A Year On My Own

It almost slipped by unnoticed but as I was walking to a client's house this morning I remembered that yesterday was an exact year since I was made redundant from my day job and forced to become a full time freelancer! It is in fact the first time since I graduated that I've gone a whole year without being on payroll somewhere and I have to say it feels pretty good. A lot of that has to do with being sat on the sofa in my lovely little flat, in a leafy suburb of South Liverpool, the cats on the balcony, the sun streaming through the windows and me devouring a packet of coconut macaroons. But the rest of the good feeling is to do with being my own boss and deriving my (small) income from purely creative work for the first time ever.

I'm not going to turn this post into some 'You can be a millionaire craftsperson just like me!' piece, beause I'm not, I don't think they exist, and I'm certainly not someone to be telling other people how to do anything (with this exception, I draw your attention to my current position on the sofa stuffing my face with macaroons; this is NOT how you increase sales or drive traffic to your website.)

Whoops.

I am just going to point out that my ability to do this has been made much easier by two things. One is my wonderful boyfriend who has a much more sensible job than me and so keeps us on the right side of the rent every month (thanks!). The other is the wealth of other small and independent businesses operating in Liverpool who provide opportunities for me, and other creatively minded people, to make a living from their practice. One of the virtues of being a relatively small city is that communities of like minded people, be it in craft, music, arts, theatre, food...etc. grow quite naturally and make everything seem much more achievable than they would if you were stuck out on your own trying to make it happen by yourself. And being such a small city word of mouth does a lot of the work for you, friends of friends of friends are an invaluable source of business!

So, just to finish I would like to thank, in no particular order, all the people and businesses who have kept me in baked coconut snacks for the past 365 days;

Open Culture

Made-Here

Really Now

Capstans Bazaar

Kirsty Doyle

Bluebird Tea Co

Craft Creative

Blank Note's Super Summer Fair

The Liverpool Craft and Design Show 

 Also the Merseyside Etsy Team for sharing your knowledge and experience with us all.

And finally anyone who has ever bought anything from me, ta!

Hello March!

Perhaps it's because my birthday sits right in the middle of the month,(and because it's a little on the short side anyway) but February has a habit of whistling right past me, and this year has been no different. But, on the plus side, March is shaping up very nicely indeed!

On  Saturday I'll be taking part in my first fair of the year, at the amazing Camp and Furnace.

The Baltic Arts and Craft Fair before Chrtistmas was a brilliant day, lots of wonderful sellers, brilliant live music, and just a really fantastic atmosphere. I'll be fully stocked with Mother's Day gifts, a basket of half price bargains, and I'll be debuting my new range of Liberty knot jewellery too.

And on Sunday the Made Here shop in the Metquarter are going to be celebrating their First Birthday!

 

A big milestone for this brilliant shop, there's live music,  half price framing on prints all day and there's even going to be cake! If you're in the Liverpool area I really recommend checking it out and supporting your local independents.

Still in Mother's Day mode, Thursday sees me working with Craft Creative again on my sailor tattoo inspired Cushion Workshop.

I'll be showing you how to create your own retro tattoo style design, and teaching you all the stitches you need to adorn your cushion cover, a night out and a gift idea in one! We'll be at Percy Gulliver's Printshop and Social, above the Shipping Forecast, 6:30 - 9:30. All materials and equipment are provided, you don't need any previous experience and you can have a glass of wine while you create! Book tickets by getting in touch with Craft Creative here.

 

And if that isn't enough fun for you there's still Threshold Festival to look forward to! 3 days of live music and events for just £20, from the 8th to the 10th. I can't tell you too much about my involvement in this but if you take a wander round Liverpool's Baltic Triangle next weekend there might be some new additions to the area....

And that's all for now! Do let me know if you get a chance to see any of it, and come and say hi if you're about! Hope you all have a lovely March!

New for 2013

In the months since Christmas I have been busily working away on a new collection of jewellery, with a little bit of help from YouTube and my trusty Good Housekeeping Encyclopeadia of Needlecraft.

 Whilst sitting at my desk for hours playing with string might not have looked like work it was an important part of the process.

 So far, not very impressive.

 Getting somewhere...

I think I'm onto something!

It was also my first foray into the frankly baffling world of jewellery components, which lead to hours trawling Ebay, Etsy and various other sites trying to find the things I thought I needed.

And once that was resolved I had to splash out on (another) new gadget for my machine, though that was much less confusing.

Is owning 3 different kinds of zipper foot excessive?

And you can see the new collection after the jump!

River Crossing

 I posted off a special parcel today, complete with my new logo.

 

It was the first shipment of my pieces to go to a new stockist, the Cetra Studio and Gallery over the water in Heswall. The shop is part of a larger business providing photography services for weddings and other events. 

Some of the beautiful work on sale at Cetra already from their Facebook page. I love this tealight holder by Karen Turner.

I was very excited to be asked if I'd like to display my work there, and 

got together a mini collection of bags and purses just for them.

 An oversize envelope clutch in ecru ticking with a Liberty needlecord flap.

3 little a-symmetric purses with vintage button fasteners.

 A trio of shiny gold framed coin purses.

 A trapeze clutch in vintage Liberty wool.

And another little clutch in pink, pure wool tartan.

Of course they are all completed with my surprising linings!

I think my stitching has found a happy home at Cetra. If you're over on 'the other side' why not stop by and have a look at all the beautiful local work on offer!