Just Another Rant.
After reading a very nice email from a customer who now follows my blog, I have to admit one point she raised really has had me thinking. She mentioned how nice it was to read a blog from a bead maker who wasn't just using it as a advert for their work, but instead she really could begin to understand how I lived, how I felt about my bead making and the ups and downs of making a living producing beads and she thanked me for being so honest in what I wrote.
Well, all I can say is I've never been into using blogs, bead groups and facebook for just advertising my work, maybe I should and that's why I don't sell enough haha, but I'm just not made like that, yes we all know bead makers who will update their blog once in a while just to mention the bead fair they just happen to be selling at next week or they state that the last fair was so good they sold all their stock, which is as believable as me winning slimmer of the year, every bead maker in the country finding it slow at the moment apart from this super star of the bead world who can't make enough beads to keep up with all the customers bashing the door down to buy them, yer right, more chance of seeing a duck fart !
We know those who will pop into the bead group every evening just to post a picture of the latest lampwork creation they are about to list in their ebay shop, not hanging around to say hi to anybody in the group as they have what I call begging emails to send, they would call them nice friendly email to customers who they call close friends in which they just happen to mention the beads they made that morning that they just know would be ideal for you to use, no, not my thing, sorry !
I said from the first blog I did here that I would be honest, however bad it may make me look and as the title says, this blog is about my life as a bead maker, not about selling my beads, that's what ebay and etsy are for and I'm sure if anyone is looking for those type of blogs then there are lots out there, you wouldn't need to spend many minutes searching.
I'm guessing some of you will find me old fashioned or silly for not acting in this way and using every trick in the book to sell beads, well, you know what, maybe I am and just maybe that's how I want to be, better honest and poor than rich and full of crap and to be honest with you, one thing I never want to happen is a customer to look at one of my beads thinking, why the hell did I buy this, I really didn't need this.
Ok, rant finished and back to the clay, I'm making wind chimes so we'll see how they finish up, fingers crossed they'll be ok and keep my neighbours awake like those huge bamboo chimes they own do me on a windy night !
Sunday, 6 May 2012
All Fine So Far
Will This Weather Last ?
It's the second day of this holiday weekend and touch wood it looks like we get another dry day to enjoy, after spending the whole of yesterday in the garden and greenhouse today it's playing with clay for this bead maker, for the first time in other a month I'll be throwing pots on my wheel, I just hope I can remember how to.
I was hoping to set up my wheel in the garden but I'm not sure it's going to be warm enough so we'll have to wait and see if that's possible. I need to finish off some pendants too and have some different ceramic beads to try, so just maybe I'll fit it all in today if not, well it wouldn't hurt to carry on tomorrow.
I just want to say thank you to all those who have commented on my Ashwell poem, to be honest with you I just enjoy writing them and have a book full of poems all on the subject of Ashwell and my childhood in that area, I guess it's just my way to getting down my memories on paper, I also write about my family and how we lived but I'm guessing that wouldn't really interest any of you so I keep them out of the blog, the poems, well I just like to put the odd one on here now and then.
Over the last ten or so years I've lost a few members of our family, people who had so many tales to tell about my family and our village, now all lost, never to be heard again, nothing was written down for those in the future to read, so this is why I try to get down my recollections, you never know one day someone may find them interesting and may learn a little about the past living in Ashwell, I always wonder how many people have died over the years, taking with them so many tales of village life, it's a real shame that we loose so much information in this way.
We had some sales at the gate yesterday so a few of those excess plants have gone, fingers crossed a few more will go today, every little helps and it's nice that people get a bargain too.
Ok, I better get off we need to go visit my dad this morning then back home and clay to play with, I hope it stays dry and you all enjoy the rest of the weekend, I'm sure you all have places to go and gardens to enjoy.
It's the second day of this holiday weekend and touch wood it looks like we get another dry day to enjoy, after spending the whole of yesterday in the garden and greenhouse today it's playing with clay for this bead maker, for the first time in other a month I'll be throwing pots on my wheel, I just hope I can remember how to.
I was hoping to set up my wheel in the garden but I'm not sure it's going to be warm enough so we'll have to wait and see if that's possible. I need to finish off some pendants too and have some different ceramic beads to try, so just maybe I'll fit it all in today if not, well it wouldn't hurt to carry on tomorrow.
