Red Ruby Rose

New Year

2012-01-04T05:35:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Thought I'd start things off here by making a few leather clutches. Clockwise from left, the Oak, Serpentine, and Pearlfisher. I like this simple sleek shape and will make a few more this week.

Also, a larger style bag in this unusual embroidered silk, in an ikat style.

Instagram

2011-11-30T11:01:00.000-08:00

This week I finally got the hang of Instagram. I tried it out when I first got my iphone and didn't really pursue it but a friend recommended I give it another look and now I'm hooked. To me it's a lovely visual alternative to Twitter, plus the Instagram community seems very friendly and inclusive. Take a look, I'm @redrubyrose and I'd love to follow you too!

Petite peacocks

2011-11-12T08:21:00.000-08:00

Some new peacock designs I made last night, several tiny purses and a couple of peacock purses on chains.

Shop update

2011-11-08T10:07:00.000-08:00

I'm steadily adding a few new fabrics and bag styles to my Etsy shop this week, only held back by the rather glum November weather which makes photographing a bit more tricky. Here goes:

Wood for the Trees in a lovely taupe/black/white colourway, plus a blue silk lining.
Delicate blue fronds feature on this pods clutch, would work well for a winter wedding.
Lupin, a retro mid-century styled print and one of two larger bags. Also has a sweet blue Liberty lining and chain handle.
Finally, stylish Argyle suede with optional suede handle and pretty green cotton lining. More to follow....

Italy

2011-11-04T07:22:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share some pics from my recent trip to Italy. It was a lovely time of year to go, warmer than the UK but cool enough to do good walks and sit on the beach without frying. We based ourselves in the North West, firstly La Spezia to visit the Cinque Terre and then Lucca and Viareggio.

View of houses in Viareggio. We were there a week before the region was sadly hit by a massive landslide and flooding, causing widespread damage.

Orange groves on the streets of La Spezia.

The night after a storm in la Spezia before the street cleaner arrived. He later told us he had picked up 413 oranges. Now that's attention to detail!

Fabulous fiat.

Equally fabulous bike.

Sandcastles are sooo last season. Now it's all about owlcastles.

Fabulous sunset in Viareggio.

As a heatwave approaches....

2011-09-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

After a month off in August and a catch-up with custom and wholesale orders I'm now settling down to create some new pieces. First off, an update on the arrows design, in hot turquoise blue and contrasting red/orange arrows.
Blue Arrows clutch, $85 on Etsy

Next up, I'm smitten with this chevron stripe fabric in yellow and grey. The clutch is rounded with a long cross-body chain and a sweet birdie patterned lining

Chevron stripe clutch, $85 on Etsy

Finally, I promised to make some larger style bags for a customer and here's a little selection I worked on over the weekend. She's getting first dibs but I'll be listing the others on Etsy soon.

As for all these yellows and blues... it's not such a seasonal palette I know, at least not for the Northern hemisphere as we head into autumn. However, it seems as though we may be getting our Indian summer after all, the UK weather forecast for the rest of the week predicts hot things. Wonderful!

August break

2011-07-14T09:13:00.001-07:00

It's been a busy couple of months with custom and wholesale orders and as summer unfurls I've decided to briefly close up shop at the end of this month and dedicate the whole of August to other projects. Namely, learning basic video editing, recording and writing tracks for the new Cue Fanfare album and creating new designs. Exciting! I'll be back online in September, hopefully with lots of new designs and energy to share. Wishing you a fabulous summer!

A fabric find

2011-06-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to a Textiles fair in Dorchester, Dorset and found this amazing vintage fabric featuring bold blooms and exotic birds and butterflies. It was one of those 'I don't want to cut it' moments when I made my first bag, but the details and colours are so gorgeous that it can stand up to cropping into the design.

Bloomsbury Belle, clutch bag with silk lining $85

A month in pictures

2011-05-15T07:06:00.001-07:00

New Red Ruby Rose activity has been a bit thin on the ground this month, I've been dividing my time between wholesale/custom orders and visiting my parents who haven't been in the best of health of late.

My mum and I have been for some rejuvenating walks in the Blackdown Hills, revisiting old haunts and finding new trails and unexpected Spring treasures.

Apple blossom in the garden and scenery along the Blackdowns Herepath.

Hestercombe Gardens, a classical romantic English garden at the foot of the Quantocks, designed by Jekyll-Lutyens.

Ferns and follies at Hestercombe

Eerie pines at Otterhead Lakes

Woodland walk at Otterhead

Black swans at Otterhead

An amazing walk up to Wych Lodge (Swan Lake) with swathes of bluebells, cowslips, butterflies, ancient meadow and rare marsh orchids.

A windy Spring garden

Still lives

Last autumn I posted some thoughts about iphone toy camera apps. I was tentatively dabbling with hipstamatic and then settled on Plastic Bullet which I've been happily using ever since. Some of these images have been influencing and inspiring my textile designs, which resulted in Red Giant Software (the developers of Plastic Bullet) kindly featuring Red Ruby Rose on their blog.

They've now got two new iphone apps, Noir for brooding cinematic pics and Movie Looks for video colour tints. I've been playing around with Noir and it is very nice indeed, I like the simple clean interface and moody results.

I'm aiming to be a little quieter on the Red Ruby Rose front over the summer, I do have some new fabrics and styles to list but feel it's also time for a bit of holiday and time on the music side of things.

Wedding belles

2011-04-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

Queen Anne's Lace, embroidered silk clutch bag

Blue Belle, embroidered linen clutch bag

I've added two new clutches to the shop today, both with a bridal flavour. The top design is a pretty embroidered silk, in person the embroidered details are raised in cream and sparkly silver, very tactile. I love the pale cornflower blue of the Blue Belle clutch, and it has chunky embroidery which makes for a nice contrast.

Sunshine and blossom

2011-04-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

Had to grab a bit of sunshine today, such amazing weather for early April.

All the cherry blossom is blooming...

..with the shadows on the ground making striking patterns.

These were taken on Mother's Day, Magnolia blooms and Mum and I looking like shadowy Hitchcock characters....

...and the Somerset countryside. It was rain and showers and everything looked hyper-green like a scene straight out of Tolkien.

Adriana and Doug's wedding

2011-04-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share some fabulous pics that Adriana sent to me of her wedding clutches. Photos by Lina Jang photography and the full blog post is over at Tammy Golson Events. Adriana's a stunning bride and it looked like a wonderful day!

New silk scarves

2011-03-17T11:41:00.001-07:00

New Red Ruby Rose silk scarf collection, modelled by Kerry, photographed by Toby Farrow

I launched my first collection of silk scarves last year, fully aware it was a learning curve, both in the response to the designs and also the size and price. The feedback was that although lovely, they were on the expensive side. So, with this in mind I've gone back to the drawing board and created a brand new collection.

The new scarves, although smaller in size are versatile; they can be worn as a hair band, bandana or bow, corsage, belt or wristlet.

Anchors silk scarf, $48
Birds on a wire silk scarf, $48
Mandala silk scarf, $48

They come with their own trimmed down bespoke gift box too which makes them lighter for posting. Designs to start with, including Morpho butterflies and Forest Lights and five new patterns. More to follow!

Bamboo clutch giveaway

2011-03-01T11:10:00.001-08:00

Feathers of Inspiration are giving away one bamboo clutch this week, so head on over if you get a moment and good luck!

Spring blooms

2011-02-21T12:59:00.001-08:00

Beautiful crocus blooms signal that Spring is nearly here.... hurry up! Pics taken with my iphone last weekend.

New silk prints

2011-02-16T11:32:00.001-08:00

Elephants, printed silk clutch bag

My new batch of original silk prints are here. They all feature my own textile designs and this time I thought I'd try heavyweight dupion silk as I like the idea of the natural slub and weave of the fabric showing.

My only concern with this finish is that it would affect the quality of the print but this wasn't a problem at all. As ever the company who print my silk designs came up trumps. The colours are rich and true, and because the designs are printed using acid dyes (the correct dye for the fibre) the black tones are a dark inky black rather than pale charcoal. So much so that I'll be running down the stock on the panama cotton and replacing it all with printed silk in future as I just can't get this print quality and depth on the cotton.

It also means I've been able to bring back a couple of my favourite designs, the two swans and bamboo as they have solid black backgrounds. Yay!

The designs are now available in my Etsy shop (US dollar), Dawanda (Euro), and of course my own shop (UK sterling).

Which is your favourite?

