Transforming things, up-cycling is my art. I make windchimes from vintage silver teapots and hang cutlery from them. They chimes softly and are a delight to see and will grow old disgracefully like you and I hope to do. Vintage sugar bowls become pin cushions and old bisque dolls are made into art dolls and angels using all sorts of vintage materials and delicate scraps of antique lace and ribbon. They all get a new life and can be treasured for a long time to come.
I love antique floral and worn fabrics. I re-use these very old, mostly French, quilts, faded 19th Century French fabrics, antique lace, any old and worn fabric and make them into wall hangings and other items. The fabrics that I use often have signs of past use with repairs and holes and are fragile and frayed. I apply patchwork and appliqué and embroider on these precious fabrics with tiny cross stitches to keep the fragile fabric from fraying and disintegrating, and sometimes.
Broken bits of jewellery are gathered and made into necklaces and altered brooches you proudly wear again.
Rest assured that when you visit all precautions to keep you Covid secure are taken and masks are worn at all times.
I studied as a Textile Designer and after graduating with a degree in Textiles & Surface Pattern I started to explore the reuse of materials to make them into a varied range of items; not only to make an ethical statement but also because the pieces I use have a history and charm.
Making things has always been important to me. It is a joy to hunt for pieces to use for my work. A vintage sugar bowl and scrap of an old blanket are used to make a pin cushion; silver teapots and cutlery are transformed into wind chimes.
I treasure antique floral and worn fabrics. I re-use these very old, mostly French, quilts, faded 19th Century French fabrics, Japanese fabrics, antique lace, any old and worn fabric and make them into small Art Quilts and other items. The fabrics that I use often have signs of past use with repairs and holes and are fragile and frayed.
By re-using material for my work, I want to celebrate the original makers whose skills are dying out, and to show the beauty that these worn pieces and fabric or lace fragments still possess.
I have given workshops for all ages in my Studio for years and also at other venue's, creating with Ladies of the WI, Quilt groups and the craft group of the U3A, homeschool groups and lots of party's for young and the not so. There are no end of possibilities!