Spun Sugar Fruit Dish

Large Spun Sugar Fruit Bowl

I love commissions, particularly when the customer asks for colour combinations that I would never have thought to work with.  This 30cm fruit dish has been made from clear, leaf green, chartreuse green, fuchsia, cranberry, coral and light orange Bullseye glass.  Who would of thought?

Before Fusing

If you would like to commission me to make you a totally unique piece of glass please contact me via my Folksy shop

The Kiln is on but nobody's home....

Yikes! Only six days left until the Saltaire Arts Trail and I have more glass waiting to be fused than time to fuse it in! 

I have now finished making decorative hangings and cocktail swizzle sticks but the number of dishes waiting to be slumped is growing and I have two very large dishes still waiting to be fused AND slumped! Well, if it's not finished, it's not finished - not a lot I can do about it. Just waiting for the gift boxes to arrive this week. Gulp! 

Rainbow Cocktail Swizzle Sticks

If you are thinking about visiting the Saltaire Arts Trail then I strongly recommend that you go. Everything is FREE yes, free! With The Makers' Fair in Victoria Hall (I'll be there, hopefully near the cafe and in sight of the cake) Open Houses around the village, three exhibitions, free family activities and choirs singing outside, this is the most vibrant and exciting weekend in the calendar of Saltaire. 

Hope to see you there. X

Best of British on Pinterest

Charlotte Morrison Ceramics

I confess - I am addicted to Pinterest. It's a great way to store images of stuff I would love to own, love to make or love to redecorate my house with.  My latest Board is "My Favourite Makers", a showcase of top quality British makers, designers, jewellers, ceramicists, glass artists, textile artists and illustrators. 

Vinegar and Brown Paper

Designers and makers make a valuable contribution to the British economy, boost retail sales, export sales and offer something a bit different from mass produced goods.  Their designs are often copied by big companies, their work often stolen by manufacturers and their prices often hammered down by retailers, usually making the designer accept the VAT which they cannot pass on (small businesses who are under the VAT thresh hold are the most exploited).  Can you tell that I'm on my soap box?

Hannah Nunn

So I am celebrating the Best of British by showcasing "My Favourite Makers" on Pinterest and thoroughly enjoying scouring magazines, websites and trade fairs to find lots of lovely handmade stuff I would like to own. 

Little Birds

Blue Bird

I'm really pleased with the way my Little Birds design has turned out, despite the poor photography!

These little birds are made from transparent Bullseye glass with gold decoration painted with glass fusing paint (means it won't come off the glass). 

Red Bird

This one is my favourite, made from deep orange and garnet red glass with gold decoration. I'm keeping this one but will be listing the rest this week in my Folksy Shop, along with new fish designs. 

Blue Bird #2

I'll be making some more soon, after I have completed a glass commission. They are great fun to make. 

Amber Bird

Jubilee at The Stalls

I will be taking part at  The Stalls pop up shop in Leeds on Saturday 2nd June as part of the Arts and Crafts Market. 

Natasha Harris of OOBBAA will be opening a pop up gallery in the old Benetton Shop at The Light, The Headrow, Leeds LS1 8TL. 

Connecting the community with new emerging and established artists and makers, The Stalls Market showcases the work of talented local designers.  

There will also be a Jubilee Tea Party on Monday 4th June 2012  in support of Breast Cancer Care.

I hope to see you on Saturday 2nd June - please say hello. Doors open at 10am. 

Brighton Rocks!

Recently I visited my sister for a weekend and flew down to Southampton to celebrate her birthday.  We had a lot of fun together, including a shopping trip to Brighton. I love Brighton, it just gets better with delightful shops and eating places, the pier, the beach and The Pavilion.

The Royal Pavilion is completely over the top - a pastiche on oriental architecture and a mix of Chinese and Islamic styles - but it is the white stone that stops it becoming tacky and tasteless (mind you, you should see some of the interiors)! 

It's such a striking building, built as a holiday home for George IV when he was Prince Regent (wasn't he the one who died on the toilet)? The gardens are quite pretty - although not very imaginative - and, with the busy road outside, it's not a tranquil place. 

However, it has inspired me enough to make a diorama from watercolour paper of the architecture that epitomises The Royal Pavilion.  If you want to make a diorama of your own please visit Made In The UK and follow the simple steps to creating your own. 

Friday Afternoons!

2pm on a Friday comes around and I'm free from work! Yippee! I zip straight home, grab the dog lead, jump in the car and we both head for the hills....

One of our favourite walks is on Addingham Moorside, although we only do this once a week as it is rather strenuous.





The first part of the walk, up to Silsden Nab, is the steepest. It's good to get the worst part out of the way.

View of Silsden from the Nab with Cowling Pinnacle in the background.

Hurry up!

