Sarah Downton Beads and Jewellery

Wednesday morning

This has been such a busy January, I hadn’t realised how fast the weeks were going, and I’ve hardly chatted you guys. This month has been full of tuition and other pressing jobs, so much so that I still haven’t finished my accounts, and I’ve been avoiding writing here so that I don’t run out of time.

I’ve been spending some time in the evenings getting my stock ready for the beadfair at Ardingly this Sunday (27rd Jan). I’m having a bit of a clear out and it’s been fun going through my bead box, looking at the older beads I’ve made and hung on to because I like them and for inspiration. I really notice the improvement in my control of the glass, in shaping and general neatness, and have ditched several of the beads I would have been happy to sell during my first few years. However I do still have some from early on, that I’ve never offered for sale, and these will be in my bargain pots this Sunday, together with some old styles and some experiments. I hope to see you there.

Monday morning

Hi guys and gals. I’ve just finished updating my events page with the bead fairs and Open Houses that I have booked for the coming year, so do shimmy on down for a look. My first event is the Beadwork fair at Ardingly in 2 weeks time, oooh eck that’s not long. I am planning to have a bit of a sale of some of my older beads and seconds, as they seem to have accumulated somewhat over the years, together with my newer sets and dichroic focal beads. So make a date on your diary please and at the very least come and say hello!

Monday lunchtime

At last, things are getting back to normal. I never thought I’d hear myself say it, but it’s a relief to get back into some sort of routine, and to get the house back to myself during the day. My first job was to tidy the kitchen while making breakfast, run the dishwasher and put on some washing. Well, I’ve managed all but the washing as I got waylaid by making sure that my birthday present worked OK, yes I know, but this is the first quiet moment that I’ve had to peek at my Kath & Kim DVD. Fatal.

Anyways, I’ve just about managed to get back on track and can actually see my desk again, having spent half the morning tidying it. (I can’t see the dining table anymore though.)These are of course delaying tactics whilst I avoid the real job of tackling the dreaded tax once more. All my new years resolutions went out the window last year very early on as we saw our daughter go into hospital for a couple of weeks and then have months off school. This seriously put me behind in every way last year, and saw me giving up my resolve to do my accounts once a week before I’d even started. lol. Hopefully things will run smoother this year, but these are famous last words so let’s see what the year has in store for us. I’d better push off and do some of the urgent jobs now. have a cool Monday.

Wednesday lunchtime

Happy New Year wishes to you all.

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was writing my last beadlog entry, but it’s been all go since then. Christmas preparations took ages again, and all my hopes for an organised and relaxed Christmas eve went out the window when we agreed (about 10 days before the event) to organise a Carol Service to take place on the Sunday before Christmas. We ended up with our usual scramble to get lots of jobs done on Christmas eve and a well past midnight bedtime, well, at least we’re constant!

We also scuppered preparations by going away the weekend before that to our friend Di East’s grand studio opening in Leicester. We had a fab weekend shared with lots of beady friends and almost forgot all the stuff we had to do. Follow this link to see all the photos Rick took that weekend.

I have to dash now and get ready for all the students I have coming in the next couple weeks. Byeeeeeeeeeee.

Tuesday lunchtime

Freedom! Yes it’s all over, my 6 sales and one exhibition, and now I have the unenviable task of preparing for Christmas and all that comes with it. Of course anything could go wrong with my plans and already has, oh yes, my daughter woke up with a temperature on the first morning after my events ended and now I’m stuck at home not even able to make beads. Dahhhhhhhh! So I’m tidying up today, and boy does the place need it. It seems that when I’m really busy and don’t tidy the house then no one else bothers and it all goes from bad to worse.

Hopefully having a tidy up will mean that I don’t have another embarrassing  incident like I did on Sunday, when it was a bit too dark in the bedroom when I grabbed my boots to wear, and didn’t notice that I picked up an old boot and a newer snug fitting and lovely clean one for my right foot. I only noticed the discrepancy between shiny clean black boot and scuffed navy looking left boot as I was sitting with my feet out in front of me and got the most silly fit of giggles at a very inappropriate time, that I had to control.  Needless to say I immediately hooked my left foot behind my right and kept both feet out of view under the chair hoping no one  would notice, and walked oh so confidently when I had to appear in public. I was wondering too why my new boot seemed to be letting the water in. Oh the shame!  Almost as embarrassing as owning a caravan. lol.

