Hannah Nunn

Hello Soul and a walk in the woods

2012-01-30T19:52:00.001Z

I went for a lovely walk with my friend Sarah this afternoon. We walked to Jack Bridge and it was sooooo beautiful. Sarah is a photographer who loves being in the woods like me, so we took our cameras out to see what we could see and on the way chatted about life and business and everything.

You see these past couple of weeks have been very very interesting indeed as I have been doing the inaugural Hello Soul Hello Business e course. It is brilliant and as we are in the 'dreaming' phase of the course I have been staring into space a lot and sitting in my armchair with my notebook scribbling.

So it was nice to get out in the fresh air, get some perspective and talk a few things through with another creative business person. As Sarah put it so well, our businesses are precious to us and it's important to look after them.

photo by Sarah Mason

Beth Nicholls and Kelly Rae Roberts who put the whole thing together are truly inspirational and have delved into the bottom of their hearts and souls to bring together some wonderfully rich content to help us get underneath the why's, who's, how's, and what's of our businesses.

There has been lots of dreaming about where my path might take me...

photo by Sarah Mason

There has been lots of looking very very closely, even though it's a bit uncomfortable...

photo by Sarah Mason

there's been lots of untangling....

lots of beauty...

new friends... (This little guy came galloping to meet us on the top ridge below Heptonstall.)

...and through the trees is a sunny blue blue sky!

I know this is all a bit poetic but that's all I can say for now. I'm deep in the process. xxx

On a cold and frosty morning

2012-01-17T12:51:00.002Z

Rachel Hazell my lovely bookbinding friend (who I went to Skye with) has been to stay for a long weekend while she did a book binding workshop here in Hebden Bridge at Fionas house. And didn't she pick the perfect weekend? Clear crispy blue skies the whole time and thick thick frost.

We went out for an early morning walk each and everyday (as only you can when you have a friend nudging you to get up and ready early) and we have seen such beauty! We have seen the sunrise each morning and enjoyed the frost accentuating every little, plant, leaf, wall, tree, stem...even cabbage on the allotment..

I love the sunrise reflected in the windows in this picture and the frozen Rosebay Willow Herb stems.

We were very excitable with something or other taking our breath away at every turn. How lucky we are!

Please will you vote for my boy?

2012-01-15T11:15:00.002Z

Now if you're on Twitter you might have already heard me chirping on about Euans 'String of Angels' tune which has been entered into the finals of a competition on Soundware. Now the voting closes today and he is so close to winning. His tune is really lovely and (I think) he deserves to win. Would you take a second to vote for him today?

I admit to being a little obsessed about this. I wouldn't do this much shouting about a competition I was in but it's worth one last shout here on the blog as, at this moment in time he only needs another 7 votes to win. More importantly (honest) I hope you enjoy his beautiful track.

The Book Of Leaves

2012-01-14T21:27:00.001Z

Carrying on from my current book obsession I just bought 'The Book Of Leaves' by Allen J Coombs which is a gorgeous and very chunky guide to 600 of the worlds greatest trees. It was a lucky find. I saw a book review whilst flicking through a gardening magazine at Birmingham New Street station whilst on the way to meet Rachel and Bobs new baby (gorgeous little guy) and the cover jumped out at me instantly.

It has life size pictures of all the leaves. There are about 75 different types of oak in there! I didn't even know there were that many.

I'm looking at leaves at the moment for my new work. You may think it's not the right time of year to start looking at leaves as the trees are bare but there are actually so many still about. I keep noticing crispy frozen ones on the forest floor and lone leaves still clinging on to bare branches despite the recent high winds.

I've been playing with engraved beech leaves...

and oak leaves (English Oak to be precise).

Anyway, I recommend the Book of Leaves. It's a really lovely reference to have on the book shelf.

Jenny Wren

2012-01-13T11:44:00.000Z

Little Jenny Wren is coming along. It's going to be quite a simple design with her swaying on a piece of grass. I love how little birds can do that. I have to simplify the birds down as much as possible, just to one or two shapes that the laser can cut out.

Was just wondering why she is called Jenny? Anybody know?

I'm in the Etsy Lookbook

2012-01-12T09:19:00.000Z

Open publication - Free publishing - More 2012

Every season Etsy put together a beautiful Lookbook to showcase products and shops. My personalised fairy lights are in here...page one hundred and forty something....but have a flick through because it is beautifully done and there are many gorgeous products to enjoy.

And listen to this, straight from the mouth of Etsy. 'Etsy is the world's handmade marketplace. Our mission in to empower people to change the way the global economy works. We see a world in which very very small businesses have much much more sway in shaping the economy, local living economies are thriving everywhere, and people value authorship and provenance as much as price and convenience. We are bringing heart to commerce and making the world more fair, more sustainable and more fun!'

Inspiring! Glad to be a part of it!

Bird brain

2012-01-06T17:23:00.003Z

My new years resolution to get absorbed in doing some new work has got off to a good start and I have been doing some birds. They have got in my head. I even see bird shapes when I close my eyes at night! I've been doing lots of drawing and cutting and tweaking and this is the first one to take flight. A little Coal Tit. He hasn't got any feet at the moment because I don't know where I want him to sit just yet. You see the beech leaves? Well I have been experimenting with laser engraving. It is pricey as it takes the machine a long time, but it's such a nice effect that I have to use it somehow. The laser takes just the top layer of the paper away allowing the light to shine through just a little bit. Tomorrow morning the next batch of samples arrives. More beech leaves and coal tits to play with, oak leaves and a teeny tiny Jenny Wren. Can't wait to see....

Waking up!

2012-01-02T20:05:00.002Z

Snowdrop lamp

I've had a lovely Christmas break. I could have done with a little longer to be honest...a bit more time off but without a head full of cold or without it raining constantly, but still, there has been time for chilling out with the family, getting lost in my pile of books and generally going slow. Now it's time to wake up again. I have spent the afternoon rousing my websites from their hibernation and having a little spring clean of my Etsy shop. I have also just made a Hannah Nunn page on Facebook so if you like me come and like me!!

Happy New Year!

Looking Back Looking Forward

2011-12-31T17:14:00.001Z

This last year has been awesome. I've never worked so hard in my life I must say but so much happened alongside. I wrote a book! A whole one! I never thought I'd be able to say that but now I can. It was the possibly the hardest thing I've ever done but as I read on Pinterest yesterday 'It always seems impossible until it's done'! (image from the love shop on Etsy)....and it is done. I've seen the front cover and everything!

The book took me places. To studios and workshops across the country listening to the inspiring stories of artists and makers. I took myself to a writing retreat in Llansteffan which was wonderful. I got to grips with stress and productivity. Honestly I learned so much this year about that.

And in between me writing and researching, life happened. My best friends did some seriously exciting stuff...one married her 'one true love' (they really do call each other that and it is very funny), and another had her first baby and asked me to be there with them. Robert left his day job and bravely set out into self employment. The kids did another year of growing up into fine human beings.

Then there was the Do What You Love Retreat which was an amazing experience and I made friends there and met many inspiring people. Me and Robert made a super new website for Radiance. Matthew did his first year in the shop which has been fab and has allowed me all this travelling about...

And next year?

Well I'm excited already. I'm excited about is getting back in the studio and doing some new work. This year I have filled up so much on inspiration without having time to play with new ideas and I'm ready to pop. I'd love to schedule in studio time in the same way as I did book time. TUESDAYS are going to be for just that. Every week. Not writing, or fulfilling orders, or wrapping parcels....no Tuesdays are development days. Play days, days to absorb myself in the flow of creativity....Studio Tuesdays! :)

And I'm excited about....

I've never done an ecourse before but I have my notebook and coloured pens at the ready because I think this one with Kelly Rae Roberts at Beth Nicholls will have me excitable! :) It starts in January. The perfect time for reflecting and beginning new things.

And we're moving house! We have been planning this for a while but it's only since this Christmas break that it's sinking in. We are finally leaving this cosy flat that we have well and truly outgrown and going to live above the shop. And 'above the shop' sits a large three storey townhouse. A proper family sized house with hallways and stairs (something we've been without for 9 years) and big bedrooms and large windows. It's nice. And we can't wait. We'll all be able to expand ourselves a bit. Euan said he already felt bigger just going to look round it. Know what he means.

Then later in the year there will be the BOOK LAUNCH. Hooray! I have lots of things up my sleeve and all will be revealed later in the year.

And we have two big birthdays on the horizon. Ffion will be 18 and I will be 40! I'm not counting the days though. I was only 39 yesterday! :) And perhaps there will be more travelling...., shall I go to Japan whilst Beth is there to find new outlets for my work, shall we go and visit Monique in Holland (we miss her so), shall I go back to Llansteffan for another retreat, shall I go to India for my 40th to do some yoga? I'm definitely going to the Summer Isles on Rachels bookbinding course in March. The rest at present is still being pondered upon.

Anyway thanks for listening to me reflect and ramble. I'm sure 2012 is going to be another great year. Whatever your hopes and dreams are may I wish you a very very Happy New Year! xxx

Get any good books for Christmas?

2011-12-27T15:15:00.000Z

I am very much enjoying my Christmas reading pile. This time of year is the best. The mellow week between Christmas day and New Year. Time to slow down, reflect, read, think, eat nice things and be with the family. This stack of books is a pile of pure inspiration. Just opening any of them, anywhere gets the creative juices flowing...actually just having the pile sitting there is enough! :)

I'll start from the bottom up. Botany for the Artist by Sarah Simblett has pages full of beautiful drawings and photographs and tips on drawing plants.

I might just be able to tell my compound umbels apart from my dicasiums by the end of the holidays!

The New Artisans by Oliver Dupon is soooo lovely. A chunky hardback book featuring 75 designer makers from all over the world, full of stunning work. I found out about it through Cecilia Levy's blog, a paper artist I discovered this year, who is one of the featured artists. I'm so glad to own it....and makes me proud be an 'artisan' too. It's such a lovely word.

Then there's Lotta Jansdotters Open Studios Book. This features 24 artists studios from New York, Stockholm and Tokyo, and Lotta and photographer Jenny Hellengren have obviously had a whale of a time visiting these fascinating creative spaces and taking wonderful pictures. I visited loads of studios whilst doing the interviews for Illuminate this year and I loved every minute. Seeing the creative mess, the little things that inspire, the tools ready and waiting, pots of pencils, glass rods, piles of books....It's all in here. It's made me want to expand my studio though...but I guess I've been wanting to do that for ages anyway!

Then there's Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts, a very pretty book about nurturing your creativity and daring to honour your creative whisperings. I am going to be taking her ecourse next month HELLO SOUL HELLO BUSINESS which is a brand new collaboration with Beth from Do What You Love and I'm really excited about it. It's a business course about looking after the soul of your business. I have been in business for quite some time now and things are really flying but I think it's really important to look after the very thing that inspired you to do it in the first place and keep things fresh! Kelly Rae and Beth sent all the participants these beautiful notebooks for Christmas which is sitting on the top of my pile ready to catch any creative musings while things are peaceful!

My friend Rachel lent me this When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman and I can't tell you anything about it yet because I haven't started it. All I know is that she saved it for me because she thought I'd like the cover. She was absolutely right. That blue moon is metallic and very pretty.

I've been wanting to bring birds into my work for a long time so this Bedside Book of Birds by Graeme Gibson is good inspiration.

