New Washi Collection Page

I have added a Washi Collection page to the top bar of this blog. Go have a look and see some of the collection. I have also put links at the bottom of the collection page to link to my flickr gallery if you want to see more. 

There is also a link to my shop to see which pieces are currently for sale. This link is a little premature as the shop is not quite ready to launch. However, I have been working hard on it this week and it should be up and running soon... so watch this space!

More Early Work

These are a few images of one of my early Washi jewellery sets. The necklace was a learning piece focussed on joining circles and using heavier chain. I initially had some trouble soldering the piece together but quickly learned that I needed a larger/hotter blow torch for working on larger pieces.

Triple Circle Necklace

Indigo Blossom Set

The paper in this set has a rich indigo colour. It is called Aizome Chiyogami with Ai being the japanese word for indigo and Aizome meaning the art of indigo dying. It is different from my other japanese papers because it has no metallic details in the patterns.

The necklace is complemented with a pair of drop earrings using the same pattern from the indigo paper.

Washi Beginnings

I have been meaning to write this post for a while. Where does the time go? 

Teal Maple Circle Pendant

Here is one of the first Washi pieces that I made. I have always loved the intricate patterns in Japanese papers and I wanted to create a way of capturing them in a piece of jewellery. The hand printed quality of the paper, combined with the hand crafted jewellery ensures that each piece is completely unique and original. The paper is embedded in a sterling silver surround and then covered with clear resin creating a glass like finish and fully protecting the paper.

My first pieces were solid circles that beautifully show the colourful patterns of the papers. I have since expanded the collection to include pieces with cut out sections and others that combine complimentary semi-precious stones. The collection is available in many different paper designs and I am always on the look out for new chiyogami papers to add to my stock.

Holidays and Broken Laptops

Apologies for the lack of posts on here over the last month or so. There really isn't a good excuse except that my laptop screen died a death and it has taken me till now to sort myself out with a shiny new one. So hopefully I will be posting on here a bit more frequently from now on.

I have been busy in the workshop creating new work that I plan to share with you soon. I hope some of you managed to see the Aberdeen Artists exhibition in May. There was some fantastic work this year and it was a successful show for me. The pendant ended up being sold twice by accident, however this resulted in a few commissions for me so it all turned out fine in the end.

Another reason for my absence from this blog is a lot of travelling has been keeping me busy over the last few months. I recently spent some time in Greece and really enjoyed seeing the historic sites in Athens and the beautiful scenery in Santorini.

The Acropolis and The Temple of Zeus

View of Athens from Filoupappou Hill

We were in Santorini to celebrate a friend's wedding and it was a very picturesque setting. It also seems this year is the year for island weddings as we will be off to Orkney in a few weeks to celebrate another union.

The village of Oia in Santorini

The view of the Caldera and a windmill at sunset