Friday afternoon

I’m nearly at the end of my Christmas events, one to go this weekend, and an exhibition that started today and finishes Sunday tea time. I’ve been stewarding the exhibition this morning, and will be there again tomorrow morning and maybe during the afternoon. The exhibition is a mix of affordable paintings, sculpture, original prints, textiles and my glass jewellery, and is open from 10am to 5pm all weekend. Please drop by and say hello. More details are on my events page.

It will be really good to spend some time tidying up next week, as the house always gets in a state when I have an exhibition or several fairs in a short space of time. I’m doing my best to keep Mount Washpile and its various foothills under control, but the rest of the house needs some TLC unfortunately, and we all know I’d rather be in my studio making beads than doing housework. One job I will enjoy is writing my Christmas list to put up on Ricks website family present list that he designed and wrote (sad geek!)(him….not me!) and I’m actually looking forward to doing a bit of Christmas gift shopping, I must be mad. It would also be nice to get the Christmas tree up before boxing day, I’ll let you know how that goes. If we put it up before Christmas day, maybe we’ll actually take it down before the end of March this time. I keep thinking it’s too soon to talk about the looming festivities as it’s only the 7th December, but we only have 2 1/2 weeks to go, and I always underestimate how long jobs are going to take.

I’m off now to help my daughter make some cake type stuff for her school fair tomorrow. Have a good weekend.

Friday morning

I’m feeling a bit smug this morning, all I’ve done is put some chicken portions in a plastic bag with some marinade ingredients ready to tip out and bake tomorrow or Sunday, and suddenly I’m feeling like a domestic goddess. Of course I still have to sort tonights dinner and do some food shopping instead of patronising Tesco Express every second we run out of something else. But I can’t help feeling smug and slightly organised, if only it was that easy! This meal in anticipation is all down to another of Nigellas recipes, this time from her new book Nigella Express, which Rick brought home unexpectedly as a surprise for me a couple of weeks ago. I expect you’re thinking ‘that’s very nice of him’ or maybe ‘ooo, how devious, maybe I  should buy my partner a copy of this and then I’ll never have to cook again’.  Ha ha, I know what you’re up to mate!

I do like how she thinks and writes too, as she discusses spending a few minutes in the day to prepare something that can marinade/freeze/cook slowly for a couple of hours while she goes and attempts to do what she calls ‘doomed jobs’ like trying to tidy her desk. I know how she feels, but really wish I could plan things on the dinner front a bit better than I do. Marinading meat, preparing meatballs and kebabs and generally being organised, as well as using the pasta machine we bought when we married eleven years ago were all things that I thought I’d do when I gave up working full time. However I had no idea I’d start a small business and end up busier than I ever was before self-employment. I don’t really think I could ever be a ‘lady wot lunches’. I also wonder how organised Nigella would be if she didn’t write recipes for a job, I mean, she’s actually working when she prepares a meal ahead. If I did that for a living I expect I’d be more organised, after all, my work would be planning and preparing food. Maybe I’m in the wrong business? Have a great weekend!

Tuesday morning

It’s finally here, silly season has started and I’m up to my eyeballs in making jewellery to sell at the pre Christmas events I’ve booked, and the current score is 2 down, 4 to go. I actually have a slight feeling of euphoria this morning, wondering whether it’s worth slogging my guts out any more for the remaining events, but I know it will be worth it. On today’s list of makes are some aluminium earrings, using some of the sheets of designs I enjoyed colouring during the summer and a further selection of freshwater pearl earrings and maybe some bracelets to go with them. I also somehow need to get some fresh food in the house as we seem to have run out of our basic building blocks for so many of our meals here. It’s finding time to do t’internet shopping whilst I’m knee deep in fairs that’s a problem. I honestly don’t know how other designer makers survive doing the fair circuit that they do, some people I know do a couple of weekend fairs a month, farmers markets, kids parties and still seem to be able to live. What I want to know is how do they find time to make what they sell and keep their house running?…I’ll leave you with that thought, must dash!

Thursday morning

It’s my birthday today, and I’m having to work cos my fairs start on Saturday, boo hiss boo. Still, that didn’t stop me trying to tart up my usual breakfast of porridge, that I normally do the same every day, with the exception of weekend when I might add a squirt of maple syrup, golden syrup or chocolate ice cream sauce – that’s the sauce not the ice cream….just in case you were wondering. So what I want to know is, what can you do to porridge to make it posh? The recipe books are full of all sorts of glamorous food, and new twists on old favourites, but seems everyone out there has neglected poor old porridge. In my quest to have a special birthday breakfast, you know, something modest and a bit different from normal, I thought where better to look than t’internet! Hmm, what I found is making me feel sicker than I do already (but more about that in a minute). Here’s a few of the recipes I found:-

Snail Porridge – yes I know, and this one’s on the BBC Food pages, seriously…check it out

Cranachan – this is porridge with cream and raspberries in, sounds OK so far? but get this……whisky! for breakfast? If I said it’s a Scottish recipe you’d understand.