Forest lights, printed silk clutch bag

Golden lion, printed silk clutch bag

Blue peacock, printed silk clutch bag

black bamboo, printed silk clutch bag

green fern, printed silk clutch bag

Angelica lace, printed silk clutch bag

Blog redesign & shop reopens

2011-02-07T14:54:00.000-08:00

Flowerwheel 8x10 photogram photographic art print

Feathered feather, 8x10 photogram photographic art print

My blog has had a spring clean, thanks to Dionne at Studio Chic Design. I've also finally reopened my Etsy print shop Polaroids and Pinholes after an extended break. I was finding it tricky to juggle two Etsy stores but I'm going to give it another go as it was sad to neglect the photography. As well as the traditional darkroom photography techniques, polaroids and pinhole prints, I'm planning on branching out and adding some of my recent cross-processed and iphone pics and I hope this will also feed back into new textile designs.

Tiny purses

2011-01-30T10:52:00.001-08:00

Back in April last year I posted about a tiny bird purse I'd made. At the time I didn't list the purse but stored it away and promptly forgot all about it. Yesterday I was tidying my studio (a reluctant chore) and I found the tiny bird nestled in a drawer along with seven minature frames. This was the perfect excuse to stop tidying and so I made seven tiny purses to go with the bird. Fiddly to make but very sweet! The top frames are a mere 1.5 inches, so they are perfect for keeping a delicate piece of jewellery or just as a little keepsake.

What's in a name

2011-01-22T12:05:00.000-08:00

A sample from my new product line, the written word printed silk clutch

Before Christmas I ordered some letterpress cards from Ragamuffin Press on Etsy. The cards arrived and were beautiful. What also struck me was the envelope that they arrived in. The postal address had been beautifully hand scripted with a traditional dip pen and it was absolutely charming, a delicious contrast to the usual Paypal shipping labels. I stuck the envelope on the wall and thought no more of it.

Chevron letterpress postcards by Ragamuffin Press

I must have thought about it on a subconscious level though, as I woke bolt-upright one night with an idea to personalize a clutch on the outside, in a contemporary way but using delicious script. The first thing was to scour the web to see if anybody was doing anything similar but I couldn't find anything. There were plenty of customised labels and embroidered names but nothing quite like I was imagining.

So, I contacted Beth at Ragamuffin and a plan was hatched. Before I knew it a fabulous envelope stuffed full of hand-scripted loveliness arrived on my doorstep. Complete with little side-notes and scribbles. A treasure-trove!

So, these have become the basis of my new range of personalised bridal and bridesmaid clutches, printed onto pure silk and completely customised.

Something a little different!

Coupon code

2011-01-17T16:01:00.000-08:00

The coupon code to add at checkout for the Etsyversary sale is: Rubyis3
50% off every item in the Red Ruby Rose Etsy shop for the next 24 hours!

** update** this coupon code has now ended. Thanks so much to everyone who snapped up a bargain and in particular thanks for the lovely messages.

My three year Etsyversary

2011-01-17T03:55:00.001-08:00

Yes, it's been a learning curve! This is the very first clutch I sold on Etsy, on 18th January 2008. As a huge thank you to everyone who has supported Red Ruby Rose over the past three years I'm going retro on my prices. From midnight tonight (UK GMT) I'm offering 50% off everything in my Etsy shop for 24 hours only. Woo-hoo! The coupon code for the discount will be posted here at midnight, also on Facebook and in my Etsy shop announcement.

Etch a postcard....

2011-01-16T11:37:00.000-08:00

Clevedon is one of those coastal towns that they forgot to close down. At least if you're a teenager and/or have a penchant for The Smiths. Personally I like the faded Victoriana, with blustery Sunday walks along the pier and a slippery scramble over the rocks.

Shop update

2011-01-12T05:50:00.000-08:00

Red Ruby Rose medium clutch bag, $65

Peacock palace, medium clutch bag, $65

Somerset seedhead medium clutch, $65

Mandala medium clutch bag, $65

I've been busy making some new items. These medium clutch bags feature my favourite original prints and come complete with sweet little chain or leather handles.

Morphos butterfly silk clutch bag, $105

The morphos butterfly design featured on my silk scarves is now available as a clutch. It's printed on to shimmering silk satin and lined in teal silk.

The pearlfisher leather and silk clutch bag, $85

The apothecary, leather and silk clutch bag, $85

Charcoal bloom, suede and silk clutch bag, $85

Rounding up this update, some new suede and leather clutches with silk linings. More soon!

New Year thoughts and reflections

2011-01-02T04:40:00.000-08:00

A very Happy New Year and my warmest wishes to you for an exciting and creative 2011.

2010 was mostly a good year. In hindsight there may have been a little too much work and not quite enough play, but that's what self-employment brings and Red Ruby Rose is still my driving force.... more on that in a moment.

Aside from Red Ruby Rose, one of the nicest things to happen in 2010 was the formation of our Band Cue Fanfare from a two piece to a full four piece. When our previous band Santa Dog had dissolved the previous summer, the last thing on my mind was launching another full band. This was partly out of respect for the others in Santa Dog as the split hadn't been perfectly lovely. Hence Robbie and I played as a duo for the remainder of the year until we met up with Alan and Holly from Schnauser and the Cue Fanfare band formed.

We've had a lot of fun since then, releasing an EP with Kingem Records in Italy, playing Aeon Festival in August and supporting Scottish indiesters Haight Ashbury here in Bristol in November. We rounded things off this year with a post-Christmas, pre-New Year gig with Schnauser and Billy Whizz. In 2011 we'll hope to lark around some more..

Cue Fanfare playing Aeon festival

For Red Ruby Rose, 2010 was mainly lovely. I launched my own website and introduced a few new lines including printed silk clutches and silk scarves. On a slightly more negative note, I noticed more Etsy sellers copying the peacock clutch.

Silk peacock feathers clutch, Red Ruby Rose on Etsy

I've had such a love-hate relationship with this clutch! I remember when I first set eyes on the fabric back in 2008, and almost couldn't bear to cut the roll of silk when it arrived as it was so beautiful. When I made the very first clutch I thought it was the finest bag I'd ever made and I was so proud to sell it. It was about a year before the first copies started filtering through on Etsy and I was so upset. At one point I considered withdrawing the style altogether and even started to secretly hate it a little. Now I've stopped sulking about it and accept that other sellers will make similar clutches, possibly underselling on price to compete, and actually that is absolutely fine. I know I made it first (which is an important point of principle to me) and am delighted to still be making it more than two years down the line.

Thanks also to Naomicayne and Etsy for the treasury that made it to the front page on the 31st December featuring the gold version. So delighted to see that!

There is just one additional thing I need to mention as we enter the New Year. Due to the spiralling costs of raw materials I've had to put my prices up. Silk and printing prices especially have gone through the roof and because of this I've voluntarily registered for VAT here in the UK. This means that from January 4th, buyers on Etsy from the UK and EU will have an additional 20% tax at checkout. This won't affect international transactions from my customers in the USA, Canada, Australia, etc but I do anticipate this additional tax may sadly reduce my European customer base on Etsy. However, as I move towards wholesaling here in the UK, VAT registration is a necessity.

Oh, and finally, I'm working on a new range of customised bridesmaid clutches which I can't wait to share. Sneak previews in a couple of weeks!

Country Living

2010-12-16T08:21:00.000-08:00

Delighted to see my Somerset Ferns clutch nestled in the Emporium section of December's UK Country Living magazine!

Evergreen

2010-12-15T09:55:00.000-08:00

Last weekend whilst visiting my parents, I grabbed a bit of winter sunshine and fresh air and gathered evergreen goodies for a Christmas wreath for their door. Fun to make but I should have worn gloves, ouch ouch ouch!

A lovely fir tree in the neighbours garden

Gathering mistletoe, a tree and a shadow

Now this tree has lost its leaves you can see the vast amounts of mistletoe growing in the canopies. Beautiful!

I've never seen so many berries on mistletoe, the birds have usually eaten them all

Limited edition coin purses

2010-12-10T01:17:00.000-08:00

Silk Starburst mini purse

Red trees mini purse

Contemporary peacock feathers mini purse

Ferns mini purse

I've added some little coin purses to Etsy, these are all very limited edition or OOAK and silk-lined.

A wintery walk

2010-12-01T10:33:00.001-08:00

Wintery weather seems to have gripped every part of the UK apart from the Bristol/south west region. I absolutely love snow so I can't help but feel I'm missing out on the action. However, there was a little flurry of the white stuff earlier in the week and I took a few pics on a (bracing) walk down in Somerset.

It is absolutely freezing though, just as well I bought this fake fur hat, my best impulse buy of the year!

2010-11-12T15:07:00.001-08:00

Red Ruby Rose on pinterest

Pinterest is a new social bookmarking site inspired by the bulletin board. It caught my eye last week and I requested an invite to join as it's still in beta mode. I really like the clean simple design of the site and it appeals to my magpie tendencies to make mood boards and collections. Finally I have somewhere to place all the stuff I've loaded into my bookmarks and desktop and there are some sharp curators on there. The clincher for me is that every 'pin' has a permalinked source back to the original, unlike collage sites like Polyvore that grab bits and pieces from everywhere with no regard to the source.