Full of illustrations and strange tales and folklore. I just read a tale about a girl whose mother bakes her in a pie because she broke her milk jug but she comes back to see her family as a bird and kills her mother with a stone down the chimney. Nice!

Just think. This time next year somebody might have my very own book on their Christmas reading pile. How exciting is that!!! Right, time for another cup of tea and some reading. Did you get any good books for Christmas?

2011-12-23T09:44:00.003Z

I'm winding down now for the holidays. Goodness me, it's been a busy year and I am really ready for a rest! The Hannah website is closed now until the 3rd of January....by then I'll be raring to go again. Radiance is open until 4pm Christmas Eve and then will also be hibernating until Wednesday 4th January. Thank you all for making it a great year and I wish you a very very Merry Christmas!

Sixteen years ago today...

2011-12-15T09:14:00.000Z

*I would like to interrupt this crazy, busy Christmas frenzy to take a moment to remember a very special time*

Sixteen whole years ago today my lovely boy was born. Lets set the scene. We're in The Pelican in Laugharne, West Wales, a large green Georgian house on the high street where we rented the top floor flat (fact: the very house where the poet Dylan Thomas was laid to rest on the large kitchen table). See the top right hand window. That's where it's all going on!

It's nearly Christmas, Jo (our landlady) is baking bread in the downstairs kitchen, Keith is on the middle floor landing bottling his home brew, Karen was knocking on the door knocker to see if we were coming to toddler group, Wally the rosy cheeked, curly moustached, jolly old man was about somewhere and I was upstairs having a baby!

Euan came fast, must faster than his sister and so fast that there was no time to drive the 13 miles to Carmarthen hospital. His Dad had taken Ffion to our friend Annes so we could get going but by the time he came back I was in the bedroom ready to push him out! We were on our own. We were waiting for Nia the midwife to arrive. John got Jo up from the kitchen for support and they were total loons. I was in control, totally focused but they were so funny bless 'em. They were anxiously looking out of the window for Nias car. 'What colour is it?' 'Blue' I say. 'Is it a lorry?' says Jo!

Anyway, Nia arrived with 20 minutes to spare and helped me push him out into the big wide world. Jo was sitting in the washing basket watching and she was the first person to see Euans little face ('glaring at him' as she puts it). We wrapped him in a pale blue towel and I was soooo happy. Happy to have my little boy in my arms and so relieved that it didn't take another three days! So fast....but then Euan always is in a hurry. He just couldn't wait to join us! ;)

Now 16 years on his a grand fellow! A top man (as Wendy likes to call him) an all round lovely lad. I am astounded at his talent. Have a listen to this tune String of Angels that he wrote yesterday. I'm such a proud Mummy. Sniff!

Oooh glad I don't have to give birth today though! I will go to work and carry on making lamps and wrapping parcels and enjoy the distant memory!

And the winner is...

2011-12-09T18:37:00.002Z

The winner of my give away is Janet! She said that her favourite was the Harebell as it's the flower that her Mum picked to decorate her wedding cake and next year will be their 40th wedding anniversary and she'd love to give the lamp to them. I hope you read this Janet because your comment was anonymous and I can't get in touch. Do drop me a line.

Thanks SO much for all your lovely comments. It's a pleasure to know that my work is appreciated. Makes it all worthwhile.x

Giveaway time!

2011-12-02T19:36:00.002Z

Just celebrating my two hundredth blog follower. It makes me very happy that you are all here you lovely people. Would you like a lamp? Just in time for Christmas?

Just visit my website and then leave a comment below telling me which small cylindrical table lamp you would like the best. Everyone who comments will be entered into a draw to win. I'll announce the winner next Friday 9th December.

Anyone for an illuminated cup of tea?

2011-11-23T21:00:00.004Z

Do you like my new kettle? It arrived in the post today, all the way from Gilles Eichenbaum in Paris and it is my present to myself for working hard on my book...something to mark the occasion! It is wonderful that it should arrive today as yesterday as I had the loveliest email from my editor. She has read my manuscript and is really pleased with my submission and thinks it will make a beautiful book! I had a little cry with relief I can tell you. I put my heart and soul into that book and it is wonderful to hear that it has been enjoyed.

It's not over yet though. I have been over zealous and written way too much. I have to cut it down by 6000 words. Yes that's SIX THOUSAND....and by Monday afternoon. Haven't quite got my head around that yet....

Anyway this wonderful art piece is something that I fell in love with along the way. It has been lovingly crafted by Gilles Eichenbaum who has a business called GARBAGE as he makes new artefacts out of peoples disused items. Kettles, coffee pots, saucepans, colanders with beautiful lace work patterns cut out using simple tools in his workshop. It LOVE it . It has made my day to unwrap the box and see it in real life. I love that it is so smooth and well finished. I love that it is painted white inside to reflect the light around. I love that the lid comes off (why wouldn't it?) so that you can change the bulb. I feel that if I tipped it up, bright illuminated light would pour from the spout. I like the sound of that cup of tea!

Lighting up the Russian Tea Room

2011-11-21T17:24:00.002Z

I have been working on some designs for the Russian Tea Room in Skipton which is due to open in December. They asked me to make lampshades for the tables in the cafe so I have been working on some designs based on traditional Russian folk art.

It's a nice subject to draw inspiration from with beautiful scrolling designs of flowers, leaves, birds and berries. This is the first design but there will be another four to come.

The Russian Tearoom already has one outlet in Bacup, Lancashire but they are opening their second cafe in the Yorkshire market town of Skipton and as well as the tearoom it will also have a shop and the lamps will be on sale there. Looks like it's going to be lovely.

Virtual studio tour

2011-11-14T21:39:00.005Z

Today we launched the new Radiance virtual tour and this time you can make your way right to the back of the shop and see me hard at work in my studio! (look, there I am...can you tell I tidies up for the occasion). But before you go and have a look, here's an idea. My talented boy Euan wrote a new tune over the weekend which is rather lovely. Why don't you go to his Bandcamp page, press play and while it's playing go and have a spin around the shop. They will go very well together! :)

The fantastic virtual tour was cleverly crafted by Joby Catto of Anti Limited. He does some amazing panoramic photos. I recommend you check him out.

New Stockists

2011-11-09T19:27:00.005Z

I thought I'd share some of my new stockists with you as I am pleased to have some lamps in some great new locations. First up Nova Scotia, Canada! This is Dots & Loops Handmade and holds the record for being my most distant stockist.What an inspiring shopfront! I love it. They sell handmade goods from all over the world and I would very much like to visit! This photo montage came from www.thegoudalife.tumblr.com

Next up, Pippin in Edinburgh, a brand new gift and homewares shop opened by jeweller Erica Stahl. I will look forward to popping in when I go up and visit next time.

I'm pleased to be in Harrison Lord in Brighouse too after they ordered some work at GNCCF. My dear friend Kate Lycett talks highly of them as she sells many of her beautiful paintings there. (have a quick peep on her website, you might see the new paper lanterns that she's cooking up...they are soooo sweet and I'm going to have them at Radiance when they're ready).

And here we have my FIRST STOCKIST IN IRELAND! Hooray! Ireland always looked so bare on my stockist map and I thought it would be great to seek out some stockists, but as I hadn't got round to it I was very happy to take an order from this lovely gallery O'Reilly & Turpin in County Mayo. I'll be posting their order off next week.

Met someone at the show who distributes crafts to Japan too who I'm now in conversation with. Watch this space!

Timber House on Skye

2011-11-06T08:38:00.005Z

I am a very lucky lady. When I went to the Do What You Love Retreat this year I made friends with book artist Rachel Hazell who was teaching the book binding workshop. Rachel loves making and reading and collecting books and travels all around the world (a lot) teaching inspiring workshops. Rachel has been a great support during my months of book writing, and in the summer when I was moaning about not having had a holiday (that was before Brighton and Wales turned out to be productive AND relaxing) she invited me to share her annual trip up to The Isle of Skye to stay in the Timber House.

Timber House has been beautifully designed with huge windows so you can make the most of the far reaching views.

It is SO comfy and cosy in there with underfloor heating and a wood burning stove, so if the wind is howling and the rain is horizontal (like it was a lot of the time) you don't mind having to stay indoors at all!

The house looks out over Loch Dunvegan so we could keep an eye on the wildlife. We got a quick glimpse of an otter splashing about and one morning we watched a sea eagle circle majestically around the house. I saw him again out of the bathroom window while I was having a shower! We were visited each day by a weasel (or was he a stoat?) running over the decking, one day he was carrying a mouse home for his dinner. When the rain stopped I ventured down to sit on a rock by the foreshore to watch the lovely seals poking their inquisitive heads out of the water.

Rachel said that I would love the Coral Beach and she was absolutely right!

These golden 'sands' are made up of the richest mosaic of tiny pieces of coral and shell.

The sun made an appearance lighting up the beach!

Look at the textures...

and the colours....

Timber House was the BEST house for yoga and we did a good hour every morning looking at the big sky. We spent a lot of time talking, thinking, planning and eating. The Three Chimneys Restaurant was a treat on my last night!

Rachel showed me how to make an origami box so I could take home my handful of beach!

It was a long old trip home but the coach from Syke to Glasgow was the most awesome bus journey I have ever been on. Six hours of absolutely stunning scenery. We passed mountain, lochs and forests, we passed Ben Nevis, Glencoe and Loch Lomand. Amazing and it only cost ten pounds too, for all that beauty!

And now home and not planning to go anywhere really until Rachels book making workshop on the Summer Isles next March (wanna come? check it out!). It's time to embrace the crazy Christmas weeks ahead! I'm ready!

The Gathering of the Illuminated!

2011-10-25T12:48:00.005+01:00

My mate Dave is an LED expert with a business called LED Fantastic. For the last couple of years his name (LED Dave as I call him) has come up SO often in conversation when I chat to makers about various designs that they would like to illuminate, and I have referred many people over to him for his expertise with great results. Above and below you can see Helen Musselwhites stunning 'Magic Cupboard' and below that, you can see Priscilla Jones's quirky 'Illuminated Teapot'.

LED's are great because they offer a low energy and low risk way of lighting things up!

Now the great thing is that Dave also runs the Hebden Bridge Hostel

which is an ideal place to stay and host a workshop.

We thought it would be great to get everyone together, artists and lighting designers for a weekend at the hostel to learn more about these wonderful 'Light Emitting Diodes' and how we can use them in our work. It's also a great chance to hook up and share ideas and enjoy a lovely relaxing weekend in Hebden Bridge at the same time. 20th- 22nd January 2012.

Here is a link to the flyer with all the information about the weekend and it would be really wonderful if you could make it!

Showtime!

2011-10-24T14:27:00.005+01:00

I'm having a quiet sofa day today (with cats and tea) after a fast paced few days of doing the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair in Manchester. It's been a great show. Always enjoyable to meet many appreciative customers and mix with other makers. My seed pods went down a treat which was very pleasing. It was nice to have something on my stand that wasn't a lamp. I think it was a first!

There was a really fantastic selection of work this year. Best yet I reckon. I didn't get much time off my stand to take it all in, or take any pictures as it was so busy, so I have just been perusing websites from the show exhibitor list to get a closer look and share a few things which I liked . GNCCF have a lovely photo album on facebook from the preview with some great pictures.

I loved Jennifer Colliers paper typewriter. She had also made a camera and a telephone and some lovely lampshades.