Banoffee Porridge – this intrigued me, but what on earth is dulce de leche?

This was all a bit complicated for me this morning, and I’d come across a couple of recipes using apples and cinnamon, so I thought I’d just use a bit of the later to spice it up a bit. I have to say I’m now feeling a bit queezy, having gently tapped my jar of cinnamon and about 1 teaspoon of the powder came wooshing out and onto my porridge, covering it in a brown dust of old smelling spice which I quickly stirred in hoping it wouldn’t be too bad. A little pinch would probably have been better, and a quick look at the date on the jar revealed it was best before 1998, that’s not so long ago, isn’t it? oh yes, it is, 9 years!

An hour later and the taste is still there, better go and eat something else that might get rid of it at last. I don’t think I’ll be trying apple and cinnamon in my porridge, ever!

Tuesday morning

I was reminded today that I haven’t blogged for over a week, is it really that long? I’ve been so busy teaching that the last couple of weeks have wizzed by and now I’m in full swing (well trying to be) getting ready for my local Christmas fairs. I’ve cut right back on these, concentrating on three that are really good normally (all in private schools), together with a couple at Bromley Adult Education centre where I go for a day off (ha ha) each week. I also have a group show with the 2 x 4 artists that I belong too, details for that can be found on my events page. Of course these shows are like buses, all coming at once, I have 4 in 8 days, then the rest are better spaced fortunately.

Oh I’d love to go out to my studio and make beads, but I’m indoors keeping warm and dry, spending my time making silver jewellery and assembling pieces with my beads. I’ve been going through my toolbox and jewellery experiments box the last few weeks to try and use some of the bits that I started and didn’t finish, it was amazing just how many ‘bits’ I’d accumulated, etching experiments, Keum-Boo shapes (gold foil applied to a silver sheet substrate), bits of fusing, castings, and list goes on. I’ve managed to use a small proportion of these, and have been going through the process to turn them into jewellery, but today is the best, as I’m actually finishing some pieces now, woo hoo.

Well, that was a pleasant break, chatting to you guys, but now I have to get on with my work, and go and see if my Flog Blog on Facebook has updated. Ciao.

Friday evening

Another lovely autumnal day today.  It was certainly cold when I got up this morning so winter is on it’s way at last.  I did one of my days in the Surrey Guild Gallery today and had the pleasure once more of my favourite drive over the downs through the woods between Dunsfold Aerodrome and Millford. The trees looked splendid in their orange, green and yellow leaf tones, and occasionally I drove through a leaf flurry or two, which was very much like a mini snowstorm of colourful swirling leaves. Lush. My cabinet is now restocked with lots of goodies, perfect for Christmas pressies, so do go and have a look if you’re passing.

Back to the drive today…..I’m going to get on my soapbox now….maybe I should have a new feature called ‘Sarah’s Soapbox’, it could be a bit like Annabelles rant on Virgin radio in the evening! What’s it called? ‘That’s so rubbish?’ Hmmm.  Anyway, what’s with all the 40 tonne lorries and JCB’s going along the single track road with only a few passing places and lots of wiggly bends and little hills and steep banks? Why are they driving along a road that plainly says ‘Unsuitable for heavy vehicles’ and ‘single track road with passing places’? The frequency of these huge beasts that struggle to go up the hills and around corners at the same time, forcing normal cars (that’s us) to back up the road several hundred yards, seems to be increasing every time I take this leg of the journey, and to say that it spoils the route (and wastes my time) would be an understatement. My friend reckons that it’s all down to the dreaded sat-nav, where haulage companies are using  new found short-cuts  and not engaging their brains before they take said  new routes, as she has recently been having the same problem on a couple of other single track roads she takes. That’s so stupid! hee hee.

Now I’ve got that off my mind, I must dash and clean some mandrels and get a dipping them in preparation for teaching again tomorrow. Have a good weekend, see y’all.

