Wire wrapped heart pendant - copyright Helen White

Since my last post I have been busy creating new items. And this month I wanted to crack on with the technique of wire wrapping. As silver wire is quite expensive I use plated wire, this is also cost effective when you just start out with this kind of technique as you tend to produce a bit of wastage when you make mistakes.

As it’s Valentine’s Day this month, hearts are obviously playing a part in my new designs and I decided to make two wire wrapped heart pendants – but not just with round wire. Instead I used square wire. I have a  nifty little device from Beadalon with which I can twist the wire into a nice shape. So for the two hearts I made, I used two square wires of different colours (copper, silver plated for the first one and brass and silver plated) and twisted these together. Only downside is that the wire hardens using this method, which means it’s harder to manipulate into a nice shape.

Wire wrapped heart - with copper and silver plated copper wire - copyright Helen White

Once twisted I bent it into the desired heart shape. The trickiest bit  here was actually to make sure that the ends were not sharp – so I used a wire rounder and ultimately a needle file to smooth the edges. Using 0.4mm copper wire I started wrapping Swarovski beads and Czech fire polished beads onto the frame. And voila – the finished piece. It is not as easy it as it sounds though and takes a long time to wrap around. Plus you have to be very carefully not to kink the wire, which happens easily – especially if you work with a very long piece of wire. When that happens I tend to straighten it with my nylon coated pliers or if I can’t rescue it I snip it off and use a new piece of wire

Hope you like the results. Until next time.

Wire wrapped heart pendant - Copper and silver wire - copyright Helen White

Happy New Year - copyright Helen White

I hope you all had a good start to the New Year.

It has been a bit quiet since my last post, mainly because I have been busy in the run-up to Christmas, working on a proofreading assignment, making further improvements on the website (the shop layout is now horizontal instead of one long row) and my PTLLS course, which I have finished before Christmas. I am now waiting for my City & Guilds certificate to arrive. My tutor reckons it will take until about March. However I am happy to say that I passed my nerve wrecking micro teach – a teaching session of only 30 minutes, which is rather challenging for someone who is not keen on public speaking! And planning for only 30 minutes isn’t easy.

One of the reasons why I have done this course was simply to be able to teach jewellery courses on a 1-2-1 basis to people who are interested to learn but not keen on going to big classes. But I also hope to teach journalism courses for the NUJ. So these are already two things on my ever increasing list of things I’d like to do and achieve.

Last year I have featured a lot of crafters and jewellery designers and in December Kirsty Sullivan from Ladybird Beads has returned the favour and featured me in a long interview on her blog. You can read it here:

http://www.ladybirdbeads.blogspot.com/ I hope you like it. I also hope to improve my own PR and get featured in other blogs or magazines to get my brand more known.

Another thing on my list is to simply get my health back and being able to create jewellery without inevitable shoulder and neck pain. So I am hitting the gym and start exercising again. I haven’t been able to create new stock in the last 2 or 3 months and it’s not a nice situation to be in, especially as I have so many ideas in my head for designs. So this month I will ease myself back into creating things – and decided to work with one or two different techniques and materials each month.

As it’s very cold in the conservatory I am dreading the work bench a bit and so will spend January working in our living room. This means mainly bead work, as polymer clay is messy and the pasta machine is tricky to clamp onto our round table.

Once it gets warmer – hopefully in February I want to work with my new texture plates and get back to my polymer clay. My dad gave me a tumbling kit for Christmas which I want to use a lot too – which means working with PMC again. It’s unfortunately not a cheap material, so will start with a few designs and see how well they sell.

By the end of this year I want to change my logo to something that I think represents my jewellery better. The “logo” I have right now can be confusing as it just shows beads (photographed with my old camera before it started to tint everything pink!).

What I also like to do this year is to work with silver and copper and am currently waiting for a book to arrive by Jinks McGrath to help me get back to metal work.

Animals, especially cats, will still be one of my main themes for jewellery designs as I have noticed that my animal jewellery is quite popular with customers.

And finally  – if finances allow it – I would like to go on another jewellery course, as I think it’s important to learn new or improve existing skills.

So these are my plans for this year. I would love to hear from you. What would you like to achieve this year?

How many animals have been re-homed since the start of the charity?

Our current number stands at 1950. The majority have been re-homed and others have been transferred to other rescue charities when we have run out of space. The number signifies all those who have come into Four Paws’ care. We are due to reach our 2000^th dog and we are hoping to have a surprise celebration for the family who will be adopting the 2000^th dog.

How many active members have you got?

At present we have 30 active foster carers, 4 trustees and approximately 30 fundraising volunteers. No one at Four Paws receives a wage; we are all volunteering our time and skills.