Rachel Eardley (sister of Ken, have his lamp bases at Radiance) makes jewellery by cutting the pictures from old coins. Such a clever idea. I love her gorgeous illustrative website.

I've been an admirer of Ruth Moilliets botanical metalwork for some time. It was nice to see it, and her (and her Mum) in real life.

Cathy Miles was there with her wirework. This is the robin I bought for my Mum a few years back. So sweet.

Sally Pawsons stand (and Sally herself) was bright and cheery and I bought a lovely pair of her earrings.

I think Suet Yi's ceramics was my favourite. I was too slow though. She had sold most of it by the time I got there!

This really barely scratches the surface. There was so much beauty and innovation.

Thanks to Matt who helped me Thursday night and Eleanor from Leeds Uni 3D Design course who helped me out for the day on Friday. Without her I wouldn't have been able to have a meeting with my editor so she could show me some possible layout options for the book! VERY EXCITING indeed. It is looking gorgeous so far and made it very real....

By next show (selection permitted) I will have my book on my stand with me!

H is for Home and Indie Quarter have done great posts about the show with some beautiful pictures.

Tree of Life lamp

2011-10-13T19:30:00.003+01:00

It's all go in the workshop getting ready for GNCCF and doing some design work for The Russian Tearooms (more about that another day). I made a little Tree of Life lamp to take to the show. I like them altogether in a little forest. I have just added it to my website and if you're an Etsy lover you can find it here.

The book is finished!

2011-10-08T11:18:00.006+01:00

I'm feeling happy today because THE BOOK IS FINISHED! It's been a huge project, and apart from the slight meltdown in August (we won't talk about that) I've really enjoyed it. The best bit has been making contact with all these wonderfully inspiring light makers from all over the world, some in person, some on line and hearing their stories and learning how they found themselves making lights. Some people are really new to it and some are very well established in their field but they are all doing amazing work.

Thanks everyone for being so supportive with this. I have needed the little nuggets of support that you have given me. I feel very lucky to know such lovely people!

As my editor says 'don't think it will be last you'll see of it!' It will come back for edits and re-writes, but for now I am celebrating because the bones of it are down, the images are collected and it is out of my hands for a while. Just got to get the GNCCF done and then I'm going on a relaxing break with my lovely friend Rachel Hazell up to the Isle of Skye to chill out, have fun and look at pretty mountains and lochs and stuff! Ahhhhhhh recuperate before the crazy Christmas rush ( I said that quietly).

On the way to the post office yesterday there was the best rainbow I have ever seen. Vibrant and unbroken and arcing right over Hebden, making it look like toy town. I was in a jubilant mood and will always be a happy association with finishing the book. I didn't take this photo(Andrew Back did). I didn't have may camera (the one time) but it was awesome and I'm glad somebody captured it.

The 'Do What You Love' film has been released!

2011-10-04T20:23:00.004+01:00

I am SO happy to see this. To be able to go back and re-live such a very very special time for four whole minutes! Jack and Rafael from Nut Films have done a beautiful job and captured it so well. In the video you will see Matt Stinchcombe, head of Etsy for Europe, painter Flora Bowley , the traveling book binder Rachel Hazell and Beth Nicholls who dreamed up the whole big idea in the first place.

Do What You Love - Retreats 2011 from nutfilms on Vimeo.

Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair Time

2011-09-30T21:40:00.002+01:00

It has come round way too fast this year! Nearly time for the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair. I will be there on stand 16. I'm hoping to bring my new seed pod window hangings. People keep spotting them hanging in my workshop window and I keep promising that I will start selling them soon. I guess that now would be a good time! Just trying to figure out how to offer them...and wrap them up...and display them.

Anyway I hope you will make it to the show. Here are some pictures from last year so you can see what it's all about.

Writing retreat at Heartspring

2011-09-22T20:36:00.013+01:00

I wanted to go away somewhere peaceful to finish the book. Earlier in the year I was craving Wales; missing the sound of the mud popping on the estuary and the curlews calling and the gentle rolling hills and the quiet. Rather than visit Laugharne where I used to live, I went round the bay to Llansteffan. Somewhere I had visited from time to time for a quick walk on the beach but not explored.

My friend told me about Heartspring House. A peaceful retreat centre where you can do group retreats or simply go and rent an apartment, which is what I did. See the big, pink house on the side of the hill. That's it.

Arriving at this grand house on the side of a hill took me back exactly 20 years when I went down to Art College in Carmarthen and lived in a large and beautiful house at the top of the hill in Laugharne. I was shown to my room with a large bay window and estuary and castle views, and I had the same sense of adventure and freedom that I felt when I was eighteen and saw my Castle House room for the first time. All alone, with a new stunning place to explore with no responsibilities , no phone signal and no wifi. Just tea drinking, walking, cooking, drawing, yoga, reading, a massage booked (ok couldn't afford such luxury at 18) and friends joining me at the weekend. Well I did have a book to write but I felt remarkably chilled about it given the long week ahead to focus solely on it.

The house has a deep peace about it. A really nurturing place, with inspiring books on the bookshelves, flowers from the garden in every room...

...shelves of herbal teas to choose from, cupboards full of herbs and spices for cooking, a flourishing vegetable garden, a big swing at the top of the garden, a trampoline...

...window seats to dream in and wonderfully welcoming and friendly staff.

Being on a tidal estuary the tide goes out for miles and you can walk and walk on the sands, which change every day. I loved it there. So utterly beautiful. Such peace.There are walks up to the Norman Castle where you can climb right to the top of the tower (about the only place I could find a phone signal) and walks through the woods right round the headland to take in spectacular views that photos cannot even begin to represent.

Even though I was there to work I found a good balance and went out to play every day....

collecting things on the beach (I got into feathers)...

and drawing. Every day I came to the writing in such a relaxed way. I'd sit down to work and hours would fly by. It was wonderful, and quite new for me, to get completely immersed in the flow with no disturbances, except perhaps the need for a cup of tea. This was good. Very very good. I tackled my intro (which I was scared of), tidied up lots of passages and reached my 20,000 word mark on Wednesday. Hooray!

My lovely friend Rachel came to stay for the weekend and Lynn joined us on Saturday. We had the best beans on toast and friend egg on toast ever in the beach cafe and then embraced the changing weather for a walk on the beach...sunny one minute, huge raindrops the next. Look at that sky. Shame that Rachel discovered a hole in her beloved wellies....and look what we found!

The rock people of Llansteffan had landed!

Let me introduce you to their creator. This is Mark and he lives at Heartspring, looking after the house and the guests, running retreats and being lovely. He had been telling me about his love for making art on the beach and showed me photographs of his beautiful sand circles so it was lovely to find him in mid creation on the beach making 'rock people'. Majestic and serene....

...and attracting quite a bit of attention from passers by!

I was very sad to have to leave my peaceful haven. I got up very early on my last day for a last walk on the beach. It was a grey morning when I set out but when I got on the beach I was greeted by an awesome sunrise.

There was a light rain too and the sunrise made a rainbow. The birds were going nuts and I closed my eyes to listen to them for a few minutes trying to bottle up the sound of the dawn chorus to bring it home. When I opened my eyes it was a grey morning again, not a trace of pink to be seen. Blink and you'd miss it!

I will definitely be going again. I might make it an annual thing. I feel very lucky indeed.

An attitude of gratitude on the sunny south coast

2011-09-06T21:10:00.011+01:00

Me and the kids have just had a week away on the south coast. Going away right at the end of the holidays was sort of like saying goodbye to the summer in a celebratory way. We were blessed with proper sunshine which certainly made for an enjoyable time.

I have been very stressed the last few weeks with the deadline of the book approaching and I felt like I couldn't possibly have a holiday with such a lot of work hanging over my head. Robert had been listening to an audio book called the Happiness Advantage, The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology which he lent to me and it made me realise many things, one of which was that I wasn't going to get anything much done with my doom and gloom attitude and I needed to get my head screwed back on properly (my words, I'm not quoting from the book there haha). Having some fun with kids and friends was going to help with that. Amongst lots gems of wisdom and scientific studies, the book encourages developing a practice of finding three daily gratitudes, training the mind to seek out the positives in our everyday lives.

Here are a few of mine....

How lucky I am that my work path has helped me meet so many amazing people. I met my friends Terri and David from Brighton years ago when they exhibited in the Hebden Bridge Sculpture trail and visited my open studio. We had a lovely chat and they invited me to show in their open house the next Spring. For the next few years a trip to Brighton in May has been a highlight of the year and I stayed in their beautiful house each time and made friends with these lovely people.

We have just stayed in their lovely peaceful house. Me and Ffion sat at the kitchen table with the French doors open onto the garden, drinking a lot of tea, Euan made the living room his domain and listened to lots of football. Ffion did some proof reading for me (working in a very relaxed kind of a way I might add). Which brings me onto gratitude number two. I am so lucky to have this girl and thankful that she is always so willing to help me. She is a good book editor (a newly discovered talent to add to the mix), she made a wicked carbonara and she always makes me laugh!

The Japanese Anemones were out in the garden (always grateful for the simple pleasures). The very plant that inspired my lamp design.

And we met Ed. Ffion has been writing singing and recording music with Ed Tullett, a prolific young singer/songwriter for the the last year but has never met him as he lives near Brighton. They met on Youtube of all places, commenting on each others videos and with the wonders of music technology they have been able to make recordings from opposite ends of the country. Fiction on his Vices album is my favourite of them both singing. They spent the day recording and making videos. Here's them singing Bon Iver. Bless them. Very inspiring indeed.

Another friend I am grateful to have made through my work is Wendy. She was my next door stand neighbour at my very first British Craft Trade Fair eight years ago. We were friends at first site and go down to visit her and her partner Chris in Hastings as often as we can. Did you read my post about going down to help them give birth back in June? Well here I am cuddling the lovely little boy. There were lots of cuddles. He's a darling.

My boy was as tiny as him once but look at him now. Lovely handsome chap. He was on top form on our holiday and it was great to have him a round. He nearly didn't come but I am so glad he did as it was lovely (and unusual) for us all to hang out together for so long. He and Chris played Forza on Xbox alot,

and he had a swim every day. Love that boy.

....and we had a cream tea with home made scones on the beach, and fished for mackerel (unsuccessfully) and made pizzas (well Chris did, we just added our toppings), and went to the car boot (it wasn't great) and just had a fantastically fun and relaxing time and I am grateful for these wonderful people who make it all all right......

Cheers! So, now we are back, refreshed and ready to get back to work in a much better headspace. :)

Phew that was a long blog post. All my family has gone to bed. Think I will go follow them. Night night x

Tiny Tree of Life

2011-08-24T13:33:00.001+01:00

An Etsy customer asked to make a tree of life to go on her set of wedding fairy lights. They just arrived back from the laser cutters and they are really very sweet. They are only about 5cm tall.

I'm just waiting for my laminator to get back from the menders as it was a bit poorly last week and get swallowing my work. When it's back I'll turn these teeny trees into lanterns.

Teatime at Gordon Riggs

2011-08-23T20:55:00.005+01:00

So I've been in all day writing (it's hard you know it takes me SOOO long to write anything) and I needed to get out, so me and my Ffion took a trip to Gordon Riggs for some plant inspiration and I fancied a new succulent for the windowsill. I can't quite believe that plant in my trolley. What the heck is it? It's amazing!

It was very therapeutic looking at all the plants and smelling in the air and we marvelled at all the shapes and laughed at how we were both happy to see the simplest of things.

