The wind and snow abated yesterday afternoon so I grabbed my camera to catch some snaps before the light faded.
After only three months living by the sea I have accumulated enough beach-combed beauties to fill multiple surfaces, windowsills, boxes and jars. Coupled with the unmistakable hum of an identified whelk or winkle slowly rotting away in a deep dark recess of one (some) of the shells I decided it was time for a purge.
This morning a large bag-full of shells were scattered back on the beach to carry on their natural erosion and decay and I'm left with the real treasures; the enormous weathered scallop shells brought up by the storms earlier this month, the barnacled whelks and the delicate little feathers and cowrie shells.
Now they have a proper place in my studio, collected in a lovely wabi-sabi wooden bowl I picked up at Cothay Manor in Somerset over the summer.
My studio is now nearly complete apart from a long picture shelf I'd like to install at some point. It's such a joyful space to work in - light and bright with the sea just over my shoulder. On one wall I've put together a little collection of bits and pieces I've gathered over the years. The metal and glass birdcage was an Etsy splurge from the USA, I love the arched shape and etched glass. The black circular starburst shape is a candle-holder from a very cold trip to Helsinki many moons ago. The square box is another Etsy find (a vintage egg holder with square compartments) and the shells, feather and driftwood branch are of course from the beach.
I've made a new collection of mini coin purses featuring a mixture of original and vintage fabrics with leather trim details. So much fun to make and they are all one-offs. Available in my Etsy shop now.
My Summer holidays as a kid were often spent searching for cowrie shells between Saunton and Croyde in Devon. It wasn't the easiest place to reach... a scramble over rocks or down the cliffs but it was always worth the search for the beautiful little shells that I've never found elsewhere since.
So, I was pretty delighted to find two tiny little cowries on Big Sand beach a couple of days ago. I didn't think I'd find them this far north but it turns out these are arctic cowries or Groatie Buckies as they are known in Orkney. Apparently finding the shell is looked upon as a token of good fortune. Even better!
I've spent the last couple of days getting my new studio together. When we first moved here I had grand plans to convert the garage into a large new workspace but gradually I've changed my mind. It would be a big renovation job to get the space completely insulated up to spec and with all the building work we did on our previous house I just don't fancy taking on a new project right now.
Instead we have decided not to do our originally planned knock-through in the house which means I have one of the wonderful south-facing rooms at the front with wooden floors and this view.... dream come true! The island to the right of the picture is Longa and on the horizon behind is Skye, with Raasay and South Rona to the front. Right about this time the lighthouse on Rona lights up, although with the stormy weather we've had of late it hasn't been so clear to see.
View from my studio, Big Sand in Wester Ross
Now I'm pretty much set up with my studio I can start making and creating again. Bliss after a year of change and transition! The shell photos I recently posted have been converted to silk fabric and here are three new designs.
Red Ruby Rose shell print clutch bags available from my shop
I'm working on some new prints which will be here soon, and the elusive leather printing is top of my list to finally crack. Happy New Year and here's to a creative 2015!
More beach finds and fun with my camera this weekend. This time, feathers.
We've battened down the hatches this week after a so called 'weather bomb' hit the west coast of Scotland, causing high winds and unusually high waves. It was a good test of our house (and nerves). Now the snow is settled on the mountains on Torridon and on Skye and when the rainclouds part it looks beautiful.
I've always loved beach-combing and now the sea is on my doorstep I have to be more discerning or the house will soon fill with shiny briny things. What beautiful objects though.... each beach seems to have its own distinct varieties of shell and there is even one with thousands of coral fragments washed up along the shore. (I hope this is through natural erosion and tidal storms rather than deep-sea trawler dredging).
Two days after my previous post (a rather shameful eight months ago), my boyfriend and I had one of those eureka moments. He was recovering from a rather nasty and unexpected hip fracture after a bicycle accident on black ice and I no doubt had a little cabin-fever from a dreary wet winter in the city punctuated by the constant demands of a large Victorian house that needed money spending on it yesterday.
We spent the day in Monmouthshire meeting up with family and as the sun shone down on the gorgeous wooded valleys and rivers we both looked at each other and declared that it was time to move. At that stage we didn't have a precise location in mind but it was a powerful and determined decision.
The next day we phoned the Estate agents and by June the house was scrubbed up and ready for its potential new owner. It sold within a week.
In truth we knew where we would end up. We met in Scotland, his family are still there and it was time to return.
There were fact-finding missions to be had, houses to be viewed (or built) and then by a series of happy chances we ended up looking round our perfect house by the sea on a sunny August afternoon. The Scottish weather gods were being mischievous with us for they knew we would be seduced by the shimmering blue sea and towering golden mountains. I'd already seen the house online but was in no way prepared for the reality of the views or quality of the build.
On a handshake it seemed the house was ours and after a smooth legal transfer we moved in two weeks ago. Even the 650 mile drive with Paddy pug was OK and the removals van arrived two days later to sunny skies and a flat calm sea. In November! Whatever next.
The weather has continued to to be far too kind to us. It is breaking us in gently with fiery sunrises and dramatic sunsets, aqua blue seas and golden beaches with seals and otter and the promise of dolphin pods around the next bay. We know it is preparing us for the Winter reality of Atlantic storms and sideways rain, of short days and long nights. We are new and green, we will soak it all up.
My new studio is up and running, I feel productive and inspired and cannot wait to create new work.
Here's Farrah Singer carrying my blue butterfly bag on her way to the Oscars earlier this month. Doesn't she look fabulous in that chartreuse yellow dress. Her husband, Eric Warren Singer, was nominated for best screenplay for 'American Hustle'.
This photo came to me via Jessica at Ivy & Aster in New York, who recently did a Spring/Summer photo shoot in Manchester with the brilliant photographer Rosie Hardy.
Stunning results, and I'm so delighted to be included, here is my Forest Lights clutch.
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| Hibiscus print clutch bag, Red Ruby Rose on Etsy |
I'm so pleased that Nicole of Lillyella is blogging again, and if you get a moment, go check out her fabulous Etsy shop. Love this beauty:
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| Lillyella's secret garden brass locket on Etsy |
I love this time of year, when the air has cooled and leaves are turning. The Ginkgo tree looks especially beautiful in autumn, aglow with golden yellow.
A few new designs just listed on my Etsy shop, these are all one-offs or last ones!
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| Blue suede medium clutch with drop-down chain handle |
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| Pebble grey leather medium clutch bag with drop-down chain handle |
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| Retro sunflower print medium clutch bag with drop-down chain handle | |
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| Red pods embroidered clutch bag |
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| Black pods clutch bag |
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| Plum scrolls embroidered silk clutch bag |