Like any good animal charity Four Paws has a strict vetting policy and the requirements can be found on their website here Can you explain why you have such strict criteria?

Some people may see our procedures as being quite strict, however our main concern is always the welfare of the animal and the prospective owners. Many of the animals that come to us have been unwanted, neglected and sometimes abused. It is our duty to make sure they are treated with love and kindness in their next home.

One of the many dogs up for adoption - copyright Four Paws Animal Rescue (SW)

When do you turn people down?

The main reason we may turn an application down is when we have lots of applications for the same dog. It is inevitable some people will be disappointed, but we try to match the most suitable home to the dog so it is never a personal reflection of the applicant.

We also may turn people down if their current animals are not vaccinated or neutered. We also have a policy where we do not home with children under the age of five.

The hardest reason we may have to turn people down is, if they are planning on leaving a dog for longer than four hours. We know that this is a difficulty for many people but it is important to note that many rescue dogs have abandonment issues and for some dogs over four hours is too long to be away from their human companions. We never home a puppy where they will be left for more than 3 hours as we feel they need input into behaviour and training whilst they are small.

You mainly re-home dogs and have currently one cat in care. Why is that?

The reason Four Paws Animal Rescue focuses mainly on dogs is that they are more at risk of needlessly being killed at the pound. We have taken in many animals over the years including cats, birds and even a ferret! As a charity we find homing cats very difficult and as a consequence we have a limited number of spaces to be able to help them. We have recognised that there are many cats out there that need help and as a result we have recently been helping spay female cats to help the unwanted kitten problem.

Five year old Mandu is currently the only cat in care and in desperate need of a loving home as he's been with the charity for quite some time - copyright Four Paws Animal Rescue (SW)

What other animal charities do you work with to re-home and help for example cats in need?

We work with many other charities to help our animals, and for cats we often refer people who need help to Cats Protection, the RSPCA and Catwell.

What kind of dogs are the most difficult to re-home?

Brindled male Staffys! Any bull breed is hard to home but if it is a brindle colour they have been known to stay with us for up to a year. We also have difficulty finding foster homes for bull breeds due to their stereotypes, despite the fact that they are possibly the most loving breed.

One of the many dogs up for adoption - copyright Four Paws Animal Rescue (SW)

And what kind of dogs are the easiest to find homes for?

Any pedigree dogs that come to us such as Cavaliers, Spaniels, Yorkies etc. The smaller the dog the easier it is to re-home. We also have a great deal of interest when we have puppies, unless they are bull breed pups of course!

You have private fosterers as well as kennels – is that correct?

We do not have a rescue centre but a network of foster carers who dedicate their time and love to their foster dogs whilst helping them find a forever home. When we can not find a foster home for a dog we rent a kennel from a local boarding kennel. This is very expensive for us but necessary when a dog needs quarantining or has behavioural issues they need help with.

The recession has a negative effect on pet ownership. How much has the amount of animals in care increased since 2008?

The rates of dogs being handed into the pound has risen exponentially since 2008! We tripled our re-homing rates in the first year of the recession. We also have a hand-in list where people apply to hand their dogs in to us. Traditionally there have always been around 30 dogs waiting to come to us, however since the recession we have had a static number of 120 on our waiting list. It is devastating to see how many people have lost their jobs, homes and the financial means to continue looking after their furry companions.

What is the most common reason people have brought in a dog to re-home?

The main reason people hand their dogs in to us is that they can not cope with behavioural issues such as separation anxiety, toilet training or aggression. Some of these are quite simple to deal with and others not so. Therefore it always reminds us that training and socialising a dog at a young age is vital in making it a happy and healthy animal. Another common reason is the arrival of a new family member and we often see people handing dogs in as they are unable to cope with a new baby and a dog or they are worried how the dog would react to a new baby.

Readers will be interested to know how they can help animals in need. What does Four Paws mostly need, not only in terms of donations, but practical help?

Four Paws Animal Rescue is always looking for people who would like to foster. We look for people who spend quite a lot of time at home, enjoy walking and can help a rescue dog adjust to family life.

We know that not many people can foster so there is plenty of other things to do. We are always looking for people to help us run stalls at events, hold a tin outside pets at home or run your own fundraising event!

Whatever you decide to do, please feel free to come and be part of our online community where you will find lots of dog lovers, friends and practical animal owning advice.

What has been the biggest challenge for the charity?

