Off to Market

On Sunday 15th September I hired my first ever stall at Altrincham Vintage, Handmade & Producers' Market. It was a cold, wet and blustery day although the heavy rain held off until the afternoon.

In all honesty, having a market stall was completely out of my comfort zone. The thought of it made me feel exposed and vulnerable (whereas 30 hormonal teenagers in a classroom doesn’t – strange!). However, I knew that it was important to reach a wider audience and so with trepidation I set off with my creations packed into my little car.

My work can also be found on Etsy, Folksy & What I Always Wanted

Once I was at the market and had my stall set up, I started to relax and found that I was actually enjoying myself. It was really good fun and I had a great time. I loved the friendliness of the other stall holders and appreciated their advice. I also enjoyed chatting with people visiting the market and talking about my work.

1. Ox Eye Daisy 2. Lanna Yo 3. Goodnight Boutique 4. Flour Water Salt 5. Beagle N Thread      6. For England & St George 7 Philippa Lightburn 8. Parrot in the Pantry

Things I learnt:

1. I am not a good business woman as I spent all my takings on other stalls. Although, this is a good thing for the local economy! There is a lot of fantastic talent out there in my local community.

2. I need more height in future stall displays so that the eye is led across the various items, plus objects at different heights make the stall look more attractive.

3. Upcycled items are very popular, as are small items. People seem to enjoy rummaging through boxes and baskets for treasure.

4. People were browsing for Christmas and lots of business cards were taken with this in mind.

5. In future, I would like to have a greater variety of products on sale that show a wider range of my skills. I did not have any ceramic items or illustrations on sale. However, I can’t be too hard on myself as there’s only so much time to produce art when I have a full time job!

All in all, it was great fun and I thoroughly recommend selling at a market or fair.

Curious Clare's Handmade Wedding - Part One

Bird bunting can be ordered here

Our wedding reception at a local village hall was the perfect venue for this handmade vertical bird bunting. It added a splash of colour to an otherwise tall and dark ceiling. The bunting decorations hung beautifully with tissue paper pompoms and lanterns. 

The bird motif used in the laser cutting is taken from the robin on my Curious Clare logo (see above!). 

I had great fun making this bunting and it looked so pretty hanging above the trestle tables at our wedding reception.

Craft Makes (Issue 47): Meet Curious Clare

This week I am delighted to report that I have a 'Behind the Scenes' interview in Craft Makes (Issue 47), called 'Meet Curious Clare'. Craft Makes is a weekly digital magazine that comes out every Friday. It aims to 'provide weekly inspiration, share news and meets up with Artists & Crafters from around the world.' 

Screen shot of the double page article

The magazine aims to help readers 'develop their knowledge and skills in a wide range of crafts, tools and techniques'. There is something for everyone and projects vary in difficulty. In Issue 47, I am particularly fond of the project that upcycles an old stripy jumper into a Mr Mouse hand puppet. Cute!

Meet Curious Clare - page 28

It is lovely to be featured in Craft Makes and I am looking forward to seeing what new projects they have to offer in their next issue! Have you spotted my cheeky cat, Oaky, who has sneaked her way on to the cover!

Meet Curious Clare - page 29

Myself and Oaky, my cheeky cat, on the front cover!

Cleveland Way - Coastal Walk from Whitby to Robin Hood’s Bay

Whitby is a picturesque and atmospheric fishing town steeped in maritime history on the North Yorkshire coast. It is packed full of cobbled streets, alleyways and old fisherman’s cottages that all appear to be piled up on top of one another. I’ve been visiting Whitby for nearly two decades now and it is a firm family favourite.

In all that time I have never walked along Cleveland Way from Whitby to Robin Hood’s Bay, as visits are usually in the depths of winter. So this time, I was determined to take advantage of the glorious sunny weather and complete the eight mile coastal walk.

 

We set off from our cottage at the end of Henrietta Street walking past the wonderful smoky smells emanating from Fortunes Kippers (a renowned smokehouse and shop selling fabulous smoked kippers) and along to the bottom of the 199 steps. Upon reaching the top of the steps, you enter the sacred ground of St. Mary’s church (the graveyard is used as a setting in Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula) and immediately pass the intricately carved Caedmon Cross. This twenty foot high monument commemorates Caedmon, a farm worker who went on to become the creator of English sacred song and England’s first poet. 

It is well worth the effort of climbing up the 199 steps to St Mary’s churchyard as you are rewarded with stunning views of Whitby harbour and beyond to the coastal village of Sandsend. The atmospheric ruins of Whitby Abbey dominate this part of the headland and always provide a great photo opportunity! 

Photo on the top left shows Saltwick Nab where Rohilla ran aground in 1914

Cleveland Way is a well signed trail and we were able to easily pick out the route by the Abbey that hugs the edge of the cliff tops. The walk has gentle terrain with occasional steep inclines. Sights along the way include rugged cliffs, idyllic farmland and lighthouses. Dotted along the trail are points of historical interest such as Saltwick Nab where the hospital ship Rohilla ran aground in 1914 and you can also see hints of a coastal coalmine.

 

After a couple of hours we were eventually greeted with the stunning sight of Robin Hood’s Bay. Robin Hood’s Bay is a small fishing village where row upon row of tiny cottages hug the two steep cliffs. It has one small road down to the bay and access is mainly on foot along a rabbit warren of narrow cobbled streets. The Bay’s lifeblood used to come from fishing and smuggling. Today it thrives on tourism and it was lovely to see dogs and children alike running in and out of the sea at low tide.

