New designs for Phoenix Trading

October is the release date of new products for Phoenix Trading and I have two new designs in the catalogue.  One is this cute little thank you card printed on matt textured board.

This jolly bunting design was specially commissioned.  However I will have to wait until next month before I can use it for my birthday.

Products on sale

I had the pleasure of returning to Anglesey Abbey today to deliver more stock.  So proud to have them on prime display as you walk into the shop.

Nationl Trust

I am thrilled to announce that the shop at Anglesey Abbey is now stocking some of my designs.  This week they took delivery of my tea towels and coasters.  When I designed my first range of tea towels in October 2011, based on the beautiful stand of silver birch trees in the 'Winter Walk', I always hoped that one day they would stock them in their shop.  Now they are!

The National Trust are changing the way their shops look, so they have more products that are made locally to the property.  This makes the shopping experience more interesting and helps support local businesses.  I was approached by the manager this summer, who spotted my entry in the Cambridge Open Studios guide book.  She visited my studio in July and saw my selection of designs.  After some paperwork and confirmation of the designs she wanted, I was able to deliver everything this morning.

They also have my Flower tea towels based on the colourful dahlia garden which is in full bloom at the moment and the Goldfinch, Bikes and Woodland designs.  Plus a selection of 11 different coasters that customers can 'pick and mix'.

New stockists

I have three new stockists for my tea towels, prints and cards.  All listed on the tab above.

The Arter Gallery - Stratford-upon-Avon (this lovely painting by Claire Henley shows the house where the gallery is situated to the right of the main entrance).

Rachel Dormer Ceramics - Burwash Manor, Barton, Cambridgeshire.

The Robin's Nest Gallery - Wargrave, Berkshire.

I am also sending off a parcel to a new shop in Switzerland this week and will hopefully have some exciting news very soon about supplying my nearest NT shop.

Holidays

As usual August blog posts seem to go out of the window, so this will be the only one as it's September tomorrow (and it feels like it, due to the rubbish weather today).

So what have I been doing?  Quick summary in photos and sketches:

A week in Anglesey with the family.  Never been before and was delighted with what we found.  Lovely rolling country-side, much easier to get to than Cornwall and no traffic jams.  Beautiful beaches, although the waves aren't very good for surfing.

We loved Beaumaris and made a bee-line for the Janet Bell Gallery, somewhere I've been wanting to visit for ages.  I had a little chat with Janet herself and bought this tactile porcelain pebble by Clare Mahoney and iridescent pot by Karin Eriksson.

The North East 

Our next stop was Northumberland!  Long suffering husband, me and the dog headed north while the kids were away volunteering at a Scout Jamboree.  We had a night in Durham to explore family connections, then to Beadnell for two nights and another night in Newcastle itself.  I studied at the old Newcastle Polytechnic graduating in 1990 - so it was 25 years since my last visit.  Long overdue....it's a fantastic part of the country and we have vowed to go back much sooner than in 25 years.

We walked four miles along Beadnell beach for lunch at The Ship Inn, Low Newton-by-the-Sea.  A wonderful walk, only spoilt by the dog getting a whiff of dead seal from half a mile away and having to race him to the sand dunes (you can guess who won).  The less said about this the better.  The afternoon was very warm indeed so we sat in the shade of the old lime kilns reading and sketching the harbour.  I have a bit of an obsession with lobster pots but drawing them has got it out of my system as they were very tricky to get right, especially with a dip pen that kept clogging up in the sunshine.

Other highlights were walking from Craster to Dunstanburgh Castle (whilst eating kippers in a bun), Bamburgh Castle at sunset with the whole beach to ourselves.  We also had a brief visit to the National Trust property Cragside and must return as so much to see.  Also loved the redevelopment along the Tyne, particularly the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art and the Sage Gateshead.

NEW Woodland Tea Towels

After our recent trip to Sweden I wanted to design something with a Scandinavian feel and came up with the idea for these rather jolly tea towels.  Both available on 100% cotton, either white or natural unbleached.

I've always loved the combination of orange and lime, so these will be sure to brighten up any kitchen.

I also wanted another colour-way that was perhaps a little more subtle, so added the red and jade option.  This one accidentally has become my most 'Christmassy' design in the range.  All available through by etsy shop or website, priced £9.

My 20th Year of Open Studios

The first year I took part in Cambridge Open Studios was 1996, so that makes this my 20th year!  I hadn't realised I'd been doing it for so long, how time flies.  The first three years were at my parents house in Hoadly Road in Cambridge.  They then moved to Ely, by which time we'd moved from our tiny cottage in Waterbeach to a larger house in Milton.  The detached double garage was an ideal place to house my etching press and the space was big enough to use for displaying my work.

I started off with just a few paintings and some hand-made lino-printed cards and it's steadily grown over the years with a huge range of cards and stationery for various publishers most notably Phoenix Trading.  My first publisher was Stone Marketing and I did several hundred products for them until they changed direction around 2002/2003.

Green Pebble also produced a range of six of my fine art seed head cards and Artists' Cards have just released two of my bird themed cards (above).

I still enjoy creating my drypoint prints both framed and unframed, but it's my range of tea towels and coasters that have become the most popular product.  They make ideal gifts and are affordable, whereas a picture may be out of some people's price bracket.

I continue to enjoy working towards Open Studios each year, even though it is a tremendous amount of work and my long suffering family are neglected throughout July.  Here's to many more years putting up the yellow flags!