Now I’m going to have a whinge because things have been niggling me for a while – this is for all those shops that have to trawl through the many trade shows – of which there are far too many ! – I was so disappointed with the Pulse Top Drawer show as it is supposed to be a highly selective British designery type show yet to me it was full of cr** made in China !!!  Most of the shops I supply only stock items handmade in the UK and do you know what, these shops are doing really well, maybe we’re all sick of cheap rubbish that’s shipped from halfway across the world with tonnes and tonnes of packaging to only end up in the bin six months later.

So to the couple of shops that have complained to me as to why my pieces aren’t individually boxed I’d have to say that it’s because I care about this planet and I have no wish to contributed to the mess we are all making to it!

Hopefully people will keep my pieces for many many years to come and even pass them down as family heirlooms and not throw them in the bin after six months which is where most of the cr** sold at pulse will end up.

Anyway , now I’ve got that off my chest – I think you can tell that I’m feeling very disillusioned about the whole trade show thing and might not even attend any next year , every year the prices per metre go up more and more ( can you believe that top drawer charged me £48 to store one empty cardboard box!!!)

It’s been all go go go since Pulse ( which by the way was a hopeless show – quiet as a graveyard) thankfully my regular shops have been keeping me very busy – thankyou all. For years people have been telling me to do the top drawer shows in London when in fact the Harrogate show is much better ( and easier )- maybe it’s the first signs of the ‘ credit crunch’, yet all my regular shops have been going crazy!! – to the extent that I have been working 7 days a week sometimes 12 hours a day since May !. Anyway – can’t complain, have just managed to get everything sent out before we go on holiday ( I need one )

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Here are a few new designs Itook to the show – just hav’ent had time to add them onto my website – so if you see anything new that you would like to order just email or phone me.

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Manic again as usual – trying to get out a lot of orders ( if your one of the many waiting please bare with me !) and get ready for my next trade show Pulse – Top Drawer, so much to organise but everythings booked and ready to go – but look what it all done to my pretty pink shed – chaos and meltdown spring to mind!!! , guess which one’s the before and after pic’s . Pulse is held at Earls Court in London on the 1st, second and third of June

I’ve got so many ideas for new clocks and chalkboards it’s hard to find the time to get them done, ( I feel some early morning starts coming on again ) My boys often help me with a few ideas – I get them to sit and draw their ideas as clocks or mirrors (  taking out the more gory parts and dripping blood that seem to infiltrate all there drawings!) so there’s plenty more to come ie. knights, more dragons and big scary dinosaurs.

After lots of requests I decided to make some new fairy hangers, they have hooks along the bottom of their skirts to hang jewellery so have a use. They were very popular at their first show with more than a few shops wanting to take them away ! So there may be a whole range of possibilities there.

Anyway it’ll be a while before any of the new stuff will be seen on my website as I came back from the show with only 3 pieces before i’d had a chance to take any proper pics of them ! but if anyone see’s anything they do want just email me for a chat, I’d love some comments too.

Show time again!

Here we go again, the first show of the year. This is a very little trade show compared to the big shows I’ve done in the past but it has a nice atmosphere. It’s great to chat to other makers , find how their year is going and what shows they think are best – there are so many shows to choose from now and they are so expensive you have to pick the right ones to suit your product otherwise it can turn into an expensive disaster!

I was happy with the with the orders I got as I was already busy and my next ( much bigger show) is only 2 months away ( pulse, top drawer in June ) but the show did feel quite empty and many many people exhibiting did’nt get a single order! which I do feel for them as there is nothing more soul destroying as you sit and watch hundreds of people just walk past the work without a second glance that you have poured your heart and soul into.

 I’m an old hat at this now ( eight years) and have developed a very thick skin, many makers that I started showing with many years ago now have “proper” jobs as it does get tiresome hoping for and waiting for orders and then waiting forever sometimes for payment! when supplying – it’s a much happier mix to sell to the public as well, as I realised last year at the Country Living christmas fair.