flat chainmail with colour line

after working with just aluminium for the past week this bracelet seemed quite heavy when it was finished, but in a nice way : )

A double layered, flat,chainmail bracelet with a line of fuschia running through the centre.  A frilly edge of gunmetal-grey anodised aluminium completes the look.

women do business in north devon

looking forward to a WDB event in South Molton tonight.  It's at the Amory Centre and starts at 6pm.  I shall be taking lots of jewellery with me to show and sell including my newest work such as Christmas Baubles

a camera at last

two weeks after my faithfull Pentax died (after only 2 years!) I have finally managed to get my hands on a camera to take photos of my new designs.  First up is this fabulous woven chainmail bracelet made from aluminium rings and about 10mm in diameter.  The more you wear it the shinier it becomes and looks like antique silver - without the heavy weight!

 then I made up some more bracelets with smaller rings and a tighter weave, one in copper

and the other in anodised aluminium in a shiny gunmetal grey colour

looking forward to doing some more experiments - with colour!

with nails to match!

just received a lovely compliment from Catherine Summers who ordered a Rainbow Horseshoe Necklace from me just last week.  She is wearing it in a photo on her blog with matching nail varnish!!!!!!

Thank you Catherine!

visit to Maggie Curtis

had a great day off on Monday to visit another Devon Open Studio - this time in Appledore.  Maggie Curtis makes Architectural Ceramics and lives in the best location in the village with brilliant views of the estuary.

We toured her studio and saw her workspaces and kiln room.  One of the kilns is like an enormous bathtub which she designed and had made for her - and she needs it for her huge, signature decorated ridge tiles.  She can make anything from a shoal of leaping fish, to chickens, to a horse and cart to feature on the ridge of a roof.  This is a griffin (I think!) or dragon...

You can see more of Maggie's work at http://www.maggiecurtis.co.uk/

It was a lovely visit and the sun shone, unlike today which is still stormy and overcast from yesterday.  Today I am back in Gallery @ 500ft demonstrating and talking to visitors about my work.

we have had some lovely comments in the Visitor's book and many asking to sign up for my monthly newsletter - it's nice to meet people when you work on your own and work by yourself all day :-)

blogspot followers go missing!

I thought it was just on my page that I couldn't see the list of followers to my blog - but this appears to be a widespread problem with blogger.  I spoke to some people this week who said that they couldn't see how many followers I had and that is when the penny dropped!

So, I googled the problem and it turns out that thousands of people are experiencing this - so please don't think that as administrator I have deleted you from following my blog - you are all very welcome and I hope you will continue to read my thoughts and doings and that eventually your anonymity will come to an end :-)

cool blues and hot hues

it has been such extraordinary weather over the past few weeks here in north Devon that the view from my workshop window has given me some ideas

there have been days when it has been cool and chilly

and there have been days which have been blissfully hot

so the Rainbow Collection now has two new colourways!

             Cool Blues Rainbow Pendant Necklace               

 Hot Hues Rainbow Pendant Necklace

I can see a whole interesting project opening up before me!!!        

name this necklace

a while ago I came up with a recycled necklace idea using stripped copper cable.  This turned out to be a problem because the copper tarnished rapidly and left a mark on the skin.  So, whilst messing around at my worktable this morning I decided that I liked the design and changed the stripped copper cable to enamelled copper wire

so I now need a name for this necklace with the coloured wire, steel 'knots' and rubber.  I'm going to put it out on my next Newsletter and the best answer will receive the necklace as a thank you!  Go to http://www.sandymitchell.co.uk/ and sign up for the Newsletter from the left hand column on the Homepage.

mini wire basket

after speaking to so many people at the open studio event about the origins of my woven wirework, I thought I should try to cross the disciplines and weave a basket from wire.

I was quite pleased with the start of it.  The photo gives no idea of size however and I have to confess it is a lot smaller than you may imagine - just about the size of a bottle cap!!!!

I did so enjoy making it that I think I will experiment further with more complex designs and even try and make something wearable... not a hat though :-)

Sandy Mitchell Jewellery: Square Picture Show

Sandy Mitchell Jewellery: Square Picture Show: "the Square Picture Show is underway at Broomhill Art Hotel, near Barnstaple in north Devon. http://www.northdevonarts.co.uk/exhibitions.htm..."

Square Picture Show

the Square Picture Show is underway at Broomhill Art Hotel, near Barnstaple in north Devon.
http://www.northdevonarts.co.uk/exhibitions.html

I have just visited the lovely large space which is loaded with fabulous, quality affordable artwork.  All items had to be in a square frame of a certain size and the theme is 'Elements'.  It is on until the end of August - just check the times before you go.

Art Trek - 1st weekend

After a 2 week break, I'm back at work and fully re-charged. 

This is the first weekend of Art Trek, which is part of the North Devon Festival where lots of makers and artists open the doors of their studios and workshops to the public for 3 weekends in June.

As you can see, I'm in the beautiful Gallery @ 500ft because my workshop is on the 4th floor of a building and not very accessible to the public!  I tried to make the table I'm sitting at like my own workbench - although it's not as messy and muddled as it is in real life - yet :-)

Visitors have enjoyed trying their hand at working with wire and making simple rings.  They have been amazed how much work goes into a single piece of jewellery - which is very satisfying and helps people understand what being a maker involves.

Torrington day out

after dropping off a selection of my wire jewellery to the very kind Sarah for my entry in the Square Picture Exhibition at Broomhill Art Gallery, we progressed to Torrington for a wander around the town.

Really enjoyed all the varied independently owned shops - handmade soaps and candles, haberdashery, greengrocers, bead shop, craft shops and Plough Arts Centre.  Had lunch in a lovely deli/cafe called Browns - exceptional flapjack :-)

Came back to Lynton via Barnstaple and re-discovered Bear Street with all it's artists shops and galleries.  How lucky am I to have all this on my doorstep!

those pesky deadlines

deadlines keep us all on our toes - but I seem to be turning into a ballerina this week!