Tuesday Morning

It’s a beautiful day out there today. The sun’s shining and it’s not too cold, so, lovely conditions to meander down to my studio today and make some beads. It feels fairly calm today, with an undercurrent of panic setting in when I think too hard about the work I have to do in the next few weeks in the lead up to Christmas. I’ve already spent several days sorting my beads into sets and assembling them into my range of jewellery, and oh, I had to stop myself from just going and making beads or cute penguins and maybe a fish sculpture or two. To say ‘I’d rather be making beads’ would be an understatement. I’d better pop and put the kiln on as I’ve already spent far too long tidying the kitchen. (I’ve changed my mind, it’s a bit nippy out there, 6.5 deg C, but I’m still going to make beads. Now where did I put my thermals? )

It looked like the proverbial bomb had gone off in our kitchen after we entertained a friend on Sunday, and of course all the bakeware was still piled up in several greasy (but delicious smelling) piles waiting to be cleaned. I’ve managed to squeeze it all in the dishwasher, so I hope it comes out clean….but don’t tell Rick, I want him to think I’ve been stood barefoot at the sink all morning…lol.

Our visitor on Sunday was a friend, James Brown, who does magic, actually it’s a bit more than that, he was awarded the Magic Circle close-up magician of the year in 2006, and here’s a link to a video clip on You Tube. What a weekend it’s been, teaching on Saturday and James visiting on Sunday, and today it’s Ricks birthday, so, Happy Birthday Rick.

Friday morning

I’m very pleased to announce that my work is for sale in a new gallery, well, new for me, but the gallery has been open for a few years now. Wave 7 Gallery is full of lots of very colourful pieces of work, much of it inspired by it’s location, near the sea. Actually it’s ideally placed for several beaches, Polzeath and New Polzeath, Rock, and Port Issac. Anyway, my work arrived before the half term holiday and has been on show for a couple of weeks now. If you’re in this area do go and have a look and say hello to Victoria, the proprietor, who also has her studio there making gorgeous coloured abstract mirrors (I have a teeny one that sits on my desk).

Thursday lunchtime

Je suis tres content merci. I’ve had a lovely 3 days on a glass course and I’m smiling from ear to ear and feeling very content with my world. After 5 years beadmaking and experience I decided it was time to push the boundaries out once more and increase my skills by learning some flameworking. You may be wondering what the difference is….well, flameworking is the term generally given for items that are not necessarily made on a mandrel (the mandrel makes a bead with a hole).  So flameworking can be anything from goblets to sculptural animals and fish, dragons, the human form, you name it, but generally not beads. Most of these items tend to be decorative, or pendants that can be worn from a chain or similar. I already do a small amount of flamework with my leaves and heart pendants, but now I’m revved up and raring to go on all sorts, so tomorrow when I go out to my studio to make dichroic focal beads to sell as pendants I’m going to be struggling to stay on track!

So a huge thank you to my friend Julie Anne Denton who was such a good and inspiring teacher, and an excellent artist. Do go and check out her website.

Friday tea time

We’re nearing the end of the half term hols, and you’ve guessed it, I haven’t done half of the things I planned for the week. Partly because we (my daughter and I) have been going to a kids club every morning, her to take part and me to help, apart for today when I laid languishing in bed this morning with the stupid cold I seem to have acquired yesterday. We have managed to do some baking together, lovely Rainy day Biscuits from Nigellas’ ‘Feast’ and we even got around to decorating them too. I’m really enjoying the challenge of colour mixing with the food colours available, another bit of fun for the mistress of colour (that’s me by the way), it reminds me of the lovely time I had this summer colouring numerous sheets of aluminium.

Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on myself, we did do all the things I’d planned up to and including Wednesdays activities, I just think my daughter’s going to have to wait a bit longer for her handmade pink cushion covers to go with her new bedroom, sneakily made from the bottom of her curtains that I also have to shorten, and I’m going to have to tidy my bedroom when I can fit the job in. All that’s left to do today is to find bits to help make one of the 2 Halloween  outfits that my daughter need for the 2 parties she’s going to, this should be fun!

Saturday evening

I’m sitting here on the settee again, enjoying ‘Swarovski Fashion Rocks’, unfortunately no white wine tonight as I still have my cheese headache (well, it’s more of a migraine actually). The fact that it’s fashion rocks again means that I’ve been blogging for 2 years now, oh yes, It’s my 2 year blogiversary tomorrow, yay! I have to say though about the fashion show, that I’m disappointed not to see the crystal catwalk, although this year they have crystal beaded curtains, glitzy.

Thursday morning

I went out last night! I never go out, or at least hardly ever. We went and scoffed Pizza with a group of friends and then I stayed out and went to the flicks, yay! We saw Atonement, and I have to say ‘what a film’, it was a work of art, much nicer than the location of the pizza place and cinema.  It’s been ages since I last saw a film (I think it was Narnia) and I really love watching films on the big screen, but last night the whole leisure park felt so alien and bright. All the restaurants had bright lights, obviously to get you in and out really fast, and they all seemed so American and ……I hope I’m not offending anyone here, but you would have been forgiven for thinking you were not in England.

