New designs coming soon, but in the meantime I am..

road testing my new ceramics... It is a tough job but someone has to do it...

Happy Friday everyone!

Really not cool...

I was recently made aware that some snide Chinese manufacturer was offering to make and wholesale my work on alibaba.com A couple of threatening emails later, they removed my images and text that they had used, infringing my copyright and intellectual property rights.Yes, that's right, they had the nerve to actually use my images and text. Concerned that I might be exaggerating? Here are the screen grabs from alibaba.com yesterday:

I took those last night, about 10 months after I sold the original set Makers beware - Alibaba is an apt name for this marketplace. Alibaba and the forty theives. Other makers I know have had success, as I did, by demanding that the images be removed, but if you see an artist you recognise being ripped off in this way - do the right thing and let them know.

Reopening my folksy shop for a trial period... www.princedesignuk.folksy.com UK customers you can pay in £ there, but my etsy shop still has the largest selection, and paypal will convert to £ for you automatically.

New plate

Ceramic bird shaped plate in seafoam turquoise:

Would you use it to decorate a living space of serve a little side salad or sandwich?

Nice weather for ducks

Thought I would share a picture of my lovely new studio roof terrace yesterday in the sunshine...

Sadly it is drowning in rain today, but hey! Continuing with today's watery theme, fresh out of the kiln are my Caribbean leaf dishes

They're made with recycled glass, and sparkle because of the cracks under the surface. However, the surface is completely smooth to the touch. I have one that I use as a soap dish - it looks great on a windowsill so that the cracks catch the light! Right, back to work! As it is such a rainy day, I think I might make some sets of ceramic flying ducks ;)

I have moved!!

We recently moved studio to Prestwich Village in Manchester. I have moved in above the lovely Ellie Magpie's shop, because there are lots of creative things going on there, and I shall be adding my own! I went to school with Jodie, the owner of Ellie Magpie, and she is now running sewing classes and workshops from there, as well as having a home and gift shop and haberdashery on the ground floor. I love her ideas for home decor, and if you are passing, it's a wonderful treasure trove of gift ideas and great to browse! I've been picking up a few sweet gifts for friends myself as I think they probably would like a change from pottery now and then! There are one or two of my pieces in there too, and more coming soon! As for me, I have my sunny studio upstairs, and my very own sunny roof garden to boot! Well it's sunny when the sun actually shines in Manchester... So in addition, I thought it might be nice to run some clay imprint days with children in the studio. I love doing these! Little ones grow up so quickly, so capturing how small their little feet and hands once were makes adorable artwork for your home, or cherished gifts for grandparents and relatives. We can even add names, dates and other words to the surface too - no child is too young, and we can even print grown up hands and feet! Slots are booking up fast and we're only doing limited dates, so book your place now! You can either book by calling Ellie Magpie on 0161 312 0934, calling into the shop at 491 Bury New Rd, Prestwich, Manchester M25 1AD, or use the contact form on this page.

Hey, how have you been?

Sorry for the long absence people!! I have been loving twitter lately - If you're on twitter and want to follow me I'm @princedesignuk - say hi! Over there, I have been following some really interesting people and consequently some great blogs. Especially loving remodelista designmilk and bright bazaar this week who have all kept me entertained whilst I recovered from an unexpected hospital trip and weekend in bed with some kind of bad gastro bug thing... Thankfully I am much better and back to work :) Firing this week for an interior designer and her client is a large group of these porcelain and silver butterflies:

I am super excited to see how these work in her space, so really hope she'll send me a pic or two even if it's not one I can share. A big part of my art education focussed on installation art, so it is great to put some of those principles into a domestic space. I love the way that these are so affected by the space, and interact with the shapes of the walls, textures beneath them, and other objects in the space. I'm hoping to install an even bigger group for a gallery show later in the year too. Another reason for the absence has been the scouting for new premises, which hopefully has now been found... One or two t's to be crossed and then all being well, the studio move will happen in the next week or two - wish me luck guys it's gonna be messy!!!