Happy Christmas

Wishing you all a peaceful, happy and cosy Christmas! See you in the New Year!

Hannah x

The art of Papercutting

I sometimes forget that I could call myself a 'papercutter', as I get wrapped up in 'lamp maker' or the more general term 'designer/maker'. I just came upon this marvellous papercutting blog 'the heart of papercutting' run by papercutting artist Elsa Mora.Theres all sorts on there including a list of papercutters from around the globe. There is some AMAZING work going on out there...all these little artists doing such intricate work with an exacto blade leaning over their cutting mat. I am not alone....

The image above is byUK designer and illustrator Emily Hogarth.

The Eucalyptus pods are opening...

One of the Eucalyptus flowers has opened halfway....full flower tomorrow perhaps?? They smell really strong. Good for keeping colds at bay??? Helps you breathe more easily!!

Winner of the Mistletoe Competition

Lee Davies from Essex is the winner of the prize draw that I had on my website. She has won this Mistletoe lamp. She says she is 'absolutley delighted'. How nice!

Weird Pods

These are the strangest things! I saw them in the flower shop yesterday when I was buying some Mistletoe. The pods have a kind of lid on which opens and out springs a yellow flower. I'm watching them so I don't miss the grand opening! I went back to the flower shop today to ask what they were and they are Eucalyptus flowers. Wow! I'd never seen them before. They are great shapes for drawing although Ffion says they just look like sticks with snails crawling all over them. OOOh!

Designer/maker blogs

This whole blogging business actually kept me awake last night. I've been right in the flow, blogging here and for Radiance, reading artist blogs and design blogs and seeing the potential of the whole thing, linking people together and discovering amazing things. Last night it was in my dreams and I'd wake up thinking about it uanble to sleep! Doh!

There are so many beautiful design blogs out there and I find that most of them that I have found easily are based in the U.S. I was wondering if there were equivalents in the U.K and if I could read other designer maker blogs from this country. Well I just Googled 'designer/maker blogs' and ran straight into Indie Quarter based in Manchester! Oh so local to me and what a brilliant site. They do a slot called 'A Day in the Life of' where designers and makers write about their daily goings on. It's lovely. I'm going to have a good root around there now after I have started compiling my list of interesting blogs....

A whole day of design...

I've been working on my Magnolia tree today and it is taking shape. It's going to grow up over three wall panels and become a vertical triptych. I have started with the bottom panel and will work upwards. On the next one up the flowers will open. I have been working on the buds today....flowers as soon as I can.

Magnolia Tree

With all the Christmas hubbub going on and keeping me busy busy busy (THANKYOU all for all the orders!) I haven't made any development time for my wall panel project. My exhibition at the Appleyard Gallery is only hmmmm 8 weeks away so it's time to be getting on with it again. I contacted an artist, Cleo Mussi the other day about some work for the shop and she said she couldn't do any before the end of the year as she was working on two exhibitions. Wow, i respected that but couldn't imagine saying it myself!!!...something to work on!

Anyway there is a small Magolia tree that I pass on the way to the workshop each day. At the moment obviously there are no leaves or flowers but the bare wintry branches are talking to me everytime I pass! I'm going to do something with it today. I think it will make a lovely vertical tryptich. I will add the leaves and flowers myself...from my imagination...and perhaps Flickr!

My cats like this tree too. They follow me to work each day, all bouncy and excited and jump up on the wall to rub their noses on it's branches....

Bouf

'Bouf' invited me to submit some products to their lovely site. It represents 'pioneering homeware and gift designers'. There is some LOVELY stuff on there. Have a look....

Craft & Design Magazine Selected Awards

It's nearly time to vote for your favourite designer/maker on the Craft & Design Magazine Selected Awards. If you're not familiar, this is a magazine/website where you can find out about designer/makers, Craft Events and Exhibitions, Galleries, Supplies, courses,workshops and more. They have an online gallery of selected makers from all disciplines. From January the 1st anyone can cast their vote. If you are a maker yourself you can apply now to be on the website and you can be entered too.

The Christmas Fairies are here!

This week the Christmas fairy lights have arrived and are now happily adorning the shop window at Radiance. I had a flash of inspiration whilst leaving the shop and seeing my fairy lights in the dark and realised I could make them with words on. These Christmas ones are the first but I'm going to make them for wedding days with names on or perhaps for childrens rooms...really the possibilities are endless. See them in my web shop.

Yoga is the thing for me...

After a long day of leaning over a desk cutting and designing theres nothing better than a good long stretch to iron out those achy joints....yoga is the thing for me and gives me all the energy and inspriration i need. Lucia Cockroft, editor of Yoga magazine and website, Yoga Abode invited me to share how yoga has transformed my life....

Win a Mistletoe Lamp in time for Christmas!

I'm having a competition on my website to win this festive mistletoe lamp in time for Christmas. All you have to do is answer a very easy question and your name will be entered into a prize draw. A winner will be picked on the 17th of December.

Go to www.hannahnunn.co.uk and follow the links!

