I've officially registered with the Birmingham Assay Office now, so all my sterling silver jewellery (over 7 gramms) will be hallmarked in accordance with the law.
Any item of silver must be hallmarked now if it's above a certain weight. Otherwise I would have to say "white metal", not sterling silver. So bear with me for a few weeks as I get used to all this- it may mean that some heavier items take a few days longer to get made.
I've got my very own maker's mark which you'll see on my jewellery from now on.
For a little while, some of my pieces on the craft market will be unhallmarked as I can't send it off to Birmingham all at once- I'd have no stock!
From now on, anything over the legal weight that's ordered on my website will be hallmarked.
More peace of mind for my customers and added kudos for Arcturus! (Feel all grown up now!)
Pictures of the new enamels and blue amber as they emerge too...
Sunday, 30 May 2010
Whitby Gothic Weeed
Had a lovely time up in Whitby last month- (must get some pictures up!)
If you've never been before, it's a great place to visit at any time. When the assorted characters descend on the town for the twice yearly Gothic Weekends there's never a dull moment!
Be sure to dress up to the nines or you'll feel terribly undersdressed! Looking forward to the next one in October. Halloween, of course...
If you've never been before, it's a great place to visit at any time. When the assorted characters descend on the town for the twice yearly Gothic Weekends there's never a dull moment!
Be sure to dress up to the nines or you'll feel terribly undersdressed! Looking forward to the next one in October. Halloween, of course...
Thursday, 4 March 2010
new blue amber at last
I know, it's been a little while since I had some really exciting new pieces, but here's the first two:
Blue Planet I'm calling this one as it looks like the Earth from space. Amazing inclusions. This one will be £100.
Now this one... gorgeous purple and reds like an evening sky, so this one's Lavender Cloud:
A nice big chunk- around 30x 40mm and will be on sale for £220
Enjoy!
Blue Planet I'm calling this one as it looks like the Earth from space. Amazing inclusions. This one will be £100.
Now this one... gorgeous purple and reds like an evening sky, so this one's Lavender Cloud:
A nice big chunk- around 30x 40mm and will be on sale for £220
Enjoy!
Monday, 1 March 2010
I'm going to be busy this week!
I can't wait to get started on these!
New blue amber pieces by the end of the week, I think!
Sunday market and the great British weather
My apologies to anyone who has tried to visit me at the main market on a sunday these last two weeks.
Both sundays have been subject to the Severe Weather Warning Syndrome- I shall explain...
Unlike the saturday market at All Saints, traders have to pay a week in advance unless they notify the manager in advance that they are going to take a week off. A good system, I think as it makes traders think twice about not turning up and forfeiting the stall fee.
However, when a severe weather warning is in place, the rules change. In an act of kindness, the council will let traders go back home without paying the stall fee if the weather is really bad and trade affected. The thing is, if you decide to brave the horizontal snow or storm force rain, you will have to pay your stall fee and hope to make a little money.
This is what has happened on the last two sundays. The thing is, it really does affect the reputation of the market if the stalls are empty. What I think should happen (and I have suggested it several times) is that the traders have another choice.
How about- if you stay, you don't have to pay your stall fee. Let's face it, if a trader goes home, the council don't get any money, so what have they got to lose? What they gain is a market that might look a little fuller, as many traders might decide to risk staying if they know it's not going to cost them £20-odd before they start.
In terrible weather, there's a very good chance that they will make minus £20-odd on top of petrol and lunch expenses. Can you blame them for going home?
The thing is, the poor food traders don't have a choice. Their stock won't keep. They have an even worse chance of making any money when most of the stalls are empty. When I turned up yesterday, there wouldn't have been anyone on either my row or the one opposite!
That is the main reason why I decided not to stay. Rain is rain. People have brollies! The weather wasn't really that bad, anyway. However, passing trade would have been zero and nobody to look after my stall if I wanted to get a cup of tea.
So my advice is- if you want to visit me on a sunday in bad weather, don't make a special journey! And, of course, always check my homepage for dates that I will be away from the market too.
I shall continue to try and get the council to change their policy in the meantime...
Both sundays have been subject to the Severe Weather Warning Syndrome- I shall explain...