Two November giveaways

2010-11-03T16:22:00.000-07:00

Ruby Mandala clutch by Red Ruby Rose

If you'd like the chance to win the clutch pictured above, head on over to Natalie Jost's fabulous blog and shop at Olive Manna. In exchange for Natalie's generous suggestions on how to rejig and customise Big Cartel, which helped me out on my own shop, she received a gift clutch from me, plus another to giveaway.

Also, Indiefixx and Joie magazine are currently giving away one of of my new Morphos butterflies silk scarves.

Joie is a new online lifestyle mag created by Jen of indiefixx. Lots of great articles on art, craft, living, design, style, diy and more. Free to download with a suggested donation.
Good luck with the giveaways!

My week (or two) in pictures

2010-10-30T15:47:00.001-07:00

Cycling on the Strawberry Line, with lovely sculptural pods and plants in the hedgerows. A perfect sunny Autumn day.

Just off the Strawberry line, a gorgeous 13th Century church at Puxton, with a heavily leaning tower. Beautifully kept churchyard but sadly the building was locked so no nosing around for us.

Amazing autumn colours and some much needed fresh air and woodland at Westonbirt arboretum

A Griffin garden ornament at a reclamation yard in Tetbury. Had the most amazing ham, egg and chips for lunch in eccentric little cafe in the town centre. Yum!

Down to Somerset on the train to see my parents, took this picture just as we crossed a bridge, captured in a blur

Catching up with friends and bandmates Holly and Al, celebrating Al's birthday. Amazing food at Sergios and too much wine.

Postcard winners

2010-10-25T11:36:00.000-07:00

The two winners of the recent postcard giveaway are Evelien Gheeraert and Beatrice Hitchman. Congratulations to you both. Evelien, I don't have a contact for you, could you please contact me so can get your cards to you. Thanks!

Sample sale update

2010-10-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

There are six silk scarves remaining in the sample sale
Tree silhouette reduced from £75 to £50
Stencil chrysanthemum reduced from £75 to £50
Dandelion clocks reduced from £75 to £45
Stencil Noir reduced from £75 to £45
Vida birds reduced from £75 to £45
Plum seedheads reduced from £75 to £45

Sample sale

2010-10-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

The sample sale of the silk scarves is now on at Red Ruby Rose. Only one of each design is available so this is a limited-edition sale. Items are listed in UK pounds but as always I ship internationally. This sale is only available on my own site, my Etsy shop will only have the full price scarves.

The silk scarves

2010-10-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

Morphos butterflies silk scarf

Vida birds silk scarfTree silhouette silk scarf

My new collection of silk scarves are now on Etsy. This first batch are printed onto heavyweight silk twill which has a lovely weave and shimmer. There will be a few to follow in crepe de chine and silk satin, I'm still undecided as to which finish I like best, so for starters I'm trying all three. There are ten designs in total and I will also be offering a sample sale of several of the designs on redrubyrose.

One thing I've discovered is that silk scarves are very tricky to photograph! I wanted to keep the photography as simple and clear as possible but the fluidity of the fabric makes them a challenge compared to the clutches. It's a learning curve.

Do you have a favourite?

Swan lake

2010-10-10T03:14:00.001-07:00

One of my favourite cycle rides in Bristol is the pill path which is traffic free and runs alongside the river Avon and Leigh woods. When I first started cycling again earlier this year I was woefully unfit and would wobble along for a couple of miles and come home in a heap. Slowly my fitness has improved, I'm still pretty crumby but at least now I can cycle to Pill and back without collapsing. One of the best things about this route is the lake at the end of the river path, perfect for a rest and also for gawking at the large flock of comedic chickens that reside in a big plot next to the water.

Yesterday was the first time I saw the swan. Looking very serene in the photo but she came across to hiss and honk at us.

In contrast to the lake, I quite fancied going on the cycle lane over the big motorway bridge at Avonmouth. The whole concept of a cycle lane on a huge bridge next to a roaring motorway seemed odd. It was a cloudy murky day yesterday and the whole thing was surreal.

Postcard giveaway

2010-10-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to list these postcard sets for ages, it was on one of my 'to do' lists and then I completely forgot all about them until I was searching for a particular purse frame earlier today. They are now on sale on Etsy and my own website (woo-hoo, I'm enjoying saying that!) in dollars and UK pounds respectively.

These images were created using a variety of traditional photographic processes including photograms, polaroid, and pinhole photography. If any of the designs look familiar it's because some of them have featured on my textile designs for the clutch bags over the last couple of years. There are eight designs and these A6 cards are printed on heavyweight 400gsm silk card, blank on reverse with small title/logo.

So... to the giveaway. I'm giving away two sets of cards and all you need to do is either add a comment to this post or 'like' my facebook page. The two winners will be drawn at random on the 15th October. Good luck!

The new kid on the block....

2010-10-04T14:44:00.001-07:00

May I introduce my new Red Ruby Rose website. Well hello my pretty.

This has been in the pipeline for quite a while. Starting off as an idea on the back of an envelope, then a rough design mock up, and then lots of procrastinating and chin-stroking.

I'll admit I did have reservations about starting my own shop. I currently have an online presence on three shopping sites. The main being Etsy, listing in US dollars, then Not On The High Street in UK pounds, and also Dawanda in euros. With all with ever shifting currencies, varying commissions, and different visitors, where would my own site nestle between all these and could I really juggle yet another online shop, especially one that would need extra work to generate new footfall?

I came to the conclusion that it would be lovely to have my own shop listing in UK pounds, but that it would have to be very simple, both for the visitor (no need to register, easy checkout) and for me from a listing and maintenance angle. After looking round, asking the advice of knowledgeable friends and scouring the web to see what other independent designers and makers were doing, it seemed that Big Cartel was the solution; a simple, customisable shopping cart with a small monthly fee and no commission.

It is, hands down the simplest and fastest interface for listing items. Photos upload swiftly and the whole listing process is done on one page. Quite refreshing!

Customising Big Cartel from the standard template turned out to be slightly more complicated. Long story short, Tom Neal of imaketees took my rough template idea and ran with it. All kudos to him, I highly recommend his work.

So, here it is, redrubyrose.bigcartel.com aka redrubyrose.com. I'll slowly build up the shop inventory and they'll run alongside my Etsy listings but there will also be offers and items exclusive to my own shop in the run up to Christmas. Please do take a peek if you have a moment, I'd love to know what you think.

Apples and pears

2010-10-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

I love the little apple tree in our garden, it's ancient and wonky with mistletoe growing in the boughs. It was stormy last night so today I picked the best of the windfalls and the biggest ripest fruit on the top of the tree. This wasn't quite as easy as I first anticipated and I had a blonde moment when I decided to stand on a kitchen chair, only for the chair leg to sink into the soft ground and for me to wobble off. So, I grabbed the stepladder and stirred Robbie from his post sunday lunch doze to hold the ladder whilst I balanced atop with apples raining down on his head.

There are only so many apples we can eat. I've kept a few aside to store and popped round with a basket to friends and neighbours. It'll be endless apple pie for the forseeable future.

As for the pears... they're bullet hard still. Maybe I could try poaching them, or is it still too early to harvest them?

The rise of the toy camera app

2010-09-26T04:22:00.001-07:00

taken on my iphone using the plastic bullet app

taken on my iphone using the plastic bullet app

taken on my iphone using the hipstamatic app

taken on my iphone using the plastic bullet app

I read a great article on the Photoworks San Francisco blog recently. The author discusses the increasing use of iphone apps including Hipstamatic which filters an average camera phone photo turn into a pastiche of a holga, diana, any number of hip camera film effects. I totally empathise with his feelings and comments as I too feel conflicted about the medium.

Partly, hands up, I know I'm being a snob. I've worked extensively with camera film, and effects including light leaks/flare/polaroid borders/pinhole and toy camera over the last ten years. It informed a large part of my illustration style and it wasn't always the easiest process to work with. To suddenly see the effects available at the touch of a button is partly amazing and partly infuriating.

Some of the comments in the follow up to the article are eloquent; "photography is about the journey not just the end result. If they come out with cool pictures and learned nothing on the journey then they have gained much less." and in a similar vein: "I guess it comes down to that old chestnut, is art created without intention as valid as art created with intention."

But, maybe more importantly, the conflicting argument that film shouldn't be revered just because it's film: "I feel that a far worse trend, is glorifying toy camera photo’s just for the sake that they are shot on film. Just because you leave your negative frame on your photo, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good."

Recently I bought an iphone and started using hipstamatic. To be honest, it didn't do a huge amount for me to begin with, but then I found plastic bullet and I love this app. The interface is much simpler and it has a lovely element of surprise in that you have the choice of four different processed images, and if you don't like any of those it develops a fresh set for you.

