This was the year I ventured into the world of the craft market. Some were good and some were bad so I'm gradually learning which ones to go for and which to avoid!
Here I am at one of the good ones - the very lovely Craftaganza Christmas market, held at the Fabrica gallery here in Brighton.
The Landmark Crafts Fair was held in a spectacular venue in Teddington (close to where I grew up) and it was the first time I'd had a proper booth with back and sides. I certainly didn't make full use of these, having never had them before, but will know better next time!
It was a great success for me because it felt like a vindication of everything I have worked so hard for since I started Shark Alley in January 2010 and this was reflected both in sales and the positive reaction to my pieces. I met some lovely people too. A lot of publications selected images of my work to publicise the event, including CRAFTS - the magazine of The Crafts Council, which was incredibly exciting and a huge boost to the morale.
2011 also marked the year I began to sew things as well as make jewellery - the first of hopefully many excursions into different products and projects that will come under Shark Alley's crafty little banner.
The hand-sewn otters have already been well documented in this blog, but I also really enjoyed making bird decorations as well as designing and putting together kits to enable others to feel the love! Sewing is soooo (sew?!) therapeutic for me and although it can be time-consuming and not that cost-effective, I really enjoy it.
Elsa, a friend's eight year old goddaughter, used her kits to make the decoration and the key ring above. Excellent work, eh? I'll be outsourcing the otters to her soon.
A competition launched on Shark Alley's Facebook page yielded lots of lovely 'likers' and a chance to win four of the felty bird decs. Here is one of the four on a lucky winner's Christmas tree!
Speaking of the otters, I haven't been able to confirm the full totals as yet, but I reckon I've raised around £50 to donate to the Otters and Butterflies sanctuary in Buckfastleigh, Devon, which I'm dead chuffed about (10% of all my otter sales go towards this). I'm going to continue fundraising this year for another ottery organisation yet to be confirmed.
Plans for 2012 include moving Shark Alley jewellery into a different medium and I've got loads of ideas for lovely, unusual Christmas products using mostly recycled materials, something I remain passionate about. I'd also like to try more 3D work using birds and animals as my inspiration as usual.
So HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you who've managed to read this far! Thanks for your interest and support and let's hope that 2012 is going to be a good one. xxxx