Unlike the saturday market at All Saints, traders have to pay a week in advance unless they notify the manager in advance that they are going to take a week off. A good system, I think as it makes traders think twice about not turning up and forfeiting the stall fee.
However, when a severe weather warning is in place, the rules change. In an act of kindness, the council will let traders go back home without paying the stall fee if the weather is really bad and trade affected. The thing is, if you decide to brave the horizontal snow or storm force rain, you will have to pay your stall fee and hope to make a little money.
This is what has happened on the last two sundays. The thing is, it really does affect the reputation of the market if the stalls are empty. What I think should happen (and I have suggested it several times) is that the traders have another choice.
How about- if you stay, you don't have to pay your stall fee. Let's face it, if a trader goes home, the council don't get any money, so what have they got to lose? What they gain is a market that might look a little fuller, as many traders might decide to risk staying if they know it's not going to cost them £20-odd before they start.
In terrible weather, there's a very good chance that they will make minus £20-odd on top of petrol and lunch expenses. Can you blame them for going home?
The thing is, the poor food traders don't have a choice. Their stock won't keep. They have an even worse chance of making any money when most of the stalls are empty. When I turned up yesterday, there wouldn't have been anyone on either my row or the one opposite!
That is the main reason why I decided not to stay. Rain is rain. People have brollies! The weather wasn't really that bad, anyway. However, passing trade would have been zero and nobody to look after my stall if I wanted to get a cup of tea.
So my advice is- if you want to visit me on a sunday in bad weather, don't make a special journey! And, of course, always check my homepage for dates that I will be away from the market too.
I shall continue to try and get the council to change their policy in the meantime...
Thursday, 4 February 2010
My new kiln!!!
Well, here it is, an eBay special:
Ahhh. Dinky, isn't it? It came this morning and I didn't hang about...
Here's the first two things to come out of it:
Really pleased with the colours on the leaves. I'll be playing around with that colour combination a great deal, I think!
Ahhh. Dinky, isn't it? It came this morning and I didn't hang about...
Here's the first two things to come out of it:
Really pleased with the colours on the leaves. I'll be playing around with that colour combination a great deal, I think!
Monday, 18 January 2010
My first sucessful attempt at enamelling!
OK, not perfect by any means but I'm rather pleased with it all the same.
I've torch-fired the lead-free enamels on .5 fine silver sheet with fine silver rectangular wire. I've used a combination of sifting and wet packing techniques. (And a bit of swearing when it's fallen face-down on the floor...)
The torch firing method is a little haphazard and tends the burn the outer edges, well, at least I do, until I get a bit better at it!
I intend to contruct a little hotplate kiln next in my next attempt at not spending money on a proper kiln and see what happens. The drawback of torch firing is it makes counter-enamelling difficult on thin pieces like this. The torch re-melts the back each time I fire, as the heat is directed at the underside of the piece. The result- a rather odd looking replica of the wire mesh that it's sitting on! The good thing that torch firing has taught me is how to judge when the enamel is "cooked" and will help me enormously when I start using a hotplate kiln that won't have fancy things like temperature control.
More attempts posted as I go!
And maybe next time I'll remember to drill a hole in the top too...
OK, not perfect by any means but I'm rather pleased with it all the same.
I've torch-fired the lead-free enamels on .5 fine silver sheet with fine silver rectangular wire. I've used a combination of sifting and wet packing techniques. (And a bit of swearing when it's fallen face-down on the floor...)
The torch firing method is a little haphazard and tends the burn the outer edges, well, at least I do, until I get a bit better at it!
I intend to contruct a little hotplate kiln next in my next attempt at not spending money on a proper kiln and see what happens. The drawback of torch firing is it makes counter-enamelling difficult on thin pieces like this. The torch re-melts the back each time I fire, as the heat is directed at the underside of the piece. The result- a rather odd looking replica of the wire mesh that it's sitting on! The good thing that torch firing has taught me is how to judge when the enamel is "cooked" and will help me enormously when I start using a hotplate kiln that won't have fancy things like temperature control.
More attempts posted as I go!
And maybe next time I'll remember to drill a hole in the top too...
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