I think it's time I got over myself and embraced the medium. What are your thoughts?

Boxed and wrapped

2010-09-22T11:55:00.001-07:00

My new Red Ruby Rose gift boxes arrived today, yippee! Clutches will now arrive individually in one of these beauties, although I have had to tweak the postage up a little for international buyers as they're 100 grams heavier than my previous packaging.
They are bespoke printed with the Red Ruby Rose logo on the lid in foil inlay, and the heavyweight board is lined with a cream buckram paper which has a lovely textured finish.
I honestly didn't think I'd get quite so excited about a simple box, which suggests I need to get out more.

Autumnal treats

2010-09-19T07:01:00.001-07:00

Why does autumn always come as a surprise? The transition into shorter and colder days and nights feels like a bit of a shock. It's not that I dislike September - it's just the sinking feeling that summer has gone.

However, it's not all gloom. This year the garden has been fruitful. The old apple tree is groaning under the weight of fruit - so much so that I wish I'd thinned the crop earlier in the year as the poor old dear looks fit to drop. Even the ancient pear tree has a bounty of curvy beauties. In the veg plot the sweetcorn is just ready to pick now and the french beans that I neglected to pick earlier in the summer have ripened into deep purple beans that are turning out to be yummy in soups and stews.

The toadstools above were growing in the lawn the other week and I'm fascinated by their inky frilly gills. They are Blackening Waxcaps and they start turning blue after being picked, turning black eventually. Apparently edible but not something I'd personally relish eating.

As for Red Ruby Rose, I've been preparing a brand new collection of printed silk scarves, all featuring my own textile/collage/photographic prints. I'm both excited and nervous about this new line. They should be in the shop by the end of the month and I'll be exploring wholesale for the first time too. Also arriving are new bespoke printed gift boxes, for both the clutches and the scarves. The sample arrived last week and looks amazing so I can't wait to get these photographed and listed, as they'll be the finishing touch for Christmas gifts.

Red Ruby Rose on facebook

2010-08-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

Red Ruby Rose is now on facebook
It took me a little while to fathom out the difference on facebook between personal profiles, groups and pages but with the help of this fantastic Squidoo article I got it sorted. If you're on facebook please do pop over and say hi!

New peacocks, blooms and birds

2010-08-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy month here, catching up on custom orders and fixing some pressing house repairs before autumn. That hasn't stopped me squirrelling new fabrics though and I've just listed some new embroidered silks and linens, including these new peacock designs and pretty birds and roses.

I'm also starting to think about my own Red Ruby Rose website, which would work alongside my Etsy shop but would be tailored more to the UK market, listing in Sterling. More info on that soon.

Bird and rose, available at Red Ruby Rose

Peacock feathers, available at Red Ruby Rose

Rambling rose, available at Red Ruby Rose

Sage peacock feathers, available at Red Ruby Rose

Luxe silk

2010-07-13T12:28:00.001-07:00

New original printed silk clutch, silhouette branches

The latest in my collection of Red Ruby Rose originals is printed silk. I'm quite excited about this one (don't I always say that?) as I've been searching for a while for a bespoke silk printing company here in the UK. There are lots of print-on-demand fabric houses around now but not so many who'll offer silk as a textile option as it's tricker to print and needs a different set of dyes to other fabrics.

So, my first test batch arrived today and it's gorgeous - even nicer than I'd hoped and the sandwashed habotai silk feels beautiful. I have twelve other designs that I'll slowly add to the shop over the next few weeks, a mixture of old favourites and some new prints too.

This silk is so great that the thought of a new line of contemporary silk scarves in original prints crossed my mind. That would be fun! When my poor old hands finally declare that enough is enough from all this bag making then it's certainly a thought.

Lochs and gosh

2010-07-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

Sandcastle at Red Point, Wester Ross

At the beginning of June I took a little birthday break up to the west coast of Scotland. It's a beautiful place even when it rains but we were lucky enough to have sunny skies and only a few hints of the dreaded midgees that descend in swarms and terrorise hapless visitors.

This time we took a couple of boat trips, both of which were truly memorable. The first was a whale watching trip that departed from Gairloch and took us out to the Northern tip of Skye - worth it just for the scenery let alone the promise of whales, dolphins and other assorted marine life. It was a breathtaking couple of hours and we saw minke whale, porpoise and puffins. Imagine my delight when I read on the BBC that the very same boat, a month later came upon a superpod of around 1,000 short-beaked common dolphin. I think that the boat owner, Nick Davies, must have the best job in the world, at the very least he must have felt like the luckiest man alive that day.

Video by Nick Davies, owner of the Hebridean boat cruise company, aboard Orca 1, surrounded by a superpod of dolphin

Our second boat trip was on the achingly beautiful and rather haunting Loch Maree. There are several isles on the loch upon which we alighted but one in particular, Isle Maree, was really quite spooky. I took some photos of the Victorian money tree but as we went further into the island I had an overwhelming sense that I couldn't take any more photos, especially inside the druid circle. Very odd.

In other news, it's been a busy month in the shop so I haven't had a chance to make or list many new styles but there are some new prints in the pipeline including original prints on silk, can't wait for these, they should be in the shop by mid July.

Quit your day job

2010-06-04T02:08:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post to say a huge thank you to everyone who commented or contacted me after the Quit your day job article on Etsy. I received an overwhelming and touching amount of feedback. It's been a busy few months and it feels like time to recharge the batteries so I'm going away for a few days and am leaving the laptop behind. Fresh sea air here I come!

An alternative to the bouquet

2010-05-20T05:41:00.001-07:00

One of the best things about being on Etsy is the direct link between maker and buyer. I love the messages and images that are sent to me, building up little stories of the bags on their travels once they've left my hands. Also when I'm at the Post Office there are often times the PO staff and I joke about hand delivering the packages that are going to the most exotic places. Hawaii anyone?

Thanks to Susannah for sending me the lovely photograph above of her wedding party, with clutches replacing bouquets. Her wedding looked fabulous, there are more over at the Brides Cafe. Photographers are Anika London Media.

New peacock

2010-05-13T15:45:00.001-07:00

I was delighted to find this vintage Liberty peacock print. Over the past couple of years I've made clutches from quite a few different versions of this fabric, including silks, wools and cottons in various colours, but this rich blue colourway is especially lovely with the teal and gold highlights. This clutch is now available in the shop.

In other news, I'm really looking forward to gigging in Bristol tomorrow night with Cue Fanfare, we've been rehearsing the last couple of evenings and it's been a while since we've played a show so hopefully the tequila will be flowing. I'm nervous about it for various reasons but will expand upon all that soon in full Spinal Tap style.

Silk blooms, a sneaky peek

2010-05-11T06:33:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago I found a beautiful piece of embroidered silk in my occasional trawl of favourite London fabric shops. It was a real find, and I made a limited edition four clutches out of the piece.

Finally I've tracked down more, and a pristine new length arrived last week. Yippee! I can hardly bear to cut into the silk as it's so gorgeous, so it will remain intact for a few more days and then I'll be making a new batch of clutches like the ones above from the original piece I found.

I'm a bit behind on new listings at the moment... lots of new fabric here but there aren't quite enough hours in the day at the moment, will aim for updates next week.

Little blue flowers

2010-04-24T06:47:00.001-07:00

All the buds and blossoms are blooming in the garden, it all looks so fresh and lovely. However, my slide film photos had other ideas and captured a more ethereal and dusky scene. I can't believe these pics were taken on a bright sunny Spring day!

Tiny bird

2010-04-22T04:37:00.000-07:00

I don't think I could make a purse much smaller than this! As a magpie of purse frames of all shapes and sizes I'm gathering quite a collection of different types. This tiny purse would hold a few coins or a special piece of jewellery. Not hugely practical but very sweet. Not currently listed, I'm considering whether to attach a keyring or chain, or to include it as a little extra with a larger clutch.

*excuse my lumpy hand... purse making and guitar playing doesn't make for pretty paws!*

What Katie wore today

2010-04-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

I've become an addict to What Katie Wore, a blog penned by Londoner Joe, portraying his girlfriend Katie's daily wardrobe feats. Quite a task! Her style is fabulous and she carries off colour and style combos that makes black-addicted mortals like me quake in their boots.

Look looky what Katie is wearing today... nice clutch :)

More new things

2010-04-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

Another new design, this time taking the hipster into a petite little coin purse on a chain. This one features printed leather with the little birdy on both sides... more coming soon.

new things

2010-04-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

A couple of new things to share, firstly I'm now offering custom silk labels for my clutch bags - perfect for marking a special occasion or whispering a secret message to a loved one.

Also, I'm going to be adding original printed leathers to the hipster bag range. First up, ethereal flower, (which will have a long chain attachment) and bird on a wire to follow.

