Almost there...

Phew...I feel a bit better now, that's me got about half of the diffusion collection uploaded onto Flickr now..still a bit to come yet (about 10 more designs)..and I will of course keep creating new ones! I am trying to get all the jewellery I have in at the moment catalogued before it gets sent off to galleries this week...hopefully to be someone's Valentines' present!!

I have had a few people say they would like to see the jewels on a model to see how they sit...and to judge the scale etc.. I think that is a great idea and is something I have been thinking about for some time. It is so hard to think of who to use though..as, in a way they also represent your work...{I would model the jewellery myself but I am 5ft 11" tall, so the scale would be all out...actually that's something I really need to be careful about when I am designing..not making my jewellery too big (Abigail size), and instead think about the average female height instead... Sob.. :D } The models clothing would need to be so considered as well...yikes! It is certainly on my 'thing to do/think about' list!!

Thanks to all who have left such kind and encouraging comments, both here, and on my photo's at Flickr (and on various other blogs too)....it really does brighten my day! It's nice to be able to test the market this way too..as I don't have a retail outlet of my own to judge peoples reaction to the work, so getting feedback is great!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/abigailpercy/sets/72057594055772813/

Almost there...

Right...that is the last lot of jewels off to the gold-plater's...when they come back at the beginning of next week I can get the rest of the diffusion range photographed ready for posting on Flickr! It has been so dreary here the last few weeks there has been almost no good light for taking pictures, but this should be a bright weekend. Here is one of my favourite pairs of earrings from the range (one of the only pieces of my own work I have!)..they are taken from Sweet Horse Chestnut leaves (18ct gold plated silver) and are so long they gently skim your collarbone! I love wearing these..they are so light and comfy. I will let everyone know when the images are finally up :) Have a great weekend!

Little Urchins...

Such a sweet gift from my friend Tess, all the way from her homeland of South Africa. These are truly beautiful...a found luxury. So small and delicate....I love them.

Here is a link to a post by Lisa that I found really touching, I think it asks all the questions that seem to go through everyone's heads just now..maybe it's the new year, the grey of January, artists' and designers minds? I have so enjoyed finding Lisa's art work, and her musings...I love its deconstructed, almost questioning nature. I find it so beautiful. Here is to fresh starts and sunnier shores for us all...x

http://www.monkeybrains.net/~dietrich/musings/2006/01/i-have-no-answers.html

What's Luxury?...

I came across this brooch by Joris Laarman http://www.jorislaarman.nl/ when searching for an image of his wonderful concrete radiator that has been so successful over the last few years. I had no idea he had ventured into jewellery...so was surprised when I came across this brooch, which is designed to work like a credit card. It was included in an exhibition by Chi Ha Paura at the Milan Furniture Fair called 'what's luxury?', which showed cutting edge 'art' jewels from jewellery-world royalty such as Gijs Bakker and more suprisingly work from Laarman and Tord Boontje. http://chihapaura.com/whatsluxury/ It was a really interesting find for me, as I really like this brooch...the imagery is the kind I play with in my own work and am naturally drawn to anyway. I find it interesting that out of all the jewellers work in this exhibition, it is the work created by product designers that I found most appealing...I suppose this strengthens my view that design needs to be multi-disciplinary to keep it fresh, and that designers should look beyond their own field for inspiration! I would wear this...its very pretty!! (as well as being a serious bit of design, of course ;)! )

The Designer Collection...

I have long been a huge fan of Marni clothing and shoes...and was so delighted to come across this amazing rug design from Marni at The Rug Company http://www.therugcompany.info/, in their Designer Collection, which boasts designs from many well known names such as Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Neisha Crossland and many more. I especially love this beautifully bold retro pattern and its muted colours are just delightful! I love it when interior fabrics and textiles look like fashion textiles, and when fashion looks like interiors..just lovely. That's one of the blurred boundaries I explore in my own work..so love it when I find design that does that too..Another thing to save for! :)

Vroom vroom...

Yes, I know this post seems slightly odd and a bit of a contrast to floral and girly...but you see, this is a new bike design by my brother Chris! He has just posted all his computer drawings and car photos on Flickr, and I am sure all the girls who stop by my blog have some blokes who would like to see these mean machines!!http://www.flickr.com/photos/95005642@N00/ Chris moved to the U.S just over a year ago, and I miss him very much...but so enjoy seeing his new work! Chris (Gray) also trained at Glasgow School of Art, and is a Product Designer with a penchant for hotrods, custom cars and bikes..as you can see he is very nifty with CAD too!! :)

A room with a view....

Here is my view each day as I sit at my big oak jewellers bench...my inspiration wall! As a desk based designer, I find it really important to make sure that what I look at for hours each day is lovely, inspiring..and a tad escapist! The images are constantly evolving and being edited, but this is it today. I was hoping for a bright and sunny picture, but it is grey and drizzly here in Scotland..(lovely weather for being cosy indoors), so the photo is more 'atmospheric'!!
I have been working hard on some new stock over the last few days, in preparation for photographing my whole diffusion range and posting all the pics to Flickr (soon!), so after cutting and filing and soldering...it was time to give my bench a bit of a sweep, and clear off all the silver dust so that I can start afresh tomorrow!
Below is a sneaky peak of some work in progress..silver outline earrings, waiting to be gold plated, carvings waiting to be varnished, set and strung with long strands of pearls and faceted smokey quartz to make necklaces! All the big antique faceted stones will become sparkling cocktail rings...all you need is a frock! :)

A room with a view....