The biggest challenge for our charity was rescuing the two Springer spaniels Bertie and Wooster. They were dumped in the pound to be put to sleep, but rescued by Four Paws. After a short period in a foster home they were re-homed. After two weeks in their new home we received a phone call to say that Bertie was going to be put down by the vet due to a spinal injury. On further inspection it turned out that Wooster had run head first into his brother crushing his spine. The family had not taken out pet insurance and as a result could not afford treatment and so agreed to have him euthanized. FPAR retrieved both, Bertie and Wooster, and spent several thousand pounds on life saving surgery for Bertie. Bertie is now living permanently with his foster carer who adopted him. Wooster has his very own home where he swims in a lake every day. It was a challenge emotionally and financially for a very small charity, but we knew that it was our duty to do the very best for our animals.

And what has been the biggest success?

Our foster carers are our biggest success! Without them FPAR couldn’t save the dogs that we have. We have a lot to thank them for. One other success is that Kirsty Thomas, the founder of the charity, won the Dogs Trust Award for “A Dog’s Best Friend”. It was wonderful to see her rewarded for all her hard work.

What are your future plans for the charity?

One day we hope to have our own rescue centre. It is a long way off but we hope to realise it one day.

When’s the next big charity event?

10^th December 2011 – Christmas Event at Buttrills Community Centre, North Walk, Barry, CF62 8BX

Thank you very much for the interview Seran.

Website here

Facebook here

Twitter here

Ladybird bracelet - copyright Kirsty Sullivan

Kirsty Sullivan is the designer and owner of Ladybird Beads. She lives with her three small children and partner in a small town in Essex just north of Epping Forest, but is originally from Wales. Kirsty started making jewellery in 2009 and in her day job she works as a Programme Manager at the Museum of London Docklands.

Do you have any pets?

Not any more, though I have a history of gerbils. I would love a Devon Rex cat!

When did you start making jewellery?

I started making jewellery in early 2009, when I wanted to make a bag charm to finish a cross stitch project and then got a bit carried away.

When did you start your business?

I sold my first pieces in June 2009, firstly to Facebook friends who were really supportive and then I set up my website about 6 weeks later – my first craft fairs were in December that year.

What do you like about creating jewellery?

I’m a bit of a magpie and love shiny, colourful things so making jewellery is the perfect hobby. I also like the fact that however mad my pieces has ended up, they have all found a home eventually.

How did you come up with the name Ladybird Beads? Are ladybirds your favourite animals?

In our back garden in Cardiff we had a quince bush that was always covered in ladybirds and my mum used to explain that they were all families, just like ours, and that if I took them away the little ladybirds would be upset. Then she found me eating something in the garden…and when questioned, I said, “Daddy Ladybird crunched!” I’m not sure how this translated into a lifelong love of ladybirds, but I do love spotting them when I’m out and about, and I love the odd one you always get in the house in winter. They are also supposed to be lucky, which is always a good thing!

How would you describe your jewellery?

Fun, funky, colourful, cheerful, playful, conversational! The usual reaction when people see my stall at events is huge smiles when people spot the polymer clay sweet jewellery, which then draws them into looking closer at the other things I have on sale.

Fuzzy Felt ring - copyright Kirsty Sullivan

Do you have a favourite material you enjoy working with? What is it you like about working with this material?

Currently I love wool felt and have been making chunky felt ball bracelets, and corsages and rings with felt flowers. All of these have had buttons as accents, which means I now have a stash of buttons that will end up being used as jewellery! Felt is so tactile and comes in so many colours. I also love Lucite flowers and tend to make a couple of statement seasonal pieces every year which are usually one-offs and combine Lucite with glass and other materials, and I’m playing about with polymer clay making Halloween and Christmas pieces.

Do you have a favourite technique you like working with?

Not really – as my crafty background has mainly been in textiles (I love cross stitch, patchwork, knitting etc) it’s all about the colour rather than the technique! I’m such a dabbler that I love to try new things all the time.

Where do you sell predominantly?

At the moment it seems to be at local craft fairs and events, which is great as people come and see me if they know I’ll be there.

Knitwits charm bracelet - copyright Kirsty Sullivan

What’s your best selling item?

Online, it’s the Knitwits charm bracelet and the Ladybugs bracelet that sell better than anything else, but at all my summer events this year it was strawberry jewellery that was flying off the stalls! It’s funny, as I only made some lamp work strawberry pieces to use up beads I had left after making a commissioned piece, but they were really popular!

What’s your favourite item?

My favourite item is the Harvest bracelet I made a few years back – one of the seasonal pieces inspired by a walk up to the nursery to collect my daughter!

Berry bracelet - copyright Kirsty Sullivan

What or who inspires you?