We had to bring some of the strings of peas home as we love them.

Tip for the day: If you're going to go to Gordon Riggs, go at at 5pm because everyone is at home having their tea! It was so peaceful and we had the place to ourselves!

Dewy morning walk

2011-08-21T15:44:00.002+01:00

We had such a lovely Friday morning walk. There was a lots of dew and it sparkled in the morning sunshine. I didn't think I'd be able to capture the dew on the grasses but just looked at my pics and found that I did.

Super speedy Scrabble!

2011-08-10T21:02:00.003+01:00

The other night I wanted to feel like we were on holiday as we're not having one all together this year. Last year in our holiday cottage in Dorset we played a lot of Scrabble. In fact we were all obsessed by it but we never play when we're at home. So out came the wine and the chocolate and at home we have the added extra bonus of cats. Robert time lapsed it so this is super speedy Scrabble. Wouldn't ask you to watch it otherwise. YAWN!

After we finished our game I looked at my my Twitter stream and found out about all the atrocities going on across the country. I'd been busy working and it was the first I'd heard of it. Shocking. I was in Manchester yesterday afternoon doing some interviews and actually had a look around Miss Selfridge on my way back to the station before it was set in fire only a few hours later. This morning I was there again for another book interview and witnessed the aftermath. Lots of damage and boarded up windows and shopkeepers photographing the evidence. Nice to see SO many people ready to muck in with the clean up. I've never seen so many brooms!

We just had another game of Scrabble tonight. Ffion came back from camping and wanted a game. Funny how the words 'riot', 'thug' and 'loots' (well loots backwards) made it onto the board!

H is for Harebell

2011-08-07T14:20:00.003+01:00

This gorgeous Edwina Bridgeman sculpture went uncannily well with my Harebell lamp. Look how the flower on her skirt is the same shape and she has harebell shaped hair too. The fact that she sits on an old 'H' printing block just topped it off!

Name lamps

2011-08-05T13:32:00.005+01:00

I haven't posted any pictures of the personalised lamps lately but I'm still making lots of them. There have been a lot of Roses lately. Eva Rose, Libby Rose, Martha Rose, Elena Rose. Very popular right now. We did a new photo shoot a few weeks ago over at Andrew Sanderson and Debbie Georges house in Holmfirth. They have a beautiful house full of lovely furniture with interesting ornaments around the place to use in the photos. He took this lovely picture of one of the name lamps which I think I'll turn into a postcard. The Beatrix Potter books make it for me. I had them all when I was little.

We have loads more pics too. I'll show you soon.

Wet Friday Morning Walk

2011-08-05T09:04:00.003+01:00

I couldn't persuade Fiona to come for a walk in the drizzle this morning but it was lovely, especially under the trees!

Tomsk came with me though, some of the way! :)

Drawing Grasses and the frustrations of writing a book!

2011-08-03T09:15:00.004+01:00

So I bought a grass identification book to try and learn what last weeks grasses were but I still don't really know to be honest. It's quite tricky tell from the illustrations but hey they have nice shapes and they got me drawing so that's all good.

Over the past couple of days I have had Joby round to shoot some panoramic shots for the new virtual tour on the Radiance site. This year we decided to include the workshop too...with me in it 'working' and when I sat down to 'pretend' I ended up creating some stuff that I am pleased with and has potential lampage!

I like this one. I'd like to do a grassy wall panel. I'm a bit frustrated at the moment as I have so many things to juggle and whilst I'm doing one thing I always feel I should be doing something else. I have only EIGHT weeks left until my book deadline and that is a bit scary. This week was supposed to be a' head down to write week' but the panoramas took a long time to shoot on Monday and Tuesday, Euan needed a trip to Leeds for walking boots and new shoes and today Matt is a bit poorly bless him so I have to be in the shop. I still have lots of information to gather and LOTS to write and I'm feeling the pinch. Right now though I just want to walk in the sunny hills and makes shapes with paper and light without a deadline looming!

I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end!

Minnie's Agapanthus

2011-07-31T17:35:00.004+01:00

We had a lovely student called Minnie from Leeds Uni doing a couple of days work placement with us this week and she bought me a lovely bunch of flowers to say thank you for having her! In the bouquet (which she chose very well, thinking they were very 'me') were some Agapanthus which I love.

I've thought I'd do some drawings to study them a bit.
Such great colours in the flower heads.

Shall I do an Agapantha lamp?

Grasses

2011-07-22T10:44:00.004+01:00

The hills really are alive with grasses at the moment and glad I got out to see them all today. Such beautiful delicate forms.I feel inspired to make a wall panel of grasses. Shame I can't today as we have a lot to do in the shop. Good to store these images up for later though. It's been an intense time of work lately getting the new Radiance website ready so this week it's been nice to take a bit of time to unwind. Nice walks, yoga, swimming, meeting up with friends. Lovely.

Anyone know what all these different grasses are called? I might try and find out....

The new Radiance website is LIVE!

2011-07-15T20:30:00.004+01:00

I have been so excited for weeks and weeks and working like a crazed obsessed thing to get the new Radiance website ready for it's launch. Most other things have had to go out of the window, well actually no I haven't completely abandoned my responsibilities, other things just paled into insignificance while all my interest was with the new site. I ache all over and my eyes are SQUARE but it has been so worth the work because it's beautiful and I love it!

I am very lucky that my lovely boyfriend Robert is very talented developer and we have been working closely on it for months thinking carefully about what we wanted the site to be about. We wanted to create a simple site led by warm and beautiful images that really reflects the spirit of the shop. He worked hard to make that happen creating the clever zoom facility (I love this bit), the simple layout, the brilliant search facility, (I still get excited about searching for 'red' or 'green' and seeing everything pop up in front of me! ) the fast loading times and much much more that I couldn't even begin to explain! It has made me realise what a true craftsman he is.

Today we went LIVE and today feels good. As Robert says this is just the beginning. The site is will constantly change and develop and there will always be things we need to add ( i can think of loads right now actually) but we just had to get it to a good jumping off point and get it out into the world.

So I invite you to have a look and a play and I hope you like it as much as we do!

www.radiancelighting.co.uk

Sale this way!

2011-07-01T13:09:00.002+01:00

The sale is in full swing. Yesterday we made sale bunting and it looks very cute! I've had two lovely girls on work experience placements here to help this week so there have been many pairs of hands to get things ready. I hope you can make it over this weekend. There are LOTS of seconds to clear!

Reasons to visit Hebden Bridge part one hundred and one...

2011-06-26T19:35:00.008+01:00

Juan, the guy who balances stones is becoming quite a feature of a sunny day in Hebden Bridge. Today he was out in style and had created his graceful stone sculptures along a large stretch of the river.

I was overhearing a sceptical couple watching him and not believing that he could possibly be balancing them without some kind of aid or magic!

But he does. He stays with his stones for a long long time patiently balancing and re-balancing until he can let go and leave them teetering and seeming to defy gravity. His patience is amazing. He has more that most! It reminded me of a quote by Einstein that I read the other day. He said 'It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.' The stone balancing is a kind of meditation. He gets into a zone with the stones and stays there until they balance.

The other great thing about Hebden right now is all the knitting. You see the bunting in the picture? Every flag is knitted and it's part of the Hebden Bridge Arts Festivals ( i got the email about it but I'm a rubbish knitter) 'yarnstorming'. Lots of people made garlands and bunting and colourful knitted buns hanging in trees - even all the bollards wore woolly hats. I love living here.

(I just read that Juan is doing stone balancing classes in town too)

Open Studio and Seconds Sale!

2011-06-24T08:59:00.005+01:00

It's time again for the Hebden Bridge Open Studios where you can visit over 65 artists and designers in their workshops all over Hebden Bridge and the surrounding area. I wish my desk always looked this tidy. It certainly won't during the open studio because...

I'm having a SECONDS SALE and it will be covered in bargain lamps!

I have a drawer full of near misses, petals that slipped, things cut a bit wonky, the odd eyelash trapped in the laminating haha. Mostly there's not a lot wrong with them and people look at me a bit strange for being such a perfectionist. Next week we'll be getting them all out, building them up and giving them their very own BARGAIN price so I hope you can come along and join the rummage.

Friday, Saturday & Sunday 1st, 2nd and 3rd of July.

Hebden has some great studios. There are a lot in old mills and many people are opening up their houses this year too. There is a website and a brochure. If anyone would like me to send them a brochure in advance just let me know and I'll do that happily.

Loula Belle

2011-06-20T09:04:00.004+01:00

I LOVE this photo so much. This is my daughter and her friends modelling for Loula Belle at home in the launderette (yes they did get a few funny looks). Leonie Stephenson makes these gorgeous vintage style pinnies in the most pretty fabrics. I saw Leonies work for the first time the other evening when Fiona had a brilliant fashion party at her house. They are beautifully made and would turn baking into the most stylish affair! Leonie gave me her business card with this image on when I saw her but seeing it over on on 7071 design blog just now made me want to put it on my blog too!!!

Loula Belle keeps a lovely blog with lots of recipe ideas (she made a gorgeous lemon drizzle the other night) and this is her shop.

Big Things Ahead

2011-06-13T18:21:00.005+01:00

I am sooooo proud of this amazing girl! This is a joyful interview with her on the Big Things blog. It's a lovely read all about her photography and the books and zines that she publishes.

And just in case you think I'm always blogging about Ffion and not about my boy Euan well let me tell you, I'm equally as proud of him.

This is his Sound Cloud page where you can hear his latest musical creations. They send shivers up my spine. He's amazing.

Wow! My best creations ever!

It's a boy!

2011-06-12T19:49:00.004+01:00

I have the most amazing of weeks. My friend invited me to be her birthing partner...well part of 'team birth' with her partner. I went down to Hastings to be with them last Sunday when her waters broke and then we waited and waited and drank tea and ate biscuits (and the obvious hot curry) and walked on the beach and waited some more.

There was stopping and starting but the little guy in her belly was obviously very happy and comfortable and didn't really want to come out no matter how hard she tried. And tried she did. She was AMAZING. He was finally born by C section on Friday morning. And what a little bundle or gorgeousness!

Being there for the labour was something I will never forget. It was a roller coaster of emotion. Intimate, painful, exciting, exhausting. It's been a long time since I've done an all nighter and I still have the huge bags under my eyes. It was such an honour to be there with these lovely people at such a special time. I'm still all dreamy about it. I'm going to have to make alot of trips down there to visit!

Pouch Panic Over

2011-06-08T10:46:00.002+01:00

Panic over! Laminating pouches are back in the country so I can make my lamps again much sooner that expected!

I am away from own computer for a few more days so I can't remove the notices all over my website saying 'this product is currently unavailable due to the national shortage of laminating pouches' so I thought I would just announce it on my blog!

I can make everything again! :)

Friday Morning Walk with the birds and the bees

2011-06-03T09:56:00.006+01:00

I've had the most gorgeous walk this morning. I think I must be a bit in tune with the birds and the bees, or perhaps my clothes are more camouflaged than usual because it's been one of those up close to nature days where the little birdies haven't flown away but have just gone about there business in my presence. I watched a family of tree creepers by the bridge in Nutclough Woods for ages doing their thing in a big beech tree while was a pair of blackbirds hopped about on the forest floor and a little robin sang a hearty tune for us. Then a little later a pair of Goldfinches at the edge of the field.