Here is my view each day as I sit at my big oak jewellers bench...my inspiration wall! As a desk based designer, I find it really important to make sure that what I look at for hours each day is lovely, inspiring..and a tad escapist! The images are constantly evolving and being edited, but this is it today. I was hoping for a bright and sunny picture, but it is grey and drizzly here in Scotland..(lovely weather for being cosy indoors), so the photo is more 'atmospheric'!!
I have been working hard on some new stock over the last few days, in preparation for photographing my whole diffusion range and posting all the pics to Flickr (soon!), so after cutting and filing and soldering...it was time to give my bench a bit of a sweep, and clear off all the silver dust so that I can start afresh tomorrow!
Below is a sneaky peak of some work in progress..silver outline earrings, waiting to be gold plated, carvings waiting to be varnished, set and strung with long strands of pearls and faceted smokey quartz to make necklaces! All the big antique faceted stones will become sparkling cocktail rings...all you need is a frock! :)

Flock.....

I am fascinated by stylised birds...in so many forms, and love it when graphic bird imagery is used in design. I was inspired to post this image of a beautiful carved bird, after reading a post by mav at port2port(http://port2port.visualblogging.com/) Everyone was saying how much they were inspired by birds, and how much they loved mav's beautiful limited edition letterpress cards printed especially for January. (http://www.etsy.com/view_item.php?listing.id=53148 ) This darling bird is carved from Tulip wood ... I would really love a small flock of them! How great would they look on a simple vintage g-plan sideboard!? :) The artist who carved the bird is called Perry Lancaster http://www.perrylancaster.com/ , and he lives and works in France, carving these wonderful works of art. How lovely...

Vera Wang...

I am in love with this skirt from Vera Wang! What beautiful fabric...The colours and the print make it seem quite like upholstery fabric which makes the skirt very unusual and quirky, as well as being oh so classy too. The fabric is a printed taffeta in slate, green, brown and olive tones, and the garment itself is a full tulip shaped skirt with an A-symmetrical pleat through the front, and extra fabric around the back hem to add to the bustle effect. Its available from the online boutique Net-a-Porter, http://www.net-a-porter.com. Be prepared to want to spend if you look though, as you will find many a pretty thing....

Alison Watt...

Speaking of my 'inspiration' wall...here is another image from it. It's work by the painter Alison Watt, a Glasgow School of Art graduate (just like me!)...who paints the most beautiful canvases. I especially like this one 'Tournon', and the way she captures the folds and the pattern in the fabric. I went to see Alison's 2000 exhibition Shift at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh when I was preparing my portfolio for applying to art school. I was totally captivated by her huge canvases, so enormous yet delicate, and being a textile lover I was even more in awe of her subject matter. I have not been able to find any websites about Alison, although she does have a few books published. I did however find images from Shift through google's image search...Enjoy.

Digital Dawn...

I have an image of this wonderful blind by London based designer Rachel Wingfield on my 'inspiration' wall at my bench, and often steal away a few minutes just to sit and stare at it! I have just found the website that Rachel created to showcase her many wonderful designs, so thought I would share it here... http://www.loop.ph/ . I was fascinated to find out that this glowing blind works by mimicking photosynthesis, using natural daylight to store 'electricity' much like solar power. She has also created bedding and a beautiful tablecloth using similar technologies. Lovely!

The Lighthouse Link....

Here is the link to the Lighthouse Design Museum again...hope this works :) http://www.thelighthouse.co.uk/

'Sweet' Homecoming...

I had news yesterday from The Lighthouse Design Museum, that the Glasgow 1999 Design Medal exhibition was coming down soon (I was short-listed). So...my two favourite pieces of jewellery from my degree show collection will be coming home soon. Its always nice to see them again, and to figure out where to send them next to show them off! I especially like the 'Sweet Horse Chestnut Trellis' neckpiece (above), I really enjoyed making that one, and I love the big antique faceted smokey quartz stones between the beads and the decorative element. I have one of those stones left, and think I will make it into a big ring for myself to wear!!

The Lighthouse has some great exhibitions coming up in their programme soon that I am looking forward to seeing....One on Russian dolls :), and another from Bombay Sapphire about glass design, check them out here www.thelighthouse.co.uk.

Wallpaper Inspiration....

Whilst pouring through my new issue of Elle Decoration, I came across an image of a wall panel that had been cast in concrete! The result is this fantastic, neutral yet visually interesting surface decoration from British design company Concrete Blond. Each panel of 'Walled Paper' is bespoke, and cast from old damask or flocked style wallpaper. Check out their website here www.concrete-blond.com. I love the way the panels appear to catch the light...and what a great new take on the wallpaper craze for those who may be a bit colour shy!

I thought I would start my blog entries with an image of how I started my year...I hung the lovely calendar I bought from Camilla Engman. http://www.camillaengman.com Each image is so beautiful and quirky, and you really can look at it for the whole month and keep seeing new things each time!

I decided that one of my resolutions for 2006 would be to start a blog of my own...I found the blogging community towards the end of last year and I found it so inspiring! I had just recently set up my own business, and found being able to check in with other designers to see what was happening hugely rewarding and a very important part of my working day. Having graduated in the early summer of 2005, I do miss being in a 'group' creative environment every day, so felt that committing to sharing my work on this new blog would be the very next best thing!!