Monthly Archives: March 2011
Featured Interview – Inspiral Silver
Meet: Sally of Inspiral Silver
How long have you been making your work and how did it all begin?
Well I have always been an arty / crafty person, loved making things, painting things, etc but I started making jewellery as a hobby when I was a teenager. A bead shop opened in the town where I lived (Spellbound Beads,
I was quite content with bead work, making things for myself and occasionally friends and family…but then I saw a brochure for art courses at my local college. The one that caught my eye was silversmithing. My dad had done a course when he was my age, and loved it, so I thought I’d give it a shot. Once again I was hooked, and haven’t looked back since!
Jewellery making is a hobby for me. Sadly I have a full time (boring) job to pay the bills etc, but I love to create things in my spare time. I only opened my Folksy shop in November, so am still getting to grips with selling and promotion, but I’m loving every minute.
I also love painting and drawing, and am considering selling some of my work on Folksy too. Watch this space!
What processes & techniques do you use in your work?
I work with sterling silver at the moment, mixing in gemstones and buttons for detail. I hope to start experimenting with copper as well soon.
Most of my current work is made from silver wire which has been shaped by hand / with basic tools to create unique pieces of jewellery. I also add colour and interest with beads and buttons, usually gemstone. I love creating texture and sparkle on my pieces, mostly by hammering the work. I am also starting to make some pieces from silver sheet to create more ‘solid’ pieces.
A lot of my skills have been developed through trial and error. I’m more of a ‘do first think later’ type person, and love trying out new ideas and techniques to see what effects I get.
What are you inspired by?
Anything and everything! Pretty much all of my work features spirals or swirls. I look for shapes in nature, art, doodles and turn them into jewellery designs. I am also inspired by techniques, if that makes sense. If I see a technique that I love, I try it out and go from there. My ideas process is very fluid, and can develop from anywhere, to anything!
Do you have a work space or studio? What is it like?
Sadly I don’t have a dedicated work space at the moment. I have a large box of tools and other bits & bobs, which I spread out on any available surface (often the floor!). I would love to get a proper work bench, and I think my family would too so that I stop making so much mess. One day…
Where can people buy your work? At the moment I only sell through Folksy http://www.folksy.com/shops/inspiralsilver
How do you promote your work?
Through Folksy and Facebook at the moment. I am currently setting up a website and blog, and am hoping they will help with promotion. Also thinking of getting some business cards, as you never know when you might meet a potential customer!
What goals do you have for the future?
Short term, list all of the items I have made recently, including my new ‘Love Hearts’ range. Longer term, get the website & blog up and running, and work on promoting my shop / items more. I also aim to approach local outlets and publications, and perhaps some national ones, with a view to getting my items featured. Ultimately, I would love to do this full time but I’m not sure I will be able to!
What advice would you offer to someone thinking about turning their craft/art into a business?
Do as much research as you can! I’m still starting out myself, so am still finding out useful info and ideas. Listen to people’s advice, whoever they are – people’s opinions are important. You don’t always have to do what they suggest, but I find it always helps to get an ‘outside’ view. I have taken advice from family, friends, and the Folksy community of course!
I also think that getting your ‘brand’ sorted is very important. Again I am still in the process of this, but hope to come up with a recognisable ‘image’ soon.
And promotion…very important if you want to make it more than just a hobby. Talk to people…at work, at home, on your blog, on the forums. Never underestimate the power of word-of-mouth.
A few of your favourites (just for fun)….
Colour: Purple
Animal: Cat…we have two barmy ones!
Season: Spring. I love the explosion of colour.
Person: My lovely fiancé. Still can’t believe my luck that I found him 
Food: Chocolate (cliché I know)
Website: Folksy! I wish I were rich so I could buy all the lovely items.
‘Fragments of Nature’ Exhibition
Surface Designs
Featured Interview – HanconWhite
My name is Claire White and my business name is Hancon White, I was born a Hancon and married a White so it seemed an obvious choice for the brand. Currently I make cushions, aprons and peg-bags, with a range of appliquéd tote bags coming soon.
How long have you been making your work and how did it all begin?
My mum has always sewn and her mum is a knitter so I suppose it was always in my blood. I did a textiles GCSE (many years ago!) but I didn’t think at the time that it was something I could make a living from. I was given a sewing machine for my birthday last year and I got the bug again. Since having the girls, I’m spending a lot more time at home and by chatting to other Mums, I realised that the products we wanted weren’t available in the fabrics / colourways we wanted – so, with help from my mum, I dusted off my skills and set to making!
What processes and techniques do you use in your work?
It’s me and my sewing machine so I’m quite low maintenance in that respect – I’ve been playing around with appliqué recently so expect to see some appliquéd items in the shop soon…
What are you inspired by?
I tend to work backwards – I will find a fabric that I cannot resist and then find something to make with it. I’ve quite a collection building up and am brimming with ideas for it all…I just need to remember to write them all down…
Do you have a workspace or studio?
