Interview on Phoenix 98FM

Hey everyone Tomorrow (20th October) at 3pm I will be being interviewed by Gabby Clarke (@mindful2move) Who does the Drive time show between 3-6pm weekdays. She also runs Mind Health Movement offering services in personal training,diet management, hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and group exercise. 

You can listen and watch live, but if you can't get to a radio or computer I will be posting the interview on my blog and my website. 

Interview with Beautiful Things by Claire Mackaness

How did Beautiful Things by Claire Mackaness start?


Beautiful Things was launched in March 2010 as an offshoot from my card making hobby business.  My Mum bought me a small sewing machine for Christmas with the idea being I could sew on my cards, which was the fashion at the time.  I soon realised I could make things with it too and started making bunting and basic items.  Since then I have self taught myself how to make all sorts of things and the cards have taken a back seat.  I do still make them to order for some of my old regular customers though.

How did you get into crafting?

I have been crafty since I was tiny, my Mum will tell you I often went off into my bedroom for hours on end and appeared with something creative.  One of my best creations was an entire plane made from cardboard boxes and a Biggles hat made from a bobble hat with socks stuck in the sides for flaps!  Mum and Dad have a picture of me flying my plane in the garden somewhere but I’m not sharing that with you!  Professionally I have been crafty for about 10 years, starting with cards, then glass painting, moving onto contemporary works of art, Soap making, back to cards and then onto sewing.  Let’s just say I get bored easily!  I am sticking with sewing now though as there is so much variation with it and I love that I can create almost anything I like.

How often do run craft classes and what do you teach?


 I run classes on an as and when basis.  As long as I have enough people interested in learning something I will put on a class.  I hope as word spreads and when my website is finally finished (watch this space) I will be running a lot more.

When did you start the Knights way community market?


The Ingrave Community Market was started in September 2009 as an opportunity for me to promote my wares locally and encourage other like minded crafty types to sell theirs.  I gave it up after 2 years simply because I had a new addition to the family and my business had grown.  Something had to give and I couldn't give the market the time it needed anymore.  The Community Centre is keeping it running for now though so hopefully it will continue on to be a success still.

Tell me about the collections you have coming up for Mesh and The French Quarter?


 I have some new scarves coming soon to MESH as well as hopefully some re-purposed clothing in the new year.  French Quarter are getting some lovely winter bags as well as some luxury evening bags too.

Do you have any other projects do you have coming up for different shops?


No projects planned, but I have my fingers crossed on a few more that I have approached recently. Obviously if you own a shop and are reading this and think I could make something for you, do get in touch!

Where can we catch you next?


 My next craft fair is at the Reading Rooms in Billericay High street on Sat 29^th October and then I will be at St Marys Church Craft and Gift Fair, also in Billericay High Street on the 12^th November. That’s my last event for the year then as I am then off on an extended holiday until mid January so it will be the last chance you have to buy from my stall.

   

Interview with The Isle Of Tea

Who is the Isle of Tea?


Isle of Tea could be a group of ladies by the name of Betty, Kate, Ida, Plum, Luce and Dot. Or maybe it's none of them. Or even maybe just one or two. It is indeed everyone mentioned in certain senses, as sometimes don't you just feel that there are many brains and influences behind any idea? Whether it is a group of people or one person alone we see the Isle of Tea as a shared space, like a sort of community for people like us that feel that there's a lot more to tea than one might initially think. We love that we can share different people's perspectives on what it is about tea that they love, as we find it very interesting seeing and hearing the splendid tea stories, art, baking and sharing our love of tea with everyone.

When did the tea obsession start?


We have always appreciated that there is something special about tea but maybe not to the extent we do now. Ten years ago or so, we started collecting handmade pottery from various places, whether it be charity shops, antique and vintage warehouses or straight from the Potter's wheel. In fact we liked them so much so, that we wanted to get our hands stuck in the mud, so to speak and make our own. So we did.

Being crafty people since the word go, we wanted to look more into the background of tea and so began to be quite fascinated by the ceremony of tea. Reading about the different ceremonies in different parts of the world was fascinating and led to us making our very own tea set. And then went onto making a non-functional tea set asking the question of everyday objects being art and adapting the traditional hand-thrown pots. We even made a jug with four pouring spouts, to be put in the middle of the table, to be shared whilst sipping tea and chatting with friends.