(this is not my picture by the way, I didn't want to risk getting my camera out)
I watched them for ages trying to remember what they were from my days in Wales before CATS when I had a bird feeder outside my window which attracted all sorts of beauties (alas no more on our cat infested cobbledy Yorkshire Street-peril for birdies). So sweet with their bright yellow tail feathers and stripey heads. I saw a couple of pheasants (are there more about than usual, I've seen more this year than I have in my life) and Mr heron fishing in the river. On the way home I was intrigued by the people looking over the wall at something. There was a swarm of bees gathering at the base of a tree. They were working out how to move them. I love living here!

I put a few more piccies on Flickr.

Plea for laminating pouches!!!

2011-06-02T10:56:00.005+01:00

It seems that in business there is always some challenging hurdle to overcome. We have had all sorts of little complications over the years, poppers losing their pop, papers being discontinued, metal rod chopping machine being blunt and causing legs to become loose, repetitive strain injuries from too much cutting.....you get the drift. This weeks problem is large A2 laminating pouches being out of stock NATIONALLY. In my 8 years of making I have always been able to ring up and order them for next day delivery. Four weeks ago, I did just that only to find they were out of stock until the end of May. Now I am told they will be at least another EIGHT weeks away. Oh arg. I'm already behind with my orders.

So I can't make tall lamps, oval lamps, floor lamps, wall panels or wall lamps until at least August. All my stock has dwindled the past month since they ran out so there are none available.

I CAN however make lots and lots and lots and lots of small lamps and that's just what I'll be doing today.

If anyone has any laminating pouches tucked away anywhere I would love to buy them. Very specific ones though. They have to be A2 350micron flat matt laminating pouches. Nothing else will do! Do get in touch and I will smile forever!

*********(Hey, just adding this paragraph on 8th June.) They have just called to say they are BACK IN STOCK so the panic is over. I can't take off the 'this product is currently available' notices from my website as I am away for a few days but thought I'd announce on my blog that all is well again and products can again be ordered! HOOORAY!!!**********

There's Room!

2011-05-23T20:55:00.004+01:00

WARNING! Proud mother moment coming up!

The third issue of Ffion's zine is out now and it's a particularly lovely one. This one is called 'There's Room' and features photographs loosely based around the theme of structures and the places we live taken by 20 photographers.

It's a limited edition of 75 and is available here.

Creative Enterprise at the Do What You Love Retreat

2011-05-23T18:23:00.015+01:00

(photo NavyBlur)

Despite being a little nervous beforehand, my creative enterprise session at the Do What You Love Retreat was a real treat. This is me (having a larf) on the sofa next to Matt Stinchcomb (Mr Etsy man) being interviewed by the lovely Beth. The sofas placed on either side of the lamp lit coffee table inspired a mock TV chat show and we were greeted like celebrities with a 'mwa' on each cheek to an applauding audience. Haha it was fun!

(photo NavyBlur)

Etsy Matt could talk for England, or should I say Germany (he is now head of Etsy for Europe and is based in Berlin) and entertained us with the story of Etsy and it's remarkable growth since it was but an idea in his room mates head only six years ago. What an inspiring story. Two guys who didn't really know what they were doing who had an idea and set about making it happen. Rob didn't know anything about building a website but bought an HTML book and had a go, and Matt who knew nothing of marketing but was given this new role. Between them (and a few others) they made Etsy happen. WOW! It was a real tale of 'starting before you're ready' and learning as you go along! There were lots of fascinating Etsy related tales and tips and I wish I had been in the audience with a notebook so I could have a hope of remembering them all.

(photo NavyBlur)

And I guess my story was one of learning as I went along too. Beth introduced me and Radiance in such a sweet and endearing way, inspired by visiting last year and being served by my Dad. My story emphasised that I started small and worked in tiny baby steps gently growing my business at the same time as growing my kids! I started with nothing, no business knowledge really, no money to speak of but a little spark of an idea, which eventually sparked another idea, which ignited another...and so on.

(photo NavyBlur)

I guess when you take small steps like this it doesn't seem like you're moving very far and when opportunities arise like this invitation to share my personal story to a group of amazing people from all around the world it invited me to look back and acknowledge how far I've come. I'm grateful to Beth for that opportunity. (oooh I'm making myself weep here).

But someone in the audience, (brilliant photographer Kat Sloma) wasn't really concentrating ;). She was entranced by the checkerboard shape created by the lamps and this glass of wine and wishing she could run over and capture it on camera! Glad I hadn't drunk it all by the time the talk was over!

'Fresh', an exhibition at The New Leaf Gallery

2011-05-23T16:29:00.003+01:00

I am pleased to be part of the 'Fresh' exhibition at The New Leaf Gallery in Monmouth. Isn't this a pretty flyer. It's nice to be alongside these two talented artist. I am loving the work of Clare Mahoney. Such beautiful pebbles. And the Jane Ormes prints are gorgeous. The exhibition starts on the 28th May and runs until the 9th July so if you're in the area to go and have a look. I wish I was closer as I'd very much like to see!

The Do What You Love Retreat!

2011-05-16T21:21:00.020+01:00

The last few days at the Do What You Love Retreat have been AMAZING. I was right in my last post when I said something special was about to happen. It absolutely did! Where to start...

The accommodation was spectacular. This was our classroom (check out the tipi on top of the hill). The workshops were so much fun. I did the workshop with Priscilla Jones.

Here are Rachael Taylor and Etsy Matt at work. The first day we made tools to paint with and painted onto tissue with dyes (playing like kids). Then in the afternoon we did mono printing on top of our pictures.

Then we made a framework out of wire and then covered it in silk and wax (Priscilla's special technique). Ellie here is making a cup cake.

(photo by NavyBlur)

I had to make something that lit up so I made a wonky standard lamp! You'll see the finished result later.

We had hours of chatting and getting to know each other. It was soooo nice.

(photo by NavyBlur)

The details were to cry for. Beth had made everyone a welcome pack full of beautiful goodies.

We ate home cooked food in a tipi adorned with garlands and lanterns.

The creative enterprise sessions were inspiring. We had Q&A sessions with painter Flora Bowley, artist Priscilla Jones, Rachel Hazell the book maker, surface pattern designer Rachael Tayler and there was the session with myself and Matt Stinchcomb from Etsy. What a guy he was. I was more nervous than i thought but it was such a cosy session. Beth had set it up like a TV chat show with sofas and a coffee table lit by the light of my lamps. I haven't got a picture (really honestly it did happen) but the official photographers took lots of pictures (they were an amazing young couple full of energy and life, Navyblur and they photographed EVERYTHING) and the whole thing was filmed so I will maybe be able to see it and share it sometime soon. I might tell you more about that another time. It was a great honour to be there though I can tell you!

We did Kundalini yoga with the lovely Devi Kirin every morning (except one, i was knackered). It was lovely! Tried it outside but it was a bit windy!

We had gallery night where we shared our work.

This was Devi Krins.

This was Floras painting.

The books made with Rachel Hazel made me cry. They were like treasures.

I have decided I'm going to go and do one of her courses in the Summer Isles next year.

This is my crazy standard lamp. Someone said it looked like the Borrowers had made it. hahaha

I have put more images on Flickr.

But, I will save the best until last. The absolute best thing that happened were all the personal connections made. Creative souls coming together with one common goal. To Do What We Love! There was such a special buzz around the place, everyone learning from one another and inspiring each other on our creative journeys.

(photo by NavyBlur)

I have brought back so much - a renewed energy, new friends, new plans, a quiet confidence in what I'm doing, some new dreams to explore but the best thing I have brought back is the spirit of the place. It is still with me. This spirit can now carry on shining in the real world!

Thanks Beth. So wonderful to be a part of your dream coming true! Well done you!

Something special is about to happen!

2011-05-10T08:51:00.006+01:00

The Do What You Love Retreat starts tomorrow! The course is fully books and lots of creative souls are journeying from all over the world to a peaceful and beautiful part of the Yorkshire Dales to take part. It's very exciting. I'm quite nervous...I'm always stupidly nervous about what to pack. Hahaha. I'm an anxious packer but on a deeper level than 'what the heck am I going to wear' there is the feeling that something really special is about to happen...

This is a retreat about people finding the inspiration and tools to 'do what they love' with their lives and as I am lucky enough to be doing just that I have been asked to come along as a guest speaker and share my story, insights and experience and really there isn't anything I would rather do in life other than to have the chance to inspire others on their creative journeys.

To top it off I'm going to be doing my Q&A session with Matt Stinchcomb who is the head of Etsy for Europe. Goodness me! This guy has been around Etsy since the beginning and was one of Etsys first employees. He has helped it grow it to become the huge and wonderful business that it is today. Can't wait to meet him. It's going to be an interesting conversation that's for sure. Beth Nicholls the founder of Do What You Love (click on her link and read about her, she's amazing) will be interviewing us. Beth has just been featured in this month Marie Claire UK magazine as part of their inspire and mentor campaign where they paired some of Britain’s ‘most exciting young female entrepreneurs’ with leading successful businesswomen. Beth was mentored by Kanya King of the MOBO awards who is also coming to speak on the retreat! Wowee.

So, I've sent off a box of lamps for gallery night, I've got some supplies together for my class with Priscilla Jones (still have to buy some decent scissors), I have written a hundred notes for everyone who will be looking after the shop (Matt, Dad, Cathy AND Fiona), I have done alot of washing and today I'm going to pack (arg). Then I am ready for the adventure! Three relaxing days of creating and sharing and being inspired with lovely creative people, yoga outside in the mornings, bunnies hopping about, nice food, gorgeous accomodation (sharing a cabin with the lovely Rachel Taylor, apparently voted the happiest person in Britain haha). I think we'll all be very happy indeed!

So I will report back next week and let you know how it all went. Bye for now!x

day one and two!

2011-05-08T17:05:00.008+01:00

I have been digging around in boxes of old CD's which back in the day before Dropbox I used to back up my work (do you know Dropbox, it's a marvellous invention). Some of the photos (the ones made with cheap lining paper) were marked 'day one and two' and these are the first experiments I ever did in making lamps all those years ago.

At first I lit them with a lamp holder that sat in a milk bottle (I talked about this in my Do What You Love interview). I had this milk bottle with a bulb in it sitting at the side of my desk and I would hold different things over the light to see what they looked like. It must have been on constantly for the first week or two and I actually slightly damaged my retina doing this. My vision in my left eye has never been the same since. I have a little blind spot (so don't try this at home!).

Anyway it's always great to look back on these things, like old sketchbooks and photographs, as it reminds you of different routes that you could have taken but didn't at the time. I love the houses and I plan to re-visit them. At the time that was way too much hand cutting to do for one lamp but now with laser cutting I have a chance! I also love the double layering idea. I bought some plastic spacers to play with this years ago but never carried it through. Something to play with for later.

I'm enjoying writing my book. I'm being quite disciplined about it as I have such a definite deadline. If I was to spend as much time as I am with the book on experimenting with my own work I think I could develop lots of new ideas....ones that fly around but I haven't quite pinned down yet. When the book is done this is what I want to do. To play.....a lot! To play like it's 'day one and two' again and like I have no idea where it is going to take me!

Oui Decor, new stockist in France

2011-05-05T20:42:00.006+01:00

It was lovely to get these photographs through from my new (and first) stockist in France, 'Oui Decor'. They have only been open a couple of weeks but Jenny says the lamps are going down well so far!

