Shark Alley @ Brighton Museum

Waaaaaay back in the summer of 2012, I had a meeting with the buyer for the Brighton Museum and Royal Pavilion shops to see if they would be interested in stocking some of my jewellery.  It was decided that the Museum shop would be the best venue and that I could have a cabinet in there in . . . . . FEBRUARY 2013!

It seemed an age away at that point, but in the way of time, it passed and suddenly the day came to install my stuff.

I'd had an idea for a display based on an amazing Sunday Times shoot I'd seen, which featured a woodland set created entirely from cardboard shapes cut from boxes.  I thought it would suit the recycled nature of my work, but feared it might be a bit 'clunky' and so ended up feeling a bit stuck for alternative ideas.

On a particularly silly night out with friends . . .

. . . my designer friend Lucy came up with an alternative idea  - little white cut-out scenes that the brooches could be fitted into. So the next day, I had a little practice with both the ideas.

I decided to go with Lucy's theme, as it separated out the two types of jewellery more effectively - mixed-media in one place and resin in another.

Then all that was left to do was to install it!

The cabinets are happily near a massive model of the Emile Galle cat that I have based some brooch designs on.

I hated these cats when I first saw them in the museum as a student, but now I love them - they are so charming!  Sadly I couldn't capture their sappy smiles on my brooches - they're just too small.

My jewellery is on show for seven weeks until Sunday 24th March.

We're Glad It's All Over

Thank God it's not January any more!

It seemed to go on for ages and I couldn't get to grips with it at all, blinking like a mole into 2013.  And it's been over a month since I posted on here.  Bad girl.  Baaaaaad.

It's been a while now, but I hope you guys had lots of Festive Fun!

The highlight of my Christmas was spending some time with the delightful Nemo Otter at the Aquazoo in Düsseldorf.  What a treat!  Dr Wolfgang Gettmann and Aquazoo friend Heike Degen were so nice to Paul and I and let us spend ages with Nemo, as well as showing us behind the scenes of the zoo.  I got to hold a tarantula!  Squeamish folks, look away now.

We could have stroked an octopus too, apparently, but sadly it had died a few days earlier.

Anyway, let's cut to the best bit.

A sleepy little ott! Nemo's fur is coarser that I expected, as were his whiskers.  He also has an incredibly muscly tail which was really quite heavy and fleshy underneath the tip.

Nemo is made to appreciate some quality Shark Alley workmanship - an otter keyring I made as a gift for Wolfgang.

Now, could I sneak this otter into my handbag? And would they notice?

Taking Nemo for a walk in Nordpark, where the Aquazoo is set.

Nemo hunts for juicy fat worms, which he dispatches with a couple of quick gulps. DELICIOUS.

It all seems like a dream now!  We were with him for three hours and were invited to stay longer, but we had to catch a train up to the north later that afternoon.  We can go and visit him again whenever we are next there, though.

Aquazoo 
Kaiserswerther Straße 380, 40200 Düsseldorf, Germany.