Crafty Folk: Gilded Goldfish

Welcome to the latest edition in our Crafty Folk series. This week we caught up with Emmaline Lamond from Gilded Goldfish.

How would you describe your work?
I am a passionate creative type with an insatiable compulsion to embellish everything I make. I just cant help it, in my eyes everything looks better with beautiful origami paper, cute vintage buttons or a piece of lovely fabric added to one of my prints or cards, I tell myself this is a good thing as it means all my work is one of a kind, and whilst this is true, I really just do it because I love colourful sparkly things…oh and of course shopping for colourful sparkly things!

How did your Etsy shop come into being?
I signed up to Esty long before I set up a shop, one of my friends kept telling me I had to start selling on there, I kept saying I would but didn’t. Eventually I got myself in order, brought a nice camera, started taking photos of my prints and well you know how the rest goes…my Etsy shop was born.

  

 Who or What inspires you?
I can be inspired by just about anything, but I love the beautiful patterns that nature makes, I’m always taking photos of tree bark, close up flower petals, pretty leaves, though this inspiration doesn’t necessarily translate into my work. I also absolutely love the Art Nouveau and Art Deco art styles, I recently discovered a great new artist Tamara Lempicka, an amazing Art Deco painter, there is something so powerful about the figures she paints.

Do you ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ as part of your creative process?  If yes, how is your art / craft eco-friendly?
My boyfriend call me Mrs Magpie, I love collecting things, I’m not picky either, I accumulate all sorts of wonderful things, last time I went to an antiques fair I left with a new bracelet, a monk shaped cookie jar, an old brass school bell, vintage cloth oh the list goes on! In an effort to reduce this ever growing eclectic collection I always try to incorporate found objects into my work, be it vintage buttons, fabric, ribbon and ric rac to embellish my hand printed cards or lovingly refurbishing old picture frames to house my prints.

  

Can you describe your studio / work area?
I live in a tiny two bedroom apartment, I am lucky enough to be able to use one of the two rooms as a studio, its small, I have no storage space but its all mine! I often work in the company of my very sweet curly haired La Perm cat, Shaggy he’s great company and always listen to everything I have to say.  But to be more specific, I have a large table on which I sew, draw, print and generally daydream. I am surrounded by pictures of family and friends, projects just started and some they may never be finished- but pretty much anything I could need is only an arms reach away.

What is your favorite thing in the shop at the moment?
I love me new Dear print, I just think he is so sweet, I enjoyed the whole creative process for him from start to finish.

Do you have any other places that people can view/purchase your work?
Website
Etsy Store
Facebook
Twitter

 

Thank you Emmaline for sharing a little about yourself and your creative adventure. We look forward to seeing more of your beautiful work at our markets.

Crafty Folk: Silver & Earth Design

Welcome to another Crafty Folk post where we feature one of our members and invite them to share a little about themselves and their creative practice. We absolutely love chatting with our Brisstyle members and hope that you enjoy learning a little more about them too! This week we spoke with Robbie from Silver & Earth Design.

How would you describe your work?

My work is in a transition stage at the moment. Since I started making jewellery using beading techniques about two years ago, I have been working with semi-precious stones and silver wire work.

This year I have been learning new techniques with silver and mixed media that I love working with as well and this recent work has been described by others as industrial looking. Whichever media I am using I love the design process of exploring the textural and colour qualities of the material and finding a perfect asymmetrical balance in my pieces.

 How did your Etsy shop come into being?

I had heard of Etsy about a year ago but hadn’t really explored the website or system until this year. I had tried putting my work into a couple of boutiques in quite exclusive precincts but I didn’t like losing control of the pricing. So when I looked into Etsy and found that you can get your label out there and control all aspects of your shop I thought I would give it a try. I also love doing markets and found the Etsy market possibilities fantastic. I have done two now and love the creativity, passion and support of fellow Etsy marketeers.

Who or What inspires you?

I have always been inspired by ethnic and cultural designs and patterns. With my latest work it is the materials themselves that inspire the design. 

 Do you ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ as part of your creative process?  If yes, how is your art / craft eco-friendly?
Yes, in my mixed media pieces I recycle by incorporating all sorts of materials from Reverse Garbage combined with Sterling Silver. I am also working with resin by setting my original drawings, prints etc into resin (reuse) and then combining with the other materials. From the start the packaging which I designed has always been made of recycled corrugated cardboard.

Can you describe your studio / work area?

This question has had me in a tizz – I am really an organized person but to look at my studio at the moment you wouldn’t guess. At times, I get into a bit of a creative frenzy with a few designs and techniques on the table at once. My studio is really a spare bedroom quickly usurped when my two daughters left home. I am putting together the equipment for working with silver and also have a beading section. Still it is more functional than it was when I used to do ceramics in one corner, drawing and painting in  the other and had just started jewellery. The clay dust was in the painting and the pastel was in the beads!  

What is your favourite thing in the shop at the moment?
I am loving the bold geometric rings. Using old offcuts of acrylic and designing sterling silver shapes to contrast I think they look a bit edgy. Also my watercolour series – watercolour paintings set into resin and inset into a bezel ring have intense colour.

A big thank-you to Robbie for sharing her crafty life with us. You can find Silver & Earth Design on Etsy. Stay tuned for our next 'Crafty Folk' post.

Crafty Folk: Afrikitten

Happy Monday Crafty Peeps! We're starting off another busy week in blogland with a BrisStyle member feature.  We absolutely love chatting with our members and finding out what makes their crafty world tick.  This week we caught up with Cheryl from jewellery label, Afrikitten.

1.  How would you describe your work?

I make jewellery - mostly rings - using various beadweaving techniques, combined with vintage crystals, buttons and other bits and pieces. My rings are big and colourful and pretty unique - I'm quietly confident that you won't find anything similar on Etsy. Not yet, anyway! I get bored repeating the same thing so my style is constantly evolving as I experiment with new ideas.
 

2. How did your Etsy shop come into being?

I actually don't know how I found out about Etsy. After discovering the joys of online shopping I spent an insane amount of time on the internet sourcing supplies and must have stumbled upon an Etsy store. I was selling on eBay at the time but never felt quite comfortable there. Setting up an Etsy store gave me a much better sense of belonging to a community that appreciates the love and care that goes into making something by hand.

3. Who or What inspires you?
Colour inspires me and I'm loving the bold, bright colours that are in season right now. I'm also inspired by floral shapes and mandala-like patterns, which work really well in my designs. When I first started beadweaving I was most inspired by the work of Laura McCabe.
 

 

4. Can you describe your studio / work area?

I dream of having a dedicated craft space - a separate room in the house with a huge table and all my beads neatly stored by size and colour in boxes along the wall. The reality is that I've claimed one half of our dining room table as a work area, which means constant packing and unpacking whenever we entertain. But it's a lovely, comfortable space with lots of natural light and big enough to accommodate our cat, who is mostly quite interested in what I'm up to.

 

5. What is your favourite thing in the shop at the moment?

It would have to be the huge chunky ring made with a 1940's rhinestone button - it's a real showstopper!
 

6. Do you have any other places that people can view/purchase your work?

My Facebook page is where I'm most active but I also have a Flickr page which I update regularly with my latest creations. You can visit my Etsy shop here too.

 A big thank-you to Cheryl for sharing her crafty life with us. Stay tuned for our next 'Crafty Folk' post where we will be featuring the work of Robbie from Silver & Earth jewellery.