I’m really lucky in that although I can’t live where I really want to (by the sea!), I do live very near Epping Forest – nature inspires me, especially in the autumn. I love the colours and shapes of the leaves – my favourite artist is Andy Goldsworthy, and I’d love to be able to create the way he does!

How do you plan your designs? Do you sketch things before you start creating them?

I’m a terrible artist and what I see in my head is never what ends up on the paper, so I think if I tried to sketch out an item I would be disillusioned before I started – I prefer to use a bead board or mat and pile up the beads and charms I want to use to see how they look together, and work from there.

What would you recommend people who would like to start making money from their craft?

Be prepared to work hard at it! Make sure your items stand out from the crowd in some way, especially if you’re a jewellery maker, because you have a LOT of competition. Investigate online markets thoroughly to make sure you’re not duplicating hundreds of other identical items already available. Concentrate on customer service, too – if people want something a bit different to what you have ready-made and you can make it for them, why not? They’ll remember you, they know they have something completely unique to them, and that’s the difference between handmade and ready made. Wrap all your sales beautifully, not just the ones you know are gifts, as everyone loves getting presents. And if you’re on a stall, SMILE! Acknowledge your visitors but don’t be pushy, respond if they look interested in something, and don’t just sit around waiting for customers – craft stall holders who are making items on the spot are clearly ‘the real thing’ and they are also creating a point of interest for passers by. If your work isn’t portable, then try making up gift boxes or tags  or packaging. The personal touch can’t be underestimated.

Strawberry Fields bracelet - copyright Kirsty Sullivan

And finally: What are your plans for the future?

In my fantasy world, it’s winning the lottery and being able to concentrate full time on jewellery making and craft – my best friend and I used to have a fantasy book shop and gallery which would be a social space as well as a shop (long before Borders hit the UK shores!) and it would still be amazing to do that if the opportunity comes up. I always eye up vacant shops in my local town centre and plan out where everything would go!

In the real world, I’d like to be able to start placing my jewellery in local shops, to learn to drive so that I have more freedom to do craft fairs further afield and to discover a few extra hours in the day so that I have time to do all the things I want to do! So much inspiration and so little opportunity…

Thanks Kirsty for taking part in this interview.

Thank you Helen!

You can find Kirsty’s Facebook page here

Kirsty’s website

Kirsty’s Etsy- Shop

Kirsty’s Folksy-Shop

Kirsty’s Blog

Kaa 5 detail - copyright Helen White

I had a few busy weeks attending fairs and creating more jewellery.

Working with polymer clay is fun but also very time consuming. My latest pendants were originally planned as rings and you can find them in my shop under Pendants, Polymer Clay Designs and Animal Jewellery. I wanted to make snake rings, however on the day I couldn’t find my ring mandrel and had to improvise and because the snakes are not that thin they ended up being very small in diameter – mainly size I which is very small indeed. So I now sell them as pendants.

Kaa 5 on ring cone - Polymer Clay Snake - copyright Helen White

Kaa 5 - copyright Helen White

I call my 6 snakes Kaa after The Jungle Book. Kaa is one of my favourite characters in the Disney version. For Kaa and her cousins I used scrap clay, formed it into a long snake and covered it with a Mokume Gane pattern. The beauty of Mokume Gane is that the possibilities are endless – you can stack as many colours as you like, include silver or gold foil, stab it with needles, impress it with all sorts of textures and once you are done and carefully scrape of the first layer you’ll be surprised about the pattern underneath. And each layer is different. I just love the unpredictability of this technique which comes from Japan. Once my snakes were covered I pressed in small seed beads for its eyes, cured it, sanded and varnished it.

Kaa 4 - Polymer Clay Snake-copyright Helen White

I hope you like Kaa and her cousins – she is very friendly too.

Kaa 3 - Polymer Clay Snake - copyright Helen White

Kaa 2 -Polymer Clay Snake - copyright Helen White

Kaa 2 -Polymer Clay Snake - copyight Helen White

Below you can also find my other Mokume Gane pendants made from the same cane.

Psychedelic round pendant in polymer clay - copyright Helen White

Psychedelic oval pendant in polymer clay - copyright Helen White

Psychedelic diamond shaped pendant in polymer clay - copyright Helen White

Jennie - copyright Jennifer Elizabeth Heap

My friend Jennifer Elizabeth Heap originally comes from Leicestershire but has moved to South Wales in 2006 to study drama at the University of Glamorgan. Jennie lives in the outskirts of Caerphilly with her gorgeous and mischievous black and white cats Reebok and Booful. When she’s not creating beautiful jewellery she is studying childcare at her local college.

Jennie's Cats - copyright Jennifer Elizabeth Heap

When did you start making jewellery and why?