I’d like to add that we did our bit for the local economy and had an ale in two of the three pubs there after we had wolved down a portion of delicious fish and chips from Mariondale Fisheries. All in all it was a totally enjoyable walk with great views of the dramatic coastline. I thoroughly recommend giving it a go!

Tutorial - Using heart tins as corner shelves!

Here's an easy peasy and quick tutorial. It all started when I spotted a bare corner in my studio at Local Creation, whilst also pondering what to do with three unused but lovely heart tins. Whilst playing around with them, I wondered what they would look like on the wall as they had holey, lacy edges (ready-made heart shaped nail holes!). I found that they looked better upside down as this disguised the fixings. 
1.) Basically, take a heart shaped tin with a holey/lacy edge. If your tin doesn't have ready made holes it would be simple enough to carefully 3x drill holes at each side where the tin touches the wall and one near the point where the corner of the wall will be.
2.)Using a pencil, hold your tin against the wall and mark where the holes are. Hammer in the nail part of the way to start off the hole. When you are happy that the tin shelf is straight and in the right place, hammer in the nail leaving 2cm protuding (this will help to secure the shelf). If you want your shelf to hold heavier objects then you will need to use screws/wall plugs and a screwdriver or drill to fix to the wall. I was happy for my shelf to be securely fixed using nails, as I knew that I would place only small light objects on top.
3.) Find appropriate trinkets, place on top and admire! I have used 3D paper houses, a jar of buttons & plastic flowers, a heart shaped doily, an origami flower (left over from my wedding), and one of my ice cream van brooches to decorate the shelves.

The Lonely Ice Cream Van

This is the lonely ice cream van that inspired me to make a range of fun, summery brooches.

We saw it whilst visiting Robin Hood's Bay beach on a grey and blustery morning. Robin Hood’s Bay is a stunning fishing village on the North Yorkshire coast. The village has an abundance of idyllic cottages packed into rabbit warren style streets that wind their way down to the beach. As it was low tide, the van was parked on the beach with an occasional holiday maker walking by. It looked so out of place on such a grey day. I was amused and impressed by the ice cream man’s determination to sell frosty delights in all weathers!
Once I returned home I decided to create a cheerier version of the ice cream van taking inspiration from older, vintage models. I've always loved ice cream vans as they are such an iconic symbol of British summer time and they bring back childhood memories of happy days spent on the beach.

An ice cream van adorned with pattern and colour could cheer up any dull day!

If you have a moment, you might like to take a peek at my Etsy and Folksy shops where you can find three different colourways of the brooch for sale.

My 9 year old self enjoying the British seaside!

Goodbye Baby Chip

A personal account of a miscarriage that I have written to help me come to terms with my loss and also to act as a record of a fleeting life.
On Friday 26^th April, we discovered that I was five weeks pregnant. We were overjoyed and a little awed at the prospect of welcoming a new member into our little family. All the signs over the next few weeks were of a normal healthy pregnancy and it was becoming increasingly tricky to disguise my growing bump. Little did we know that seven weeks later I would start to miscarry when a scan revealed that the baby did not have a heartbeat. I always knew that a miscarriage was a terrible experience but I had no idea that it would be so painful, prolonged and frightening or end in emergency surgery after two failed attempts at medical management.

Whilst recovering back at home, I struggled to come to terms with the loss. Not only was I in physical pain but I also felt bereft and heartbroken. As the time passed I knew that I needed something tangible to mark the event and acknowledge a life that was never meant to last for long. I began to think about western ways of dealing with death but none of them seemed to be appropriate. Then I remembered the ceremonies that I have witnessed in Japan and Hong Kong. I have always felt an affinity with Buddhist teachings and found their religious ceremonies and temples to be calming.  I realise that religion is not to be dipped in and out of but I really needed a way of acknowledging the fact that I would never get to hold or meet my lost baby.

These thoughts led me to think about the use of paper votives, street shrines (which I have posted about before) and Jizo statues. I first came across Jizo statues in temples and at roadsides when I lived in Japan. I was intrigued to know why certain small statues were adorned with hats and bibs. I later learnt from my Japanese friends that they were used to represent the souls of dead children.

Jizo Statues photo by Al McDermid

Jizo is a Bodhisattva who looks after women, children (including the souls of unborn children) and travellers. Jizo statues are a physical marker of a loss of a child and a protector. They are used in Mizuko Kuyo, which is a Japanese ceremony held in Buddhist temples for those who have had a miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. Mizuko beautifully translates as "water child” which for me seems a really fitting description of a lost baby. 

After thinking about these traditions, I decided that I wanted to create a paper offering that could be released as a simple farewell. I settled on the idea of an origami boat which would be set free by the action of it floating down a gentle stream at Dunham Massey, one of our favourite places. I printed off my favourite wedding photo (that has myself, my husband and son on it) and wrote a letter to baby Chip from all of us before folding it up into a paper boat. I later added 4x sails to symbolise each one of us, with the largest sail representing baby Chip. We floated the boat away the other evening and as time is passing I feel physically better and now hope that the act of saying goodbye will help my emotional healing.

Goodbye baby Chip.