Lovely surprise!

Nature is redolent with surprises. I have been nurturing this plant for eight years. I've always thought it quite non-descript, with it's plain broad leaves, that do admittedly, curve in delightful way. But it's never done much and has not increased in size over the years.....then suddenly.....these three beautiful flowers appeared laden with stamens.
Ahh...what glory! Hope springs eternal eh, finger's crossed it's a self pollinator, because I doubt there is another for miles around!

But still, it's worth it, just giving your very best even if it's for a short time :)

Sneaky peek!

Here's a quick peek at the Harris Tweed purses I'm working on at the moment. This is the small coin purse which will join a new wristlet and clutch design I'm producing.

I'm celebrating this week as my plans for 2011 are shaping up! ELINtm will be exclusively on 'Handmade' sites next year. I will be selling on 'not on the highstreet' - http://www.notonthehighstreet.com
and a great new up&coming juried UK site that has accepted me this week, 'fromthewilde' -
http://www.fromthewilde.com/shop

The event I'm taking part in at the Natural History Museum in Ol'London town in January was confirmed last week. I'm really excited about it, even though I am going to have to work like crazy. Bang went my Xmas holidays!!

It was a bit of a milestone too, to actually reach 50 items in my Etsy store, that has never happened before and was the result of good studio practice. Sticking religiously to an extremely detailed list that is about 2 metres long.

It has encouraged me in my plans to expand my Big cartel store next year, start advertising it and make it more of a destination site. To celebrate I have free WW shipping up until December10th - click on the blue bracelet :)

I was really lucky to get this great feature article in the 'noir' issue of Artizen Magazine. It takes a minute or two to load but well worth the wait. Well...for me anyway....I'm so chuffed!!

http://www.artizenmagazine.com/artizen1-4

I just noticed the magazine is a finalist in the Digital magazine awards 2010. Wahoo! Well done Cindy :)

Friday finds

Ah...I do love my succulents! They are so fascinating, especially how they can reproduce in the most hostile environments. I found this one down the back of a bookcase, clinging to life, feeding on the dust and mire that has accumulated over the seasons.

Wow! Has it been that long since my last post. Yes....my bad!
I was preparing for the Mycology conference, IMC9 in Edinburgh and absorbing all things fungi. I came across this mind-blowing information about fungi at the TED talks site.

http://blog.ted.com/2008/05/06/paul_stamets

I think our future hinges on supporting research and promoting the development of these kind of left field ideas!

During a very successful conference, the laws of attraction were in operation. I ended up with a nasty cold, virtually consumed by bacteria. That triggered a succession of colds and gripes, so was unwell for about five weeks in total. All that talk of swarming bacteria, spores and contamination....they say, be careful who you keep company with ;)

Check out this great blog, Handmade Europe. I got to choose some of my favourite places!

http://handmade-europe.com/2010/07/10/favorite-places-elinart

Inspiration!

The amazing work of Stebastian Buescher. The link below takes you to more of his work at the inimitable Velvet Da Vinci.

http://www.velvetdavinci.com/allimages.php?action=artist&id=130

Etsy features ELINtm!

Hooray! I've been featured in Etsy's 'The Eye of the artist' series in the Storque. Below is a direct link to the article.


http://www.etsy.com/storque/handmade-life/eye-of-the-artist-the-deep-blue-8665/

Free shipping offer!

To celebrate my upcoming exposure on both the 'Fossil' and 'Etsy' websites, I am offering free shipping on all non custom items in my Bigcartel shop ( click on the blue bracelet, to view), for a short period. Hooray!

New pin!

New pin in my bigcartel store. This is one of my favourite colour combinations, mustard, aqua and silver grey.

Inspiration!

I've just discovered the wonderfully creative jeweller Terhi Tolvanen. Her website is a veritable treasure trove of beautiful ideas and explorations.

http://www.terhitolvanen.com

Enjoy!!

Custom pincushions

One of my favourite things to do is make custom items. Last week was a pincushion week and both have found new homes in the USA. The top one is a delicious moldy one and the lower, my popular 'pixie cups' design.

I had an edition of pincushions in my Etsy shop using re-purposed shot glasses. After making about 30 of them I skipped off to Habitat to buy some more and horror! I was told the line was completely discontinued. So...I've had to play with new designs which have internal supports instead. These are my first two goes, one has a plastic disc, the other half a felt stone inside to make them stand up independently, both work well.

Do you follow the seasons?

There is no escaping the fact spring is in the air! All you crafters out there will have noticed the mountains of chicks and bunnies. Every time the season changes I seem to be miles behind! I've got another cold and my hands have gone as dry as streusel. In my dreams(!) one day, I'll be ahead of the curve and fully prepared for the seasonal changes. My pagan friends would say I don't get out of the city or plunge my hands into earth frequently enough, so am out of synch. They are probably right!