Jennie: I first started making jewellery last year (2010), when I was unwell with depression. My mum bought me a load of beads and cord and I used to make threaded and knotted necklaces, because it kept my hands busy and gave me something to do. I found it really therapeutic and moved on to using headpins and eye pins and now I’m using resin and wirework and there’s no looking back!

Resin pendants and earrings - copyright Jennifer Elizabeth Heap

Did you take any jewellery courses?

Jennie: I took an Agored Cymru level 1 course in Jewellery Making which was run by Lynsey who is now a really close friend of mine. The course covered basic jewellery making techniques and also showed me some helpful little shortcuts and how to do things properly (i.e. not how I’d been doing it before!). Other than that I have spent the occasional afternoon or evening doing a ‘skills exchange’ for example Rebecca Ashley Smith (Rasberry Crafts) showed me wire work in exchange for me showing her some resin stuff.

A selection of Jennie's wire wrapped pendants - copyright Jennifer Elizabeth Heap

When did you start selling jewellery? And where do you sell it?

Jennie: It was a massive leap for me to start selling my jewellery as I thought it was good and my friends and family said I should sell it, but I didn’t build up the confidence for a long time. I began selling in early 2011 after I’d been making pieces for eight months or so. Since then I’ve sold at roughly three fairs a month from local markets like Roath Arts and Crafts Bazaar to the Nottingham Gateway Hotel, I’m booked into lots of fairs coming up to Christmas in Bristol, Bath, Cardiff and Nottingham!

How would you describe the kind of jewellery you make?

Jennie: I make feminine jewellery inspired by vintage and antique styles with a contemporary twist. My pieces are eclectic and reminiscent of fairytales and surreal stories like Alice in Wonderland.

Who or what is your inspiration?

Jennie: I am inspired by so many different things, I’d say that I’ve always got my jewellery head on, and am always thinking of new ways to use textures or images. I am inspired by my family, as they have always nursed my creativity and they keep me going when I’m feeling low and wanting to give it all up. My dad is quite creative and into railway modelling so if I have a technical question about glue or varnish, he usually has the answer. In fact, he taught me to make the perfect loop in wire. I am also really interested in fairytales and literature so I love old books and illustrations and you can often find me in a charity shop or second hand bookstore. I could get lost in these places!

Pendants - copyright Jennifer Elizabeth Heap

What is your favourite medium you work with?

Jennie: I love working with resin, but it does take a long time to become something. I enjoy the ‘back to basics’ beadwork and I’m really into wirework at the moment… it changes all the time!

You work a lot with resin. What do you like about this medium?

Jennie: I love resin, because it’s so versatile. You can do so many different things with it and it’s sticky and messy which is always fun! Resin is clear initially but you can colour it with dyes, you can embed things (like petals or beads) into it, you can etch onto it – there are so many options! For inspiration about what can be achieved with resin visit Daisy Dunlop’s website.

Resin Flower Pendants - copyright Jennifer Elizabeth Jennifer Heap

Wat is your favourite design of your own jewellery?

Jennie: I like so many of my designs but I think my favourite is the Recycled Fairytales pieces, especially the pendants on chains with embellishments of polymer clay flowers (which I have to admit I didn’t make myself) and leaves and metal charms.

How long does it take you to make one of your pendants?

Jennie: It varies depending on what materials I’m using. Anything with resin takes at least 24 hours to cure or harden. The picture pendants with glass domes don’t take me very long but I’m using much more resin now and all you need is planning to be able to make effective and unique pieces.

Resin Bird Pendant - copyright Jennifer Elizabeth Heap

What are your plans for the future? Are there other techniques and materials you’d like to explore?

Jennie: Due to my commitment to college I don’t think I’ll be learning any new techniques for a while. But I will continue to work on my resin and wirework and see what develops out of that!

What would recommend to readers who would like to create and sell jewellery?

Jennie: I would say that you need to have faith in yourself and go for it. Don’t be disheartened if fairs are quiet or you don’t sell much. Accept the compliments about your work and remember them! Make connections with other crafters because you can use them for advice on techniques, materials or stockists and also they can be a really great source of support. It can be quite lonely, making and selling your own creations but making friends really eases the anxiety and loneliness. I know that making friends for me has been one of the unexpected bonuses of selling my jewellery!

Jennie with one of her cats. - Copyright Jennifer Elizabeth Heap

Thank you very much for the interview.

You can find Jennie’s Etsy Shop here.

Jennie’s own website is here.

Jennie’s  Facebook page is here.

