight away. Her friend couldn't believe that she knew me as she'd been looking at my work online and had intended to get in touch for just that reason... It's a small world hey? What are the odds? It made me feel quite positive, as it means that my name and work is getting known and seen. Cool hey? But a wierd coincidence too!

Next on the good luck list this week is that a set of these...

Flock ceramic wall art, in both colours has been accepted into an exhibition and art auction at the Waterside arts centre. I submitted both colours hoping that they'd accept one, so I'm very pleased that they wanted both sets. Whoop! They'll be on display for about 6 weeks and then auctioned off. Fingers crossed that someone buys them. And bids big ;)

Also, as of next week, my work will be on sale through a great online retailer - All about the boys. For those of you who haven't seen it, it's a great collection of stylish children's wear. I love their selection of classic cute outfits for little boys and girls. My work is to be featured amongst a great selection of giftwear under the heading what Mummy wants. I'm working on something else with them too, but I'm keeping that under wraps for now... watch this space...
And last but not least in the lucky list is that my new facebook page for Prince Design UK has been up for less than a week and has nearly 100 fans!!! Which is a great start for that too. I was a little worried that I'd only get 15 of my friends and family to sign up and would feel a bit unpopular, but my ego has escaped without injury. Don't let that stop you from signing up though!
There is one more thing I should add to this list too. That I am very very very lucky to have the friends that I have. They are amazing, kind, loving, trustworthy, fun, genuine, good-hearted people and I love them very much. I have seen some of the best of them this weekend, have spent some great time, looked around me and really felt lucky.
So all in all a great week, and there's plenty more up my sleeve too, with a full kiln cooking as I write :)
Looking at this list, I wish I'd bought a lottery ticket...

Go with the flow...

2009-09-29T22:00:00.018+01:00

Here is my new perforated fruit bowl...

It is called Go With The Flow, because I wanted it to have the dual function of being a fruit bowl and colander in one, so water will flow through it. It has holes pierced through the surface to allow you to wash, drain, display and serve fruit.

When I made it I was thinking about water. Not just the water that would eventually run through it; different types of water. Frothy gently curving waves, bubbly water and sails and flags on boats as they catch the breeze. Deep sea green colours, fluid curves and ripples...

The bubbly texture and shape make it good to hold even with wet hands.

What do you think of it?

Facebook...

2009-09-28T00:24:00.001+01:00

OK. I surrender. Today I joined facebook... Facebook 1, my resolve to never join facebook nil.

Here is my Prince Design UK page. Call in and become a fan! And I would love for you to invite your friends too!! My fans list is looking er... short... Well hopefully it will pick up soon and stop me from feeling like a loser ;-) It is only day one after all...
I'm not sure why I have had such an aversion to facebook. Perhaps I'm getting set in my ways! Now I've done it it seems silly not to have done it ages ago. I'm going to be doing a few offers to facebook fans in the near future, so it'll be interesting to see how that works out :)

Wish me luck!

A little while ago

2009-09-17T11:35:00.003+01:00

I did a pottery workshop in a nursery school. It was different to workshops that I had done before, in that there was a larger emphasis on the experience than on the end product. The first children of the day were for me the most challenging... the two year olds. All my previous workshop experiences had been with older children, and so this group were tricky for me. Working with clay is a very tactile and sensory experience, and this was the main focus of this age group. I was pleasantly surprised at how much they got out of it, they dipped their fingers in water and felt how the clay softened when they added water to the surface, how it became slippery and easier to change. They hit it with plastic spoons and in some cases poked holes through it. Although nothing recognisable was produced, each shild learned that he or she had the power to change the form of the material.
Next up were the three year olds, who on the whole decided to make "cakes." Or should I say one child decided, and the rest followed suit.
Here are some of them....

Each child selected from a range of objects in the centre of the table, stones, spoons forks etc, and made individual decisions about how to decorate their cake. I like how they picked the forks and spoons as candles.

Every child was encouraged to make what they wanted to make, and the nursery owner specified that I should not come armed with any kind of project. The items were not to be fired, and this meant that all kinds of other objects could be included in the pieces they made. Here are a few images of what some of the older children made. The children were aged up to eight years, as the after school club were included too.

I loved this crocodile :) I asked her what she thought might make the texture of crocodile skin and she selected something from a range to create the texture. Good choice!