I just want to say thank you to all those who have commented on my Ashwell poem, to be honest with you I just enjoy writing them and have a book full of poems all on the subject of Ashwell and my childhood in that area, I guess it's just my way to getting down my memories on paper, I also write about my family and how we lived but I'm guessing that wouldn't really interest any of you so I keep them out of the blog, the poems, well I just like to put the odd one on here now and then.
Over the last ten or so years I've lost a few members of our family, people who had so many tales to tell about my family and our village, now all lost, never to be heard again, nothing was written down for those in the future to read, so this is why I try to get down my recollections, you never know one day someone may find them interesting and may learn a little about the past living in Ashwell, I always wonder how many people have died over the years, taking with them so many tales of village life, it's a real shame that we loose so much information in this way.
We had some sales at the gate yesterday so a few of those excess plants have gone, fingers crossed a few more will go today, every little helps and it's nice that people get a bargain too.
Ok, I better get off we need to go visit my dad this morning then back home and clay to play with, I hope it stays dry and you all enjoy the rest of the weekend, I'm sure you all have places to go and gardens to enjoy.
Saturday, 5 May 2012
My Village
Ashwell
In hollow, sat sheltered under great Ash, protective of her ancient springs that bubble through chalk into small gravelled stream, she holds court over her neighbouring hamlets and villages like a mythical queen she rules, friendly yet a sight of strength and prosperity.
Her ancient walls and mossed thatch do show signs of a regal past, a past of greatness and importance, from lanes walked a thousand years and great spur stones that sit on corner verge, a past of untold tales, of people both rich and poor, to be a child of her I'm so proud.
To me she stays my home, my playground, my safe haven where my childhood grew and my head did learn, where respect for her people was taught and love for her form grew strong, a perfect place for my final sleep she I hope will one day be.
In hollow, sat sheltered under great Ash, protective of her ancient springs that bubble through chalk into small gravelled stream, she holds court over her neighbouring hamlets and villages like a mythical queen she rules, friendly yet a sight of strength and prosperity.
Her ancient walls and mossed thatch do show signs of a regal past, a past of greatness and importance, from lanes walked a thousand years and great spur stones that sit on corner verge, a past of untold tales, of people both rich and poor, to be a child of her I'm so proud.
To me she stays my home, my playground, my safe haven where my childhood grew and my head did learn, where respect for her people was taught and love for her form grew strong, a perfect place for my final sleep she I hope will one day be.
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Gravity Fun
My Old Favourites
I mentioned how I enjoy using the odd rod ends to make gravity beads and how I just close my eyes and pick out three colours, well the set shown here were made just like that. Sometimes the results really do make me smile and this was one such moment, I just love the colours and the way the silver effects have run into them.
I still believe that however good you think you are at matching colours there is no better way of producing amazing effects than pure luck, just let the flame run wild, maybe using the hotter part of the flame then switching to a cooler part, maybe reduce a touch, add silver or copper, just go mad and give anything a try, you will never know what effects are to be found in the morning when you empty the kiln and to be honest, how boring is it to know what a bead will look like before you even make it !
This set have been listed in the etsy shop this evening if any of you are interested and now I'm off to list more focals in my ebay shop, enjoy your evening.
I mentioned how I enjoy using the odd rod ends to make gravity beads and how I just close my eyes and pick out three colours, well the set shown here were made just like that. Sometimes the results really do make me smile and this was one such moment, I just love the colours and the way the silver effects have run into them.
This set have been listed in the etsy shop this evening if any of you are interested and now I'm off to list more focals in my ebay shop, enjoy your evening.
The Rains Return
Back Are Those Dark Skies And The Sound Of Rain
Again we wake to the sound of heavy rain this morning and those dark skies are rushing over us towards the coast, the one good thing about mornings like these are the amazing sounds of bird song that hit your ears as soon as you leave the house, it's like every bird in the area is full of cheer, the sight of doves sheltering on what seems like every branch of the conifers and bird feeders dripping with rain is one that only appears on mornings such as these, mornings when the countryside seems so rich, the green of young leaf and this springs shrub growth making every hedgerow bright like those of a doctored photograph, every detail standing out above those around it.
As I write the heavy sheets of rain beat down and the garden begins to look like some water soden marsh, with every blackbird waiting their turn to worm hunt, nature is no fool, she finds a reason for all weathers and I guess there is a very important reason for mornings such as these.