Freddie was also a massive cat lover, he adored cats and was owned by several cats. They stayed with him until his death and you can find some info about Freddie’s cats here

The Birds – Elbow

Today the Mercury prize will be awarded to one of 12 nominees and Radio 6 has been promoting this event for weeks now. If you love music as much as I do, you’ll be interested to find out who will get the award this year and the ever excitable Jools Holland will as usual present the show. I always assumed the prize was named after either the record label Mercury Records or the great Freddie (who is also the inspiration for the name of my dear cat Freddy). So when checking I was surprised that it was actually named and created by the communications company Mercury – and that was before I lived in Britain so I have never heard of them. Since its demise the Mercury has changed its sponsors to Barclaycard but kept the name.

I love the Mercury Awards mainly for the fact that I always discover some new artists I wouldn’t have otherwise heard of.

Since it was launched in 1992 by the British Phonographic Industry as an alternative to the mainstream Brit Awards it has seen some deserving winners (and I own most of these albums : Primal Scream’s Screamadelica (still a cracking album), Suede’s Suede, Portishead’s Dummy, Pulp’s Different Class (though my favourite Pulp record is We love Life – beautiful songs), Badly Drawn Boy’s The Hour of the Bewilderbeast (which I don’t own, but I own two of his other albums), PJ Harvey’s Stories from the City, stories from the Sea (brilliant album),Franz Ferdinand’s Franz Ferdinand, Elbow’s Seldom Seen Kids and The XX – XX.

But there were also odd choices such as Speech Debelle in 2009, a year which had a strong shortlist of fantastic artists and albums – among the people nominated that year were Bat for Lashes, Florence and the Machine, Kasabian, Friendly Fires and The Horrors (I heard a few songs of the latter two and liked them). M People also springs to mind as a  terrible choice – nominated that year when Britpop was all the rage – Blur, The Prodigy, Pulp and Paul Weller were nominated too –but so was Take That for some bizarre reason.

Anthony and Johnson’s was also an odd choice, although I have warmed to his music as it is so otherworldly. Odd- because he doesn’t live in Britain, though born here. Roni Size/Reprazent won it in 1997 – can anyone remember him? The same year saw The Chemical Brothers, Beth Orton, Primal Scream and The Prodigy nominated – but also the Spice Girls. The Arctic Monkeys won the Award in 2006  – I have their album and never listen to it, as I find it rather repetitive – and that year’s nominated albums  also included Thom Yorke’s stunning solo The Eraser, Muse’s epic Black Holes and Revelations, Lou Rhodes’ The Beloved One, Richard Hawley’s Coles Corner and The Editors’ The Back Room. All albums I still like to listen to.

The Klaxons won it in 2007 – Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black was on the short list that year, she also was nominated in 2004 for her stunning debut Frank (my favourite Winehouse album) but lost out to Franz Ferdinand.

Stronger Than Me – Amy Winehouse

Last year’s shortlist was very strong and it was a shame to see Laura Marling losing out to The XX, but it was still a good choice. I am sure if her new single Sophia is anything to go by, her new album will be nominated next year again.

So what about this year’s list then? There are a few bands I know little about, but heard a few songs from. Everything, Everything appeared on Jools Holland’s Later show and I quite liked them but wouldn’t want to listen to a whole album by them. Katy B isn’t my cup of tea and so is Adele, who unfortunately for her fans won’t be performing tonight because she’s ill. Tinie Tempah is also not my cup of tea – I don’t like hip hop, I don’t like R&B and I don’t like rap, bores me to death. I don’t know much about James Blake, so I had a quick listen on YouTube –and I really don’t like his voice or singing style.

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins however is worth a listen – I might be tempted to get the album. Creosote has a beautiful, fragile voice and has been making records since 1998, while Hopkins is a producer and musician specialising in electronica.

Bubbles – King Creosote and Jon Hopkins

Gwilym Simcock is a Welsh pianist and represents the jazz genre at tonight’s awards.  Jazz musicians never win it  and I am not super keen on jazz. Metronomy is another band I am not too fussy about.

But I like Ghost Poet – his Liiines has been featured a lot on Radio 6, it has hypnotic quality to it, however I don’t know what the rest of his album Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam is like (great title), but I will definitely find out.

Liiines – Ghost Poet

And here are my favourite nominees:

Starting with Elbow and Build a Rocket Boys. Elbow have been nominated 3 times and so far won it once for the awesome Seldom Seen Kid. Instead of rushing to create a follow up album, Guy Garvey and his mates have taken their time and it has paid off.

