Happy Valentine's Day

Sending you my love on Valentine's day....

Enjoy the day!

Special Delivery - selected for the 2009 PMC Guild Annual

My "special delivery" mailbox necklace has been selected as one of the "exceptional works in metal clay" for the 2009 PMC Guild Annual. I had not submitted any pieces before, so was especially delighted to be selected in my first year.


My Annual just arrived today - and how nice it is to see your work in print. There is some lovely work in there with several pieces created by other members of the Etsy Metal Clay Team.


The Special Delivery necklace is a little mailbox with a hinge that opens and inside is the message "miss you". I've always fancied making this design for a commission but having the message inside read "will you marry me?". Don't you think it would be a great way to propose to someone????

Business Matters - What's in a name: Why name a piece

For the next few weeks for my Business Matters posts on Wednesdays, I'll be discussing the idea of naming our creations. I look forward to your input too!

If you've seen any of my work, you'll probably tell that I'm a big fan of naming. So to start off this series, let's look at "why name a piece"?

Imagine...."oh what a sweet baby. What's her name?" ...
"Untitled".

or think about cars.....Car manufacturers spend a lot of money coming up with simple (in most cases!) names that give off a certain impression when people mention it...think of what "mini" conjurs up or "beetle" or "magnum" or "440"....Each name appeals differently to different people...and while the name might not make you buy or not buy that car - it has a big influence in initially grabbing your attention.








"Stuck on you" or"frog necklace"

So too with your art/craft. Naming a piece is the first verbal communication opportunity you have with a viewer or buyer. Why throw that away by using "untitled" or a bland name.

People buy art and handmade items because it stirs something within them and the title of a piece can really work towards pulling the viewer in and seeing it from the artist's perspective.

It also shows that the artist has bothered to spend some time considering a title...they thought their creation was worth that effort and I think that comes across to the viewer.

We were recently in Madrid and went to the Reina Sofia Museum of contemporary and modern art. Looking round, I felt kind of let down when the pieces were "untitled". I understand that some people think this leaves interpretation of the piece to the viewer, but it was also a lost opportunity when I could have had the chance to learn something more of the artist and understand their thinking when they created the piece...........And then there were those pieces which had a title that seemed intriguing or odd to me. With those, I looked closer and spent longer, trying to find meaning in that title and consider where the artist was coming from in naming it that way. The title was a grabber for me and made me stop and consider the piece in greater detail than I would have otherwise.







"Special delivery" or "mailbox necklace"

So until next week when I'll talk about how to choose a name, why not try to spend just an extra minute on choosing the name for a new piece, considering the impact this can have on viewers and potential buyers.

I would like to feature other artists' creations in this series and look at the choice of names or help choose a name for a piece. Please let me know if I can feature some of your work.

Special delivery message

The result of the voting to name your favourite message for the special delivery mailbox necklace was "Miss you". Thanks for voting. We did get one new idea too - "Sealed with a kiss" which I think is lovely.

I really hope someone buys it and asks for "will you marry me" as the message! I'll be sure to tell you if you they do!!

Hope you get some lovely mail tomorrow!

Last few hours to vote for Special Delivery message

Only a few hours left to vote for the message you would most like to receive in the special delivery mailbox necklace. The voting is on the side bar!

Special Delivery

So I made another mailbox necklace. The first I get to keep - the prototype! And while I said in my first post that I'd do the next one larger - it actually came out the same size. I think my hands just like the challenge of working those tiny little hinges!


Lots of ideas for the message inside - including a way to propose - a little message with "will you marry me?"..or Congratulations or Miss you or Best friends. Anyhow - I'm adding a poll to the blog so you can vote on what message you'd like to get in the mailbox and then I can make that!


Do take a look and cast your vote - or if you have another idea - add it in the comments.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Special Delivery

My latest necklace - your very own (American) mailbox!


The flag is up - suggesting there is mail inside so open it up and sure enough, the lid is hinged and there is a special message inside just for you.

Here, I have a message that says “miss you”.....but you can chose your own message, for example “will you marry me?” (what a great way to propose!!!), “love you”, best friends”, “all my love”.....or anything you can think up ( as long as it's not too many words!!!). The little message is attached to a chain on the inside so you don’t lose it.


An unusual necklace with lovely customizable message. What message would you send?

I've made a piece before that was called "Special delivery" and that was a bird carrying a big red heart. This time the message is hidden inside so not quite as obvious - or maybe it's a secret message that only the wearer knows...you know how I love secrets and surprises!


I remember when we first moved to the US and had our own mailbox like this. It seemed fun to have the little flag that you could raise if you put mail in for posting and the postman could also raise if they delivered mail to you. Just different for us I guess, but now we only have a box as part of a larger box with our neighbors, so no flag raising :-(

Sending my love

Time for a bit of love! What a way to start the week!

Here are some pieces all about sending love.

The first one is entitled "Special Delivery" and shows a little bird struggling to carry a big red heart. The piece is a brooch. The heart is made from a type of paper clay that dries really hard and tough. I like the brightness of this piece - adding some good colour to the silver. He wants to bring his very special delivery just to you.

The second piece is called "sending my love" and yes, surprise surprise, it shows a bird and a heart!! And the heart is painted red...And it is again a brooch. But yet it is so different from the other one. For one, it isn't three dimensional..but still cute.

And finally a desk buddy I made quite a while ago entitled "just for you". No, it's not a bird and there is no heart! It's a three dimensional something or other - no particular animal - just a character - and he's bring a little flower just for you. He sits on my desk and keeps an eye on me. And now he has a friend in Modesty Max that I made from bronzclay.

So - do these pieces convey their message? Hope you feel like they are sending you some love today! Have a great day!