I made this little note about supporting artists, designers and makers… Feel free to share!

All new for spring and available on my website. Please contact me if you are looking for something in particular.

1. Cedar wood wall hanging

2. Pebble mirror

3. Hazel twig fence

4. Tin can lantern

5. How to make a Pinata

6. Pine cone wreath

7. Scrap paper journal

8. Glass bottle garden border

9. DIY paper bunting

Leave a comment telling me which craft project is your favourite and why, and you could be the lucky winner of one of my handmade ceramic bowls

It’s been a great week at CHC headquarters! I’ve been busy planning and organising for some exciting new things ahead. The weather has been up and down but we have still had our fair share of sunshine peering through the clouds. I’m on a mission to make 3 vases a day at the moment… so far so good!

I paid a visit to one of my local stockists yesterday at The Hayrack Gallery in Upper Stowe, such a charming little shopping village with a barn restaurant and farm animals. The gallery is looking lovely inside, it had been about a year since my last visit, so it was nice to see fresh work from new artists. It was time I replenished my stock for the gallery, so I took along lots of new pieces and even helped set up a new display of my work. It was great fun!

We used one of the window sills just as you enter the gallery, so at the moment you will be greeted by my work as soon as you enter. I think the rustic brick window sill really complimented my work with the natural tones.

Various bowls of all different shapes and sizes are on display, along with a couple of clocks, framed pieces and some ceramic planters.

There is also a second display of my work inside the main room of the gallery, where you will find a selection of vases, more bowls, plant markers,  and mini art on easels (see below).

Just outside the gallery there is a beautiful display of turquoise planters that look really stunning. I would quite like one of the hanging cones myself!

It’s been an eventful week over at CHC. Yesterday I was exhibiting at the Weedon Craft Market, which was nice to see some friendly faces of local stall holders and chat to customers. One lovely lady called me up after the market and asked if she could come and collect a bowl that she had fallen in love with. My customers always put a smile on my face

From behind the scenes of my stall… I had the view of lots of delicious cupcakes all day!

Last bank holiday Monday I went to a show jumping ground and jumped a clear round on Dizzy. She was amazing, as were all of the other horses that we took in the lorry, and the weather was perfect. I can’t wait to attend a proper judged show now that I know what to expect, although the atmosphere will no doubt be a lot more nerve wracking!

Last week I also went to my first barbecue of the year, it was lovely sitting outside til late at night while the air was still warm, eating homemade burgers (and drinking wine, of course!)

Some new ceramic bunting and garlands have been added to my website this week – I hope you like them. They can be hung outside in the garden, and also look really pretty draped across a window.

I’m preparing a selection of new stock for the Hayrack Gallery in Upper Stowe to deliver some time this week, so I’ll have that to show you very soon.

Hope you had a great weekend. Enjoy your week! x

What goes into a price…

For me the first step of my creative process is preparing clay… This can be anything from rolling out, wedging, or forming balls ready to work with.

The next step is to form or build a piece using different techniques including slab building, pinch pot forming, pressing into moulds or cutting out flat pieces to size and shape. Some other examples in different craft forms can be seen below:

1. Me trimming a slab-constructed vase.
2. Charlotte Macey sewing spotty egg cups onto linen.
3. Wendy Jeavons cutting sparkly glass for fairy lights.
4. Kirsty Elson‘s husband helping to collect driftwood ready to create wooden houses and boats.

Once a piece of my work has been formed, I then usually decorate it by impressing textures and adding slips. Then it’s the long process of drying out which can sometimes take up to a whole week. It’s important not to let clay dry out too quickly as this could cause stress inside the molecules of the clay, causing it to crack later down the line, especially when fired in the kiln. I cover my work with plastic bags and then slowly day by day make the bag loose to let more air reach the clay to dry it out. Eventually the bag is removed to allow the clay to completely dry out.

The ‘greenware’ stage of clay is my favourite – This is when it is not fully dried out but stiff enough to still work with. It is a good time to engrave wording or additional decoration at this stage.