Walking along the path toward Addingham.

View of the wind turbines at Chelker Reservoir in the distance.

Beamsley Beacon with Addingham village in the middle distance

Turn right over the wall and start the final ascent to the bench on the top.

The footpath.

The bench is on the far right of the picture.

Here it is, at last!

Riddlesden Moor stretches out behind. To the left is Ilkley Moor, roughly 3 - 4 miles of walking (but not today)!

Interesting! What have we here?

Well fancy that! It's a stick.....

Looking down on the valley below. It's a shame that blogger doesn't have smell-o-vision because the heather is in full flower and everything smells dry. It's also a shame there isn't any sound - you can hear the curlews from here.

Well worth the walk!

Pen-y-ghent (or Are We There Yet)?

So, last bank holiday Monday we decided to take a walk up Pen-y-ghent, one of the three peaks. It overlooks the small village of Horton in Ribblesdale in the Yorkshire Dales.

The weather wasn't too bad for the last day of August in the UK (it was dull but warm) and, once we had started the walk the cloud over the crag lifted. It's a shallow uphill climb for the first couple of miles.

We stopped at a bank of scree for a chocolate break - I insisted - and looked down on Hull Pot (the one filled with water).

View across the valley with Horton in Ribblesdale in the distance.

The climb got steeper toward the top and the guide books said it was a "short sprint to the top". Ha ha! I wasn't sprinting, I can tell you.

Jackson sit! Sit I say! Stay still for the camera! Oh never mind....

The views from the top are spectacular although it is very windy up there. Fortunately, there is a sheltered bench to sit on. Other people were there eating their sandwiches - much to Jackson's delight. A dribbling dog is not attractive!

The descent is much quicker and steeper. Jackson hopped from rock to rock but my Sister-in-law's little dog panicked and had to be helped down by a kindly stranger. Everyone else leapt around like mountain goats leaving me to plod my way down. Not impressed!

At the bottom it began to rain that diagonal sleety Yorkshire rain. I had brought a hat and waterproof clothing (unlike some people) and had a change of clothes waiting in the car. Typical me, though, I fell over in the mud in front of a group of people.

Well, that was five and a half miles and is the least strenuous of the three peaks. I'm looking forward to climbing up Great Whernside and Ingleborough next, although I could never do all three in one day. We adjourned to the pub for some cheer and I fell asleep over my drink.

For more pictures of Pen-y-Ghent visit my Flickr.

Keighley - Airedale Town

During March 2009 comedian Mark Steel visited Skipton for his radio 4 show - Mark Steel's in Town. It was hilarious - so funny that my partner had to stop whilst driving in case he crashed!
One of the butts of Mark Steel's jokes was Keighley, where I work, which made it even funnier. But then I got thinking - I spend a good deal of my working life out and about in Keighley. What makes it a better town than Skipton?

Skipton has a castle but we have Cliffe Castle, the Victorian home of Henry Butterfield. It has extensive grounds and is packed full of treasures, history and art. Parking is ample and, even better, it is FREE!

Like Skipton, we have a steam railway but you don't have to drive out of town to travel on it. The Worth Valley Railway journeys from Keighley train station to Oxenhope, stopping at Ingrow, Damems, Oakworth, Haworth and Oxenhope. The Railway Children was filmed on the railway.

Keighley has many fine examples of Victorian architecture as it was once a wealthy town built on the wool trade. Cavendish Street, with its shops and glass canopy, links the train station with the commercial centre... and that glass canopy certainly keeps us dry on wet days!

Keighley Library is another architectural gem. Recently restored and modernised, it still retains it's original features. It's worth visiting the lending library upstairs to look at the murals.

Both our town centre shops and our market are undercover. Very sensible when you think how unpredictable the Yorkshire weather can be. You can wait for a bus under cover and park undercover too. There's plenty of parking on Hanover Street and Scott street and it's cheaper than Skipton.

On sunny days it's so pleasant to eat outside in the Town Square, surrounded by trees. Or visit Church Green, at the end of North Street, another peaceful spot.

Keighley is a place of cultural diversity and there are plenty of places to worship - the most stunning is the Emily Street Mosque. Just got the minaret to finish...

... and if it's culture you are looking for then visit the Arts Factory, Keighley's only contemporary gallery. Admission is free.

More culture? A few yards from the Arts Factory is The Picture House on North Street. Parking is in Scott Street, across the road.

Keighley is vibrant with colour thanks to the Keighley In Bloom committee and its local sponsors. The roundabout at the end of Showfield looks fantastic at the moment (particularly if you like orange).

A short bus/train ride away from the town centre are: wonderful East Riddlesden Hall, a National Trust property with a very large duck pond and historical Haworth, home of the Brontes. For more about Keighley and why it is worth a visit go to LoveKeighley.com