It just so happened that we became increasingly more in love with tea dresses around our tea exploring phase. Their flattering shape and pretty floral designs instantly made us feel delicate and feminine. We realised that they do tend to suit most figures and the cuts of the dresses happen to be in just the right places, to make the plainest of Jane's look like the hottest of crumpets.


Not only is it great for people to express what they love about tea on the site, but we've had a fair few tea dress posts over the past months, one of which sticks out, by Kathryn Sharman. (When is a tea dress not a tea dress?)


What is your favourite tea?


We cannot say that we, (or one) has a particular favourite tea. There's such a wide variety and so many that have not even passed our lips. There are certain occasions where we feel different teas suit different times of the day and what mood we're in. Par example, it seems that your normal black tea is a good pick up anytime of the day, but particular teas go well with certain foods too. We particularly like a good cuppa black tea and a dash of milk (soya) with a good ol' veggie fry up, or egg and chips. There's just something so satisfyingly brilliant about the combination and so English.

However! We are presently having our taste buds tickled with this Rose Tea from Yogi Tea. Sweet, subtle, delicate and flavoursome!


What was the first thing that you posted in your ETSY and Folksy shops?


As far as we remember the first thing we put into our shops was one of our upcycled cake tier trays, made using found vintage crockery. It's one whole piece, carefully put together, that is remarkably strong. You can pick the whole thing up with any of the tea cup handles and nothing budges.

How did you start selling tea dresses?


We have at times sold various things on ebay but we wanted to find something that we liked and enjoyed selling. We were actually selling random bits from around IOT Towers at the beginning of the year when the thought occurred to us that it might be a good idea to sell vintage. We love vintage pieces of clothing, furniture, trinkets, shoes, bags etc etc. and thought it would be more fun to sell something that we have a passion for and adore, than selling boring trivial objects. We were also keen to sell vintage as we're tea folk that are very much into recycling. However, then the question was raised. What type of vintage should we sell? And not only that, but we wanted to learn more about vintage pieces and where they came from, how they're made, what's sought after and then really get our teeth sunk into them.

A sudden idea struck us. On a sunny morning dropping a miniature tea-pea at schoolage, we thought, how marvellous, how wonderful, how brilliant it would be to sell vintage tea dresses. We love wearing them. We love how they look. We love the designs and pretty patterns and colours. We just love them. The only problem was, finding and sourcing them all. We have to admit, that us here, little tea people from IOT (waves) are not exactly swimming around in pools full of dosh, so we had to think and source and discover (and think a little more) and finally decide to splurge our money and invest.
So we did!

It was exactly on this very morning, when thinking about tea dresses and selling them, that we thought we could expand the whole idea, (taking inspiration from our previous tea exploring). Although the words, *I love tea dresses* kept running through our minds, we began thinking that it would be even more wonderful and exciting to have a whole site all about tea, it's quirks and every little thing involved with tea. We had originally intended to be making our own pottery to sell too, but at present don't have any resources and need a few more pennies to live that dream out. So with all of our combined love of things tea related, the Isle of Tea was born. We realised, calling it I love tea dresses, didn't quite cut the mustard, then thought, obviously it needs to be called I Love Tea. Hence, Isle of Tea.


We had oringally started off selling the dresses on eBay which was all swell until for some unknown reason, whether it be that the summer had begun and people weren't as frequently on the computer, the dresses stopped selling. Which is an awful shame, because being a small little business we buy our next stock with the sales of the previous dresses. So we've not had many new dresses in for a while and in the meantime, we moved all of our stock over to our Etsy shop. Everything is currently crossed for our first sale!


How did you first start painting china?


As briefly mentioned above, we're very keen ceramicists. One day it would be our dream to be making our own pottery including tea sets and services. We also looked into using/making decals (ceramic transfers) but they also involve using a kiln. So we looked into the next best thing and that was cermic paint as it can be baked in a normal home oven.



To be honest, it's one of the things that we certainly need to catch up with. Always pleased to be recycling we thought it would be even better to paint old and found pots, so they can be appreciated, loved and used again, rather than being abandoned and discarded. So we then entered into the world of upcycling!