Finally, the atom clutch makes a reappearance. Yay!

Hellebores

2010-03-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

I'm planning my next batch of fabric designs at the moment and would love to include at least one hellebore print. The previous owners of our house were really keen gardeners and I often get pangs of sadness that I can't maintain the garden to the standards they kept. However, I'm still delighted by the surprises that appear year after year from their ambitious planting endeavours - especially the different varieties of hellebores. As plants go, they hang their heads low and look fairly dowdy at first appearance but when you lift the flower and peek you're greeted by the most astounding display.
I took these photos with cross-processed film so the colours are weirdly saturated but I think it helps add to the otherworldliness of these early Spring blooming beauties.

Sunshine yellow

2010-03-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

It feels like Spring has finally sprung and here's a new hipster bag that I've just listed in sunshine leather nappa leather to match the daffodils blooming in the garden.

Liberty for Target

2010-03-14T12:53:00.000-07:00

Timeless paper kindly featured my Liberty clutch this weekend as part of an article revealing the launch of a the new range of Liberty of London goodies at Target today. Having a peek at the website it looks like a lot of the homewear range is already out of stock. Understandable as some of the items are fabulous.

Liberty prints only selectively float my boat. I adore using the original Hera peacock print, originally designed by Arthur Silver in 1887, and the contemporary update is equally lovely.

However, I've never been a fan of the vast majority of the cotton dressweight fabrics, which always to me seemed a little fussy and twee. I think it's the scale, I'm drawn to larger bolder prints rather than their delicate little florals. Also, the staff in the textiles dept at Liberty have always been so haughty (maybe I've been unlucky) which makes the buying process a bit miserable.

So, I skipped the fashion section of the new Target collection and went straight to the homewear where this gorgeous cushion and cakestand caught my eye. Looks like they sold out within hours of being listed. This collection is currently available in the US but looks like selected items will be available via Liberty in April.

Liberty of London for Target floral cushion

Liberty of London for Target floral cake stand

A little update

2010-03-06T09:32:00.001-08:00

I've been adding some new items (and some old favourites!) to the shop this week, including several more hipsters

Plus, the lovely retro seedheads and a few other goodies to come.

Due to the favourable exchange rate at the moment also I'm including free international shipping for the rest of this month. Yippee!

Finally, I have a giveaway going on over at Luv2have's blog this week.

Roses and curios

2010-02-27T15:42:00.000-08:00

I've been keen to try out my new camera as much as possible, especially as it gives me an excuse to get out of the house and catch a bit of fresh air. Not always the easiest thing to do when the bag-making is busy.

As I'm shooting film I need a reliable lab so I was happy to discover Photographique, a friendly independent professional lab and gallery in the centre of Bristol. Tempting as Asda and the cheapo online labs are, it feels better to be supporting the local guys. (Especially as Bristol's one and only public access colour darkroom has just closed due to lack of funding. I was gutted I hadn't used it more often but it's such a specialist niche now).

Last week I dropped some film off to be processed and mooched about taking some pics while waiting. There's a fabulous flower shop next door to the photo lab and the florist kindly let me take some snaps (above and below)

Moving on, I wandered over to Corn Street, right in the centre of Bristol which has frequent farmers/crafts markets. I happily stumbled across a distinctive vintage stall that I'd seen once before and loved. The owner has a fabulous eye for eclectic ephemera which would appeal to any left-field magpie collector. On this occasion I picked up some eccentric old photographs which I'll post soon. Here are some of the other glorious bits and bobs on his stall.

New hipster bags

2010-02-25T11:06:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be nice to have some bags in the shop that are a little more practical for everyday and so here's the hipster bag. It features goatskin leather with a Liberty peacock lining and a long skinny leather strap so the bag sits low on the body. More styles coming soon!

Congratulations to.....

2010-02-25T07:13:00.000-08:00

Feresaknit, congratulations for winning the clutch giveaway! (My partner Robbie chose the random number 27. He thought I was going to impress him with a Derren Brown type number trick and was a little disappointed to instead be a number generating monkey for this giveaway).

Also, special thanks to everyone for the ace jokes and sayings. My very favourite was from Cindy Hellcat Vintage whose joke made me chortle:

A pirate walks into a bar, and the barkeep says "Excuse me, cap'n, but did you know that you've got your ship's wheel stuck in your pantaloons?"
"Aye," says the pirate, "that thing be drivin' me nuts! Aaargh!"

Giveaway time

2010-02-17T06:25:00.000-08:00

Mid-February, it's bucketing down with rain here and I thought it would be nice to do a little giveaway to lift the spirits. I'm offering this Peacock Palace clutch as the prize and free international shipping.
Here are the details:

This giveaway is open to all my blog followers (please tell me how you are following so I can check, and if you're not currently following you can easily add yourself in the box to the right)

Please also answer the following question - what's your favourite joke or saying? (the winner will be chosen randomly but this bit is just for my entertainment to drive away the February blues)

Extra entries may be gained by:
+ Hearting a favourite item in my Etsy shop or hearting my shop (1 entry)
+ Blogging/Twittering/Facebooking this giveaway (1 entry each)

(Please provide links to your blog/twitter/facebook. And supply your etsy username, multiple entries don't need multiple jokes/sayings unless you're brimming with good material!)

This competition will end next Wednesday. Thanks and good luck!

Bristol night life

2010-02-12T11:42:00.001-08:00

from left to right, musician Howlin' Lord, Heather who runs indie club night Big Pink Cake, Thom from band The Kick Inside, Alex from band The Kick Inside

An odd thing has happened since I got my new camera - I've suddenly become interested in taking photographs of people. In the past I'd be far more interested in taking snaps of a wall or pattern in a place rather than the people who inhabit the space (partly out of shyness) but I'm overcoming this reticence and becoming a bit more bold about shoving a camera in friend's faces. Also, the interesting thing about shooting with film is that you're capturing a secret... you can't instantly share the results on the camera back and therefore don't get said friend screaming at you to delete it because they don't like how it looks. Sneaky!

New pocket purses

2010-02-10T11:34:00.000-08:00

pocket purses by redrubyrose

I've listed some new pocket purses on Etsy, featuring sweet frames and a mixture of my own prints and some of my favourite fabrics. Also there will be some new leather clutches coming soon (yes, I've been supply shopping, lots of new goodies!)

Shake it like an iphone camera

2010-02-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

Photograph by Natasha from She left on a Monday

Photograph by Natasha from She left on a Monday

Photograph by Natasha from She left on a Monday

Photographic authenticity is cool, but getting totally hung-up on the process rather than the result isn't necessarily a great rabbit-hole to fall down. So, it was lovely to find that Natasha from She left on a Monday abandoned her proper camera for the day and used her iphone instead - with amazing results. Current apps available for photos include Lo-Mob, Camera Bag and ShakeItPhoto, all of which add filters to the images to recreate classic vintage styles including holga, polaroid, lomo and retro looks. In theory this teeters on the edge of gimmickry (and some purists may be frothing at the mouth) but in the right hands the results are truly lovely. Plus, no expensive film costs required and the discreet camera on the iphone does have a lot of benefits over lugging a chunky camera around.

How much is that doggie....

2010-02-05T09:14:00.001-08:00

There's a yummy new bread shop that has opened up in our neighbourhood, proper lovely artisan loaves all warm and steamy from the oven. The last time I visited, a sweet little dog was waiting patiently outside for her owner. She was a little reluctant to be photographed (unsurprisingly) but I sneaked in a few snaps.

New design ideas

2010-02-04T08:17:00.000-08:00

I'd love to hear your feedback please! I've been working on some ideas for new printed leather clutches and would love to know your favourite designs from these rough drafts below (please excuse my rather dodgy Photoshopping). Because I only order the leather in very small batches I need to be quite careful about the designs I choose... so I'd love to know what you'd pick and whether you'd like to see any other colourways or themes. Many thanks indeed!

1. Stencil Chrysanthemum

2. starburst

3. feather

4.sea holly

5. magnolia

6. polka

Lucienne Day, 1917 – 2010

2010-02-03T13:42:00.000-08:00

I just heard on Radio 4 that Lucienne Day has sadly died. She was the foremost British textile designer of the 20th Century and was a pioneer and ground-breaker in her field. Jonathan Glancey has written about her most eloquently here and the Guardian obituary says: "She took motifs drawn from nature – flowers, grasses, shoots, the intricate patterns of the landscape – and transformed them into something absolutely new. Part of their success was the implied message of regrowth and optimism for a Britain only just recovering from war."

Alexander Gronsky

2010-02-01T10:03:00.000-08:00

I happily stumbled across Estonian photographer Alexander Gronsky's work last night and was so moved by his work that I browsed his website and Flickr sets into the early hours (feeling slightly like an internet stalker in the process). It's just wonderful stuff. Sharing this find with a friend today, he commented "it's the sort of work that makes you half sick with envy and half wanting to rush out into the street with your camera".