Oui Decor, 32 Grand Rue, Sauze-Vaussais, 79190 FRANCE

Newby Hall

2011-04-26T18:24:00.007+01:00

Today we visited Newby Hall. Daniel Hornsey who own Hornseys in Ripon a lovely gallery who have been selling my work for some time, recently (well I guess it's a couple of years now) started running the Shop at Newby Hall and now sells a wide selection of beautiful design led goods. We didn't visit the house itself (the gorgeous print above is by Ed Kluz) but the shop, garden and tea on the lawn was inspiration enough.

It was nice to see my lamps nestled in amongst friends. See the Lush design cushions and the Angie Lewin cards, all folk I sell at Radiance.

The gardens were lovely and peaceful and I'm glad I had my camera to capture the gorgeous colours.

I couldn't quite believe the colour and cuteness of these maple seeds.

The ferns were just beginning to unfurl.

The wild garlic was just beginning to flower.

Anyone know what this is. It was growing by the ponds (quite zoomed in here).

He is a fine fellow isn't he! He was noisy though!

This would be a lovely place to visit with young kids. They have sandpits and a lovely play area, lawns to run on and a little train that takes you round the gardens.

Dan reckons I should design a lamp especially for Newby Hall based on all the wondrous plants in the gardens. Sounds like a plan!

Fairy lights in the Appeltaart house!

2011-04-17T21:01:00.004+01:00

There are some very special moments in this designer/maker life that just make making things so worthwhile. Yesterday when Guusje sent me pictures of the fairy lights that I sent her in her beautiful house I had one of those moments! Her gorgeous light and airy house in Holland is adorned in colourful fairy lights and garlands that I have often admired on her blog (Guusje's Appeltaart) and now I am very happy that my fairy lights are part of the collection!

Quote Guusje (she is so poetic) 'At night time we look at our fairy light collection and are over the moon with all those stars around us'.

There are more of her pictures of course on her blog, but also on my 'Hannah Nunn Lamps at Home ' blog where I am collecting pictures of my lights in peoples homes. If you have any do send them over! I'd love to see. x

My new Wall!

2011-04-15T19:06:00.004+01:00

This week I built a wall! Well actually I didn't build it myself, joiner Paul (JP Rennovations) did that and I am celebrating it's arrival. Since I moved to the new shop I haven't had anywhere to display my wall panels so they've been sadly hiding away in a cupboard all this time. This wall is especially for my wall panels. As it turned out I only had the seed pod one left so I thought it was about time I made some new ones....worth it now I have somewhere to put them. So here is a new one which I called 'Spring' which is a collection of Snowdrops and Paperwhites

The one at the top with all the dandelions is new too. I hope my new wall inspires many more!

Seventeen years ago today!

2011-04-15T18:55:00.003+01:00

This photo needs to be shared. Isn't it beautiful! Isn't she beautiful! This is my daughter and today is her seventeenth birthday. She will probably tell me off for putting this picture on here but this is my little celebration. The marking of her birthday and the time that has passed which seems no time at all since she was born.

She was born on the stroke of midnight on the 14th but the computer said that it was to be 0.00 a.m. on the 15th and so her birthday was decided.

I will never forget her sleeping in the crook of my arm all night long and although I was completely exhausted from a two day labour I couldn't sleep because I had to keep looking and looking and looking at her. At 4 .a.m the birds began to sing outside and she opened her little eyes and looked around as if trying to locate them, her first moment of making sense of the world, and then satisfied, she fell asleep again. Thinking back to this moment now, seventeen years later so much more poigniant given the wondeful human being that she has become.

Happy Birthday Darling!

(photo taken at Rachels wedding by John. Nice one John. This is a beauty.)

wedding lights

2011-04-11T13:00:00.007+01:00

Here's a little video that Robert took on his Iphone at Rachel and Bobs wedding. Don't ask me why the vase of flowers moves in the middle. Watch out for the hands coming into shot to take a piece of bread bread. It was nice bread that!

(probably a bit silly to post this as these lights are not currently available as a product....but I'm working on it still so you never know!).

Meet the boys

2011-04-10T20:45:00.006+01:00

This weekend was just so nice. My boy cats lolling around in the street in the sunshine, strolling into town (in sandals) for the first ice lolly of the year, chatting to friends, listening to Ffion and Poppy busking in the square and going for a lovely evening walk in this beautiful countryside of ours. It was one of those 'glad to be alive and living here' kind of weekends. Thought I'd post this picture of the cats so that I remember it. Meet Tomsk, Ollie (ginger ones are brothers) and Gabriel. They are fab and theres nothing much more pleasant in life than sitting with the cats and a cup of tea in the sunshine. ahhhh.

The Wedding of Bob & The Beauty

2011-03-28T20:44:00.009+01:00

This weekend we went to a very special wedding! My dear friend Rachel (we go back years and years and were both very 'single' for quite some time together) met the lovely Bob not so very long ago and they fell in love instantly! He endearingly named her 'The Beauty' and the nickname has kind of stuck! So this was the wedding of Bob and The Beauty!

Her two lovely children I have known since they were babies and besides my own are my all time favourite children! Didn't they look amazing! They make such a gorgeous family and if there was any weeping done on the day (by me) it was when I looked at them all looking so happy together. I'm so glad they all met the Bob!

There were simple tulips (me and Lynn had a very early start sorting them out at the venue in the morning...we had our orders)...

..there were party bags complied by Olivia (cos she's good at that kind of thing)...

and lovely photos taken for the name place cards by John cos he's good at that kind of thing...

..and I can't think who made these candle covers for them....

Rachel's Mums friend made the beautiful cake.

The wedding photo wall was ace. Rachel and Bob put loads of family wedding pictures in frames and left one you could stand behind to have your photo taken.

You can imagine the kind of pictures being taken at the end of the night. Here is my dear boy looking lovely!

From this point on the photos are too drunken and rather blurry so I will spare you but it was a very fun night....a fun weekend actually. It was all over way too fast though. Can't wait to hear all about it from the brides point of view when they get back from their honeymoon.x

Supermoon

2011-03-21T09:26:00.010Z

Me and Ffion went up the hill to watch Saturday nights Supermoon rising. She balanced her camera precariously on a gate post to take this long exposure. She's not so keen on this picture but I love it. I love the hill of colourful windows, the twinkly orange streetlights and the big mysterious moon rising.

There are some awe inspiring pictures of the Supermoon on Flickr. You must have look!

Hannah Nunn lamps at home

2011-03-20T21:18:00.003Z

I would love to know where all my lamps go when I say goodbye to them at the Post Office and send them out into the world! Sometimes people send me photos so I get to see them in their new homes which is lovely. I thought I'd gather all the pictures together and share them on my brand new blog Hannah Nunn lamps at home.

If you have one, do email it over and I'll add yours too...

Debbie Bryan and her Nottingham Lace

2011-03-15T20:07:00.012Z

I've just been down to Nottingham for another inspiring book research trip (I won't give anything away, 2012 launch remember!) and I took the opportunity to catch up with Debbie Bryan a friend who I have met through various craft shows over the last few years. Debbie is a maker with a shop too, just like me so it's really inspiring to hear about what she's been up to and share ideas. Debbie is a textile artist and makes beautiful knitted and felted scarves as well as range of scrumptious resin jewellery to compliment. She opened her shop a few years ago in Nottinghams historic lace market and this inspired her to launch a heritage collection of lace inspired products. Here is one of her lace brooches.

Nottingham is famous for it's lace production and it was crafted by people all over the town and then traded in the lace market. Sadly there's not much production happening anymore but lots of people remember it from when they were children and come into the shop with their lace stories and lace samples. They have however met a chap who still makes lace after all these years and he brought them lots of original lace patterns which are exquisite. They now sit beautifully framed in the shop.

Debbie has invited many of her exhibiting artists to make some lace inspired products for the collection. This delicate jug by Katie Almond was one of my favourites.

AND I have had some lace inspired ideas of my own whilst on the train home (can you believe it Debbie, at last) so hopefully some lamps will be able to join the collection soon!

Spring Greens!

2011-03-10T22:44:00.004Z

Now I don't often find the time to make Etsy treasuries but I was inspired by some lovely things tonight when I was shopping for shrugs for my dear friend Rachels wedding (in TWO weeks). I found some perfect ones but they were from far off distant lands (such is the world of Etsy) and I didn't leave enough time. Anyway tonight I was inspired by green. I think it started with the lovely house mobile and went from there. Go over and have a closer look because there are such lovely things to be seen.

Friday Morning Walk

2011-03-04T10:44:00.004Z

We are loving our Friday morning walks and they are now embedded nicely into the shape of the week. We went up Mytholm Steeps and up the Cat Steps (phew, that got the heat up) and from the top you get an unusual view of Hebden Bridge. You can barely make it out in the fog but I thought I'd show you anyway.

It was all quite wintry until we found this clump of snowdrops which showed the promise of Spring. I found the perfect specimen of an umbellifer skeleton (don't know which type, do tell).

It felt like my magic wand so we made wishes all the way home!

Fritillary

2011-03-01T20:37:00.005Z

I just had a spent a lovely fifteen minutes on Twitter and have just 'met' an illustrator called Victoria Archer (@bella_lovebird if your on Twitter) and I skipped over to her blog and discovered her beautiful paintings and illustrations. We agreed we both have an obsession for flowers. Amongst them was this fritillary picture...

and she reminded how much I love these flowers. I tried to do a fritillary design once but the beautiful chequered leaves, which really do sum up their 'fritillaryness' 'proved too tricky to cut by hand. I am now inspired to revisit this flower now I have the super duper laser technology. Thought I'd check out the brilliant BioLib for illustrations and found there to be a particularly lovely one. All inspired again...

Harebells, Wood Anemones and VAT!

2011-03-01T19:46:00.003Z

Today I have added the new designs to the website. Harebells and Wood Anemones. I am still working on new ideas...well I am in theory but with the London trip and writing up all the interviews I haven't had much time (I've been listening to the dictaphone recordings...everyone is great but I am SO sick of the sound of my own voice I tell you). I'll be back on to new designs next week. I'm looking forward to my limited edition botanical range.

Another thing I had to do today which was not at all fun was increase all the prices on my website because as of today I am VAT registered. OUCH! It hurt to have to put the prices up, especially when I have to give it all to Mr Taxman but it can't be avoided. I mean in one way it's good news...the business is doing well and everything but on the other hand I don't like passing the extra cost on to my lovely customers. Such is the way of things!

Whistle Stop Studio Tour of London & Brighton!

2011-02-25T20:24:00.004Z

I have just returned from the most inspiring research trip to London and Brighton. Altogether I took 21 trains (including tubes), 4 taxi's, 1 car ride and lots of shoe leather and it has filled me with so much inspiration. I went to interview some amazing designer/makers for the book and spent a lot of hours in workshops and studios learning about peoples work and hearing their fascinating stories. Of course I want to tell you everything and show you all my pictures and publish all the interviews right here right now but that would be giving it all away wouldn't it. Eventually it will all be in the book!

