Rare Breeds Project (working title!)

As if I've not got enough on at the moment as it is... I've decided to go ahead with a little (huge) project that I've been mulling over for some time now. 

I love making my animals but do sometimes feel that it's all a bit disparate and lacking a particular direction. It's hard to do a 'range' as each piece is always going to be different but I've been looking for something that will give me a goal to work towards and in turn create a unique and beautiful collection of pieces. The main aspects I wanted to involve were wool (obviously!), heritage, Britain and the idea of a circle of creation... And this is what I've come up with, and am about to embark on...

The Rare Breeds Project (a better name may make itself known soon...)

Boreway Ram

In Britain there are 22 breeds of sheep on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust's Watchlist ranging from Critical to Minority (risk). My felting mission is to make wall hanging sheep heads of all 22 breeds using the fleece of the breed. Some should prove reasonably simple such as the Manx Loaghtan whose wool I use a lot already. Others such as the Critically endangered Boreway (less than 300 breeding ewes) may be more problematic...! 

I'm really looking forward to using such a wide variety of fleeces for felting. Some I know work quite well, others are pretty untested, especially for needle felting so it may be quite surprising, definitely enlightening. I can't wait to get started and will be posting about my progress. I'm doing this alongside making my normal pieces and running the gallery so it may take some time but in the end I hope to have an amazing collection of 22 pieces representing the wonderful variety of native breeds we have here in the UK. In turn I also hope I can use the project to raise awareness of the RBST and the sheep themselves as well as felting and the possibilities. 

Wensleydale

The eventual plan is to show the collection in a show alongside a curated selection of other handcrafted pieces relating to heritage, natural materials and native animals, but that's a little way off yet! 

And finally, as I will be selling the pieces eventually, 10% of all profits will go straight to the RBST to help them continue their work. It costs £700,000 a year to run their conservation projects so every little helps. It would also be wonderful to hear from any Rare Breed farmers, spinners, felters etc. who may like to get involved. I'm looking for raw fleece and tops for all the breeds so if you know anyone who can help please put them in touch! 

Playing with Clay

Last Thursday I jumped in the car and headed off into deepest darkest Dorset. (Very deep and dark at one point during an altercation with a roadworks lorry, an incredibly narrow lane and a range rover...!). I was on my way to the home and studio of Clare Trenchard, a fabulously talented sculptor to have a go at a bit of animal sculpture. Though this is what I do most days, I really fancied trying my hand at some different materials and Clare's 2 day courses offer the chance to work with wax, clay and plaster. 

A hound by Clare Trenchard in her garden

The first day was all about Chickens. Clare's friend Elizabeth had kindly offered some of her family's animals as models and we ended up with a Welsummer and 2 Silkies as well as a 102 year old female tortoise called Bramble! To get us started we worked with wax on small armatures of aluminium. 

The armature for a chicken

These are what I ended up with. I was quite pleased with them but found the wax a little odd to work with and wanted to make something bigger.

Two wax chickens

On day two we changed animals and had two Indian Runner Ducks. These were much more exciting to me and I set about making an armature big enough for a lifesize bird and decided to work with clay. 

Mr and Mrs Duck admiring my work

This all felt much more 'me' and I really got into the flow of things. I'm really pleased with how the piece turned out and have bought some clay to have another go with at home. 

Me hard at work!

The (almost) finished piece

I really like working with clay, but am definitely not going to give up the wool! I'm thinking about various ways of combining to two but haven't had any amazing ideas as of yet... I'll let you know if I do!


Clare runs both animal and human sculpture courses and they're very popular so book soon if you want to have a go yourself. She's a great teacher and everyone else on the course were lovely people and a pleasure to spend a few days with. Visit her website here.

Dorset Art Weeks

Dorset Art Weeks finished on Sunday. Two weeks of having my own work on show in my own gallery. I'm not sure I'll ever get round how professional and real that sounds! The reality is far more knackering, stressful and emotional. A year ago, even 8 months ago I had no idea I'd be doing this, and it's been so tiring that I'm still not sure whether I am happy with how it went. 

