I had another pleasant surprise opening the kiln this week, with no ‘happy accidents!’ It has felt good finishing off custom orders and getting lots of pieces fired over the last few weeks, but there is still a mountain of work piling up ready to be fired in the new kiln. The new kiln is being delivered in just over a week now, I am sooo excited to finally see it installed!

Fresh from the kiln this week is this pair of Landscape Stacking Bowls with matching surface design, colour and areas of melted glass. They could be displayed ‘stacked’, or separately as shown above. I like the effect of the dark colours, making these bowls appear as statement pieces.

It’s someone’s birthday coming up! One of my latest custom orders was for three of my ceramic gift tags, each with ‘happy birthday’ engraved. I wonder what gifts they will be used to decorate?

This popular Set of four green leaf ceramic coasters is now back in stock, along with a range of other coaster sets including some new designs such as this Set of four dandelion heart coasters below.

One of my latest orders for a personalised heart plaque included a date at the bottom. This is the first plaque I’ve made with a date on it – I think it is the date that the couple were married, isn’t it lovely?

Set of four square textured coasters

And last but not least… I couldn’t share a post without dandelions

Blow Away Dandelion Heart Dish ~ Blue Dandelion Seed Head Heart Dish

Which is your favourite?

If you know me, you’ll know that I LOVE dandelions! So much so that I love collecting things with them on. I’ve got some gorgeous framed dandelion prints and decorations, and I even have a tattoo of a dandelion! Last year the dandelion theme started to evoke through pieces of my work and it has since developed into further designs.

This panelled ceramic dandelion wall hanging below is one of my favourite new pieces. I almost kept it for myself! Measuring approx 100cm long, this decorative piece would make a stunning eye catcher in any room.

Melted glass on the surface design has created a slightly raised effect.

If you’re not on Pinterest, it’s a great place to store inspiring images of interest that you come across while browsing the internet. I love my dandelion board, take a peek for more images! I’ve selected a few of my favourites below…

Aren’t they beautiful?

Introducing my new stockist…  Ashdown Gallery based in the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex. Ashdown Gallery is a smart, versatile venue with an exciting collection of art – the only contemporary art venue in and around the Ashdown Forest.

As well as exhibiting the work of many talented designer makers, the gallery also holds regular workshops and has a gift area.  The top image shows some of my pieces you will find throughout the gallery.

Some of my work was sold immediately after the gallery had put it out on display! Here are some more mini ceramic art on easels that are on their way down to Ashdown Gallery today. If you are in the area pop in and have a look!

Here are some new leaf bowls ~ available in the shop on my website as Rustic Maple Leaf Bowl and Rustic Botanical Leaf Dish. I love the combination of deep colours and the shiny pools of melted glass.

If you haven’t got your Mothers Day gift sorted yet, take your pick from a selection of new love heart bowls, they make perfect soap dishes and are also ideal for holding jewellery, other trinkets or tea light candles.

I hadn’t made any of my usual wavy edged bowls for a while and they all seem to be selling out, so I’ve got plenty more lined up to be fired in the new kiln. Here are a couple of new ones below. I think the close up detail would make a nice framed print!

 Wavy Landscape Ceramic Bowl

Blue Waves Ceramic Dish  

Hope you’ve enjoyed some of my new bowls, check back this week for some new sets of coasters and hanging decorations!

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Valentines and Mothers Day are fast approaching… grab a unique heartfelt gift for your loved one from my website shop! Each item is an individual one-off, and it makes a gift even more special knowing it is the only one of it’s kind!

Oops my blog has been neglected lately, I’ve been so busy and lots of exciting things are happening at the moment…

I was away last week staying in a log cabin with some friends, we didn’t get any snow but we had a great time!

Valentines Day is fast approaching so I’ve been busy making personalised engraved love heart plaques and sending stock to new galleries (more details to be announced soon!)

A couple of days ago I was contacted by someone on behalf of Richard Curtis, the writer/director of Notting Hill, Love Actually etc. Unfortunately his mother recently passed away and for her funeral next week he was interested in purchasing 200 of my ceramic plant markers with his mothers name engraved! Sadly it was far too short notice for me to get a batch of 200 plant markers made in time by myself, especially for each one to be individually engraved, but it still feels so exciting being approached by someone so famous!! Luckily a company was found who could mass produce the markers in enough time. I wonder how they came across my plant markers… perhaps in one of the magazines they have been featured in such as House Beautiful!?

