...and the winner is....

Well we couldn't find a hat to put all the names in but we used a foxy mug from the shop instead! Ffion picked out the name and the winner is Sophie Henzell from Lightbulb design.! Allium lamp coming your way Sophie!

Thanks so much everyone for your lovely lovely comments. Cow Parsley was a clear winner, followed closely by Allium and Dandelion Clocks. Allium has been top fave for so long that's it's nice that there is a new top favourite!x

Playing in the woods

I finished work a little early today beacsue it was a beautiful day! Me and Ffion went to play in the woods.

...and pretty chairs all in a row

I have always liked the look of chairs painted different colours so thought I'd give it a go. These ones were painted in a dark streaky varnish which wasn't too nice but I love them now that they are colourful. Robert says they look like dolly mixtures!

Now what to do with that table...???

Thanks SO MUCH everyone for your lovely comments on my celebratory giveaway post. If you haven't entered already it's not too late.....

Celebratory Giveaway

I have just reached 100 followers on my blog (and each and every one of you is very special to me) so I thought I'd celebrate by having a little giveaway. Would you like to win a lamp??? I thought I'd giveaway one of my small cylindrical table lamps SO just visit my website or my Etsy shop and leave a comment below telling me which is your favourite design. I'll pull a name at random in a week or so and send you your favourite. How does that sound???

A Stop!

My daughter Ffion has been working on a project for months curating a collection of photos to be made into a book. A while a go she started a Flickr group called 'A Stop', and invited photos that expressed 'a moment in time: a pause for breath, in between one thing and the next'.

Inspired by the thousands of photos submitted she picked her hundred favourites and asked photographers from around the world if they would like to appear in her book. Today the first book arrived in the post and we are very excited!!

Her photos have been collected together to create a feeling of awe. They explore the significance of life, suspension, time, magic, silence and beauty. I find the book quite moving. It's beautiful to see which photos she has chosen to express all these things. I feel very proud and inspired by this amazing girl!

You can preview and buy the book here. And to find out more about her forthcoming projects visit her website.

Feature in Living North Magazine

Fiona (she just started a new blog) got me an interview in Living North magazine last month. I just got the copy. Nice layout don't you think!

The Art Market in Holmfirth

We had a lovely day at The Art Market in Holmfirth yesterday. The rain didn't seem to keep people away and it was busy all day long. I took some photos but wished I had taken more...this shows a rather biased collection of people who I know...or ones I wasn't shy about asking to take photos of! There was lots more great work to see too.

It was nice to chat to Geraldine from Made at Greenview. She often visits Radiance but I had never seen her work textile before. And the lovely leather bags are by my good friend Catherine Bridger-Edwards.

Samantha Bryan was there with her fabulous Brains Fairies ready for flight. Photogenic little guys aren't they!

Helaina Sharpley was there with her fabulous wirework pieces. She has recently sold work to David Hockney. How exciting is that!

Sue Candy managed very well to fill her 10 foot stand with her tiny ceramics( and to think I couldn't fill mine with big lamps!). It looked great! Helen Sheare's stand looked lovely. I liked her trees. Her work is gorgeous but you can't see well enough on this picture. Have a look at her Etsy shop.



It was nice to meet Laura Slater (she was next door stand neighbour)and see her fabulous printed textiles and lampshades.



The Art Market is run by artists for artists and one of the organisers is Victoria Robinson, showing here her quirky tea lady lights and cake stands. She is also one of the organisers of the 'Vanstallation', an exhibition of installations in vans as part Holmfirth Arts Festival (their website is cool) and they had one such van on display at the Art Market. I think the Vanstallation is next Sunday in the centre of Holmfirth so if you come to the second art market 10-4 Holmfirth Indoor Market then you'll be able to enjoy those too!!!

p.s They also have an interesting blog with interviews and podcasts about all the exhibitors and they are on Twitter too @theartmarketuk

A Flowery Morning

This morning before work I went to the Willow Garden (very inspiring florists in Hebden Bridge) to buy a bunch of flowers to adorn my Art Market stand tomorrow. On the way I passed these beautiful poppies. It is a treat for us every year that they pop up on a bit of pavement at the end of the next street from us. They are so vibrant and beautiful and I have to take (the same) photos of them each year!

I bought some fake agapanthas and grasses for my show (haven't taken a photo of those yet). They are very realistic looking and quite dramatic and I figured they would last for my next show and too and my next show....

Then i went for a cup of tea outside Coffee Cali and soaked up a bit of morning sun. It's the nicest place to sit in town as there is a beautiful garden with lovely alliums and flowers and you can watch the world go by....

Hello Handmade!

I have been following the blog of designer Sophie Pester (www.jodii.de) for some time as she is always featuring beautiful and inspiring finds from the handmade world. I was delighted to be invited to feature in the first exhibition on her brand new website HELLO HANDMADE which has just been launched today. Sophie has a great eye for design and her new site is beautiful! I invite you to go and have a good look and Sophie, congratulations! I wish you all the best!