Black Friday? No thanks, Give me Indie Friday!

This Friday is "Black Friday".....originating in the USA, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and signifies the start of the Festive shopping season.  Stores open in the early hours offering crazy discounts and this has come over to the UK in recent years.

BUT.......this year there is an alternative ~ INDIE FRIDAY!

This campaign has been created by the lovely people at Just A Card (click to go their website).  Just A Card encourages people to buy from independent business, shops, galleries and designer/makers, that buying 'just a card' makes such a difference to these small businesses.

So instead of heading to the big shops this year, support a creative businesses....buy something beautiful and unique....shop small....buy independent.....make someone do a little happy dance when you buy "Just a Card"!

Tool Tuesday!

Go into any jeweller’s workshop and you will find a treasure trove of tools!  Some easily identifiable, such as a piercing saw and files, others look downright strange!  I thought I would introduce you to a few of the tools I use pretty much every day to create the jewellery you see on these pages.

The first one isn’t technically a tool but I couldn’t work without it.  I bought my workbench about 3 years ago from a jeweller in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, along with some lovely old second-hand tools…..I love second-hand tools! (More about those in another post)

Workbenches are taller than you might think, when sat down the bench should be at roughly chest height so that you can work without bending over and giving yourself a bad back!  The front edge has a semi-circle cut out so you can sit close to the work with a bench “peg”.  The peg is a slightly sloped piece of wood that jewellers cut a “V” into as well as other notches as grooves that support the piece while I work on it.  

Suspended underneath the cut-out is a bench “skin” that catches all those pesky bits that I drop as well as all the silver and gold dust that is filed from pieces and makes it very sparkly!

So this is where my day, as well as some evenings and occasionally a night, looking out of the window at the garden with a naughty kitten curled up in the bench skin and a couple of big dogs acting as draft excluders by the door…...and I love it.

On The Bench!

Over the past few weeks, I've been working on a new collection, comprising of a statement neckline piece (there's always has to be one!), a simpler pendant, earrings and a ring.  Inspired once again by the forest, these drops remind me of a simple leaf shape......or maybe raindrops.

All in sterling silver and made by hand, these pieces are very tactile.  They are now ready for my amazing photographer Alex (www.alexsharp.co.uk) to work her magic so they can appear on the online shop.  In the meantime, you'll just have to make do with my efforts using my phone!

I now have a little production line going, ready for their debut at the Autumn Show in Malvern (23-24 September), hope to see you there.

I've still got to come with a name for this collection, if you have any ideas then don't hesitate to get in touch!