The Big Interview

2011-02-19T09:06:00.003Z

Beth from Do What You Love (remember I told you about the retreat I was going on) has posted a interview with me on her blog. We talk about the first lamp I ever made, where I go to find inspiration, the story of Radiance and invaluable advice that people have given me along the way. I invite you to have a read...

having a very seedy time

2011-02-16T20:22:00.007Z

I got some samples back from the lasercutters today. Lots and lots and lots of seeds. Now I'm just playing with them to see what they can do! They do make great shadows but I never really like lamps where you can see the bulb. We strung them up and hung them in the window and they look really lovely. It was just a bit dark by then to take a good picture so I'll try and take some tomorrow. There's lots of potential anyway!

Seeds

2011-02-12T15:38:00.003Z

I've been having fun with seeds! They are such great shapes. I will make them into mobiles and what I'd love to make is a big chandelier out of lots and lots of falling seeds....

In the creative flow...

2011-02-10T13:24:00.014Z

I've been poorly this week with a nasty chesty cough but staying in the warmth of my house and in my newly decorated living room seems to have done me the world of good creatively. Maybe it's having space to think with no other distractions (lots of laying on the sofa in a blanket with cats and a sketchbook) or maybe it just happened to be the time when lots of ideas that have been floating around have culminated into something new! Whatever it is, I have very much been enjoying being in the creative flow and have had lots of ideas to keep me going for a long time!

First up, Harebells. I stated looking at bluebells with Spring being on the way but then remembered how much I love Harebells and when you really start looking at them you notice how many interesting shapes and features they have. I love the flowers, I love the buds and I love the silhouette the stem makes. The finished laser cut and engraved prototype arrived yesterday and already I have had an order for a wall lamp because someone in the shop spotted it on my desk. That's a good sign! I like the way it looks like the light is shining out of the flowers themselves.

The other day I blogged about my botanical study idea and showed you the Wood Anemone. Well yesterday my lasercut 'wood anemone middle' arrived and it is SO fine. Just like the real thing! So delicate and beautiful. I love it.

I have decided that I am going to make a series of limited edition lamps for my botanical series. Maybe just ten of each design to keep me in the creative flow that I love and keep coming up with new studies. I will number and sign each one. Can't wait to do more.....

back when it was all but a dream...

2011-02-08T16:23:00.005Z

I found an old sketchbook back from when Radiance was just a dream. So nice to see this now that this dream has come true. You can see more over at my Radiance blog...

Fairy Lights are back on!

2011-02-07T12:20:00.004Z

I have very good news. Whilst having a NewYear spring clean and sorting through my plan chest drawers that were piled high with paper we found quite a lot of my old fairy light paper - yes the one that had been discontinued and has prevented me from making fairy lights for the last few months. I feel a bit silly really that there has been all this fuss and actually there has been a supply of it hiding away in the back of the drawer all the time!

I have Matthew to thank for this. Matt has just started working at Radiance and the HN studio. He is very organised and tidy and has set to re-organising my workshop for me and doing lots of jobs that I have been meaning to to for ages. Another one of these jobs being taking photos of all the individual patterns for the fairy lights so that we can add them to the website and make ordering them a whole lot easier. Hopefully I'll be doing that later on today when I can get some technical help from my dear Robert. In the meantime here is a picture of the extras...

(later in the day) Here they are on the website. Hooray!

Any Toucan Fall In Love!

2011-02-06T12:21:00.004Z

I sent some work off to the Rostra Gallery in Bath last week for their 'Any Toucan Fall In Love' exhibition. It's a lovely looking gallery and it's nice to be amongst friends (there are Louise Traill lights and Joanna Couplands birdies everywhere)! The exhibition runs until the 23rd February so if you're in that part of the world go and have a look. I wish I was because it looks very lovely indeed!

A Painters Garden

2011-02-03T18:54:00.004Z

We've just had our living room decorated and it's looking good. It's the first time in my life that we've had someone in to do the decorating and it has been soooo lovely. Emma Ossenton (if you're on twitter she is @waterrat77) is fantastic and super efficient so that's been a pleasure. We (or rather she) papered the end wall in Woodland Ferns from Sandersons' Painters Garden collection. It was astounding coming home from work yesterday and seeing how much it had changed the room....in a good way might I add. It's very bold but we like it. I'll wait until we're all finished to get a picture of the whole room. For now here's just a bit.

AND it has inspired an idea! Well actually it's an idea I've had for a while but it inspired me to get on with it today. I have a tall Alpine Meadow lamp on top of the piano but it just doesn't sit well with the wallpaper. I was thinking it needed to be a woodland flower or something and this reminded me about my idea of making a collection of lamps like Victorian botanical studies.

In botanical studies I LOVE and am endlessly inspired by the little diagrams that you get alongside the drawing of the plant itself with beautiful scrolling letters marking the illustrations of the seeds and stamen and showing cross sections of the stems and leaves.

This first experiment is of is a Wood Anemone and I have lots more ideas that I am going to play with right now. I wonder which plant will soon be sitting on top of my piano!

Do What You Love Retreat

2011-01-27T20:41:00.013Z

I have some very exciting news to share. I have been invited to be a quest speaker on this wonderful retreat in the Yorkshire Dales in May. This is the first 'D o What You Love, Art and creative enterprise retreat' and I am really honoured to have been invited to attend. Beth Nicholls (very inspiring adventurer and entrepreneur) has had a creative dream to inspire people to do what they love for life and she is in a mission to do just that. I first came across Beth when she wrote a Leeds Guide for the Design Sponge blog a while back. It was so surprising to find a guide to my hometown on this big U.S blog that I just had to leave a comment...that's when Beth found out about what I did and so the creative network grew a few more branches....(oh the wonderful world wide web) and this has led to my invitation.

I will be taking part in one of the creative enterprise sessions and answering questions about my art and business.

I was planning a research trip to ICFF in New York to work on the book BUT I have to say I cannot resist the pull of a warm friendly artistic community staying in glass fronted cabins in beautiful countryside (i mean LOOK at the accommodation), doing art workshops, eating in this gorgeous teepee and watching the badgers and deer outside whilst helping to inspire people to do what they really really love with their lives creatively. NYC will have to wait!

Here is Beth's Do What You Love For Live website and blog and you can see the retreat details here. Of course I'll be blogging about the whole experience upon my return!

Frosty Morning Walk

2011-01-21T10:58:00.004Z

It was a beautiful, sunny, crispy, crunchy, frosty walk this morning. We went up through the woods past Hell Hole Rocks and up to Heptonstall and over the fields. When you live in this deep valley it's lovely to get out of the shadows and up into the sun. We love our new Friday morning walk routine.

The Spirit Collection Revisited

2011-01-19T20:53:00.006Z

Me and Robert have just had a very lovely trip to London. As well as needing to visit Top Drawer and meet with my book editor (very inspiring and I'm all fired up) we still had some time to go and play! Back in the Summer I went to the Zoology Spirit Collection at the National History Museum and loved it but didn't have my camera (I only had a notebook and made some drawings). This time I went back to take some photos. It was great. Look at these amazing creatures, look at the jars, look at the dates on the jars! That Sea Urchin has been in that jar since 1890!

We also went to the V&A to see the Catching Shadows exhibition about camera-less photography. Five artists showed their work and it was SO interesting to see their techniques. Some of it I didn't get at first as the effects were so bizarre but after watching their videos and studying the work more deeply I understood it and was very inspired. This daguerreotype by Adam Fuss I loved the most. It had such depth to it and I really wanted to take it home with me! If you get the chance to go and visit I would highly recommend it. It's on until the 20th of February.

Going to London is great and always fills me up with ideas and so many things that I want to try!...how do I do it all????

(Here are some more pictures of the Spirit Collection if you're interested).

Friday Walkies - First signs of Spring

2011-01-14T10:22:00.004Z

Well when I was lying in bed at 7 this morning listening to the sound of the rain rain rain on the road I thought our Friday walk was scuppered but by the time we were ready to go it was dry and fresh and quite lovely.

There are lots of great silhouettes about. Lots of catkins and berries. I'm very happy that Spring is on the way!

Lovely Feature in Making Magazine

2011-01-12T22:26:00.001Z

Today I got Making Magazine sent to me because I had a lamp featured in their 'Light Edition'. I had never seen this magazine before, I think it's fairy new and I found it really lovely. It's full of beautiful craft projects and interviews with artists and makers. I felt very at home as I recognised many people in there. Jane Blease had an interview in there and Helen Rawlinson, all people who I stock at Radiance. My lamp is happily nestled amongst friends....like Wendy Jungs heart nightlight, Inke's birdbox light from Radiance and Ose Designs knitted shade. Think I'll have to make friends with Rebecca Wilson too as I've not 'met' her before!

Have a closer look here.

Friday Morning Walk

2011-01-07T10:14:00.007Z

I have a New Years Resolution to have a walk on a Friday morning. I used to often have a morning walk before starting work but last year I was always so pushed for time in the morning that I haven't been going and I have been missing it. There are so many beautiful walks, short and long around Hebden Bridge. You can go in any direction you fancy and end up somewhere beautiful and I want to make the most of that again. Fiona came with me today and it was nice to introduce her to some of my familiar territory. There was a light covering of snow and it was very very pretty. Fiona spotted this snowy fern (shame my photo is not in sharp focus).

We walked back along the canal which turned out to be crazy as the tow path was covered in black ice. I fell over. I'm glad Fiona was with me. I was trying to save my camera and she was trying to save me! My camera is ok butI have hurt my hand. My RIGHT hand. Hope it's going to be ok. I have a lot to do today!!!

What a lucky girl!

2011-01-02T16:53:00.006Z

Hello and Happy New Year!!!

I've had the loveliest week of rest after the busiest Christmas time ever ever ever (note, no blogging since the 6th of December...that's a long time for me to not reach the computer) ! It's been lovely having time to see family and friends and time to just hang out at home being cosy and have some time to think after not really being able to catch my breath for quite some time!

During this time as well as Christmas I have had a birthday (38 goodness me) and thought I'd share some of my artsy crafty gifts that I have been lucky enough to receive....and I'll share some big news.

Natalie gave me a set of Rob Ryan plates which are truly delightful. I think this one is my favourite but there are three others in the set which are all gorgeous.

Robert gave me the lovely cacti pincushions by &made. I have coveted some of these for ages. He got them from the lovely Ed at Snug Gallery here in Hebden Bridge but the designer/maker Andrea Lord (a Hebden Bridge lass herself who remembers when Radiance used to be her dentist as a child) has a unit at The Manchester Craft Centre where there are lots of her gorgeous wares to choose from. I think I'll have to start a collection.

..and I am now the proud owner of three of Dee Beales prints. Blue Hares, Snowy Owls and Sleeping Foxes. My Mum and Dad got me the first two and I bought the other with my Grandads birthday money (it was his 89th Christmas this year...imagine that!).

My kids got me this book all about Batch made Craft and Design. It's written by designer Andrew Tanner and showcases many designers and makers across many mediums and tells the stories of how they came to be designers. It's really interesting and good inspiration for me...

...and here's where I drop my big news. I am writing a book too. At the GNCCF this year I was approached by an editor for A&C Black Publishers and she was looking for someone in the field to write a book on Contemporary Craft Lighting. Obviously, being very passionate about the subject I jumped at the chance! It's going to be hard not to give too much away but I will have to keep quiet about it all until it's ready to read. I'll just tell you this. It will look at the work of many lighting designers from across the globe across many mediums - ceramics, glass, plastics, paper, print, textiles, metal and wood. Work is underway and there are some great people involved so far. It's very exciting. I have until November to write it and then it will be another year until publication. So, Christmas 2012 it might be on your coffee table ;)

Homes & Gardens Feature

2010-12-06T21:16:00.004Z

My personalised fairy lights are in Homes & Gardens magazine this month. They commissioned some for this photo shoot a few months back but it wasn't until today that I saw the finished result. I let out a little yelp on the bus when I opened the page! What a great picture. It is such a crying shame that I can't make any of them at the moment. In the New Year I WILL sort out my paper I promise and get them on the go again!