I bought this album for my husband as an anniversary gift and it is on heavy rotation in our house. I love Garvey’s soulful voice and try to remember whenever I can to listen to his radio show on Radio 6 (Sundays between 10 and 12 pm). His show is highly recommendable as it feels like you get to know the man and  he has fab taste – where else would you get to listen to Talk Talk’s The Spirit of Eden – Talk Talk is also one of his favourite bands and I think they influenced Elbow’s sound a bit. My favourite tracks on Build a Rocket Boys are the slow and intense The Birds, the powerful Neat Little Rows, High Ideals and the achingly beautiful The River.

The River – Elbow

Anna Calvi is another musician I like and her album titled also Anna Calvi is on my wish list. Anna has been heavily promoted by The Guardian, and I tend to be suspicious when an artist gets so much attention, but I really like her deep voice which has an operatic quality to it, she sounds very different when she speaks. Anna, who often gets compared to fellow nominee PJ Harvey, also plays guitar and gives cracking live performances. So far she has released three singles from her album, Desire, Blackout and Suzanne and I – which reminds me vaguely of Goldfinger. Judging from these three songs I think the album is worth a listen and because she is a new artist she’d be a very deserving winner. Plus not very often in the history of the Mercury does a female artist win the prize, it’s mostly bands.

Blackout – Anna Calvi

Which brings me to one of my favourite singers – PJ Harvey who is also highly tipped to win it the second time around for Let England Shake. She’s been nominated 4 times in total and one of those rare artists who loves to explore new sounds, ideas and instruments. PJ never repeats herself, but always surprises and is a tremendous live performer (from what I have seen on TV – have yet to see her live). Each of her albums is different and she doesn’t take years to release new work. It’s not surprising she’s been nominated so many times, although they should have nominated her for my personal favourite album White Chalk.

Let England Shake is a wonderful album and it’s really hard to choose a favourite song, but I think it has to be The Words That Maketh Murder, The Glorious Land, On Battleship Hill, Hanging in the Wire & Written on the Forehead.

The Words That Maketh Murder – PJ Harvey

I’d be happy if any of these three artists would win. Who is your favourite and why? I would love to hear from you.

Enjoy the show.

Cat pendant - copyright Helen White

I just realised I haven’t posted for over 2 weeks. Lots of things have happened since my last post –  the terrible Norway massacre, the ongoing phone hacking scandal, Amy Winehouse’s death ( I love Amy’s voice and “Frank” is one of my all time favourite albums – I think it’s actually better than her more successful Back to Black) and the ongoing riots in England (ongoing as I write).

On a positive note – My little sister visited us for a week, which was nice and I have therefore not been able to create any new jewellery in that time. We went to Bath with her, unfortunately arrived a bit late due to late departure and a massive traffic jam in front of the tunnel near Newport, but my hubby bought be a very cute cat necklace – I normally don’t buy jewellery for obvious reasons, but I really loved the design of it. After my sister went back I had to catch up a lot on making new items.

Flamingo pendant - copyright Helen White

I decided to create animal themed jewellery, mainly because I love animals esp. cats (no surprise there) and would wear these myself. So now you can find a lot of cute earrings – horses, dinosaurs, cats, flying horses, elephants, tortoises, turtles, owls, dragonflies, hummingbirds and howling wolves which you can all find here. I will add more earrings in the near future.

Kiwi pendant - copyright Helen White

I have also started to create animal pendants using molds I bought and also molds I made myself. At the moment I have cats, Scotty dogs, flamingos, horses, kiwis, seahorses, but I am hoping to create other type of animal pendants and earrings.

Cat pendant - copyright Helen White

As I am writing my first pendants are actually drying from their first coat of varnish – they will get 2-3 coats, because I need to seal in the mica powder that gives them a beautiful shimmer. I really hope you will like them.

Horse pendant - copyright Helen White

Unfortunately one of my pendants broke while trying to file them. It was one of my more delicate pieces which fell on my floor in the conservatory. So I have to make that one again and be a bit more careful!

Scotty dog pendant - copyright Helen White

Once these pendants are all varnished I will upload them on my website. Next on my to-do list are bat and skull earrings and pendants as well as steampunk pendants. I have a bag full of tiny watch bits and pieces I will use for my pendants.

Cat face pendant - copyright Helen White

That’s it for now , thanks for reading– but before I forget: I would like to know from my readers  which animals (apart from cats) they like me to try and make pendants of.

Obviously I won’t be taking all my stock but have not only to choose my items wisely, but also to decide on which displays to take. I have a few pendants I’d like to sell this Saturday (fingers crossed) and wasn’t happy with just laying them out on the table. My friend Pamela gave me an idea, as she’s very good at making her own displays out of photo frames. Her earring display is very nifty indeed as she can hook her earrings on it and close the whole display for transport and when she opens it, it can stand on its own.