If you are a regular reader of my facebook page, you might remember me mentioning an exciting opportunity last year where my website was going to appear in a book. I am now pleased to announce that imagery from my website is going to be printed in a new book – ‘The Workshop Guide to Ceramics‘ by Quarto Publishing, which is out in March! Can’t wait to receive my complimentary copy

While on the subject of exciting news… my new kiln is going to be delivered in March! It will be fantastic to finally have a more reliable and much bigger kiln. New work is already in progress in the workshop ready to fill it up!

Ingredients:

• About 8 ripe tomatoes, halved
• 1 large red pepper cut into chunks
• 1 red onion, peeled and thickly sliced
• 6 cloves of garlic
• Leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 600ml vegetable stock
• 50ml double cream

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200′C

2. Arrange tomato halves and red pepper chunks, cut side up, in a single layer on a baking tray and scatter over the onion, garlic, thyme and sugar. Drizzle over the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season well with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until softened.

3. Once cooked, tip the entire contents of the baking tray, including any juices, into a blender. Add the stock and blend until smooth, then pour into a large saucepan. Bring the soup to the boil, add the cream, reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes to heat through.

4. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with crusty tiger bread!

I tried my first bowl full of this soup for lunch yesterday, and the verdict was….. delicious!! Although I had been told I smelt of garlic a lot, so I might cut down on the garlic cloves next time!

It’s supposed to be for kids, but I love it!

My ‘Beside The Sea’ ceramic heart pendant appeared in the Gift Guide in the Dec 2011 issue of FACEON magazine, featured as Star Buy! I received my complimentary copy of the magazine this week…

My ceramic Leaf Bunting was featured in the Dec 2011 issue of Wedding Ideas Magazine…

and my ‘Dear Santa’ ceramic plaque was featured in the Dec 2011 issue of Affinity Magazine…

I would like to take an opportunity to thank everyone who supported me alongside Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics throughout 2011, including family, friends, customers, fans, and many more people I have met along the way. It wouldn’t be the same without you all! It has been another great year with plenty of memorable times, and I thought I would share some of the highlights with you…

•  A range of my products were professionally photographed by Matt Debouge in 2011 (see a selection above). I was very happy with the results.

•  I hosted my own solo exhibition entitled ‘Fragments of Nature‘ in two of the large cabinets at Daventry Library (below).

• I also took part in the following exhibitions throughout the year;

‘Craft & Design Month‘ at Down to Earth Gallery in May

‘Contemporary Coastal’ at Staacks from June – July

‘Summer Exhibition’ at Victoria Fearne Gallery from July – August

• While taking part in Theo Paphitis’ #SBS (Small Business Sunday) on Twitter, I was lucky enough to have my tweet re-tweeted by Theo in April 2011, which was a fantastic early birthday present!

•  I was so excited to be on board The Light Direction team, becoming an official merchandise creator for the popular novel series. My specially designed beach hut hangings, magnets, brooches, pendants, plaques and mini art on easels are all now merchandise pieces for the ‘Beside The Sea’ theme of the book.

•  I gained 4 new stockists;

The Tearoom Boutique

Peephole Crafts

Poppies Tea Shop

Also thanks to Pretty Things Derby where my products were stocked for a short period, but unfortunately the shop will be closing down in a couple of weeks.

• Some of my tea light bowls were used as props in the photography of some stunning jewellery.

• My new website www.charlottehupfieldceramics.com was launched in July, following the success of my new online shop which was relaunched in November.

• 2011 was my best year for magazine publications so far… I was featured in magazines including Vogue, House Beautiful, Amateur Gardening, Living Edge, Country & Border Life, Fusion Flowers,  plus many more.

• I introduced some new products to my range, including Framed Ceramic Art…

 …and also a varied selection of one-off wind chimes, mini ceramic art on easels, and decorative display panels.

• I also introduced some new design themes to my work, including dandelions, beach huts, leaves and bonsai trees. These themes are still currently under development so expect to see more from these ranges throughout 2012!

• I sold my work at various fairs and events throughout the year, and won a hamper prize at my last fair in December for ‘Best Dressed Stall’ which was a fantastic end to the year!

Phew, what a year it has been. It was quite a roller-coaster at times but still very enjoyable
I’m looking forward to progressing with Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics in 2012,  lots of exciting things are already planned – this year is going to be the best!

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