I do really like the idea of organising colours into seasonal palettes though. I'm always seduced by those books which work out what colour one's wardrobe should be from skin tone and hair colour. So, I'm aiming to try to think along those lines. The picture above is a new piece I made yesterday, endeavoring to use an autumnal palette. You can see the spring and winter rings at my Bigcartel site.......http://elintm.bigcartel.com/

p.s. Happy springcleaning :))

Woohoo!! Check me out on Apartment Therapy :))

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/look/elin-lichen-inspired-crochet-art-111713

"Dusts off shoulders and buffs nails on lapel!! ;)"

Inspiration!

I love the work of Polly Wales (good name too! ). Especially her Battenburg series, the collection is beautiful and such an inspirational use of materials. You can see it here......
http://www.pollywales.com

These felt brooches are winging their way to the Black Swan Arts Centre in the UK. This style of rolled felt was my starting point for experimenting with jewellery, a couple of years ago....I am gradually phasing them out, but they do sell very well at this particular gallery.

This week, I have been mostly listening to......

Beavering away in my home studio over the last couple of days, listening to the radio and CD's, whilst working. Currently I'm listening to Nils Okland's album 'Bris', he composes on the Hardanger fiddle, a Norwegian folk instrument. It's a beautiful and haunting album. If, like me, you are prone to weeping when hearing sad music, get a supply of tissues!

Here's some snippets on Boomkat.
http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=15966
You can also find it on Spotify.

Today was spent getting a package of new jewellery pieces sent off to the Museum of Craft in San Francisco. Pictured is one of the brooches winging it's way across the pond. I love this connection with the US....it's given me greater confidence in my work and boy! does it open doors for me here in the UK.

http://www.mocfa.org

These plushie lichen brooches are the 'entry level' item in my Etsy shop. I'm now working on a design where three very small stones are combined with a delicate seaweed or lichen.(I want to try out the red seaweed often seen washed up on the beach) I've also just bought a magnifying glass, so will be trying to miniaturise the lichens even more!

For the past week I've had a stinking cold and suffering a form of brain fog. It involved regressing to childhood and cutting out felt shapes.

I've spent the week being wrapped in a duvet and making things I tried out when I was about eight. I remember being soooo frustrated at that age, not being able to make what I could see in my head (Yes...I am a perfectionist!). The good thing is, my manual skills have improved a great deal, so it's actually fun!

My Etsy dilemma!

It's Valentine's day and I think my love affair with Etsy is well and truly over.

My discontent has been brewing for a few months and last week I closed my jewellery shop there, leaving my only presence on Etsy my 'elinart' shop. This week I have had two customers ask for jewellery and when they found out the price, they declined. For me this is the nub of my Etsy dilemma....success is starting to come my way, new galleries and boutiques are regularly approaching me for sales and exhibitions. I want to move up a gear and achieve decent prices! But I'm asking myself, "How far can I go on Etsy?"

Sadly, long-term it's got no potential for craftspeople with ambition and the desire to build a real reputation. There is excellent quality work there but it's in a small minority. I think this is one of the main factors in my decision. I thought of the type of customer I want to buy my work. What if they saw my work in the context of Etsy? It just doesn't add up.

If I want to get into more prestigious galleries and attract customers who want couture jewellery, it's a positive step for me to make my product more exclusive. Last week, my jewellery, which I put my heart and soul into, was sandwiched between a 'vintage' crochet thong and a 'hello kitty' cuff. It just doesn't add up anymore.

Inspiration

Kinokinoghetti
Embroidery floss and fabric (hand embroidered)
41cm x 41cm
2008
Copyright © 2008 Takashi Iwasaki


Drool over the work of the outrageously talented Takashi Iwasaki at:-

http://www.takashiiwasaki.info/takashiiwasaki/english/news.html

Ahh...the pleasure is in the detail. This moss is in an back alley by the docks in Bristol.

ELINtm giveaway update

Just thought I'd update on last month's blog giveaway. Many thanks to Melina for taking these great photos of her prize package arriving. I love this picture of her postbox, we don't have this style in the UK, so it is extra special.

It wasn't till I saw this picture that I got a complete sense of what it means to send my work out to the four corners of the globe. We get feedback on Etsy but there is nothing like getting a good visual sense.

A great shot of my moo card and ELINtm box.





















Melina with a happy smile.



















Melina has a great Etsy shop, clothes and accessories made with beautiful, subtle hand-screen printed fabrics. Check it out here:-

http://www.etsy.com/shop/NeuralNetwork

Offer of the week!

15 % off the 100th purchase in my Etsy shop. Type 'Haircut 100' into message to seller for refund.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ElinThomas

My christmas present to myself!! "Seaweds and lichens"A beautiful original chromolithographic print from a 1896 German nature encyclopedia. Bought from this wonderful Etsy shop:-

http://www.etsy.com/shop/PetitPoulailler

Lichen wood walk

Well the holiday is over and it's back to work! I got a chance during the break to visit my favourite wood in west Wales. Every available surface is covered in moss and lichens. Quite spooky...I would balk at being there in the dead of night.


Two beautiful lichens caught on camera along the way. The detail on the first is truly breath-taking. Please click on the image :)
My first snap of British soldier lichen.