Moscow, 2009, Alexander Gronsky’s “Pastoral”

Moscow, 2009, Alexander Gronsky’s “Pastoral”

Moscow, 2009, Alexander Gronsky’s “Pastoral”

Unsurprisingly he's an award winner, represented by the agency photographer.ru and most recently swooping the Aperture Portfolio Prize and Linhof Young Photographer Award. He's based in Moscow and his work seems concerned with outermost regions.... border country and the fragile blur between population density and wilderness. Oh, and for the geeks (me included) he shoots 6x7 medium format ( told you I was stalking).

Oddly, his work reminds me of Pieter Bruegel, there's a painterly quality in his skeletal landscapes, and the same figurative scale and colour palette.

Pieter Bruegel the elder, Winter Landscape with Skaters and Bird Trap, 1565

Giveaway time

2010-01-31T00:47:00.000-08:00

Heads-up about the first of two giveaways I'm doing over the next couple of weeks. The first is kindly being hosted by the lovely Daisy Dayz and I'm offered this clutch as a giveaway, including free worldwide shipping so please do head over to Daisys to add your name into the hat!

Silk starburst bloom clutch

This giveaway runs until the 6th of February and you can multiple post if you follow the rules that Daisy Dayz sets out. Good luck with that one and never fear if you don't win as I'll be hosting my own giveaway here when this one expires to win one of my original printed clutches. Yay!

Junk yard blues

2010-01-30T10:22:00.000-08:00

I shot some slide film last week while I was testing out the lovely Nikon and cross-processed it today. I love the increased grain and contrast, the heavy shadowing and saturated colour, all achieved without a sniff of Photoshop. Joy! This camera is wooing me - I shot these pics on a cloudy day, handheld, indoors at the local reclamation yard. They came back looking like they'd been shot in a ramshackle Spanish Cantina.

Old Man's Beard

2010-01-29T07:43:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week I posted some images that I'd created in the colour darkroom, using Clematis seedheads (colloquial name 'old man's beard'). Last night whilst trawling through Google and Flickr I discovered some amazing images that have been created using this ethereal hairy plant.

Bill Westheimer's work is breathtaking. These images have such movement and drama, and the Collodion Glass Plate technique adds an unusual inky depth.

Clematis 17, original photogram on collodion glass plate by Bill Westheimer

Clematis 11, original photogram on collodion glass plate by Bill Westheimer

I don't know much about Sébastien Maloron but he publishes his work under the moniker Ventadour on Flickr and Deviantart. This image below has the distinctive finish of a Lith print - a technique that is created in the darkroom with specific Lith paper and developer, I love the grain and beautiful contrast.

lith print on Fomatone 132, Moersch Easylith 1+50, Homemade G253 1+100 by Sébastien Maloron

Finally, here's a Clematis ziatype (of the flower before it seeds) by German photographer Wolfgang Moersch. I must admit I didn't know what a Ziatype was until I googled and I found out more about it here, it seems to be an offshoot of the palladium-platinum printing system.
Clematis Ziatype by Wolfgang Moersch

Lemmikkiapina

2010-01-28T12:23:00.000-08:00

A beautiful and haunting Etsy find: Lemmikkiapina. Paulina makes the most astounding sculptured animals that have an incredible emotional depth. There is a sense of stoical burden and quiet melancholy to these creatures, which are lovingly hand-stitched and assembled with collected materials, old lace and buttons. New additions to the shop sell very quickly but custom orders are accepted. Find out more about the artist in this interview on enhabiten blog.

Peacocks and plummage

2010-01-27T05:48:00.000-08:00

I've added two new peacock clutches to the shop this week.... I'm still loving this fabric after nearly two years of working with it and these new additions broaden the range. Lovely peacocks.

This morning I booked a session in my local colour darkroom. I realised I hadn't been for over a year which I'm a little ashamed about as these facilities need to be used. Most colour darkrooms have been phased out so it's a little jewel. Note to self, use it or lose it! The session was an experiment as the chemistry is out of date there and I was testing to see if it was still useable. Unfortunately it wasn't so great but I still had fun. I couldn't contact-print the paper negatives so I inverted them in Photoshop (below), not ideal as I can't get the same depth and saturation of colour but I'll go and do some more shots next month when the chemistry has been replaced. My plan is to update my 'polaroidsandpinholes' Etsy shop over the next couple of months as it's a little unloved at the moment and to get inspired for new textile prints.

Hello chicken

2010-01-26T11:37:00.000-08:00

'Barker', our ditzy chook - test shot on Nikon SLR

Being a fickle creature, I've been seduced by the lure of an SLR camera, which is a bit rich after my posting last week in which I pretty much dismissed the idea. I square the blame at my friendly local camera shop, who have kindly loaned me a Nikon T55 (a basic entry-level Nikon film camera) and a rather tasty Nikon micro lens to have a go with for a couple of days. Oooohhh, it's a bit lovely, especially shooting onto film as it adds a layer of trepidation to each frame. The shallow depth of field on this lens is striking too, something I could never capture with a point and shoot.

bamboo plant in the backyard - test shot on Nikon SLR

Seedhead in the garden - test shot on Nikon SLR

Fairy lights - test shot on Nikon SLR

So... the question is should I get the camera? Well, actually I can't afford it at the moment thanks to it being tax-bill time but it is very tempting for when I can. I've also had a lot of fun shooting pictures with my lovely little Diana mini camera. A completely different proposition this one... perfect for atmospheric and slightly wonky shots. Very charming and frustrating in equal measures (the second roll of film snapped in the camera - the winding mechanism is rubbish)

My favourite shot of this batch taken with a Diana mini, a clothes line and pegs

Diana mini - light leak from film snapping and me opening the back of camera - doh!

fir tree taken on Diana mini

Fig tree, taken with Diana mini

Scanner

2010-01-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

Chandelier
Roses

Sea holly 1

Sea holly 2

Having finally got the scanner out of the box yesterday I had a look through some of my old albums this afternoon to see if there was anything worth scanning. I'd forgotten how much I love film - there is still a quality that is hard to capture in digital without a lot of post-production work. I'd also forgotten how many reams of prints I'd taken for illustration jobs and how much easier it would have been if I'd had a digital camera at that time!

Of the images above I could see the roses and the sea holly translating onto leather prints for my clutches and I may well try them out in my next batch of designs.

Obsessed with abstracts and heart over head

2010-01-19T13:09:00.000-08:00

Recently I've been mulling over cameras, and more specifically purchasing a high-end digital point & shoot or decent DSLR. I'd never really got to grips with SLRs, having more interest in low end point & shoots, toy cameras, polaroids and alternative photographic processes like photograms instead.

Taking the plunge into the world of SLRs isn't be a decision to be made lightly, not least because of the cost. The last few weeks I've been researching and pondering the merits and drawbacks and I finally made a fairly decisive decision after a lovely day out this Sunday at Avonmouth and Severn Beach taking photos and having a trial go on Chris's Nikon DSLR.

The camera was lovely, the weight of the shutter and solidity of the build. It had all the bells and whistles, but it didn't instantly grab me. I'd need to do an intensive course or lots of reading up to make the process quick and intuitive and I'm not sure that's a path I want to follow - at least not for the time being. After half an hour I switched back to my faithful compact and had lots of fun taking closeups and details from a fantastic mini-funfair that hadn't seen much fun for at least the last decade by the look of the decaying rides and weathered buildings. Amazing for photographs though.

Details of a weathered formica tabletop - nice contrast between the bright yellow and grey and the lichens growing in the gap

A detail of plastic sheeting leaning against a wall

Cherry motif on one of the fairground rides

Taking these pics made me realise that my little digital point and shoot is more than adequate for days out snapping and for taking my bag pictures between Toby photoshoots. Then Chris texted me to say our friend Sally had just bought a Diana mini. Curiosity piqued I checked out the camera and it was love at first sight.

Diana mini, 35mm film camera

Hello lover. An inexpensive little plastic camera that takes 35mm film, shoots square film and half frame and is basically cute as a button. I also adore the idea of going back to film, it feels wierdly subversive. So, I purchased one and it arrived today, yay! I dug out an old film in the back of a cupboard, loaded it up, snapped half the film before realising I hadn't taken the lens cap off, and managed to mess up the exposures on most of the rest. Still I rushed down to the nearest 30 minute photo lab and gleefully took my precious (and rather rubbish) paper beauties back to scan. The scanner was still in the box from last year but it didn't take long to get it up and running.

Metal table top photographed with Diana mini

And this is the reason I love film and crap cameras. Vignetting on the edge, abstract details, grain, wonky light leaks... it makes my heart skip a beat.