I’d love to say that I have a light and airy converted loft space for my studio (a girl can dream!) – in reality, however, it’s my sewing machine on the dining table when the kids aren’t around!
Where can people buy your work?
I set up my shop (www.hanconwhite.folksy.com) on Folksy in November 2010. I also plan to hold mini-shopping events at my home in the future.
How do you promote your work?
To be honest, not well enough at the moment! I’m on Twitter (@hanconwhite) and have my own website (www.hanconwhite.com) and you can sometimes find me on the forums on Folksy. I have some lovely business cards that languish in my handbag as I’m very bad at handing them out! Something for me to work on in 2011…
What goals do you have for the future?
Once my youngest starts school I’ll have a lot more time for sewing and I’d love to expand my range further. I’d like to design and print my own fabrics eventually and to have a retail space would be amazing!
What advice would you offer to someone thinking about turning their craft/art into a business?
I don’t feel particularly qualified to answer this one as I’m still a bit of a new girl myself but I think the most important thing is to promote yourself as much as you can and not sell yourself short. Ultimately – go for it!
A few of your favourites… (just for fun!)
Colour: Purple
Animal: Giraffe
Season: Spring
Person: I’m going to cheat and say my 2 girls
Food: At the moment butternut squash risotto but this changes daily!
Website: Ooh that’s a hard one but I’m going to say Pinterest.com – I could (and often do!) spend hours on here… You can follow my Pinterest boards here.
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Thank you for taking part in my interviews Claire, I love the subtle fabrics you use in your work. Looking forward to seeing your new range of tote bags soon!
Hello Spring!
New Hanging Mobiles & Wind Chimes
Disappointing Craft Fair
Features
Featured Interview – Lilly’s Night Garden
Meet: Dawn Jones -
I developed my current style (if I can call it that as it sounds very grand!) after going on a workshop last July run by Sheena Douglas. An old friend of mine treated me as a birthday and Christmas present and I’ve never looked back! Never having seen Create and Craft TV, I actually had no idea who Sheena Douglas was but she was very good and introduced me to alcohol inks and distress inks which are used in most of the items in my folksy shop.
I am now a huge fan of both alcohol inks and distress inks and I love coming up with unusual backgrounds to form the basis of anything from cards to mouse mats to notebooks and, most recently, jewellery.
Alcohol inks look great on glossy card, giving a marble-effect and distress inks are incredibly versatile as they can be used on their own or mixed with water to give an effect similar to watercolour paints.
I’ve recently rediscovered marbling and quiliing and have just started to try to find ways to incorporate them with the other techniques.
What are you inspired by?That’s a hard one to be honest! Nature and wildlife have got to be my biggest inspirations I would say. I also love
Do you have a work space or studio? What is it like?I wish! My workspace is either the kitchen table (a pain as everything lives in the spare room so it all has to come downstairs and be put away again!!) or the floor of the spare room. I’d love to have a three bedroom house one day to be able to have a proper spare room and a craft room!
On Folksy and I also have recently started selling my cards in an independent shop in
I get involved in the daily listing clubs on Folksy which I find is a fantastic way to get noticed and also just try to be as active as possible on the Folksy forums – when time allows. Other than that, all my cards have a sticker on the back with my Folksy shop website address just in case the receipient fancies a look!
I’m hoping to continue coming up with new ideas for items to list in my shop. I’ll attempt decorating anything which can be decorated! For example, I’m considering having a go at some Oyster card holders. I’m also hoping to have a go at marbling on fabric and possibly a bit of lacemaking and flower pressing to be incorporated into my items in some way. I also want to keep practicing my drawing. I’ve had a go recently but definitely need a bit more practice!
What advice would you offer to someone thinking about turning their craft/art into a business?
I think perseverance would be the key thing. There’s so many talented artists out there, it can be difficult to get noticed. Also, I think it is important to try and keep it fun. I’ve learned the hard way that if you put too much pressure on yourself, crafting can become a chore and no longer a pleasure!
Colour:
An easy one – purple!Animal: Any one who knows me says I’m destined to become a crazy old cat lady…I also love big cats especially tigers and leopards and monkeys and big apes – especially gorillas. I love their wise old faces!
Person: I guess I should say my husband Stu – although sometimes he’s not my favourite person!! The person I’d most like to meet would probably be Louis Theroux or Stephen Fry.
Food: Anything hot and spicy – vegetable biryani in particular. With a nice bit of peshwari naan bread – lovely!
Website: Where would we be without YouTube??
New stockist
New workshop taking shape
You wouldn’t have thought that this time last week we had just moved house and everything was a bit chaotic, if you visited our new house now! Everything is in it’s new place, furniture has been put together, we’ve even made a start on adding plants to the garden. The house is in a lovely peaceful area, there is a canal and fields just over the road – got a feeling I will be taking a few walks there for some inspiration!
My March newsletter is out!