And this fab catarpillar! Again, here the child himself selected a number of identical milk bottle tops to create the rhythmic form, and this was his idea.

These hedgehogs were amazing too. Again, a great choice with the straws to make the texture of the spines.
There's something fantastic about seeing a big table full of children's creations....

All in all we had a great (if exhausting) day. I really hope they took something valuable away from the experience. I know I definitely did :) A BIG thanks to all the children who were really lovely and very well behaved!

Nature...

2009-09-15T18:41:00.004+01:00

Makes far more beautiful things than I could ever dream of. The hydrangeas are in full bloom everywhere at the moment and they are absolutely stunning. I wish I'd had my camera today to capture these - apologies for the image quality, they were taken with my phone...

For a while now...

2009-09-04T00:44:00.008+01:00

I have been experimenting with mixed media. It began with little things, colaged birthday cards made with pieces of pottery, found objects, sentimental scraps and bits of thread. I made them for my friends and family, and then began to work on a few small pieces as artworks in their own right. I have always loved textiles and embroidery, so stitching into the ceramic seemed like an interesting idea. Here are the first few that I have produced for my shop....

I have kept the scale deliberately small for a number of reasons. Firstly, the idea began as cards and gifts for loved ones, and so the scale was small for that reason. Secondly, the stitched aspect makes them quite intimate in many ways. To me at least, embroidery and stitching are intimate processes, they require that you are close up to the piece you are working on, they demand that you hold it close to you and tinker with tiny details. Somehow to me, less is more with these. When there are a few stitches, you notice each and every one, whereas with an item that has thousands of tiny stitches, say a piece of clothing, they are no longer noticeable in their own right; they just become a part of a larger whole. I am after all a ceramicist adding some stitch, not a dressmaker adding a couple of ceramic buttons...

I have enjoyed making them, but they have been hugely labour intensive and fiddly, and so I fear that in the future they may again be reserved for gifts for loved ones rather than for my shop, but these ones at least are for sale as a limited range. I used porcelain as I felt that the pure, smooth white surface made a more interesting contrast with the thread than textured clay. I have created texture in the surface of the smooth clay and glazed areas sparingly so that the thread adds another dimension but does not have to fight to be heard.
As always... comments welcome!

For fun...

2009-08-21T16:39:00.008+01:00

and because I have smashed so many of my bowls at home, I decided to throw some functional pots for myself. I don't usually use throwing as a technique in my shop, but it really is soooo much fun. It's kind of hypnotic. And the finished pieces are a great place to experiment with a less controlled method of glazing than I generally use. I have combined these glazes before in the distant past, but I had forgotten how well they work together. It was a happy accident that I only glazed the inside with the deep red underneath though, as I didn't realise how much the greeny blue one would slide off. I feel pretty lucky that I'm not chiselling it off my kiln shelves :)

I absolutely love this effect. I only dipped the rims with the greeny-blue one to approx half an inch if that on the insides. I can't believe how far it has travelled and how lovely the swirly patterns it has created are. One of the things I love most about pottery is the surprise you get when you open the kiln and see what's in there. I still get excited before I open the lid!

So... as the great British summer is unbelievably cold this year, and I have new bowls, I think I'll make some hot soup to fill them with!
As always feel free to comment... Love them or hate them?!

By popular demand...

2009-08-17T20:28:00.006+01:00

I have made a couple of sets of stacking poppy bowls... I have said in the past that they are tricky to make, and that is true, but I have mastered it at last! When a customer that has ordered from me several times before requested a set I decided I should overcome my mental block. So here's one of the sets... I think they came out really nicely and so I plan to make them a regular in my etsy shop.

As always... comments welcome!

Porcelain...

2009-07-12T12:17:00.007+01:00

Is the king of clay.. Or the queen anyway. It is just so beautiful. It is like working with silk - so soft and luxurious, so smooth and delicate, like the perfect complexion. Fragile yet tough, hard yet somehow soft, solid yet translucent when held up to the light, and so pure in it's whiteness that the colours of the glazes applied over the top shine brighter than they do on any other clay... delicious. These are the pros.... As with anything in life, there are cons. One is cost, and the other is that it is more difficult to work with too. It has a higher breakage rate, and shrinks more in the kiln. Despite these however, I have been seduced by it, and having tried a couple of different types to see which works best for me, I have found a type that seems pretty good to work with. So here's a sneak preview of a couple of items from my range that I will be introducing in porcelain!With the lacy imprinted items especially, the tiny particles in the clay mean that the texture if the lace is shown in finer detail than with other clays, and the crispness of the white clay gives all the bowls a more refined look. They'll be coming soon to my etsy shop

Etsy love...