More snow

2010-01-13T11:09:00.001-08:00

More snow in Bristol overnight - yippee! Went for a lovely snowy walk today before it all melts.

Let it snow

2010-01-06T09:08:00.000-08:00

It doesn't snow much in Bristol so it was a treat to get a good snowfall overnight. On with the wellies and a good stomp around town. Quiet roads and lots of people having fun in the white stuff, lovely!

New Year's Day walk

2010-01-02T06:48:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! We took advantage of the winter sunshine (and refreshing lack of hangover) on New Year's Day and took a walk by the coast.

Bright yellow lichen on the seawalls - an unexpected and startling carpet of sunshine.

Beautiful ice patterns in the puddles

Setting sun casts a warm glow on the trees

Frozen chicken

2009-12-22T12:25:00.000-08:00

Our chickens haven't seen snow before and they both treated it highly suspiciously. The normal chaotic scramble to get out of the hen-coop yesterday morning was instead a beaky sniff and slide followed by a frogmarch back into the coop. A fairly sensible decision which was very funny to watch.

Yet again us Brits have proved that we don't do bad weather. Two inches of snow and the country grinds to a halt, airports close, railways declare it's the wrong sort of snow, and everyone enjoys a good old bellyache about the terrible state of it all. Hapless visitors caught up in the gridlock ponder incredulously at our seeming lack of ability to cope with inclement weather.

Normally I can smugly observe all the shenanigans going on outside and thank my lucky stars I don't have to commute... all very easy to do when I don't actually have to go anywhere. Tomorrow I'll put all this to the test as Rob and I attempt to make it to Scotland for Christmas. Eeeek.

Happy Christmas everyone!

Pia Jane Bijkerk

2009-12-04T07:59:00.000-08:00

I pootled around for happy couple of hours earlier this week on a blog-hop, starting at Katy Elliot's daily journal of her life and house renovation in Marblehead, MA, and then over to Etsy buddy Lillyella, and to Tinctory to find out how her solar dyes were progressing and ended up at a delightful find, the sumptuous blog of Pia Jane Bijkerk.

I was immediately struck by Pia's beautiful finds and writings and reading further it came as no surprise to find she's a renowned international stylist and writer.

Paris: Made by hand by Pia Jane Bijkerk

Her first book, Paris: Made by hand is now on my Christmas wish-list and looks like the perfect excuse to hop on the Eurostar for the weekend and wander Parisian neighbourhoods for beautiful design haunts. She is currently working on her new book and lives on a houseboat in Amsterdam. Plus, she is exploring musical avenues with her soundscapes. Wow!

Images from http://www.piajanebijkerk.com

So, I sent Pia and email and despite her busy deadlines she kindly featured my pinhole and photograms and revealed that one of her favourite processes at college was making photograms. Next time she's back home she says she's going to look them up and I for one can't wait for her to share them with us.

Ethereal beauties from Tinctory

2009-11-29T11:22:00.000-08:00

Ancient fragment no. 2 by Tinctory

Stunning and ethereal smocked textile jewellery from another of my Etsy favourites. Tinctory aka Eva also writes a beautiful blog detailing the process and creative thinking behind her work. Currently she is experimenting with different dyeing techniques including solar dyes. A veritable alchemy of jars are currently brewing on her radiator, absorbing the natural juices and colours of autumn. Beautiful.

Sssh... Mum's the word....

2009-11-25T16:34:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try and avoid going to the shops this year for Christmas presents... there are so many favourite shops I've added over the past year on Etsy that it seems a shame to shop elsewhere. One shop that I love is Julieandco - contemporary Japanese temari, beautifully created with stunning complex patterns. I decided to buy one for my mum, and sharing this gift on here won't spoil the surprise as my mother rather refreshingly doesn't even know how to turn a computer on, let alone snoop around on the internet to see what her reckless daughter is up to. These temari must take an age to make... so beautiful.

Introducing Amy

2009-11-24T04:15:00.000-08:00

I've been a bit behind with adding new items to the shop due to being a bit poorly last week but I'm now aiming to have some new items including more printed leathers listed later today.

Amy was the friend who helped me out on the recent bag shoot and it's so lovely to have images of the clutches being, well, clutched. Makes a refreshing change from seeing my gnarly hands in the odd listing photo for scale and blimey that lady has cheekbones!

The new collection

2009-11-16T03:31:00.000-08:00

The wild honey clutch - part of the new Red Ruby Rose collection

I'm so happy to finally have the first part of my new collection listed on Etsy, and to be able to share what I've been up to these past few weeks. The new collection forms three main parts - the first of which are leathers and suedes in a new clutch style. Many of these leathers are unusually printed, embossed or patterned and are so soft to the touch. I think that Toby's photographs have captured the texture and quality of the clutches amazingly well but it's their tactile quality when they're in the hand that I'm really loving. They are kind of hard to put down!

The new clutch design has a solid construction internally so it is firmer and has a lovely curve with no bottom seams. I'm also using different frames which I previously found too slender for my fabric clutches but which are perfect for this design.

Peacock Palace - original printed leather clutch

Next up, something that I'm so happy to share. I finally found the perfect way to achieve full colour-printing onto leather that doesn't involve silk-screening or heat-transfer. The company who do this process have achieved something miraculous I think and I'm so delighted I found them. I've been wanting to do this for years - ever since I struggled at art school with transferring print to leather and suede and wished I could translate full colour images. The results I hope are reflected well in the photographs - really rich colours and a high-quality permanent finish that won't rub, fade or peel. There will be more printed leather clutches arriving in the shop next week - I'm currently making the newest batch up.

Silk peacock feathers clutch

....and last but not least... some old favourites from my previous collections which look are looking lovely and fresh with their gorgeous new photographs. I'll be adding more of these embroidered silks next week too.

Blue Roses

2009-11-15T15:30:00.000-08:00

Laura Groves aka Blue Roses

Tonight we played a show supporting Blue Roses at the Bristol Louisiana. Sunday gigs can be a little unpredictable but it was a pin-drop crowd and a lovely evening. Laura, who is the voice and mastermind behind Blue Roses played a gorgeous show. Her voice reminded me a little of Harriet Wheeler, sparkling and bell-like. She's a wonderful guitarist too. The other band on the bill were Marcus Foster - a brilliant three piece including double bass and banjo. Both bands are about to go on tour together in the USA and Canada, so if anyone happens to be in LA, Seattle, Dallas, Memphis, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal at the beginning of December, I'd really recommend checking them out. I wish we could smuggle ourselves in their drum-kit cases and go too, ha!

Behind the scenes

2009-11-13T10:14:00.000-08:00

Snapshot of photoshoot set up

The shop reopens next Monday 16th November. I can't wait! I'll be listing in two batches, one lot on Monday and the next the following week. There won't be as much stock as before - I think previously it took me the best part of a year to build up to around the 100 listings mark but there will be around 20 new styles to begin with.

I've decided it's time to pension off my trusty but ancient 2 mega-pixel fuji-finepix digital camera. It's served me well but this time round I've enlisted the help of friend and professional photographer Toby Farrow. We spent a fun but exhaustive day today shooting the first batch of clutches, and he quickly managed to fill the whole room with an impressive array of photographic paraphenalia while my little fuji-finepix wept quiety in the corner. His set up included a laptop with software that triggered the shutter so images could be previewed immediately on screen - so great. In the afternoon another friend popped over to do some model shots and she shone in front of the camera (and sadly looked better in my dresses than me, sigh).

This collaborative working is a new thing for me - I'm so used to working alone that it was wonderful to get a fresh perspective and bounce ideas off others for a change. Roll on Monday!

While the shop is closed....

2009-11-10T15:59:00.000-08:00

It's been quite odd having the shop closed the last few days. Partly I think I'm a little mad to do it so close to the busiest shopping season of the year but I needed just a little space to gather my thoughts and actions for the new things in the pipeline.

There have been a few frustrating delays on materials and I've got my work cut out to get everything up and ready for re-opening next week. Also, having the shop closed has made me do all the things I have been putting off for months.... like a really good tidy up, cooking some proper meals for a change (when was the last time I baked a cake? last year I think... wow the one I made on Sunday tasted good!) and I finally got a roman blind made out of the gorgeous dandelion clocks material. With all the sewing I've done the last couple of years I had high hopes for the blind but it still took several hours of cussing and grumpiness. Slippery little sucker! But, it's up now, looks pretty good and hasn't fallen down yet. Also, Rob and I have been working on our new single for Cue Fanfare, it's pretty much all recorded now, just needs mixing.

So, if all goes well, the plan is to re open the shop next week... I can't wait! I haven't got an exact day in mind yet as there's still loads to do but it'll be so nice to have my Etsy life back again, I'm missing it.