In terms of numbers it was great. Lots of people found me thanks to the great brochure that DAW produce and the website, and hopefully a bit of my own promo. There were plenty of visitors that didn't know the gallery was here so the exposure has been well worth it. I got the feeling my work was quite quirky for the usual visitors, the odd one walking out when they realised there were no paintings...! But the absolute majority seemed to really enjoy and appreciate what I'm doing. So many had never seen needle felting before, and if they had they hadn't seen large pieces like some of mine. I must admit I did start to tire of explaining it all by the end so am glad to step away from the felting for a few days. But the other side of that is the chance I got to explain needle felting to so many! 

There were lots of amazing comments left in my visitor book and I think that will be a good thing to look at when I'm feeling a bit down about my work. One thing I did wonder was whether describing it as 'sculptural needle felting' is too niche and I need to look at changing that to something like 'wool sculptures'... I'll keep thinking about that one!

I could have sold a few more pieces; even though I'm quite happy selling other's work and promoting our other makers to customers, when it came down to it being my work I buckled a little and perhaps didn't sell myself as well as I could. All good mistakes to make and learn from. And I did still sell a number of pieces including my showcase pheasant that was in the window, so am really chuffed with that. 

Now it's over, I'm going to have a few days away from the wool (I'm actually going on a clay animal sculpture course with Clare Trenchard so that will force my hand!), take a rest, recuperate and start to think about what next. I'm also going to the Craft Festival at Bovey Tracey on Sunday and I'll aim to blog about that next week. 

I've just been reading some great blogs that are all under the title of 'Things I'm afraid to Tell You' influenced by Jess Constable and started by Ez at Creature Comforts blog about being honest in blogs and online. In a comment on The Jealous Curator's post there was the below quote which I feel sums up quite well where I am with my work at the moment, so I'll let that do the talking...

"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through."
― Ira Glass

Blandford Georgian Fayre

This May Bank Holiday we braved the rain and opened the shop for the Blandford Georgian Fayre. In order to not have someone random outside the shop we had also booked the pitch, so I found myself putting up a gazebo in a windy downpour at 8.30am on Monday morning!

Did I mention we had to dress up?!

Thankfully the rain did clear by lunchtime and the usual throng of crowds appeared. It's quite a mad day, with fairground rides, country events (ferret racing and the like!), stalls, traditional music battling with a battle of the bands, a beer festival, dancers, a town crier competition and very randomly, Stormtroopers...

The wonderful Rachel Dyke and her ceramics

As we were open I didn't really manage to escape this year but we did get a sneeky half at the beer festival after closing :)

All in all it was a really fun day, and I was helped loads by the wonderful Lou and Rachel who manned the stall and the shop all day, and Ben and Owen who helped with the heavy bits, and bought coffee and biscuits so a vitally important role!

More of Rachel's pieces. We sell her larger work all the time in the gallery

It's only on every 2 years so there's a little wait for the next one. And after a long day I was up at 6.30 the next morning to go to the Craft Council Hothouse Taster Day, more on that in my next post.

If you fancy sampling the Georgian delights of Blandford, the beautiful buildings are here all the time and the wonderful Fashion Museum with their Georgian Tea Rooms is well worth a visit.

The sun did eventually break through and the crowds showed up!

Hard Times

Running a shop and gallery can be one of the most erratic, vibrant, difficult and wonderful ways to make a living. Last week was at the more difficult end of the scale and inspired by a tweet I sent I felt the need to write a hopefully honest blog about the difficulties and stresses involved. My apologies if it gets a little rambling!


Last week was probably one of the hardest I've had at the gallery. We've been open since summer 2010 and financially it was our 3rd worst week since opening. This can be very difficult to stomach, especially when you really are doing your all to bring in paying customers. Unfortunately some times you just can't do anything else. It wasn't my fault that it didn't stop raining all week and the main car park was flooded. It wasn't my fault (I hope!) that we're officially back in a recession. And it's not my fault that the town is not looking so great at the moment, with a good number of empty shops and more to come on the horizon ( I know of at least 3 places closing within the next month or so). But, however much I tell myself these things, it doesn't make sitting here waiting for customers and not seeing them any easier. 

