Friday already?

This week has just flown by and I have to say I've not been very productive.  An off week, it a happens to us all once in a while doesn't it?

I did manage to list my first lot of tea towels this morning though...now in my Etsy shop.  I normally only make these for Open Studio Sales, but since I did a few extras I thought I'd pop some in the shop.

More coming soon and some lovely organic Moroccan Tiles ones are on their way.

 

I've just got one left of the parade mug in Mulberry to match and will be making more of the orange soon.  Think they might make nice Christmas sets?

Gift Tags

Gift Tags, originally uploaded by Helen Rawlinson.

Something from my to do list, finally done. Why didn't I do this earlier? Quick and fun and now every customer will get one with any purchase from any of my online shops! Happy tagging.

Phew!

Well I'm glad that's all over!
I've taken it easy today, despite the fact that I have lamp and cushion orders to go out.
Back in full swing tomorrow I promise.

I made a few of these, thinking they could end up in my shop, but I've none left!

The red one went out to a customer before Open Studios. I managed to snap this before the green one was gone too.

All in all it was a good weekend.  It was lovely to see everyone else's work and have a mooch about.  (Kerry, that's probably where I was when you popped in, so sorry!)
Yesterday was the best day in terms of foot fall and sales, but the summer open is always more quiet than the Christmas one, so I'm thankful that anyone actually turned up!

 

 

The box house went down very well with the little people, so yesterday I added an ice cream shop in the yard.  With a few cardboard ice creams, lollies and biscuits, and a box of colouring in things, I gave it up to the kids to make merry.  Amazing to see how much entertainment you can get out of a bit of cardboard that once housed a mountain of lampshades!

My tea towel printing frenzy paid off, even though I have lots left, I never would have done so many if I hadn't had a goal to work towards.  So I'll be uploading them in my Etsy shop shortly.  I've got a new range of the Moroccan Tile ones coming out soon in organic cotton and I'll be working on the 'Just Married' theme over the next few weeks.

 

As for the mugs, I almost sold out (OK I only made 25! and had to keep the samples back)  but it was interesting to see which were the favourites. (Block and Parade equal first, then Moroccan Tile, which is the opposite to what I expected!) Plus lots of promises for Christmas purchases.
I actually managed to paint my boards this time (left over from trade show days) which I now use to cover the print table.  I've been itching to paint one of the walls in our living room a turquoise blue, so this was a good way to try out the colour. It made a nice back drop for the mug shots too!

Parade and a little ric rac

Block

Moroccan Tile - it was supposed to be red, royal blue and bright turquoise!

Make your mind up time. With ric rac or without?

I'd love to hear anyone's opinion on the above.  I was going to do the one on the right, like my lampshade print, but decided it was too busy.  I tried it out anyway and put it to the test over the weekend.  The majority vote was for the one on the left.  I made a rik rak one with the strips I'd got left, as a last minute what if?  It seemed a shame to waste it.
My friend Becky Baur pushed me down the mug making path and I'm so grateful as I've been wanting to do it for years! (Her fox in the city series are gorgeous!)  We had digital transfers made up and hand applied them ourselves one sunny Friday morning.  Then Jo from downstairs fired them for us in her kiln.  None of the colours (apart from the red/orange) came out like I expected  and they are working out to be quite expensive if I ever want to wholesale them.  But for now, I'm enjoying a new product and the chance to play around. So the rest will be up in my shop as soon as.....

I always find it interesting how sales are so dependant on the way you display things and where you put them in the room.  The mini tote display was definitely better than last time, plus it covered up all my studio crap (well not all!)

Oh and the lampshades! The lovely lampshades.....still got tons left, sold many an ex display item and a few of the new.  Look out for updates in my Lighting Shop soon.

Thanks to everyone who came along and made me smile! x

Tidy studio for now....let's see how long it lasts this time.

Half Way

One more day to go..the private view was a bit wet to say the least, but we still had a reasonable turn out given the deluge of rain!  Today, the weather has been crazy, sunny one minute, major downpour the next, so not so good for tempting people out of doors.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit more settled! Never the less, I've enjoyed some sales and it's just so nice to have a tidy studio for a change.  The new mugs have been well received and it's nice to get feedback on which are the favourites.

