Ok, so I really am a bit crap at this- but I'm trying!
I cleared all of my bits out of the studio yesterday, and transferred everything to a temporary place in a friends house- awkward! I managed to rip out the worktop I'd been working on- but didn't think it through, and now I have nothing to put it on!! Drat!
Work news- I had a craft fair last week and sold a few bits, which was excellent! I need to crack on and make a load more Eco bits, the earrings in particular are selling like hot cakes! Even in the online shop, i've just had an order for a pair of earrings and a button hole! Woohoo! Also, did I tell you about Craftseller? I was approached through Folksy to write a features for them that will be printed in the next issue, released on the 20th December! How very grown- up! They wanted a picture of me too- so beware!

Went to have a look at a possible studio today, in St Micheals Studios, they wanted £150 a month, what kind of impoverished (alright, just because I don't look it!) artist has that going spare after children and mortgage! Jesus, if I had that extra, I'd have a bloody house big enough to work in! Ah well, the search continues....

I found out last night I am losing my studio- again. So far today I have filled my entire bath with empty cans to rinse and dry, to cut down and store flat- check out the box I've just brought in!!

Great day at work today, finished three pairs of earrings finished, two rings with a lovely interval of silliness! Two of my dear friends (one my photographer) came out to take some photos for a magazine feature I've been asked to do for craftseller magazine- and much madness occured! Some excellent photos as usual courtesy of mr Ben Adams (schtumple). Very chuffed with the two Rose rings that were commissioned, had a bit of an adventure trying to solder the second though! (of which there is photographic evidence!) now to hope they fit .....
Also managed to complete two pair of fushia-esque earrings, one in copper, one in silver. I'll see how popular they are on Saturday. I really like them, I've done so much flat work earring-wise, it's nice to have really constructed something!

Woohoo! I've just been asked to write 100 words for a magazine feature on 'upcycling and recycling' excellent.....now I just need to figure out what to write!

Love and affection, I'm loving a bit of Joan armatrading in these posh surroundings! Like a bit of home in a foreign environment.

All set up, tea-d and ready to open, a lovely selection of suppliers today- loving the lollipop trees the most!
I get the feeling I'm going to be wishing very strongly that I hadn't been placed adjacent to the caterers giving out fishy canapès- it's boiling in here!

Started today on the wrong foot work-wise, lost my business cards and handed over the wrong bouquets! Oops! On the upside I finished off a mixed Jack and Coke bunch, added some Monster blooms to the other Jd bouquet. I also took the opportunity to make some Monster earrings, which look very good! Now to wait and see how tomorrow goes and seethe internally at having the wrong combination of bouquets! Damn!

A distinct lack of work done today due to the insistent absence of my two bundles of floristry wire, so I have 24 hours to locate said wire and get two extra bouquets done for the extra show on Sunday! I have also just been reminded of an order I had somehow forgotten about from a friend, a replica of the ring I wear, I must write these things down!!
I had an absolute disaster at work yesterday where I repaired a ring, lost the very pricey stone somewhere in the studio! After an hour and I bit I thankfully located it, and got on with a resizing on a ring I'd made too large by mistake, and took the chance to re-seat the stone a little better! Not sll was lost!

Lovely couple on the next stall are my new friends, only she keeps trying to therapise me, let's hope she doesn't discover too much! Brilliant lady, she's working as a bridal coach, ace idea for anxious brides! www.theweddingangel.co.uk

The Village Hotel Wedding Fayre

Just met the very lovely lady from www.fabulousfancies.co.uk who make beautiful cupcakes, the picture truly doesn't do them justice but these were my favourites!

Welcome to a new start!

From now on I will be using this blog as it was made to be used- I hope! No idea why I never searched for the app before, but now i have it I can take you all to shows with me! I'm looking forward to the village show in Bournemouth tomorrow, to whet your appetite for what's to come, check out this wedding cake exhibited at the Pavilion show last week end as a break from the traditional- I love it!! (next time I'll remember to get the details for you too!!)
Also don't forget to check out my facebook page 'Geneva Silver' and my folksy shop at www.folksy.com/shops/genevasilver and of course, the website www.genevasilver.co.uk
I have just started on a brand new range of copper and brass pieces, in response to the demand of less costly pieces after the massive hikes in the price of silver over the last year or so, some of these I will be listing on folksy in the coming week!
I'll see you tomorrow at the show!!

WOOHOO! Ok, so new website finally up and running, after much hard work. www.genevasilver.co.uk
  First bridal show under my belt at the very beautiful 'walled gardens of Cannington.' Got a fair amount of interest in my new project, and some excellent feedback.

a rosy outlook.

  oh my poor blog-i neglect you horribly! i keep forgetting that you exist!
     right, to start off, today i got into the studio, a very excited lass! i'v been drawing up ideas for an ''alternative bouquet'', and i was dying to try out a few designs!! I Began by cutting up a few drinks cans, into some sheet metal, as a mock-up, before using the pricier metals!
    I tried out two different rose ideas, one from a spiral base :

and the lower pic, from constructing with petals.
    i'm not sure yet which one i prefer, the first was a lot less work, and looks very simple, and stylish, but the second seems more accurate, but seemed a bit haphazard, and the outer petals seemed far too loose.
 

What i've been most fired up about though, is having a go at making a calla-type lily, but as you can see below, it didn't come out as well as i'd hoped!