Flooded Carpark at Blandford courtesy of BlandfordForumPeople

Luckily I don't tend to be twiddling my thumbs as I can spend the time making my animals, especially at the moment with Dorset Art Weeks looming. Others aren't so fortunate and I see fellow shopkeepers sat there, waiting for the door to open, and if they're anything like me, wondering quite how much longer they can do this for. From visiting business and retail forums, it's obvious no one is alone in this.


I realise this all sounds a bit doom and gloom and I do want to say that it isn't always like this! If it was, I really wouldn't still be open. For every difficult day, week, moment, there are many more that are great, uplifting and that remind me why I did this in the first place. And financially, the bad weeks are thankfully outweighed by the good, at least at the moment.

Image courtesy of and copyright Katie Meyer 2012

I don't want to get into the ins and outs of why high streets are struggling here. I have my theories but that's for another time. What I do want to address and point out is the stress and hardwork that goes into running a business like this. I'm certain other businesses are more stressful and involve more hard work, but this is me and what I know. To do something like this, and to be able to cope with the ups and downs talked about above you need support. You cannot do this alone, and if you do, sooner or later you'll be stuck. I am so lucky to have an OH who is happy to sit and listen to my rants, and parents who are involved in the business and able to offer both business support and emotional support. I also have a wonderful gallery assistant who, though she's only in one day a week, is often the crutch I need to keep going, and is also there for a glass of wine when needed!


I also have a fabulous support network online through twitter. The ability to talk to other gallery owners, makers, and those totally distanced from this world is such a treat and one that I would never take for granted. 

Image courtesy of and copyright Katie Meyer 2012

Opening a shop or gallery is something that should never be done lightly, and I personally had no idea about quite how much hard work it would be, or how much stress I'd be dealing with from time to time. It's a hard slog out there some days, but I'm truly happy to still be here, and once the hard weeks are over and done with, the sun does come out (if only for a day!) and you can stop. Reset. And start again with a smile and a rush of lovely customers as has just happened here!

British Craft Trade Fair

On Sunday I was up bright and early to head to the British Craft Trade Fair (BCTF) at the Great Yorkshire Showground. It's definitely better than going to London for trade shows, the showground has beautiful views and it's a lovely drive through Yorkshire to get there.


There are about 500 stands at the show and I was driving back to Dorset that evening so we didn't have all that much time. My mum came along to give another opinion and ask the questions I always forget! I was also hoping to get some inspiration for how to display my animals as I've now got two big shows lined up (more on that another time). 


I love going to the trade shows. It's a great way to see new trends and new makers, but I especially enjoy meeting up with existing suppliers and friends from twitter. Plus there's lots of beautiful craft to look at of course. 


We had a pretty successful day and have about 5 new makers lined up for the gallery, and plenty more to keep in mind for the future. A few favourites have to be...

Rare Notions, otherwise known as Phiona Richards whom you may have seen on Kirstie making her fabulous paper jewellery and playful sculptures. I was pleasantly surprised at the durability of the pieces and fingers crossed we'll have some to show off in the gallery soon. They make really quirky yet elegant accessories and I can't wait to get my hands on a pin brooch.

Vanessa Conyers and her wonderful ceramics. We already stock Vanessa's work, and her studio is about 200 meters from the gallery but it was lovely to see her at the show and see all her pieces laid out. Her ceramics are truly beautiful and different and well worth a look if you haven't seen her work before.

Made by Simone. I spotted Simone online a few weeks ago and had been really looking forward to seeing her stand. I wasn't disappointed, her ceramic bottles and jewellery are fresh, unique and very wearable (the jewellery, not the bottles...!)

Helen Lea. I hadn't seen Helen's jewellery before but was so glad I spotted it, and we'll be showing her work later in the year. She makes the sweetest little silver pendants, charms and earrings with everything from hedgehogs and ladybirds, to rabbits and carrots and mice and cheese. Fun jewellery that definitely made me smile :)


A few other makers that caught my eye were Richard Goodwin-Jones' raku boats and beach huts, Suzie Horan's ammonite inspired silver jewellery and Anne Cope's simple and bright ceramic jewellery. 


There were loads more, and it was great to see so many talented British makers all under one roof, a real inspiration. 

A Home Visit

I headed up t'North this weekend to go to the British Craft Trade Fair (BCTF) in Harrogate on Sunday. As it's a rather long journey from Dorset I stopped off for the night at my parents in Nottingham. They still live in the village where I grew up (they've lived in 3 houses in the village so far, the current one they built themselves) and it's always lovely to spend some time there, however short. 


