New Year, New Look

It's been a while since I blogged on here.
I could say that my new year's resolution will be to blog more, but I know I won't keep to it!

It's been a tough year out on All Saints and I nearly gave it up altogether. Everyone is struggling right now so someone selling luxury items is going to struggle as a result, too. But there's been some positive changes on the market though, with bucket loads of enthusiasm brought in by our new manager, Sarah-Jane who has dragged the market into the 21st Century with a growing Facebook profile and fresh new ideas.

So I think I need to inject some new ideas into my business too...

For a while now, I've been very involved in the Steampunk scene, bringing out my range of Steampunk jewellery and giftware in the form of Capt. Hieronymous Bartholomew's Impossible Fossils. I've also been experimenting with a new addition to the Steampunk range since September which only now is starting to take shape.

I'm making Steampunk sweets!

Well, old fashioned Victorian style boiled sweets in colourful jars and tins with a dash of irreverent humour. I'm nearly at the stage now where I will unleash my creations on an unsuspecting world....

Just some minor tweaks to do, a kitchen inspection from the Council to prepare for and some ordering of artwork and I'm all set!

Don't worry, I'll still be making jewellery and coming up with new designs. Arcturus will become a part of
"The Captains Ephemeral Emporium" selling sweets, giftware and jewellery from Cambridge, various events and, of course, online.

My jewellery style will remain inspired by Art Nouveau and Victorian styles that fit nicely within the new Emporium. I'll still seek out unusual gemstones (including blue amber when I'm able to afford it) and still retain my wedding tiara range.

I'm becoming less reliant on my main website, so that will eventually become a portal to the various Etsy shops that I am developing, two of which are already set up:

www.etsy.com/shop/ArcturusJewellery
www.etsy.com/ImpossibleFossils

The Captain's Ephemeral Emporium will be available on Etsy for the boiled sweets in due course.

This is all in readiness to evolve into a purely online presence at some point this year, due to the high cost of stall fees, petrol etc. Whether or not it works like that, I won't know for a while but keep a look out for interesting developments!

Happy New Year
xxx