Once fully dried out, work needs to be loaded into a kiln for bisque firing which can take 24 hours. The kiln then needs to be unloaded, glazes are to be mixed, painted/sprayed onto the bisque fired pieces, and left to dry. The kiln is then re-loaded and fired again to a higher temperature – 1260′C in my case. It takes 2 days for the kiln to reach this temperature and then fully cool down again before it can be opened.

Mixing glazes

After opening the kiln and admiring lots of glossy new products, the handmade process doesn’t end there!

There’s then cleaning up to do, pricing, taking photos, packing, and marketing.

Not forgetting travelling to and from suppliers, galleries to deliver work, craft fairs and exhibitions to set up a display, costs for equipment including electricity to run the kiln, the kiln itself, clay, raw glaze materials, tools, etc.

After all of that, our designs and ideas aren’t just plucked out of the air… There’s planning, sketchbook ideas and brainstorms, product development, designing a stand. I could probably go on but I hope this gives you a good idea and helps you to think about what has gone into the next handmade product that you buy!

Browsing images of inspiration in my Pinterest Boards, a few recent ‘pins’ have really stood out and caught my eye. I use these images to develop surface design/decoration ideas onto the surface of clay when making.

Can you believe the above image is of rust? It’s amazing how something so old and weathered can appear so beautiful. I love the colours.

This fantastic piece above is by artist Amy Eisenfeld Genser, I recently came across her work and has trouble choosing which image to share… Each of her individual dimensional paper collages are stunning. Check out her website for more inspirational pieces.

Another image that truly inspires me is this beach snapshot above. I love the contrasting light and dark colours, amongst layers of texture and linear patterns. I think this would make a stunning wall piece.

I’ve named these ‘mushroom shaped bowls‘ as they have always reminded me of mushrooms. With the little pool of melted glass in the centre of the bases, it is almost like finding hidden treasure when peering inside.

Each bowl is hand-formed using the pinch pot technique, and then evolved into individual unique pieces by altering the wall thickness, overall diameter, and form of the rim. I have a lot of fun making these and enjoy decorating each bowl differently.

When I look at the group of bowls together they also remind me of flower heads, all growing happily in the sunshine.

You can view my full selection of handmade bowls and dishes over at my shop.

On Saturday I took a trip to Brackley to visit my new stockist: ‘All Things Clay’, located at The Courtyard Mews in the Market Place. Situated in between Oxford and Northampton, Brackley is historically a market town and over time has been known for wool and lace-making. It’s such a lovely place with lots of nice little shops.

Currently alongside my work, ‘All Things Clay‘ shows the work of ceramicists Sally Rowan and Pam Foley. Sally’s work is based on images of people; facial representations mostly in black or black and grey, using the plain fired bisque as her canvas. While Pam’s work consists of a range of different bowls that have been smoke fired, creating a beautiful finish to the surface.

The aim of the shop is to showcase and sell a diverse range of different ceramic pieces from different ceramic artists with completely different styles.

If you are in the area or passing by, I definitely recommend The Courtyard Mews in Brackley a place to stop and have a look around. Inside you’ll find the most gorgeous smelling flower shop, along with other gift shops and galleries, and also the Information Bureau.

One of my favourite things was the cobbled pathways… easily pleased!

Last night I took part in a Macmillan fundraising charity event at Long Buckby Health Centre, Northants. If you hadn’t heard about it, people all over the country were organising their own individual ways of raising money from a girls night in, to large public events called ‘a really good night in‘.

Upstairs at the gym in Long Buckby we had around 12 craft stalls amongst other entertainment and other things going on throughout the evening.

I was lucky enough to borrow a glass cabinet which was displayed alongside my stall and looked great. Once the evening got into full swing I enjoyed chatting to customers and received some lovely compliments.

Altogether a total of £500 was raised for Macmillan from the event, it was amazing hearing the news this morning! Thanks to everyone who took part in organising and supporting the event, I had a great time x