My planned day in the clay room is now going to happen tomorrow as I need to get some order beads made and a few more focals, I have yet more beads to clean and at last I'm going to list those beads on ebay this evening, so tomorrow is going to be a slower more relaxing day, one with clay between my fingers and pots formed on my wheel, a day I'm really looking forward to.
Well, another morning when I'm feeling good, the gluten free diet seems to be working and at last I feel confident that we may have found the problem, fingers crossed. I must say a few things on the subject of gluten free diets, last evening we called into our local supermarket to pick up a few bits and after checking out the gluten free products I was amazed at the prices, it was unbelieveable how these shops can take advantage of those who need a special diet like this, yes we all know and expect special diet foods such as sugar free or gluten free to cost a little more but in come cases three times the amount, well to me that is wrong, really wrong.
Over the last week I've been searching online for gluten free products and have found a lot, butchers who make gluten free sausages and bakers who make bread, most of which are the same price as their other normal products, so why on earth do the big supermarkets need to make so much profit on these goods ? I know we all need to use these large market places and unless your very well off you can't afford not to, but there are times when I wish we were lucky enough to go back to the days when our villages and towns were full of small shops run by people who took pride in the service they gave, shop keepers who were happy to make a living and were there in the shop meeting and serving the customers every day, not these huge store that grace our towns now, stores run by the fat cats who sit in their offices, who take two hour lunch meetings most days and who live on foods and drink that the rest of us only dream of, those who get massive wages to work out ways of making more and more profit from their so called valued customers, what a joke that is !
Oh well that's my rant over for the day and cuppa finished so back to work for me, I hope you all enjoy this wonderful summer weather and get all done that you have planned.
Again we wake to the sound of heavy rain this morning and those dark skies are rushing over us towards the coast, the one good thing about mornings like these are the amazing sounds of bird song that hit your ears as soon as you leave the house, it's like every bird in the area is full of cheer, the sight of doves sheltering on what seems like every branch of the conifers and bird feeders dripping with rain is one that only appears on mornings such as these, mornings when the countryside seems so rich, the green of young leaf and this springs shrub growth making every hedgerow bright like those of a doctored photograph, every detail standing out above those around it.
As I write the heavy sheets of rain beat down and the garden begins to look like some water soden marsh, with every blackbird waiting their turn to worm hunt, nature is no fool, she finds a reason for all weathers and I guess there is a very important reason for mornings such as these.
My planned day in the clay room is now going to happen tomorrow as I need to get some order beads made and a few more focals, I have yet more beads to clean and at last I'm going to list those beads on ebay this evening, so tomorrow is going to be a slower more relaxing day, one with clay between my fingers and pots formed on my wheel, a day I'm really looking forward to.
Well, another morning when I'm feeling good, the gluten free diet seems to be working and at last I feel confident that we may have found the problem, fingers crossed. I must say a few things on the subject of gluten free diets, last evening we called into our local supermarket to pick up a few bits and after checking out the gluten free products I was amazed at the prices, it was unbelieveable how these shops can take advantage of those who need a special diet like this, yes we all know and expect special diet foods such as sugar free or gluten free to cost a little more but in come cases three times the amount, well to me that is wrong, really wrong.
Over the last week I've been searching online for gluten free products and have found a lot, butchers who make gluten free sausages and bakers who make bread, most of which are the same price as their other normal products, so why on earth do the big supermarkets need to make so much profit on these goods ? I know we all need to use these large market places and unless your very well off you can't afford not to, but there are times when I wish we were lucky enough to go back to the days when our villages and towns were full of small shops run by people who took pride in the service they gave, shop keepers who were happy to make a living and were there in the shop meeting and serving the customers every day, not these huge store that grace our towns now, stores run by the fat cats who sit in their offices, who take two hour lunch meetings most days and who live on foods and drink that the rest of us only dream of, those who get massive wages to work out ways of making more and more profit from their so called valued customers, what a joke that is !
Oh well that's my rant over for the day and cuppa finished so back to work for me, I hope you all enjoy this wonderful summer weather and get all done that you have planned.
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Focals Calling
A Day With Focals
A dry morning, wow two in three days, we will be wearing shorts and sunglasses by friday ! The skies may be grey but at least it's dry and the wind as eased so all is happy here, I'm sure I'll get an hour or two in the garden later with more young plants to set out and a few more beds to hoe.