The village only has about 100 houses and a church (no shop and crucially, no pub!) but I love it :) I also got to see the family dogs which is a treat, especially as Jim is getting on now; but he is 15 so he's had a good innings so far. I'll put some more up about the fair in another post but for now here's some pics from sunny Thrumpton.

Meg, our forever eager Border Collie

Action shot of my Dad!

The beautiful Thrumpton Hall, I was so lucky to grow up with free reign of the estate

Old boy Jim

Meg posing infront of the Ice House

Conker Tree

Foray into Wet Felting

I'm making a slightly secret piece at the moment and need a long piece of flat felt for it. I thought that needle felting it would take me forever so I decided to give wet felting a go...
I've read about the basics of wet felting and decided to just go for it. Can't say it totally caught my imagination but I was only making a flat piece in one colour. Perhaps I'll try again and be a bit more creative with it. 


I only had a small bamboo roll so ended up making two pieces that I joined together and I'm actually quite pleased with the result. Watch this space for what it's going to turn into...!

 It's thirsty work this felting malarkey...!

I'll be able to show you what I made and hopefully what it's for next week :)

Balancing Act

As I mentioned in my first post, I'm currently running two businesses side by side. My main job is the day to day running of my little gallery and haberdashery. I opened Hawthorn in 2010 originally on a bit of a whim and I'm glad to say we're still here almost 2 years later, on the high street promoting handmade all the way! 

Hawthorn Contemporary Craft Gallery and Haberdashery

After we opened, I was looking around on the internet for a craft to have a go at whilst in the gallery. Somewhere amongst my wanders I found a little needle felting starter kit for about £14 and after watching a video on youtube thought it looked like something I could do. The kit arrived and I pretty much haven't stopped felting since. I've tried numerous crafts before and never quite found my calling. One go at needle felting and I was entirely hooked. I think I've come a long way since I started, but my very first little piece, a little hare is still sat proudly on a shelf at home, keeping an eye on proceedings. 

Then and Now

I think he'd be rather proud of what he's turned into over time!


During the last few months, my felting has started to become a bigger thing. This is in part due to my pushing it a bit harder, but there's also been a bit of luck thrown in. What I'm now faced with is a delicate balancing act. The gallery needs a lot of care and attention, but now that my own craft is generating some interest I'm finding myself a little torn as to how best to use my time. I'm very lucky in that I can sit and felt in the gallery inbetween customers and chores, and this has its advantages, not least the instant feedback from customers. But I'm an awful one for procrastinating, and when there's a gallery full of things to do, I'll often get to the end of a day having been nowhere near my needles and wool. And now I'm also looking at how to fit craft fairs and workshops in... Some days I really do need to be two people!


If I'm to make more of a thing of my felting, I need to look at better ways to balance both businesses, and to stop myself from wandering off task! I find it fascinating and humbling that people are willing and happy to pay money for my animals and can't wait to see where this might lead. In the meantime, I've got a gallery to run...!


Are you juggling two businesses, or two lives? I'd love to hear how you manage things, of if you've had to be ruthless and focus on one thing only.

Getting Started

Hello!
I have a confession to make... I've tried my hand at getting a blog going a total of 3 times now. Each time, I've written one post and, well, that's it. It seems I don't have the blogging gene. My main obstacle has definitely been time. I essentially run two businesses side by side and this takes up the majority of my hours and minutes and I haven't before now felt the need to fit a blog into this.


However, I'm on a bit of a mission to change this. I've seen what a good blog can do for a business, but my main motivation is that I think that what I do is interesting, and could be of interest to others. If I keep this in mind, I hope I can come up with enough to write about and entertain with!


I'm also a business woman (sounds so professional!) and I like to imagine I may be able to help others a little with some advice here and there; about how I've done things, and how you might be able to use that in your world. I can't guarantee my advice will be sage or 'correct', but it will be honest :)


In the spirit of starting as I mean to go on, I'll put another actual post up today. I hope you enjoy reading about my life and what I get up to and I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments. 

Thorn Tree in Bloom at Arne, Dorset (possibly Acacia?)