2009-05-20T01:59:00.002+01:00

I have had a bit of a colour obsession with deep greeny blue for a while now, especially when it has a little lime green for contrast... Which kind of made this little wristlet from hollyhawk hard to resist. She has an etsy shop and if you haven't seen it, check it out! It's the perfect size to just hold the basics (phone, keys, cash) if you're travelling light, and I love using it inside a bigger bag to keep the essentials organised. Not to mention that it is beautiful and makes me smile when I use it. And as it's made from leather you can easily wipe off any stray clay/dribble marks... Perfect! Makes me wanna go glaze shopping and make juicy lime green pots...

Free gifts...

2009-05-18T02:09:00.000+01:00

are always nice. Especially when they are a surprise! I love it when you get a little more than you were expecting when you order something online, and that is why I often put some little ceramic heart decorations in with orders, sometimes like these ones...

and sometimes little lacy ones. I know that often people buy my ceramics as gifts, and they are a sweet way to decorate a present. Also, it means that the giver of the gift gets a little gift for themselves if they choose not to use them on the present. I have some lacy ones that I hang from deciduous plants in the garden to add a little colour and cheer things up through winter. But I digress...
I was recently approached by British ex-pat Beeb at contest corner and I am running a special promotion with readers of her blog. She offers special giveaways for her readers, and her readers will receive mystery free gifts wth their orders from princedesignuk during May, as she is having a British Invasion celebration month... So, inspired by that, I thought I would experiment with some British-themed little ceramics...
I recently bought a little union jack key ring as a gift for a friend, and I began to think that I could perhaps make some out of ceramic as a free gift to send out with the British Invasion orders, and indeed with other orders from time to time.... PDUK key rings.... I like the idea! The main drawback is that I ordered the metal parts I need for this online, and sadly their shipping seems a little unreliable; I am impatiently awaiting their arrival... However, here are the ceramic parts... what do you think? I have messed around with the colour scheme somewhat, but I think I prefer the pink and cream to red white blue! I think it would be fair to say that I have feminized our flag a little. As always, comments welcome! And it seems a little unfair that readers of contest corner should get a little gift, whereas readers of my blog might not... So if you say you read my blog in the message to seller when placing an order this May, I'll make sure there's a surprise gift in for you too :)

Wearable pottery

2009-05-12T00:33:00.007+01:00

I love to make brooches and jewellery. I have to say that most of them get appropriated by my friends and family, but every now and then I manage to upload a few to my shop before they get their hands on them...

There's definitely something lovely about unique jewellery. I have some beaten silver earrings I bought in Barcelona that were handmade and I absolutely love them. It makes your outfit your own somehow if you know no one else has the same thing. I think that's why these are so popular amongst my friends. And besides, a little bright heart or a cute lovebird on the side of your bag or jacket is guaranteed to brighten your day a little.

The only thing I'm not so keen on about jewellery is the spelling. You see in the UK, we spell it jewellery, and in the States you spell it jewelry. So I am always faced with a little internal turmoil on the subject... Do I accept that most of the people who read this blog and who shop in my etsy shop are American and spell it the way you guys do? Or do I stick with the British spelling and risk you all thinking I can't spell? Decisions decisions... I guess if that's the biggest problem I face today then I should thank my lucky stars :) But seriously, I would appreciate feedback on this subject!! Does it undermine your confidence in my intelligence if you think I have misspelled it? Would you have known that we spell it differently over here? Comments please!
P.S. What do you think of the brooches ;)

Prince Design UK is one year old today!

