Charming jewellery

Have finally got around to designing and making some charm jewellery. Have been asked many times to make them, but somehow never got around to making a proper 'range'. So here it is at last! Ten different charms on a necklace, bangle, bracelet or child's bracelet. Must do some earrings....

Kate's talents recognised!

Kate has some of her gorgeous work in a fabulous restaurant in Dorset - and this weekend someone spotted it, and blogged about it too! Have a look...

http://jimmynailslovechild.blogspot.com/

jemima

It's Folksy Friday again!

Now instead of fiddling with my iphone while I'm waiting for an email here, I thought I'd do a quick Folksy Friday. I'm currently working hard to finish off my final project for college (nearly all over after three years.... sniffff) and as there's lots of type in my work, today's theme is TYPE!

Just love all these....
Julene's work is simply stunning - I want it!
Bookity's work is great - have a read around the shop.I've already bought a few pieces from Kerry of Hello Monkey, and not because she's a fellow Bristollian!And, finally (as my email has now appeared) is this poster from Print for love of wood - I'd be happy to see this every morning - wouldn't you?

Click on any of the images to go to the item. Byee!

jemima
x

46 and moving around like an 86 yr old

I haven t blogged in a while-too much work and dashing about.So what have i been up to ?I had my work represented by the Rostra at the AAF in Bristol last week.Photos should be here of the stand-it looked lovely -they hung me with Rick Smith and Clare Halifax and the stand was chocka.(Is that how you spell it ?)Through the Rostra I am being featured in Artists and Illustrators magazine in June-get me !!!

I ve been working on a couple of new prints-here s a picture of me and our cat ,Hilary, working on the stencils.To be honest she wasn t that helpful.I loved the idea of a fish and

net-when i hung my work at Printfest I realised there wasn t much blue anywhere so i needed to set that right.I may have entered my blue period.Not sure what i think of the final print-haven t had it photographed yet.

So it was my birthday yesterday and we took the children to Alton Towers for a couple of days .I haven t been for 17 years and now i know why-it was terrifying.Sadly for me i hurt my back on a waterslide and I m now in quite a bit of pain and feeling out of sorts-i slept til 11 30 today -bed rest is what i needed !So what do i think of being 46 ?IT S RUBBISH.

Jane

Searching for new blood

Kate: Hello, anyone out there who would like to join our wonderful shop and studio at Fig? Its a fun, inspirational and supportive environment. We've got a light and warm studio - very important if, like me, you suffer from cold hands and feet, and the shop, although small, is well lit and inviting.

Yeah, I know I'm really bigging it up, but honestly, its a lovely place to work and a great opportunity for a creative type.

Forgot to say I finished that picture for my friend and here is a photo of it:

Kate hard at work

Just a quick one tonight as I'm not really supposed to be on the computer (aka wasting time!) but here's a photo of Kate hard at work painting (and unscrewing the back off...) our new display boxes! Yippee! Just one coat of silk to finish them off and they'll be gracing our window display showing off new goodies.

jemima

Fruity Folksy Friday!

Welcome to our first Folksy Friday! in recognition of our fruity name fellow figgers have chosen fruity items. Here goes....


I love the cards by Quite Contrary Crafts - Mary must have a very steady hand!


Another person with steady hands I feel - wonderful stamps, hoping Emily will be making a fig one soon.


Kate's catty choice here - the name is the fruity part!


One from the forum thread yesterday - fab and fruity pendant!


Oh so cute earrings here - I'm sure I had an apple pair very similar back in the day!


Oh I must get the crochet hook out again to indulge my wool passion..... boy, will Joel be pleased!


Jo's fruity choice (she's commissioned Magic Minky to make something related to her work.... watch this space)


Now I had meant to stop there, but then I found Leanne's brooch on the thread, and well, I just had to squeeze it in!

Click on the pictures to link to their gorgeous shops.

That's it for now! How'd I do?

jemima
x

Still working when I should be in bed

Kate: I'm desperately trying to finish a picture that started off as "something small and simple" and has escalated into "small yet very complicated". Its a present for a friend's birthday so I need to get it finished tonight but my back is aching, and newsnight is on and I'm so fed up with bloody election chit chat. Let's all move on shall we - now junior apprentice, that's much more interesting. Personally, I couldn't see much different between the juniors and the older lot. I thought they did a pretty good job with the same amount of bitching and back stabbing thrown in. Are they really all sharing a house together though?! ten 16-year-olds in a mansion? I know what I was like at 16 and I certainly wouldn't have been discussing the next day's business strategy.

Anyway, .. less of that, must get this done...will post a picture tomorrow if its finished. Yawn.

Cuff, cuff... er excuse me?!

Lame heading I know, but here is one of my own pieces of work that I'm rather proud of and will soon be going to a new home. It's a commission from one of my favourite customers, who wears her jewellery like a second skin and is also incredibly kind, thoughtful and generous. She's also a talented embroiderer, but hides her talents under a bushel, more's the pity. Anyway, for her 50th birthday she asked me to make something with a pomegranate on it and here it is. The main silver body of the cuff is matt silver, and the pomegranate and it's seeds are cut from copper, which is highly polished.

Fingers crossed she likes it!

jemima

My new picture

Kate: Just thought I'd post this pic. Its a new one I made last week for a lovely client. She wanted a picture of her niece in my lollipop flowers. Its called "Mabel and Mouse".

