Back and Busy

So we've had our week of fun.  Scarpat was waiting for us in all its splendour.  Friends came with us this time (rather than the big family get together we normally have in the summer with my two brothers & co.) It was nice to share the place with newcomers and not get too caught up in the responsibility of it all.

Stanley had a ball with twin, ten year old boys to keep him entertained, making it an easy holiday all round, apart from deciding who was who!
 
Their big sister was none too impressed with all their shenanigans but she entertained us one night with the sweetest singing voice I've ever heard! (pop star in the making for sure, too shy for a photo I'm afraid)

The weather was a bit hit and miss so I took a few more shots of the barn interior while it chucked it down - funnily enough it's not hard to spot a few of my own wares!

 

 One of the sad things was the demise last year of the old fir tree in the back field. It was always a bit misshapen with a sombrero style top and dancing arms, a lovely crazy tree full of wildlife, constantly on the go. But it went for the chop this year and was slightly strange to take in its absence when we first arrived. The up side is we had a whole bunch of hazelnut trees chopped back at the same time which has made the view even better than ever.

Taken in 2010

Saying farewell in 2011

A new view in 2012

So I'm back in the big smoke and yesterday was catch up time - packing orders and getting them all off before the 3pm deadline (= school boy run)
We've got open studios coming up at the end of the month. I've got to get my busy hat back on and try to do all the things I want to do before the chaos of tidying up begins.

We have a brand spanking new website - thanks to Sarah Hyndman of With Relish and my studio pal over in F7.
I'm enjoying seeing what everyone else is doing as the blog gets filled with images and news. There's some fantastic work going on at the Chocolate Factory and we don't always get a chance to see what sort of projects we all get up to in the outside world. You can take a look here and come and see for yourselves on the 30th June and 1st July. Private View on the 29th 6.30-9pm - all welcome!
You can even join our mailing list for all future news and events at the studios.