On the bead side of things it's a focal day here for me, so one happy beadmaker who will be enjoying playing with lots of colours and lots of rock effects, I can't think of a better way to spend the day. I have beads to clean and photograph and still I have to list beads on ebay, so it looks like another busy day.
Tomorrow I'm spending the day in the clay room throwing pots and I hope making my first oil lamps, we'll see how things go but fingers crossed they turn out ok. Also I get to make the pieces for the first ceramic bird feeder, some may say a silly idea but I want to make one for our garden and if the resulting feeder is ok then I'll list a couple in the etsy shop, you never know there may be a few fellow bird lovers out there who would like one.
After a good friend explained how to string wind chimes I think I'll make the parts for those too, it's all worth trying as things are so slow with bead sales and to be honest I just love working with clay so I'm happy to play around with these ideas for as long as it takes. I guess the good thing about ceramics is there really is no end to what you can make, as I've said before with beads you can only make beads, ok hundreds of designs and colour mixes but in the end they are all beads, most of which are obtained by jewellery makers and the odd bead collector, with the vast selection of objects you can make from ceramics the customer range is also so vast, I could write a list a foot long showing hundreds of items you can produce from clay so maybe, just maybe there are a few in that list that I can make, we'll see.
Ok, I better get back to my torch, it makes a change not to be dashing through the rain when returning to the barn, maybe by the weekend we'll have the sunshine back after all it is now May so touch wood the April showers are over !
A dry morning, wow two in three days, we will be wearing shorts and sunglasses by friday ! The skies may be grey but at least it's dry and the wind as eased so all is happy here, I'm sure I'll get an hour or two in the garden later with more young plants to set out and a few more beds to hoe.
On the bead side of things it's a focal day here for me, so one happy beadmaker who will be enjoying playing with lots of colours and lots of rock effects, I can't think of a better way to spend the day. I have beads to clean and photograph and still I have to list beads on ebay, so it looks like another busy day.
Tomorrow I'm spending the day in the clay room throwing pots and I hope making my first oil lamps, we'll see how things go but fingers crossed they turn out ok. Also I get to make the pieces for the first ceramic bird feeder, some may say a silly idea but I want to make one for our garden and if the resulting feeder is ok then I'll list a couple in the etsy shop, you never know there may be a few fellow bird lovers out there who would like one.
After a good friend explained how to string wind chimes I think I'll make the parts for those too, it's all worth trying as things are so slow with bead sales and to be honest I just love working with clay so I'm happy to play around with these ideas for as long as it takes. I guess the good thing about ceramics is there really is no end to what you can make, as I've said before with beads you can only make beads, ok hundreds of designs and colour mixes but in the end they are all beads, most of which are obtained by jewellery makers and the odd bead collector, with the vast selection of objects you can make from ceramics the customer range is also so vast, I could write a list a foot long showing hundreds of items you can produce from clay so maybe, just maybe there are a few in that list that I can make, we'll see.
Ok, I better get back to my torch, it makes a change not to be dashing through the rain when returning to the barn, maybe by the weekend we'll have the sunshine back after all it is now May so touch wood the April showers are over !
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
Back To Work
My Torch Calls
After spending yesterday in the garden with my trusty hoe and fitting the netting over some of the raised beds, it's back to my torch today and by the looks of it, my torch is going to be the best place. The skies are yet again dark with rain here and it seems like we are in for another wet day here in the fens.
Once again our hopes of the weather changing for the better are dashed and the sunshine of yesterday was only a treat, not the start of summer as some thought or should I say wished for.
I'm happy to say I managed to get so much done in the kitchen garden yesterday and boy is it starting to look good, so many crops already looking strong and after a few hours with my hoe most of the beds are looking neat and tidy again, when people mention the fact that the rich soil we get here will grow anything, they also fail to mention this means weeds too, what they should really say is that we can grow many many weeds and if your lucky and put in some hard work you'll be able to grow a lot of good veg too !
So, today it's back to my torch and bead making for me, tho I'm sure I'll manage an hour in the greenhouse later this afternoon and if the rain clears up I may get more kale plants set in one of the netted beds.