When did the blog start?

The blog only started on May 13^th this year after months and months of preparation, planning and lots of waking up in the night with ideas (and scrambling around for pens and paper).

Do you enjoy blogging?

We particularly like that we chose Isle of Tea to be a blog rather than just an informative site. This to us, means things can adapt, change and evolve moreso with each and every blog post and guest post. The most recent post is the first thing people will initially see before exploring the whole site and we love that it isn't always a post from just our perspectives, as there's a whole range of different guest posts and Tea & Bakes posts. We love hearing other people's voices about all the tea related or tea inspired things that they like to share, because isn't that a part of what tea is about? Sharing and talking and experiencing life over that good ol' cuppa.

Can anyone write a guest post?


One of the reasons why we're so keen on guest posts, is because, (as mentioned) we like to see Isle of Tea as a shared community where people can come together and share why tea is special to them and what it means to them. Another reason is that we are really interested in people and their thoughts and love being a base for people, who may not even have their own blogs, to reach out to other people all over the world and express themselves. It's not only interesting, having other people's perspectives on tea related things but the realisation that other people have this same feeling. That special “Tea” feeling. This quote we found recently from Gladstone sums it up rather nicely...

“If you are cold
Tea Will Warm You
If you are too heated,
It will cool you.
If you are depressed,
It will cheer you.
If you are excited.
It will calm you”.

There's nothing quite like sharing a cuppa with someone, whether the conversation is one of joy or tears, life is a little more pleasurable having that break... having tea in our lives...


That little moment of comfort.


Surely there's only one thing left to say... I love tea.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Interview with Kelly Swallow

How and when did you start upholstering furniture?

I’m from Ireland but now living just outside London. I’ve always made things, I started sewing as a child. I have a very distant memory of seeing a patchwork quilt made by my grandmother, so I guess that’s where the love of patchwork comes from!
I’ve always done some upholstery projects but about four years ago I realised that I was getting so many requests from people for my chairs that I had quite a waiting list so began to focus solely on chairs and sofas.

Where do you get you fabric? Is it mainly vintage?

I adore fabrics and get ridiculously excited when sourcing new fabrics for my collection. I love to mix new and vintage, and finding a piece of furniture which is the perfect match for a fabric theme is so satisfying!
I’m always on the lookout for great chairs and fabrics. I source furniture from local dealers or markets. I love fabrics from companies like Designers Guild and Zoffany mixed with vintage fabrics which I buy both locally and abroad. I source antique linen grain sacks and other linens from Hungary, Germany and France.

Can people provide their own chairs?

I’m more than happy for people to provide their own chairs. It is a real pleasure to give a new lease of life to a special family piece of furniture.

Do you design chairs based on your customers?

My bespoke pieces often include designs which reflect the client’s interests and lives. So embroidered initials, significant dates, treasured pieces of fabric so the chair can be an heirloom piece and a snapshot of their lives. They’re often special birthday presents, or surprise presents which is a real pleasure to work on !

How do you decide what fabric to use?

Sometimes the shape and personality of the chair will suggest a colour or theme for the fabrics, sometimes it works the other way around and I start with a piece of fabric which suggests a theme then I find the chair to fit that theme. In the case of bespoke chairs, I may have discussed style of chair and colour themes with the client and I then put together a collection of fabrics to fit the clients requirements.

I usually start from a couple of central colours and patterns and work out from there. The starting point can be on a colour theme, pattern theme, or a topic to fit with a clients brief or it can just depend on my mood, which is really fun!

Where are you based?

I’m based in Hertfordshire, where I have a workshop just by my house. It’s always very busy and we welcome people who are interested in seeing chairs and some of the process.

Which chair would you say was your favourite?

That’s such a difficult question! I love the process of work so much and the result is always so pleasing that my favourite is always whatever I’m working on at that particular time. Right now, I’ve got a fabulous commission nearing completion which has so many elements of the clients life threaded through the fabrics that it is very special. I’m also just starting on a chair which is a completely different range of colours which is very exciting because it’s so different from my usual work.

To get in touch with Kelly for any commissions you may have you can contact Kelly through her website.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Guest Post

I was recently featured on the Isle Of Tea blog, have a read of my post here.