Happy getting ready for Christmas!

Wall Panels at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

I had a really lovely time exhibiting at The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair this weekend. It was a fantastic and inspiring show. The quality of the work was fabulous and SO many lovely people came. All in all I'd say it was a total success!

I exhibited my first completed wall panels which went down very well. It was great to see them up and on the wall after many months of working towards the finished product. Now they are going to the Lighting Association for CE marking and then they will be ready to go out in the big wide world....

Yorkshire designer/makers in Yorkshire Post Magazine

I was part of a lovely feature in the Yorkshire Post Magazine this weekend. The article highlighted some of the Yorkshire based makers that are taking part in the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair at the end of this week. The other featured makers were silversmith Rebecca Jocelyn, wirework artist Helaina Sharpley, textile artist Clare Lane and Samantha Bryan with her amazing 'Brains Fairies'! Have a look at their inspiring work on their websites...or better still come and visit us at the show!!!

Campions...

I always loved the red campions in the hedgerows when I lived in Wales...I don't see them so much around here. They are about but not in such profusion. Wales was rich in hedgerows. When my children were small we lived in a cottage up a cobbled track behind the church in Laugharne. The hedgrows on either side of the track were taller than me and were full of plant life. I am working on a piece that reflects that memory. Vetches, Ferns, Campions and Honeysuckle and more....

Progress on the wall panels...

No panel photographs yet as I found I still had some design issues to iron out when I tried to mount them on the wall! After a few days of staring into space and a little help from my friends, a solution has been found and today I went to a local acrylic manufacturers (that I didn't know was there...very exciting discovery) and they are making me a prototype of the back plate of the panel. This will make them much easier to mount and will give them a lovely finish. Now that that is all in hand I can get back onto the designs. Phew, just might get a good nights sleep now!

Flowering Rush

This week I hope to take some photographs of the wall panels. The whole collection is beginning to take shape which is exciting. I am waiting for the metal lamp holders to arrive so I can assemble them on the wall and take some pictures.

In the Meadow

I have been working on a meadow design today. I love meadows. Ox Eye daisies are one of my favourite flowers that haven't yet cropped up in any of my lamp designs so they had to be there...along with English Plantain, some kind of grass (there are so many I can't name them) and Pignut (at the bottom). Aswell as Pignut being a pretty little flower, it has round tuberous roots that can be eaten. I tried one once...they're a bit like chickpeas!

Leaves...

I've been happily cutting out leaves all day....so much so I can still see them when I close my eyes! I was in the creative zone all day, until I trapped my finger in my drawer and had to have a rest. Its my cutting finger! Luckily I have Chrissy (the healing hat lady) nextdoor at Hat Therapy who gave me something homeopathic to stop it throbbing! It seems to be working thank goodness. More cutting tomorrow...

Exhibition of illuminated wall panels at the Appleyard Gallery

In February I have an exhibition of newly developed illuminated wall panels. These are something that I have been developing for years in tiny fairy steps....never getting very far. My friend Susannah Thompson who owns the Appleyard Gallery in Holt, Norfolk and has sold my work successfully and with great enthusiasm for years, got very excited when i told her about them and said that she must have an exhibition! This gave me the final shove to get the idea finalised and develop my panels once and for all!

So I have been working very hard, figuring out the structure of the panels which is just about sorted. Now I'm into the lovely bit - the designs themselves. I'm in full creative swing...cutting out for hours everyday. I am luxuriating in taking my time over each piece. These are not so much 'products' like my everyday range of lamps are, but 'works of art' and it's really nice to work this way! Unusual for me.

The seed pods in the picture (photogaphed on my light table) have been a source of inspiration for a while since seeing them in old botanical illustrations. I love the amazing shapes of the seed pods and their intricate detail.

And tomorrow...leaves, ferns, hedgerow flowers.....I'm excited!

Getting ready for the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

I'm getting ready for this new contemporary craft show at the moment...making stock, planning my stand and doing some new work. I have just had a look at the newly published exhibitor list and there are some great people doing the show..some that I know and some that I don't. I'm looking forward to it. I hope you can visit. It'll be a great place to find beautiful hand made Christmas presents from a selection of disciplines - ceramics, glass, textiles, metal and jewellery (i fit in undermixed media and misc)! Its on the 23rd-26th October at Manchester Grammar School. Here is the website so you can check out the finer details and order tickets. I'll be on stand R16. I hope to see you!

Summer Drawing Competition

Hebden Bridge has been getting creative this summer with my drawing competition. Entrants came to Radiance to collect a special piece of parchment to draw on. We have had some fantastic, creative and beautiful designs from all ages.

We have chosen THREE winners so far...but its up to YOU to choose the final one! You can vote for your favourite drawing on the Radiance website and choose your winner.

Here are the three happy winners that we have so far....


Rowan Richmond, Nat Hairsine and Sandra Boursin. Congratulations. The lamps will go on display in the shop window for a few weeks and then they will be going home with their owners.

Lovely arent they.

If you'd like to vote for our next winner please visit the Radiance website.