2009-05-02T15:46:00.002+01:00

It is a year today since I opened my etsy shop! Happy Birthday to me! It has been a great experience and I can't believe how much I have learned, how lovely people have been, and that I have sold so many pots. One of the nicest things about the experience has been the support and friendship I have had from customers, other etsy sellers and bloggers. Thank you everyone for helping to make my first year successful, and such great fun. I know it makes me a soppy girl, but I have actually cried happy tears at some of the sweet messages I have had, and I am very grateful for that and for the experiences and opportunities that have come my way as a result of my shop. So I figured it was time to give a little something back!! To celebrate my anniversary, I'm having a birthday giveaway weekend:) All orders placed between now and Monday will get a special surprise free gift!

Get crafty...

2009-04-28T01:05:00.003+01:00

I got a little over-excited about this tutorial on etsy the other day.... A friend came over and he and I had a go at it. It was really good fun.
Basically, you get some carrier bags, plastic ones like from the supermarket, cut off the edges, get about 8 layers, put these between 2 pieces of ordinary paper (like an old bill for example) and iron it... I'm excited for a number of reasons. Firstly, I just do not do ironing, and it gives my iron and ironing board a purpose in life. Secondly, the possibilities for this material are endless. It makes a sort of plastic fabric. You can control the thickness by altering the number of plastic sheets you use. It is fully waterproof, and you can stitch it together, or you can join sheets together by ironing them. I reckon you could make strips of it and weave them together. You could make baby bibs, make-up bags, plant-pot covers, sturdy re-useable shopping bags, mousemats, aprons, postcards, flyers, business cards, pen-holders, wallets, peg-bags, hand-bags, purses, things for in the boot of your car to stop the carpet getting dirty, lampshades, passport holders, jewellery..... Loads of things!!!
Thirdly, you can feel like an eco warrior, as you will be re-cycling the bags into something useful instead of creating more land-fill. And last but not least, a friend of mine went on a workshop to learn how to do this a while ago, and said she would explain how to do it but it was a bit tricky and it would take time. IT IS THE EASIEST THING EVER!!! How on earth it took a day workshop to get this across is beyond me... Try it! I hope it's not just me that finds this so much fun :)
But please, watch the tutorial, there's a link to it on this page, don't just follow my instructions or you might ruin your ironing board. I realise that there are a lot of people out there that would be much more upset about that than me...

City chick

2009-04-28T00:15:00.003+01:00

I love looking at the architecture, shapes and symbols of the city almost as much as I love people watching whilst drinking coffee in the afternoon with friends. The city chick bowl was inspired by the cities of Manchester and London, their inhabitants, my old life (when I had to go into the city every day to work), graffiti, road signs, road markings, office types on their way to work, angles, geometry, suits and street-wear... She's not as cute as the lovebirds or the spring chicken; she's got a harder edge, a little more street-wise and less naive, but I think she's still pretty cute in her own way!

Raspberries are...

2009-04-21T03:31:00.000+01:00

one of my favourite fruits. I love their flavour, and I love their beautiful colour. That is probably why I love this glaze so much! However, I had never tried it on any of my lacy bowls until this one.
I was pleasantly surprised at how it came out, and it really has a lovely fruity red feel to it. It's definitely a much bolder look for the lacy birds than the soft blues that I often use! It's surprising just how different their effect is in this colour.

Supermarket

2009-04-20T18:25:00.004+01:00

My new shop on Supermarket is now just about open! I currently have only one item on it, and no store banner yet, but I'm working on it!
For those of you who haven't seen the Supermarket website before, it is an online market place, and their catchphrase is "Great design. Straight from designers."
I think that pretty much sums it up. I think it is fantastic, and every time I go on there, I start drooling over the gorgeous stuff on sale. They are selective in who they allow onto the site, and this makes the shopping experience easier I think. Don't get me wrong, I love the diversity that a site like etsy has, but it can sometimes be frustrating, when using the search for example, as there are soooo many makers, and the standard is so variable. The standard of work on Supermarket is very high, so it's a little easier to use. So if you haven't already, check it out. I promise you'll come away with a huge wish-list of goodies. I'm honoured to have been accepted amongst such amazing talent!

You either love it or hate it...

