Hazel catkins lamps

I wrote a blog post last month about the hazel catkins I photographed whilst out walking.

They inspired me very much and I'm pleased to have turned it into a lamp design.

It is available in all the lamp shapes  - cylindrical, oval...

and as little candle cover too. 

I'm excitedly waiting for this weeks laser cutting to arrive because I'm looking forward to seeing the Hazel Catkins floor lamp that I've made too.

They are all available on my website.

Honesty

I've always loved Honesty. My Mum always grew it in the garden and we had a big bunch in a large green wine bottle vase by our kitchen table. Very nineteen-seventies!

I asked my Mum for some to draw last year and she brought me a huge bunch. I laid all the seeds out on my light box and took these photos.  I find it so beautiful. The way the layers of the seeds come apart to the touch, the crispy sound it makes. the iridescence of the pods, the gorgeous shapes and the cute little seeds. 

For years I've considered it's potential as a paper cut light design but I couldn't get my head around how to do it. I decided it was time to work it out.

I started with some drawings and made them into files for the laser to cut.

And a few days later Voila! They held together really well.

It lends itself so well to my technique, 

with the layers of light shining through the seed pods and making the crisp cut silhouettes of the outer shells stand out. I'm liking it. I'm just trying it out on some other sizes and shapes of lamp...then maybe the wallpaper....the fabric....the cushions....oh my the list goes on :)

Tree of Life Candle Covers

I usually do my designs to scale. I don't set out to do this particularly but it turns out this way and I like it. Birds, flowers and butterflies are usually about life sized.  This tree totally is obviously not but it's cute so it can stay!

How sweet it looks with Kirtsy Elsons houses. I won these at the Hebden Spirit auction and they now live happily on my mantelpiece. Kirsty has a remarkable skill for turning old bits of battered wood and rusty screws into things of beauty. Have a look at her work here.

I've just added my Tree candle to my website. You can see it here.

Illuminate postcards

I've had some pretty postcards printed of the front cover of Illuminate which I am hoping to distribute far and wide. If anyone has somewhere they could display some I would be very grateful. I could send some over to you. Just let me know x

Illuminate

Look look! Illuminate has a front cover! We are on the way. The stunning lampshade illuminating the front cover is by Allison Patrick from Zipper 8 Lighting based in New York. It is the most perfect image to have on the front. I love it.

So today I send the final, final (fingers crossed) layouts back to the publishers and then the 43 artists profiles and the 171 beautiful images and the many thousands of words of inspiration and story will go off to be printed.

And do you know what else? It's on Amazon! It was pretty amazing to see that for the first time yesterday. I hope you will share my excitement!

Anyone for an illuminated cup of tea?

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

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.

The Gathering of the Illuminated!

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!

Tree of Life lamp

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!

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.

An attitude of gratitude on the sunny south coast

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

Drawing Grasses and the frustrations of writing a book!

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!

There's Room!

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.

day one and two!

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!

Fairy lights in the Appeltaart house!

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!

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!

wedding lights

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!).

The Wedding of Bob & The Beauty

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