And thank you Jemima for saying such lovely things about my work!

I've just watched a programme on BBC1 about raising your High Street profile - the message seemed to be good marketing.

Maybe we need to consider our Fig brand....what does it say about us and how can we strengthen our image?

Here's Kate!

Here's a snap of the lovely Kate Tarling, hard at work, gossiping to someone and pretending to work. Fig has a pretty tiny workshop space that we share rather intimately - you can see a picture of it here, so it's great that we all get along so well (don't we?!), and like to talk about, and eat lots cakes and biscuits. As I don't seem to have snapped any of her recent pieces, I'm going to pop a link on to her website gallery page. It's all gorgeous, and incredibly detailed, and as someone who famously can't sew a cub badge on straight (my poor kids) I have enormous admiration for the precision and invention of Kate and her needle. Please go admire here.

Jane's pants

Kate: This picture was taken on election day. Jane wore a red shirt for Labour, blue trousers for the Tories and apparently orange pants especially for Nick Clegg. I think we know where her political allegiance lies.

lovely stuff

Kate: Just wanted to post up a few pictures - see, here are some lovely things at Fig - Jemima's new range of pendants. She can even put your name in one! As long as its not too long...like, um, can't think right now. Dinner is ready...

Never again....

Eugggghhhh-went to a friend s birthday party last night where i along with 2 friends, were in charge of the cocktails- we were supposed to be making them but there was some quality control going on-2 sea breezes,4 citrus blushes,1 cosmopolitan and 4 bellini s later (and throw in a pair of unsuitable high heels) and i almost had to be carried home.Also remember snaffling loads of fudge dipped in the chocolate fountain and the birthday boy swigging from a tin of pineapple chunks.Got a bit overconfidant on the roulette wheel and lost £800 gambling on black uneven -you win some you lose some.(No it wasn t real money or i d be weeping into my laptop).Got woken up at about 3 am by the bloody gerbils running on their squeeky wheel in Ruby s room..This never happened to SJP in Sex and the City.

Jane

Topical art

Speaking of Jane's new creations, I noticed a new (and rather impressively current) new print from the lovely lady adorning Fig's walls when I was manning the shop this morning. Seems only right to share it with those of you who haven't made it into the shop recently - and those that have been affected by the ash cloud hovering over British airspace will probably share her sentiment! Hopefully all the furore surrounding the volcano will blow over soon...(Sorry, I couldn't resist! ~ Jo)

Election day madness

Here is a lovely piece of chocolate dipped flapjack that was accidentally stolen from Jemima by myself.It was delicious.Look at the gorgeous glossy sheen on the chocolate and the golden oaty texture.Imagine how it felt to bite into the crumbly chocolate and then taste the goodness of the oats.It was such a shame she never got to know how scrumptious it really was.I ate every last crumb.

So now the hoo ha is over about Printfest I am having to knuckle down and get on with some new work.Here are a few preliminary sketches of 2 new prints I m working on for my show at the Rostra Gallery in Bath at the beginning of June.

One is going to have something about cats dreaming of Gerbil pie and the other is a sister print for my Cat disenchanted with the wild west.I seem to have spent most of the day avoiding doing anything about it -I MUST GET ON WITH IT.So i must stop messing about and plough on.

Anyway I have decided that it s taking me so long to persevere because I am not happy in the space I m working in at home and I have hatched a plan to move into our loftspace and set up office without my husband s blessing.

There will be trouble-mark my words.

Jane

I admit it - I'm an iphone addict!

Today I downloaded a new app which allows me to take photos in different styles. So here for you is a couple of snaps of the shop using the 'film' that makes it look like it's from 1969 (apparently).

Also - where are all our customers? I was on the desk this afternoon, and it was so quiet. Please send some nice people our way... and a flapjack (preferably half covered with chocolate) because Jane took mine home with her. I know, you can't trust anyone these days.

jemima

Jane's at Print Fest!

Jane has spent this weekend at PrintFest (see postings below!) in Cumbria. All on her ownio she has driven up there with a car load of rather valuable prints and framed prints and set up this wonderful stand. You can see three of her latest prints in the Folksy shop here, and more to come soon on her website here.

Day 1 of Printfest with Jane

So-i ate my chocolate,read my magazine and then fell asleep watching Jonathon Ross.And then I woke up at 6 45 !!!!!!!!! 6 45 ! I could have slept til 8 30 but no-I woke at 6 45. Typical.

Got up,had breakfast and then proceeded into Ulverston for a mooch about.It was incredibly busy until 1 pm and then slack

ened off for lunch.Within Coronation hall they have a lovely little cafe with home made cakes - so far I ve had a cheese scone,a piece of lime and coconut cake and some chocolate brownie.(Obviously the lime in the cake constitutes 1 of my 5 a day).I ve been thrilled at how well it s gone-I m rather hoping to sell more framed pictures tomorrow though-mainly because i won t have to wrap them up and load them up to take them

home-i know i will do a slap dash job.I could have sold my bird houses a thousand times over.I have made 2 new friends

-Ruth Green and Lucy Gell-both are very ta

lented printmakers and in between customers we ve been eating cake and dri

nking tea .

It s such a lovely event-very intimate and with some amazing work-Janice and Jo who have organised it are great .People do seem to

come with a mission to buy -I m hoping for more sales tomorrow !

I never got to the Laurel and Hardy museum boo hoo.Or did my run.