2009-04-20T01:56:00.002+01:00

I love it! This humble side plate seems to create a reaction one way or the other every time someone sees it. It was made by Midwinter and is from a range called Sienna. It was made in the famous Staffordshire potteries in England, and the design was first made in 1962. Mine only travelled 50 miles to arrive on my table, but this design is well known accross the world. Midwinter's range was very fashionable in the sixties, and was much more cutting edge than many of the things that my grandmother's generation would have been used to. Whilst the masses still loved their chintzy florals, Midwinter brought something new. They were a leader in contemporary British style, and I believe that this type of abstract, geometric pattern has had a huge influence over the tableware that has followed. I have a range of Habitat plates given to me as a gift a few years ago (that I absolutely love) that in many ways remind me of this plate. Their designs are now seen as classics (or hated) because of their geometric, modern/retro look. Midwinter was eventually taken over by Meakins in 1968 (and again later by credit crunch casualty Wedgewood in 1970) but their 1960's tableware lives on under my breakfast toast, and I think that their influence can still very much be felt today.
OK - so I have made my case for my little plate - what do you think of it?

Work in progress...

2009-04-10T15:56:00.004+01:00

I don't normally show work in progress when it's a special order, but these are soooo cute that I couldn't resist. A very special lady has ordered a flock of eleven birds for in her wall, and four of them will be slightly different from the rest. They will have her childrens' names embossed into the surface, and will have a slightly different glaze in the texture. They go in size order according to their ages. I just love the concept. I wish my family had had a flock with our names on when we were kids! Of course they look a little rough around the edges at the moment, but they'll be smoothed off in due course. There are two more obviously, but I can't show them all or there would be no surprises left when she opens the box :-)

Today I am famous!!!

2009-04-08T00:47:00.003+01:00

Because it is the first time anything I have done through Princedesignuk has been published in print! Yay :)
So here it is... If you squint and look really, really closely you can see my starry eyed lovebird bowl there! It is featured in this month's Simply Knitting magazine, thanks to Hunkydory Home which is an online shop featuring some of my work. Fantastic!

My flying duck obsession continues...

2009-04-06T23:08:00.004+01:00

Some call it OCD; I prefer to call it art. Well design anyway. I thought they'd make a cool image for dinnerware too, so here are my first flying duck dessert plates...
The ducks were stamped into the surface of the clay, and then filled with coloured glaze. I added a glossy clear glaze over the top surface to make them nice to use for food. As I'm vegetarian they are the only ducks you'll find on my plate :) I love the seven inch plate size; it is the size of plate I use the most as I am a real snack addict. It's a nice size for a sandwich or a crumpet or two...
I thought I'd try them out in blue and green, but I'm temped to try other colours too... Red or black maybe. Opinions are welcome as always!

What a week!

2009-03-23T20:09:00.007Z

After the busiest week ever in my princedesignuk shop, I gave a ceramics workshop on Saturday with lots of little people... Exhausting stuff! Although I really really didn't want to get out of bed on Saturday morning, it was well worth the effort once I got there. Check out the pics; they made me smile! We had great fun, and as always, the children surprised me with the fab stuff they made.

We had our very own fairy princess with her little star...

These two were a scream! Very funny guys :) ...

A social butterfly...And possibly some of the cutest children ever....

They made some really lovely stuff, snakes, hearts, stars, flowers, handprints, cut out, built up, modelled, stamped, and drawn... It's amazing what kids will come up with if you give them a lump of clay, and it's nice to let them have a go with a medium they don't get the chance to try very often. I'll post some pics of the fired pieces they made when they're done :)

Today I am...

2009-03-18T21:30:00.003Z

the featured seller on etsy! Yay! I am very flattered and excited. A big thanks to all the lovely people who have sent me nice messages about this, and to etsy for selecting me when there is such a huge amount of talent elsewhere in the site. If you fancy reading my interview, check it out here. Wish me luck :)

Flock

2009-03-17T22:23:00.006Z

I've always had a love hate relationship with those seventies sets of three ducks. Well with seventies design in general I suppose. On the one hand, I absolutely love it, and on the other, it often seems incredibly naff. Anyone whose visited my shop or seen much of this blog will know about my love affair with birds, but the thing with the sets of three ducks was always that whilst I loved the concept, I hated the end product. And so I decided to take matters into my own hands... Check it out - a sneak preview of my flock!

The middle pic shows the ones I stamped into with organic circles and crosses. I might call them squadron... The lower picture type will be called flock, as they are imprinted with seventies style flock wallpaper. I am so excited about these, and since I took the picture they have been glazed and are now cooking in the kiln... Fingers crossed that they come out well! They'll have two fixings on the back, so that they can be angled to suit. I might do these as a made to order too, as I was thinking that it would be nice for people to be able to choose from the sizes, and have the number they want in the colour/s they want too. Hmmm... food for thought. As always, your comments are welcome!