On the bead side of things, well to be honest it's very very slow and I'm beginning to wonder how long we can carry on like this, sales are few and far between and even tho we have cut our outgoings to the bone here I'm really not sure how many more months we can get through, but you know me and I'll fight all the way, I'm a stubborn old git at the best of times and if there is a way of getting through this period then I'll try my best to find it. I have a feeling the next month or two is going to be hard but if we look on the brighter side of things, we have a nice quiet place to work, we enjoy our job and we can carry on working without too much expense and with hard work and just a little luck we might make it, fingers crossed.
Today I'm taking the time to try out a few bead ideas that I've been thinking about, my feelings are if things are so slow then I'm not risking anything by trying some rather strange ideas, plus you know how I enjoy playing around with ideas, I would find nothing more enjoyable than being locked away in the barn for a few days experimenting, so why not give it a go, god only knows what I'll come up with but just maybe there will be the odd success, touch wood !
Now, for my health, well I'm not shouting it from the roof tops yet but again today I'm feeling so much better, the second day running that I'm feeling like the old Rob, no gluten as passed my lips and the way I feel right now it never will again, as I stated before I'm just amazed at the results I'm getting from not eating it and how in just a matter of a few days my world is coming back to normal, I so wish I had found this out months ago, in fact years ago but we have now and I hope it means a brighter and more comfortable future.
It was getting me down I admit that and those who know me knew it was, I guess when you wake each morning hoping you will feel normal only to find you face another day unwell it's going to get to you, there is only so long you can carry on pretending and now at last I don't have to, yesterday after seeing some jewellery made by a friend and customer I even found myself smiling haha now that hasn't happened much in the last few months. So now lets get bead sales sorted and this bead maker will be the happiest person in the world !
After spending yesterday in the garden with my trusty hoe and fitting the netting over some of the raised beds, it's back to my torch today and by the looks of it, my torch is going to be the best place. The skies are yet again dark with rain here and it seems like we are in for another wet day here in the fens.
Once again our hopes of the weather changing for the better are dashed and the sunshine of yesterday was only a treat, not the start of summer as some thought or should I say wished for.
I'm happy to say I managed to get so much done in the kitchen garden yesterday and boy is it starting to look good, so many crops already looking strong and after a few hours with my hoe most of the beds are looking neat and tidy again, when people mention the fact that the rich soil we get here will grow anything, they also fail to mention this means weeds too, what they should really say is that we can grow many many weeds and if your lucky and put in some hard work you'll be able to grow a lot of good veg too !
So, today it's back to my torch and bead making for me, tho I'm sure I'll manage an hour in the greenhouse later this afternoon and if the rain clears up I may get more kale plants set in one of the netted beds.
On the bead side of things, well to be honest it's very very slow and I'm beginning to wonder how long we can carry on like this, sales are few and far between and even tho we have cut our outgoings to the bone here I'm really not sure how many more months we can get through, but you know me and I'll fight all the way, I'm a stubborn old git at the best of times and if there is a way of getting through this period then I'll try my best to find it. I have a feeling the next month or two is going to be hard but if we look on the brighter side of things, we have a nice quiet place to work, we enjoy our job and we can carry on working without too much expense and with hard work and just a little luck we might make it, fingers crossed.
Today I'm taking the time to try out a few bead ideas that I've been thinking about, my feelings are if things are so slow then I'm not risking anything by trying some rather strange ideas, plus you know how I enjoy playing around with ideas, I would find nothing more enjoyable than being locked away in the barn for a few days experimenting, so why not give it a go, god only knows what I'll come up with but just maybe there will be the odd success, touch wood !
Now, for my health, well I'm not shouting it from the roof tops yet but again today I'm feeling so much better, the second day running that I'm feeling like the old Rob, no gluten as passed my lips and the way I feel right now it never will again, as I stated before I'm just amazed at the results I'm getting from not eating it and how in just a matter of a few days my world is coming back to normal, I so wish I had found this out months ago, in fact years ago but we have now and I hope it means a brighter and more comfortable future.
It was getting me down I admit that and those who know me knew it was, I guess when you wake each morning hoping you will feel normal only to find you face another day unwell it's going to get to you, there is only so long you can carry on pretending and now at last I don't have to, yesterday after seeing some jewellery made by a friend and customer I even found myself smiling haha now that hasn't happened much in the last few months. So now lets get bead sales sorted and this bead maker will be the happiest person in the world !
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