More photos on my Facebook page

Open Studios at The Chocolate Factory 18th/19th June

Wow it's that time again already!

I'll be printing new tea towel colours and am excited to show off my new mugs (finally tapped into the ceramics community right on my doorstep!) All exclusive to my studio sale for now!
Hope you can make it and please say hello if you're a fellow blogger!
We also have a Cake Stall and performance art, plus stuff for kids to do.

The private view is Friday 17th 6.30-9pm - all welcome!

New Colours

 I have some new colours in my Etsy Shop at the moment.

 I finally got round to taking photos and all the cropping and editing  that goes with it!  These new colours were a result of an order from a lovely customer who super kindly sent me the best product shot ever.

Thanks to Mindy from IvanandMary who, as well as making fab cushions, also makes these super cute belts for kids!

Wedding Special

 This time last week I was frantically getting ready for my darling, darling friend Dominique's wedding..or I should say, civil partnership.  My old college friend was marrying his Aussie boy Mr. Beaver.  I love them both and it was an absolutely fabulous wedding.

 

From the registry office in Islington, we took a champagne fuelled, double decker bus on an almost two hour trip to Teddington (right through the heart of London no less) for the most lavish of receptions I've been to in a long time! Dominque had cut his own confetti, made metres and metres of bunting, floor to ceiling drapes  and even two indoor gazebos for the kids. We had an amazing silhoutte artist cutting out our portraits and a cartoonist drawing hilarious renditions of smiling couples.

 

 

In contrast to all this magnificence I made this little cushion for them both for a bit of fun.  A hand cut print, that I might just make into a permanent screen, when I get the chance.  I printed it on to cotton/hemp which is a lovely eco fabric, similar to linen, but not so easy to get the creases out after I'd washed it!

I personalised it with a bit of machine embroidery on the side.

Thanks for a wonderful day Dom and Beaver! I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. x

Festival of Britain, great memories all round!

We've just spent a super day down at the Seaside, the South Bank version that is, enjoying the Festival of Britain anniversary celebrations.  Most of the time was spent lying about in the sand, which is the kind of thing  you do with a five year old!

 We went with friends and bumped into more friends and had a proper picnic!

The hand made bunting flapping in the wind added to the holiday spirit.  Apparently of record breaking length it was all made by the schools and community groups of Southend-on-Sea.

We did get the chance to walk around the fantastic roof garden on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall.  I loved the painted beds of the 'allotment'.
On the lower level, Stanley was drawn to Ben Kelly's Enclosure, happy to climb up the dry stone walls again and again and again.

  I loved the contrast of all that urban concrete towering over this great little homage to the British countryside.

As we were on a mission to get to the beach, we only caught glimpses of many other things, including the giant Urban Fox, but I'm sure we'll be back to discover more very soon.

Dishoom is also joining in the festivities from May 13th, so it won't be a picnic next time, I'll be in there like a shot if I have my way!

 

The highlight of the day for me was flying down the wonderful, high speed Helter Skelter. It brought back many a fond memory of childhood days spent with the family in Clifton Park, Rotherham.  I couldn't resist showing this video of us being hurled out at the bottom!

 

It was also nice to discover that, Yorkshire lass and old family friend,
Clare Cumberlidge curated the Land areas plus a couple of the art installations. Thanks to Brenda (her lovely mum) for the tip off.  I haven't seen Clare for ages, but it's down to her that I ended up in London in the first place, twenty one years ago.  I took over her rented room in the attic of an amazing family house in Highbury for just £150 a month!  I ended up staying there for three years during my RCA days and had a ball.

Happy days!

Cornwall 2011

Cornwall 2011, originally uploaded by Helen Rawlinson.

I hope everyone had as nice a Easter as we did. A few days away in Rock, Cornwall. Body surfing, ferry trips, fish and chips and egg hunting on the hills.

Stanley also got a present from me.  His special cuddly, Baxter goes with him everywhere.  It's always a bit of a panic as we sometimes forget to bring him along (and we've got a spare one just in case we lose him!)
So I printed a 2D version for him for an extra cuddle whenever he's not around. Nice setting for a photo shoot I thought, if only the model would stay still and stop mucking about!
Back to school tomorrow and work mode kicks in once more, well for a couple of days anyway!