There's something very sweet...

2009-03-06T01:18:00.000Z

about mother hens and their broods. I can't wait to see little chicks following mum round the pond... It won't be long now!

Spring is nearly here!!!

2009-03-03T01:02:00.004Z

And I cannot wait! To celebrate, I've been busy making some spring themed pots...a forget me not dish and a sweet garden dish...

I absolutely love it when the first flowers pop out in spring, and I've been cooing over narcissi and snow drops all week... The forget me nots won't be long, but I just couldn't wait for the real thing. All I have to wait for now is flip flop weather :)

Relocation, relocation, relocation...

2009-02-15T02:26:00.000Z

Parting is such sweet sorrow... Moving is like breaking up with someone. Whilst there are things you might miss, nine times out of ten there are things that you accepted as imperfect at the time, but that deep down irritate you so much that you really enjoy the change when they're gone . And as for the next one... well they're always great when they have that novelty glow and time will tell how long they last.
It has been obvious to me for some time now that a change of location was necessary. In order for me to operate efficiently and accommodate my growing need for space, I have to move. Which has made me look at a number of things about myself, the way I work, and indeed the way I live in general. Many of these things I will not bore you with, but a big one is this - I hoard stuff. And this has to change. I probably will never ever read the books that have been unread on the shelf for over a year, nor do I need two pairs of hair straighteners... They have to go. And this almighty clear-out leads me to my next project... A relocation promotion at PrinceDesignUK When I started the shop last year, I was trialling items. It was all a great big adventure, and whilst it still is, I now have a much better idea of what people buy, what they like, and what photographs well. And on the other hand, there are a few things that are just hanging around. So coming soon is my relocation clearance. Don't get me wrong, there really aren't that many things to go in there, but there are a few things that for whatever reason just didn't quite make it to my sold items list... I've been bouncing ideas around a focus group (of my friends) and we thought that the best thing to do would be to have a buy 2 get one free sale. Check it out in my relocation promotion section.
It's tricky to organise keeping the shops running, being exhausted, making pots, fitting in my family, having any kind of life and moving at the same time, but I've planned it all pretty well, so there will be no disruption to either my etsy or my folksy shops during the move, apart from maybe a few less items being listed for a week or so. Anything purchased during the move will be shipped as normal. All of you who remember the last time you moved - keep your fingers crossed for me! And anyone who has a few hundred cardboard boxes spare... I'll swap you for anything you want from the relocation promotion section :)

My new shop..

2009-02-12T01:04:00.002Z

Is tentatively live...
As yet I have only uploaded a couple of items to it., but the main difference between it and my etsy shop is that it is UK based, and so UK customers can pay in pounds. More items will be listed soon - I promise!
Check it out at http://www.princedesignuk.folksy.com/
UK customers who've seen something they like on my etsy shop but would prefer to pay in pounds can now ask me to list it on the folksy shop instead, as I realise it can be off-putting to pay in a foreign currency.

Another new venue that is now selling my pottery is http://www.hunkydoryhome.co.uk/
Initially we're going to start with a couple of my lovebird bowls and later... who knows!
The site has a fun selection of home accessories, ranging from lampshades and cushions to gifts and items for chilidren - check it out! I particularly love their soft owls - fab!

It's been a while...

2009-02-08T01:30:00.003Z

since I talked about poppies. Making these poppy bowls has been a bit of an obsession for me. One of the nicest things about them is that although I am the maker, and I have made more than a few of them, it is impossible to make two the same...

Each one is a pinch pot, and this basically means that I get a small piece of clay, roll it into a ball, and then gently manipulate it out into a poppy shape. It grows of its own accord, and although I can control the clay to an extent, I can't ever make two the same. In addition, the glaze that has to be applied later is controlled by the exact thickness of the clay, so that too is infinitely variable. Now whilst that may make them more difficult to list on a shop (as each must be individually photographed) it does give me a magical pottery buzz when I open my kiln, because no matter how many I make, even I can't predict exactly how they're going to look when they come out. Now this is great for individuality and great for the people who buy them knowing that theirs is truly unique, but sadly less great when someone asks me for three stacking ones exactly like the ones in the picture on the right... If you're reading this - sorry, I haven't forgotten, but it's going to take time!