However, it has shown me that i need to think very hard about connecting the ''stem''-it needs to flow more. I have a theory, that i il have to try out next time, which basically entails (spiralling?) a large-ish piece of sheet, and inserting a large dapping punch in the wrap toward the top, to make the right kind of 'bell' shape at the base of the flower.......we shall see!!

studio surprise!

well well well! hello you, (two!) i'd forgotten about you!!
 And so, to catch up-i found a studio space! (Well, to be completely accurate-a studio space found me!!)  it is in a barn not too far from here, and freezing, but great to work in! It's a little ramped room, walls covered in desks and shelves, every spae space full of stuff! There are other people flitting about, same as me, who i seem to get on with well enough-and frankly, it's nice to have the company on the rare occasions someone else is there!
    Moving swiftly on, having had a very unfortunately brief attempt at working alongside a very dear friend, i am sad to have had to lose her to a new life in Brum! (but she did teach me to capitalise my writing-whih i have been a bit slack on so far!!
   So far, i have had a few requests which i have been working on, some specialist charms for someone (they obviously meant something to her!) of a chickpea, and kidney bean, which i thoroughly enjoyed making, as it was such a personal request! Another commission for a small daisy for my very closest friend, by her husband-i hope i do them proud! So far it is pretty, but i am having trouble fitting the ring on the back, i wish i could find someone to teach me to solder sensibly-it would cut out a lot of stress!!
  I am going for a bit of a personal transition at the moment, unfortunately my partner may or may not be leaving, so i may or may not attempt to negotiate to go on a course i've been wanting for a while now......
  Wish me luck!!

fair-y tales

right, so, i have gone to try and wrote this post about four times over the last few days......everyytime a child jumps on me. or anyone really! ah well....such is life!
    the two fairs i had over the weekend were pretty dire, i sold one pair of earrings.   if i do the charter fair again i will have to re-think where i go, being in the arts centre doesn't seem like a good plan, even the people who came in looking for me couldn't see me! and as for beaminster--i don't think i'll bother again. it was really badly organised, but i did manage torun off before they charged me a pitch fee--i hope no-one noticed!! to be fair, i didn't actually realise until i got home!
  i have now booked myself in for mosterton show on saturday and sunday, and for stoke abbott street fair on the 17th. at least that should be good, it sould be the right sort of ''audience'' for me, and there'll be plenty for the kids to do-although i may need to enlist help!!
  i am still sans studio. i am still none th wiser as to what to do about this. i have rung everyone i can think of, and tried every avenue. i just don't know.
  

stagefright

terrified about tomorrow.
i need to go through all of my things and make sure i have everything, and that it's all organised.. ..is it just me, or does this writing seem smaller?!
   anyway-i have remembered that i need to make a sign to say about the display pieces. CHARTER FAIR TOMORROW!!!! ARGGGGHHHHHHHH.
really looking forward to the feedback on the new stuff i've done, will be really helpful to hear what people have to say.
 still worried about studio space though......really don't know what i'm going to do. i have to find somewhere....i will have to ask around. grr.





 

part 2

right. been working like a fiend, i didn't update you last nigt as i didn't finishworking untilwell past midnight--and so just passed out! am going home today, have not quite finished, but thought i'd gt on and do this while some things dry ready for refiring.
 

here is m working hard---just to prove i actually do!!

note: the desk is messy!!! i do try to be tidy!!!

in fact--i can't even tell you what i am doing here--ihave no idea!! eliie was wandering in and ouut taking photos at random!

right--copper leaf. COMPLETE disaster. i spent most of yesterday bulking up, firing, breaking, fixing, refiring--it DID NOT WORK. so i have abandoned the idea entirely. at least for the moment, also, the copper ring bands i made (which i thought were reletively foolproof) did not happen either dammit!

will carry on later...have to pack up and leave!

     

intensive work ethic

wey hey. so, i'm in bournemouth. i sat down to work at half past ten this morning, having sorted the kids, and handed them over to my obliging hostesses, and have just finished up and gotten into bed!
   i was working for 12 hours!! (minus a few little breaks to sort the kids out, put to bed etc...)

i have been pasting crazy today...look!

   this is a fraction of what i've done. and they are still unfinished due to a slight pastey mis-calculation!!
although--they will be beautiful-IF i can finsh them off without breaking them--i  have to get them back home to complete! arg
 ah well. i have made one thing that i am immensly proud of---here is an awful late-night photo...........

and have finally finished my engagement ring. i managed to fix what i broke last week, but tthen the other leaf broke---there really was NO way to fix that-and as it doesn't look too bad i'm just going to leave it.

or leaf it!! muahaha, oh dear-it really is too late!

                                                                           
note to self: do not attempt to take pictures yourself--they're rubbish! 
      i still don't understand how i let myself run out of paste--that shouldn't have happened!!
i also made some puzzle pieces, for earriings, although i may change my mind on that. maybe turn them into a necklace.....oh yeah---i spent HOURS filing down the end of a very thick piece of copper wire to put my strawberry leaves on (which are verysweet!) and i'm still no-where near---that will take a long time! i wnt to make itso that i can twiddle the end so that it looks all tapered and viney. it will take a million years!
    i've been doing a lot of torch-firing, as i can't trust my kiln, (which is in the car, but i'm not intending on using it) so i have been firing most thing twice- or three times just to make sure they're properly done, even if they didn't need it anyway!!!
    i am incredibly impressed with my hand fired leaves--i never thought i would be able to do them with out ruining them all!! 
next time: more paste!!!
     and for tomorrow, copper torques, more leaves (hopefully) and some copper clay things!!!
                         ....wish me luck!