Don’t get me wrong, it was all good value and tasted nice, but where was the identity? What I mean to say is, everything has gone so global now, you see pictures on the news of people in other countries, and you’d struggle to tell where they are, and the same fast food places are seen the world over. Maybe I’ve just moved on in my culinary and cultural expectations? I like the differences you get when you travel around, and I like towns and shopping centres to feel different, but all the same shops are everywhere, which is obviously great for the chain of shops that is doing well, but one shopping centre or town centre could easily be confused for another. It’s the shopping mall and out of town stores thing.

Anyway, I am pleased we have a good cinema in Crawley, we used to have to travel to Brighton, or Lakeside to see films before Richard Branson stopped over in Crawley one night on one of his many trips to visit his Virgin offices (I followed him in to the Virgin Airlines office once, boy he was tall and walked extremely fast, which was unfortunate for me because I was going to tap him on the shoulder and say ‘gi’s a job’ only I couldn’t keep up and probably wouldn’t have been able to reach his shoulder) (that was a long bracket) and decided to go and see a film, only to find that we didn’t have a decent cinema, so decided he’d build one.

Talking of tall celebs I’ve seen on my travels, Chris Evans, he’s one, and he walks fast, also Jonathan Woss (sorry….Ross) and he talks a lot, I had to wait 20 minutes for him to stop yakking so I could get served in a fabric shop in Soho once. Trips to London are good places to see celebs if you like doing that, we used to spot at least one wild one each trip.

I’ve rambled on a bit this morning, but in true Sarah stylie I still have a shed load of ‘stuff’ to do (don’t I always?) so I’m going to get on with it and try to get past my cheese induced headache.

Tuesday morning…one week later

Morning chaps! Phew, our washpile has decreased in size, not completely mind, but significantly. It’s now all safely in the basket, rather than cascading jauntily over the edge and up the bookcase. Now we have to finish tidying up after decorating our daughters bedroom, although Rick still does have the door to paint (hint hint).  We were going to progress to doing our bedroom, but I’m starting to panic about the Christmas sales, so I reacon that might have to wait until the spring.

There’s lots to do, getting my stock of jewellery ready for the few sales I’m attending, attempting to plan ahead for our Christmas so I don’t get in the usual rush, Christmas cards and letter to do (I said I was going to do this early last year but failed miserably….we didn’t even send any cards….mind you we were actually entertaining Christmas day for the first time and organised a Christmas Carol Service), our present shopping and all the commissions I get at this time of year. I’m also planning an exhibition at the moment that will take place in February next year, so not long to go. This will be my first posh exhibition that I’ve organised, and I’ve invited a couple of friends to share the space and time with me. Most of this needs to be done before Christmas as I usually end up doing my tax through January, so I need to get as much jewellery made as possible before then. Oh dear, what have I let myself in for?

Tuesday morning (just)

It’s official……..the washing has exploded all over the floor and the wash pile on top of the wash bin is now greater than the amount inside the bin. I heard Rick snigger the other evening as he tossed another pair of used kecks onto the pile and wondered what was up. He was trying to get the top of the pile higher than the bookcase it was beside! Honestly one bead event or a show and the housework system goes up the spout (housework system? do we have one?) ha ha, although talking to other beaders on Sunday it seems they have the same problem. One even commented that if they were burgled that the theives would probably leave the house tidier than they found it! lol.

It’s nice to have a little breathing space to get my work (and the house maybe?) sorted for the Christmas rush, oh, famous last words, I just know that even though all feels so calm today that it’s all going to get mega busy again and I’ll revert to headless chicken mode sooner rather than later. Speaking of which I should go and do some more jobs. Ta ta.

Saturday evening

Harrow Bead Fair, The bead event of the year is tomorrow, Sunday, and I’m packing my luscious new beads and goodies at the moment. Details of the Harrow Bead Fair are on my events page.

So we have to get everything ready tonight, including our lunch and drinks, although I think we should do the flask in the morning ‘cos the water will get too cold. tee hee. It’s the usual last minute scramble here, I did try to get well organised, I even didn’t make beads on Friday, but progress got somewhat hampered today due to the fact that we had a prior commitment which meant we were out all afternoon and evening and only just got home a short while ago.

I’m looking forward to meeting new people and seeing old friends again, it’s great having a stall because loads of people come and say hi. So if you’re reading my beadlog and coming tomorrow, do come by and make yourself known, oh and don’t forget your elbow pads, the crowds were 4 or 5 deep last year. See you tomorrow.