Dream for life competition

If you are a reader of my blog you will know that I share my studio with photographer Sarah Mason and you'll have seen all the lovely shots she has taken of my lamps and my studio. Sarah is running a competition at the moment to launch her 'Dream For Life' photo shoots.

Children can choose their dream and Sarah will make it come true with a styled photo shoot. Perhaps they want to be a pirate, have a teddy bears picnic of make perfume in the woods.

Jump over to her blog to find out how you can win a Dream for Life shoot for your child. Hurry though, there's only a few days left to enter.

Featured in Made in Paper

Today my studio is featured in a brand new lovely magazine called Made in Paper. It's a sister magazine of the beautiful Simple Things magazine so when they emailed me to ask if they could do a feature I was excited because I just KNEW it would be beautiful!

On a very very sunny day in January me and Sarah had some fun doing a studio photoshoot knowing that on March the 21st we'd see the pictures in a pretty magazine.

There's a Q&A too so you can find out more about me and my studio.

They have excelled themselves again. 

The pages are full of beautifully put together, colourful, papery projects and ideas

and interviews with paper artists from around the world.

I spotted Cecilia Levy (i love her work) and the lovely Jennifer Collier too. 

Made in Paper is for sale in the UK, the U.S and Australia so look out for it or you can order it from Future Publications.

Personalised lamp giveaway

I need to make some new personalised lamps to take as samples to the British Craft Trade Fair. 

I don't want to use fictional names and dates because I'd like them to have homes to go to after the show. 

Who would you like one for? I have four to give away. One will be a Tree of Life like this picture with a name and a date, one will have Moons and Stars, one will have Dandelion Clocks and one will be  a Wedding Lamp with the couples names on and a wedding/anniversary date.

Please leave a comment below with the name and a date and which design you fancy. I'll choose my favourites next week and make them in time to take to the show.

After the show I'll send them to you.

Sound good?

Closing date Monday 25th March.

Connections

I've just had a visit in the shop from a lady called who drove all the way down from Northumberland to Radiance see me. She was inspired by my last 'Art of Asking' blogpost and thought she would 'ask' if she could pay me a visit. We sat and drank tea and had an inspiring chat about life and creativity which was very pleasant on this wet and dreary Friday.

Jan Baxandall is in her final year of Textile Surface Design at Newcastle Uni and wondering where to go next with her work. She is pursuing her creative career later in life, after working in education for many years and raising her now grown up children.  It's time to 'just do it' she says. This is her being brave and taking some work out into the wide world. 

I took a quick snap and I hope she doesn't mind me sharing it. It's lovely work. Needs to be seen don't you think?!

I love it when blogging brings people together. When we can help each other along with nudges of encouragement.

Gratitude and the 'Art of Asking'

These last few days have been pure perfection. They have been everything I hoped for when I dreamed of having a new studio. Everything I have long desired. I have been absorbed in designing. Inspired. Calm. There has been space around things.  Peace. Time to plan, dream, draw and design. I am grateful that this time that I have carved out (and it has taken some doing) I have been able to step into and get on with being what I want to be. 

There's so much going on. I'm drawing fritillaries, ferns and feathers, making teeny lamps out of Japanese Kouzo paper, playing with patterns, dreaming up wallpaper and planning for the British Craft Trade Fair which is 4 weeks away. I have been designing a new brochure for the show and I thought it would be really lovely to include some quotes from owners of my work. Do they sit at home of an evening thinking nice thoughts about their lamp? I'd love to know those thoughts.

The night before Robert had showed me this wonderful TED talk. It's only a few days old but apparently taking the internet by storm. 

I LOVE this. And she inspired me to ask. In the spirit of connecting to the people who buy my work I sent a request for help to my mailing list.

I got so much back from doing this.

Heartfelt thanks. 

More than I could have hoped for. I mean someone wrote a haiku! I had so many beautiful quotes. I will use them all somewhere.

I am so glad I asked. x