Pendant display front - copyright Helen White

For my own pendant display I have chosen a small cheap stand alone frame (13cm x 18cm) from a pound shop. Originally I tried to hammer U-pins to the back of the frame, but that didn’t really work, so I had to have good think of how to attach the pins to the back so they will hold the pendant’s cords. I discovered some White Tack in my cupboard and found this works well. But first I took the frame apart and attached some pretty fabric, which my friend Lyn, who is a dressmaker (she made my beautiful wedding dress), donated to me.

Pendant display, back detail - copyright Helen White

Then I attached the white tack in big generous balls to the end of the frame’s back and stuck the U-pins into it, while squeezing the tack to make sure it holds the pins in place. And then I just hung my pendants on the display by securing the end around the U-pin.

Pendant display back - copyright Helen White

For variety you could position the balls of tack at intervals in the middle and end of the frame’s back.

Rachel Jinks - designer and owner of Mog's Togs

If you love cats as much as I do you will love the cute cat collars Rachel Jinks designs and sells through her online shops on Etsy and Folksy. Rachel founded her cat accessory business “Mog’s Togs” in 2010. She lives with her husband Pete and her gorgeous rescue cats Lila and Mia in Surrey. In her day job she works as a trial statistician and she is also studying for a PhD in Medical Statistics.

When did you start making collars for cats?

When Lila and Mia first started going outside, they lost their breakaway collars at an amazing rate. I didn’t want them going out without ID tags, but with no pet shop conveniently nearby, I was concerned about running out of replacement collars, so I decided to look into sewing them myself from scrap fabric.

Rachel's cat Mia - copyright Rachel Jinks

When did you start selling your collars?

After a month or so the cats stopped losing the collars quite so frequently, but by this point I was enjoying making them & had bought various cute ribbons to make more. I thought there must be cat people out there who wanted their cats to look as cool as Mia and Lila did, so I decided to try selling them. My Folksy and Etsy shops opened in October 2010.

Rachel's cat Lila - copyright Rachel Jinks

You make your collars to order – what was your most unusual collar request?

A lady I met through Twitter runs a cat agility group for ten rescue cats, to try and channel some of their destructive and aggressive tendencies. They now do their agility to music and are “dancing” at the “CamperJam” festival in July. She asked if I could make them all matching collars with a camper van design! After failing to find any suitable ribbon, I designed the fabric myself and had it printed by a US company. I also managed to find some great camper van charms to go on them too, as the finishing touch! I can’t wait to see the photos.

Cat collars with camper van charms - copyright Rachel Jinks

As you sell internationally – which countries have you sold your collars to the most?

The single country I’ve sold most collars to outside of the UK is the USA, but I also sell regularly to Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Who is your most famous customer (human or feline)?

I sent a welcome home present of two collars (blue and yellow, of course!) to Larry the Downing Street cat when he arrived at Number 10 from Battersea earlier this year. I was absolutely over the moon when some photos of him were emerged on the eve of the Royal Wedding, wearing a Union Jack bow tie – attached to one of the cat collars I had sent him! I didn’t stop talking about it for days!

Note – for copyright reasons I can’t show the photo of  Larry – but here’s a link to it.

How long does it take you to make a custom collar?

In terms of actual sewing and making time, only about 15-30 minutes, but getting the fabric printed and sent from the USA usually adds a couple of weeks to the time scale unfortunately.

What’s your favourite collar design?

I have a particular soft spot for the insect design cat collars – the bumblebees and ladybirds.

Breakaway Bumblebee cat collar - copyright Rachel Jinks

My cat won’t wear a collar, but is fine with a harness as we walk her on a leash. Would you ever consider designing harnesses for cats?

Harnesses are on my To Do list. I need to do some product research first and also see if Mia and Lila will agree to test them out for me!

You’ve got two gorgeous rescue cats. Are you planning to adopt more?

Not at the moment! I would love to one day, but our house isn’t large enough to have more, especially since Lila and Mia are pretty young and energetic still. I’m not sure I could deal with 50% more cat hair either!

Breakaway cat collar in pink and green - copyright Rachel Jinks

And finally: What are your plans for the future?

I hope to finish my PhD by Christmas (fingers crossed!), and after that I’d really like to reduce my job to 4 days a week, in order to dedicate a bit more time to Mog’s Togs and tackle that To Do list. I would like to have my own web shop to give me a bit more control over selling the collars, and hopefully offer more products; those harnesses mentioned earlier, more collar charms, and perhaps some cat toys as well.

Thank you very much for taking part in this interview.

Rachel’s website and blog: Mog’s Togs

Rachel’s Folksy shop

Rachel’s Etsy shop