I wanted to put an advert into the local paper and it took me 3 hours to put something together that I was happy with - you know, get the message across without being too pushy and desperate.

It was to advertise Art Trek - (yes, there will be a lot of that over the next few weeks) and I hit on the idea of putting a wee box at the end to say that if people were not able to attend in person or wanted to follow my preparations for an Open Studios event, they could do so by blah, blah, blah and listed all the FB, Twitter and Blog.  I felt quite pleased with the concept - will report back on whether it works or not.

As a P.S. to this blog I can understand why people get paid for putting a pithy, eye-catching advert together - it's not as easy as you would think!

No photos because a certain rabbit has a tendency to nibble on wires!

trying to juggle with wire!

two events seem to have crept up on me so quickly!
The first is Square Picture Show at Broomhill Sculpture Gardens near Barnstaple with an exhibition entitled 'ELEMENTS'.  This has been rather fun to take part in - for me it was a no-brainer to choose which element had most focussed my work - RAIN!  When I think about it, rain dominated my life in Scotland for 18 years and now it's doing the same here in Devon. 
I have decided to submit two types of work - some from the Rainbow Collection and some bracelets from Scribblework DOTS collection.  The 'dots' are small metallic coated glass beads which are scattered over woven wire bracelets like raindrops.

I have scattered some of the bracelets on stones for display in the cabinets - hope it works in the exhibition!

art trek 2011

not long now until Art Trek.  This is the Open Studio event for North Devon which is part of the North Devon Festival .  Art Trek takes place on the last 3 weekends (well, friday, saturday, sunday) in June and I shall be at Gallery @ 500ft on the main street here in Lynton, on the edge of Exmoor.

This is the first time I will be showing people in Devon how I work, the tools I use and letting them have a go at manipulating the wire themselves.  I love meeting the public and chatting about what I do.

It's a lovely spacious gallery and has easy access, so with the help of Katherine and Cliff fingers crossed for a successful event.   So, if you are planning a trip to north Devon or know someone who is please pass this information on to them.

folksy site

in my constant efforts to try and raise my profile and business, I have now created a Folksy site
http://www.folksy.com/shops/SandyMitchellJewellery
my sister over at MiaScarlett. has had success with this site and Etsy - so I thought I would give it a try.  I will keep the blog updated on progress.

A new spin on the recycled copper wire - this time a necklace which is spaced with steel ring 'knots'.  I'm getting into this and hope to experiment further.

recycled copper bracelet

played around a bit yesterday and made this bracelet from the recycled copper cable given to me a few days ago

still needs some tweaking but I will wear it for a few days and see how the weight feels and what happens with skin contact and possible water contact.  I usually do this with new designs or materials to make sure they are up to the job!

this might be the start of a whole new collection for me :-)

meeting a fellow maker

I had a great time yesterday when I was invited into the studio of Clare Maryan Green - http://www.claresbeautifulwindows.co.uk/  - she has been working with glass for 25 years now and has her work in many public buildings, churches, NT properties and also does restoration to damaged windows.
Amongst a hundred other things we talked about, she encouraged me to try working with reclaimed metals and showed me a whole cupboard of cable which she had saved from landfill and recycles into her work.  Excited by this I took some home and stripped it.

Then I started playing around with the strands and made a 'random' ball from one strand of the beautifully shiny and soft copper wire.  Then another!  Seen here with one made in lilac enamelled wire.

I HAVE to stop playing now and get on with some work - but am interested to see how the copper will change over the next few weeks now it is exposed to air/sun etc.

Clare and I will be showing our work, here in Lynton, during Devon Open Studios in September.

what a wonderful weekend

had a fabulous weekend - a double birthday celebration and lots of family visiting.  Of course there was chocolate and other goodies - enough consumed to put me STRAIGHT BACK on the diet!

We hiked to Sillery Cove - very steep access and not for the fainthearted - but it felt like an island when we got there. 

One end of the mostly pebbly beach comprised very large, beautifully rounded stones - sort of like super-big ostrich eggs.

which made me think of trying to make woven wire pebbles - little ones for necklaces, larger ones for brooches.  I've cracked the solid woven spheres - this may be a little trickier...

two days and two orders!

Just made it to the Post Office last night with two boxed orders - memo to self 'must not chat on phone in daytime'!!  Dreadful habit - but there have to be SOME perks of being self-employed!
The new wire colour Charcoal is proving very popular - very elegant with the silver.

So, two days to the long weekend - which I AM taking off - and two orders, hmmmm...

happy birthday to me

As luck would have it, my birthday (and that of my partner) falls on Easter weekend this year.  So, instead of us going away for the few days to celebrate, we are having family to stay.  I hope the weather stays sunny and warm and that I have enough time to get the house in order.
I have three orders left to make up from the show at the beginning of April and am trying to get as much done as I can before the weekend - dust balls will mount up!
Trying to make a Teddy Bear brooch and all i can come up with is a oddly-shaped starfish!!!!

an Easter Story

my lovely friends Helen and Willy have sent me a beautifull Booja Booja egg made of papier mache and filled with vegan champagne truffles - mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
so very excited and am now wondering if I can made a sweetie or chocolate themed necklace...

my first ever attempt at Blogging!

The weekend before Easter and my birthday and I really should be working and not setting up a Blog!!!  I have six more orders to make up and get out before the end of April - I guess I'm pretty confident I'm going to make the deadlines!
I have lots of design ideas in my head and I KNOW I should write/sketch them before they get lost, but...
I think this will fill the gap between my facebook page and the website - it's about ME not just the wire :-)