It's a busy time for us designer/makers

2010-11-30T20:31:00.005Z

This time of year is a mixed blessing. I'm so happy to have lots of orders but finding the time to make them all is challenging to say the least. Today I made lamps from 8 til 6 non stop and I came home with an aching body and so so tired. Got lots done though! Lots of personalised lamps being ordere as prezzies this year! I am now a little restored after a rest and a bit of yoga (WHAT would I do without a bit of yoga) and some tea cooked by my darling daughter, so I just thought I'd say hello as I haven't managed to blog for ages!

There's all sorts of stuff going on. This Saturday Radiance, Hat Therapy and Snug Gallery are having our annual 'Handmade Christmas Fair' ...basically mulled wine, interesting nibbles from Lidl (like those lovely German, gingery biscuits with the thinnest icing on... yum) and a prize draw with great prizes from all three shops! Come along if you're about. 10-5.

The Art Market is having a satellite event at The Huddersfield Festival of Light. There will be lots of artists and makers having stalls. I won't be there but a couple of my lamps will be present! For more info visit the website.

...and I will be making lots more lamps!!! Bye for now.x

Stockists Map

2010-11-09T16:18:00.006Z

I made this Google map of all my stockists for the new website which was fun to do ( I thought this would be really hard to do but it was really really easy). Nice to see how my stockists are spread out across the country (or not so spread out if you look at Yorkshire/Lancs). I can also see where the gaps are. Ireland? I need some lamps in Ireland don't I. Anyone got any ideas of pretty shops that might like some lamps???

I love that I have some right up in Orkney. That's like the cherry on the top!

Christmas Treasure Hunt at The Secret Arcade

2010-11-04T19:44:00.005Z

The Secret Arcade is all dressed up and decorated for Christmas (look at Radiance's lovely Christmas wreath) and to get us into the festive spirit there is a treasure hunt to participate in. If you take a wander down the aisles you will find hidden letters that make up the words HAPPY CHRISTMAS. If you click on the letters you will find some treats and surprises from the shops. Go and have a play! Radiance is in the Home Decoration aisle.

Crafts In the Bay Festive Feast

2010-11-04T19:33:00.002Z

I've just sent some lamps off to Cardiff to the Craft in the Bay Christmas Exhibition. There's a list of exhibitors here. Looks like it's going to be nice! Wish I could make it down. I like Cardiff!

Lovi Birds

2010-10-29T08:41:00.005+01:00

These gorgeous birds from Lovi arrived at Radiance this week. They are a sort of flat packed postcard that you can build into this lovely bird shape. One of them is perching perfectly on one of my lamps! Very sweet.

The post show mayhem is dying down. My workshop is almost straight again. Most of my left over stock went off to three Christmas exhibitions yesterday. Farfield Mill, Ropewalk Contemporary Art & Craft and Bedazzled at The Yorkshire Craft Centre. Oh that's nice, I just discovered that Bradford and Farfield are both using lamp pictures on their front pages!

Right off to have a quick cuppa with the lovely Hannah Lawson in her new studio at Brooklyn Studios before she goes of to the Antarctic again!

Helen Musselwhite Interview!

2010-10-27T21:54:00.003+01:00

I am very lucky that through my work I get to meet some amazing and talented people who are a huge inspiration. One such person is Helen Musselwhite, famous for her intricate papercut artworks of woodland glades and cheeky, colourful owls in trees! I have been selling her work at Radiance for a few years now and she very kindly agreed to do one of our Radiance podcasts, so Fiona went over to her studio at her home in Manchester and she told us her story. It's well worth a listen...and there are pictures too. I hope you can pop over to my Radiance blog to have a look and a listen!

GNCCF pictures

2010-10-27T21:11:00.007+01:00

As I said in my last post when you go to a show it's always nice to see old show friends and have a good gossip. We took so many pictures this year that I'm a little overwhelmed but here are afew!

The lovely Helaina Sharpley and her wirework!

A smiley Debbie Bryan!

I was nextdoor to Monica Boxley this year. Lovely bags! Lovely lady!

I was opposite the colourful Alice Gow...

...and Laura Bennet with her nature inspired jewellery. These earrings are made from real acorn cups.

Samantha Bryan was there with her Brains Fairies. She had some amazing rollercoasting ones this year.

Nice to see Jane Blease. I bought some wall lights for Radiance!

I also bought some Ken Eardley lamp bases. Years ago at bctf I hassled him to make lamp bases....and he did but then I never got round to ordering any. Got some this time! About time I think!

Here is Jill Ford with her ceramics. Jill was my travelling companion this year. It was nice getting to know her!

and here is Laura Slater!

Gosh I'm tired now! There were loads more pictures...there ARE loads of pictures on my camera of all the amazing work at GNCCF this year but I'm tired now so I'm going to pass it all to Fiona. Perhaps she will put them on her blog!!!! I hope you enjoy exploring some of these links. Some truly amazing talent!

Ffions latest creation

2010-10-27T20:45:00.002+01:00

Remember a while back I told you about Ffions photography book (which incidentally is selling well), well now she has made a zine too and it is selling like hotcakes. She printed 50 last week and I think there are only 5 left (that was at teatime, perhaps they have all gone by now!). They are for sale here.

GNCCF 2010

2010-10-22T22:23:00.005+01:00

It's all going well at GNCCF. It's always really lovely to catch up with show friends and make some new ones! I'm liking my new stand. I'm happy that I chose the brown. It really sets things off. My Mum and Dad came to visit today and took some piccies of it (and me). The show is still on for two more days so pop along if you're in the area. I'll try and take some pictures of the rest of the show if I can because there is lots of very very inspiring work!

New Website is finished!

2010-10-20T21:05:00.004+01:00

It's been a very long day but I have one last thing to say before I hit the sack! HOORAY I have finished and uploaded my new website!!!! Here it is www.hannahnunn.co.uk

Pheweee. Today I set up my stand for GNCCF too. I am pleased with my new stand. The dark brown paint worked really well and the new cupboards made by Clare Scott are fabulous. The casters made the whole thing much earier. Wheeeeling the cupboards along the pavement. Ahhh. Why did I never put casters on those heavy cupboards beforee? I'll post some pictures of the stand when I take some at the show. Remember it's open this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Spinningfields in Manchester. I'm really looking forward to it!

Sweet Dreams

2010-09-29T21:33:00.004+01:00

A customer ordered these two personalised lamps which I made today. They make a really sweet pair. They would look great in a children's room on opposite ends of a shelf or something. They would make nice night lights if used on a dimmable plug. I am currently working on a page for my website making it easy to order the personalised lamps. At the moment they are not on my website at all. How silly is that! Won't be long though!

Cherry Blossom

2010-09-22T20:58:00.004+01:00

Someone on Etsy asked me if I could do a Cherry Blossom lamp for her new babies bedroom. I do a much simplified blossom design which was one of my first designs. Back in the day, before I had a laser cutting man i had to keep my designs very simple in order to be able to reproduce them. Nowadays I can put in much more detail and not hurt myself whilst doing it! Hooray! I'm really pleased with this design today!

This afternoon I've been doing a mock up of my new exhibition stand in time for the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair. I wanted to do something different this year as my stand has been pretty much the same for years and I'm a bit bored of it to be honest! I'm going to have dark brown cupboard tops with cut out letters for the descriptions and prices and stuff. I have been dreading pulling it all together but after choosing this lovely paint colour and seeing how well the letters stand out I'm REALLY excited. Sometimes it's a bit painful while a new idea is in it's incubation period! There's four weeks to go until the show. Who's coming to visit?

Front Page Success!

2010-09-22T20:25:00.004+01:00

I have been selling my lamps on the wonderful Etsy for nearly two years but I have never made a treasury. For those who are not familiar with the site, go and have a look, you'll love it. It's a worldwide platform for buying and selling handmade goods. It's a wonderful online community and there are lots of clever ways of sharing and promoting work. One way is a 'treasury'. As an Etsy member you can curate a collection of Etsy products that you love and that fit your chosen theme. If you're really lucky this collection can end up on the front page and get viewed by thousands of people across the world. The other night I made a couple of treasuries for the first time and I really got into it. You get to scour the site whilst searching for beautiful products and images and discover some real gems along the way. I don't know if you read, but last week in Hastings we made my friend Wendy Jung an Etsy site and thought that 'urchin' would be a good search term for her nightlights. This inspired me to search the site for other urchin type things....and away we went. A treasury was born.

It was wonderfully satisfying so I couldn't stop there. You see that lovely bird print at the top of this picture. Well I bought this last week. These cute little guys are now looking lovely in my living room....I also bought the hedgerow earrings that i blogged about and thought I'd use hedgerow as a theme. What do you find there? Hedgehogs, flowers, mice, spiders in their webs....I found so many lovely things by lots of clever, clever creative people out there!

To top it off, BOTH of my treasuries made the front page of Etsy last night and I was so very happy to discover this thismorning! I will certainly be making more!

If you want to look closer at any of these things you can see them here.

Hedgerow Earrings

2010-09-17T11:48:00.002+01:00

I just bought some of Joanna Rutters Hedgerow earrings. The earrings came on a lasercut cloud in a little blue box tied in red and white string...oooh what a treat!

This years trip to Hastings

2010-09-16T20:40:00.010+01:00

I have just a had a few days away visiting my lovely friends Wendy and Chris in their gorgeous house in Hastings. (Have look at the post of our last visit cos there are lots of pictures...it's so lovely). Wendy has a brilliant eye for 'old stuff' - vintage, antiques and junk and her house is full of beautiful collections of things! Hastings is the perfect place for this as it is FULL of antique yards and shops in which to rummage! She has rummaged well and her house is very inspiring!

So we had to go for a good look around the shops. This was an amazing one - a mixture of old and new set in an old hardware shop. The owner has kept the original fixtures and fittings and has set beautiful products in amongst all the old drawers, shelves and nooks and crannies. It's a really unique and exciting space.

The weather was pretty bleak mostly. We lasted about 5 minutes on the beach. Hard to imagine that this time last year, only a few weeks before we were swimming in that sea. brrrrrrrrr.

It was lovely to stay all tucked up in the house with the wind howling just drinking tea and catching up! We built Wendy an Esty shop. I have been nudging her to do it for ages and now she has. It's really pretty. Here are some of her decorations...

I took some work to a brand new and very lovely gallery called Cuckoo Cuckoo Contemporary Crafts. It's a tiny space but has lots of beautiful work- ceramics, textiles, paintings, prints....and now some lamps too which suit the space quite nicely! It was nice to meet Sarah-Jane Whittaker who runs the gallery with her husband Paul. She's a jeweller who has a jewellery school in Eastbourne. They have been running artists open houses for years and were inspired to open a gallery. Good idea. It's lovely!

I did a little photoshoot in Wendys house too, inspired to use some of their lovely things as props. There were some nice ones but they are all a little bit dark. I'm still working on them though.
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Thanks Wendy. Nice to know we can fit quite alot in a couple of days. I had a lovely time!xxx