Last day of sale

2009-11-06T02:19:00.001-08:00

House plans clutch reduced from $75 to $50

Today is the last day of my sale. All of the clutches currently listed in the sale section won't appear in my shop again, apart from the silks. It's quite sad to say goodbye to many of these styles, which have become like old friends but it's time for a change. The shop will close tomorrow for about a week.

paper scissors stone

2009-11-03T09:21:00.001-08:00

Painted stone by Yoran Morvant

I adore this intricate drawing on stone. So striking! It's worth checking out the Ashes & Milk site for more lovely offerings.

The beat that my heart skipped

2009-11-01T14:43:00.001-08:00

Stunning kitchen interior by designer Karin Draaijer

I was contacted in the week by a very new British blog on the block, the beat that my heart skipped. Run by design savvy blogger Rohini (and maybe I'm a little biased as she kindly featured my clutches) all the same, there is a fiercely creative eye at work here in her other posts. The kitchen above made me drool... I really should post some pictures of my kitchen for the full appreciation of my lusting envy, as mine looks like a 1970's caravanette but not in an uber-retro stylish way, just a cramped brown and beige vinyl nightmare scenario. Anyway, I digress. Anybody that can start and continue a blog with beautifully eclectic diligent daily posting gets my vote as it's such a time consuming business. Looking forward to following Rohini's blogging adventures in the coming weeks and months.

Talking of the beat that my heart skipped, on Friday the long awaited sample material for my new clutches arrived and I did a very happy dance indeed. Now I can go ahead and place my order and then get making. I'm excited and scared about the new direction... excited because I love the new design but scared because the material costs will make them much more expensive and I don't know if I'm going to be pricing myself out of the Etsy marketplace. If it doesn't work then I'll have to go the wholesale route and that's a whole other ballgame.

The sale in my Etsy shop ends on November 6th and I will be discontinuing all current clutches apart from the silks. I'll be closing the shop for a few days and will aim to reopen mid-November with the new collection. Yippee!

Fabric sale

2009-10-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Peacock feathers fabric - Liberty of London Kingly cotton cord $35

I didn't realise how many fabrics I'd amassed until I started sorting through them over the last couple of days - in fact I'm a little daunted about the prospect of listing them all on Etsy. To start with I'm going to sell some of the larger pieces and then I may try doing 'mystery' bundles, I think that's the only way I'm going to be able to manage it. I hope it can all go to good homes and that lovely items can be made.

Show boat

2009-10-20T16:11:00.001-07:00

Tonight Rob and I supported Colin Macintyre (aka Mull Historical Society) at Bristol's floating venue The Thekla. It was a last minute booking so we didn't feel massively prepared for it. Usually on a gig day it's hard to knuckle down to any other work but the shop's busy at the moment so I was working up until sound check. Plus Rob has a bout of man-flu at the moment so he was feeling a bit woozy all day and I wasn't sure he was up to playing.

As it turned out, it was a great night. In the past we've supported touring bands at the Thekla with the full band and it was always a pretty hectic affair. Last minute soundchecks, frayed nerves and just enough room on the stage to swing a moderately sized cat. Tonight was a breeze. We were the only support and the normally standing-room floor was decked with chairs so punters were right there rather than loitering at the side or back (as we all like to do). It was a lovely gig, really refreshing and it was an absolute pleasure to open for Colin Macintyre as his set was magic. I'd never seen him live before although we've got a couple of his albums and his new more acoustic direction (with gorgeous double bass and fiddle) was wonderful. A pindrop crowd and lovely atmosphere. Not bad for a rainy Tuesday night on a boat in Bristol.

The times they are a changing!

2009-10-18T05:42:00.000-07:00

Chartreuse Peony - reduced to $50 from $75

The last few weeks I've begun to feel a little restless, as though things needed to be shaken up and changed a little with Red Ruby Rose. This has coincided with two exciting tweaks/changes I've discovered for my product line which are still in the pipeline.

In part this has been influenced by the fact that my shop no longer feels as unique as it used to. The heady early days on Etsy were such a buzz and I loved the freshness of the shop and the fact I had my little purse-making niche. Roll forward two years and now there are so many of us purse makers on Etsy making similar items that it's getting a bit of a cliche. Competition is good, cloning is kind of dull.

I still adore making kisslock purses and so I'm not going to be radically changing things but whilst I work on my new range I'm having a monster pre-Christmas SALE. Yippee! Most of the clutches are reduced by at least $25 ... some by even more and as these are all limited edition, once they're gone they're gone. I'm also going to be selling some of the fabrics I've been using by the yard and some by the piece depending on what I have left.

Exciting times!

Tiger tiger

2009-10-14T14:29:00.001-07:00

My latest batch of fabrics arrived today which I've been busily listing. One of them is this new tiger print which is based on one of my collage illustrations.

Also, I'm SO excited as I have finally found a print solution to something that has been in the back of my mind for ages and ages. I can't really post anymore about it until I see the print samples but if they work out OK then it'll be an exciting new direction for Red Ruby Rose!

Maxi bag

2009-10-10T03:06:00.000-07:00

I've joined facebook this month, hence the tumbleweeds round here the last few weeks. Late to the party as usual! I'd been putting it off for ages thinking it would be a work distraction and true enough the first couple of days were whittled away in fruitless fashion but at least I now I'm in the loop and don't feel such a social pariah, ha.

I've a couple of new fabric designs coming hopefully next week and I've been working on some new bag styles too, including this maxi-clutch handbag. Thought it would be nice to have a bag with the Red Ruby Rose stylings including full silk lining but in a larger format so big enough to fit a lot more stuff. It's got an inside pocket and lariat key hook so keys don't get lost in the bottom of the bag. I love how it turned out, going to make one for myself now!

Rah Rah Rah!

2009-09-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days I've been down in Devon and Cornwall doing family stuff. Travelling through the country lanes in Devon we stumbled across an artists studio which had opened its doors for Devon Art Week. There was some great work on show but I was especially captivated by the stunning ceramic collages that Rah Rivers creates. I've never seen anything quite like it, beautiful remnants of decorated plates and china objects that have been lovingly reappropriated into complex and striking artworks. Each piece must have taken her many days and weeks of intense work and her sense of colour and pattern placement is so uplifting. I was pleased to see the amount of red 'sold' dots sitting next to her pieces, not only because I was happy to see her selling so well but also because it saved me from buying temptation.

All photos and artwork copyright Rah Rivers 2009

Summer's over

2009-09-05T08:04:00.001-07:00

Our last night in Germany, photo by Heiko - Songs and Whispers

I accidently left my Macbook charger at the artist flat in Hamburg so the last couple of days in Germany were spent without internet. We had a bit of hassle sorting accomodation on the second night in Hamburg. The venue had double-booked the flat and the alternative hostel arrangement was unsuitable which resulted in a last minute arrangement at a place in the Reeperbahn. Michiel and Robbie drove across town to check in before soundcheck and arrived back all grins reporting that they couldn't wait to see my face when I saw our accomodation for the night. More about that in a moment.

The second night in Hamburg was at a lovely neighbourhood bar called Freundlich und Kompetent which lived up to its name and had a great atmosphere, mostly thanks to the manager Julius who went out of his way to make sure we were all OK. It was a good crowd and a nice mellow contrast to the Astra Stube the night before.

But back to that hotel. We were exhausted by the time we arrived back and I'm kicking myself that I didn't take photos. The downstairs was resplendent with 70's retro kitsch and as we climbed the stairs the decor got increasingly camp and boudoir. Robbie and I got the blue room and it was a sight to behold. A large double bed with blue velvet drapes and a star fairy light canopy, velvet curtains, blue lights, a mirror with dressing-room lights around it and facing the bed was a huge blue painting of a male nude with resplendent blue buttocks. It was a homo-erotic paradise and the lady who checked Robbie and Michiel in obviously thought they'd have fun there. She must have assumed that the additional single room was for me rather than Michiel.

Leaving Hamburg on Thursday we drove South West to Nienburg for our last gig. It's a small and pretty town and we relaxed in the afternoon and played a low-key gig in the Hotel Weserschlosschen in the evening followed by a hefty game of Kegelbahn (like skittles or ten-pin bowling). Then it was the goodbyes which were sad as we've had such a fun and intense fortnight. Robbie, Michiel and I finished off the evening supping fine malt whiskey, looking at holiday snaps of Scotland and reminiscing.

We flew back to Bristol yesterday. Susi and Uli (Haruko and Hlynur) kindly met us in Bremen and drove us to the airport and we grabbed a coffee together before departing. Then I realised I'd muddled up the departure times and so instead of a two-hour wait we caught the flight without a minute to spare which was great if not a little unnerving.

It's weird to be back. I have a huge amount of RedRubyRose to catch up on and have spent most of today printing out orders and am about to start packaging. Time to get my bag-head back on!