Ceramics for Beginners - Part Three

Well, I finished my vase! It came out with a blue green interior and a white speckled exterior.

The bunny survived too!

All in all, I don't think it's bad for a first attempt. I'm contemplating a further course in the autumn. It would be nice to see how much I can improve!

Crafting the Image of Elizabeth I Part Two

After soldering, pieces can often look completely hopeless. Sometimes I think I've completely destroyed something until I've pickled (cleaned in a weak acid) and polished it. Below you can see that Elizabeth looks quite mucky and not particularly regal!

After a lot of elbow grease and polishing with sandpapers of various grades, the design becomes clearer and the brooch starts to looks much more wearable. Although the brooch in the photo below has clearly been polished a lot, it still needs a lot of work. I use 240 grade emery paper to take away any fire stains and then work down to finer grades of paper such as 1000 and sometimes even 2000 to get that high shine. It takes a lot of time but at least you can do this whilst watching a film! In fact, sometimes I find that I associate pieces forever with what I've watched whilst polishing them! Today it was The Simpsons. Perhaps I should have watched something a little more historical?

Finally, this is the finished brooch (below). It has been polished to a very high shine. The detailing is clear and I'm pretty pleased with the result! I would like to see if I could make a smaller version to have as earrings and perhaps as cufflinks or a pendant? This is a basic version and I could set gemstones and make more elaborate ruffs as well, which might be fun!

We Make London Camden Boutique

I am pleased to announce that Jewellery Designs by Sarah Birt now has a little corner of the We Make London Designers Boutique in Camden!

The address is: 

53 Camden Lock Place

West Yard

London

NW1 8AF

I have taken some photos of the approach to the shop to try to make it easy to find although if you follow the signs for West Yard Street Food and look out for the sky blue window frames and door, you should find it quite easily.

How to find the We Make London Boutique:

First, exit Camden Town tube station and follow the crowds towards the famous Camden Lock painted bridge.

Then walk past the orange juice stall and the Irregular Choice shoe shop, turn left into the market and look for the arrows pointing for West Yard Street Food.

Once you are in West Yard, you will see many food stalls and people sitting, enjoying the unique Camden market atmosphere. The boutique is number 53 so look out for bright blue window frames and card holders outside.

My jewellery should be on the window sill on the left hand side of the shop. I will post more photos but this gives you an idea of the exciting range of handmade items made by UK designers.

These are just a few of the items from Jewellery Designs by Sarah Birt that will be available in July (while stocks last!) 

You can of course still shop online at my etsy shop and you can find about more about the We Make London Boutique here.

Happy Shopping!