The lovely disco bird...

2009-02-04T02:00:00.000Z

flew into my shop last week, and here she is...

I made a couple of my lovebirds as wall decorations a while back, and thought I'd try something a little different. I absolutely love how the glaze came out on this one; it's a mixture of two of my favourite glazes and they have combined to make little jewels in the wings. Ceramic wall pieces are great for cheering up a bathroom or kitchen as the ceramic doesn't mind steam and can be washed, but this one would look pretty in a child's room too... I'm kind of tempted to keep it!

Valentines day...

2009-02-01T22:55:00.006Z

is nearly here! Apart from bracing myself for the usual sackful of cards that my poor postman will nearly break his back delivering, I've been busy sending out love-related items from my shop. Love is in the air!

Favourites this week have been these little lovebird pairs....

and these little sets of Valentine decorations...

How sweet!

Now those of you who know someone who always seems to take people under their wing, the motherly type, the one person who could never turn away a little soul who came their way might be able to relate to this week's new addition...
The mother hen mini plate. This mother's got a lot on her plate! Sadly it doesn't look like Daddy hen's around to help, but I think she'll cope just fine.

Lacy blue birds

2009-01-11T20:40:00.007Z

Hurry up spring! We're nearly there...
To speed things up I made these springy lacy blue bird dishes which are now on sale in my PrinceDesign shop.

The texture is made by imprinting vintage lace doilies into the surface of soft clay. The soft blue glaze was rubbed into the surface to emphasize the detail, and I love the colour contrast with the creamy clay.
As ever, feel free to comment!

Thanks Indie Quarter!

2008-11-20T09:00:00.004Z

For those of you who haven't seen it, Indie Quater is a great blog about design. It's beautifully designed itself, which makes it a pleasure to read. Check it out here.
They were kind enough to run a feature on my etsy shop as part of their stocking filler features before Christmas. You can see that article here.
This week has been quite busy so far in my shop; evidently other people are more organized than I am when it comes to Christmas shopping...
I have added a couple of new pieces this week, and they are selling fast! One I am particularly pleased with is this Blue Lagoon droplet dish.
I have a bad habit of smashing wine glasses, but at least I can recycle them by putting them in the bottom of things in the kiln to create this pretty crystalline effect!

A pocket full of posies

2008-11-18T08:55:00.003Z

Welcome to my day.... Things are set to get more and more manic today, I can feel it...
I was lucky enough to be featured in an article in etsy's storque magazine which is shown on their front page, and goes out by email. Read it here.
Great publicity, especially as the piece they picked is in an article where it is suggested in a gift guide.

Here's a new piece I have just uploaded to my shop; a pocket full of posies!

Each little flower was stamped by hand into the clay whilst it was still soft, and then the circle was dropped into a mold.
I am also pleased with the glaze, as I mixed it myself, making it a little more individual than shop bought glazes.
Comments welcome!

Waterlilies

2008-11-14T10:21:00.003Z

Waterlilies are gorgeous hey? They look so delicate floating on the water...
I made these ones with white clay and recycled glass in the bottoms. The bases are curved, so that they look like they're floating even on a table.

Textiles

2008-10-29T12:06:00.008Z

Here are some images of work I have made that has been influenced by textiles. This bowl was a bit of a labour of love, and was far more difficult to make than I originally anticipated... After several broken attempts, finally I got the technique right, and it was worth the effort!
Other ways in which I have combined textiles and pottery have been to roll fabric and lace into the surface of clay to create pattern and texture. Sometimes I have used the resulting slabs to create vases (like in the detail image below) and plant pots. At other times, I have cut the slabs into little shapes, and used these to make jewellery and buttons.

I first began working with lace for quite sentimental reasons. The lace imprint you see above was actually made by my grandmother. After her death, I felt quite sad that I had not learned how to make it with her, so I decided to get as much mileage as possible out of her work! After that, I found that for jewellery even finer detail was possible to use, and began rolling delicate embroidery into the surface of porcelain to get fine detail with a vintage feel. I particularly enjoy mixing the vintage texture with a contemporary shape such as the bird brooch below...

As always, comments welcome!