Dawn Whitehand: Visual Artist
christmas gifts
Sunday Studio Visit – a bit of photography!
Its been a while since I posted – I have been sick in varying degrees (coming good, then not) for a few months now. I started with insomnia a few months ago which left me run down. I then came down with a virus which I couldn’t shift and which developed from there to a severe chest infection and virus induced asthma! I have never had asthma, so it has been weird! Due to ll of this I have been doing the bare minimum of what I need to do, and now that I am starting to feel better (I think) I am in catch up mode.
I haven’t even posted a Christmas pressie reminder for my ETSY shop – so here is one now 🙂
As for today’s Sunday studio visit – I wasn’t in the studio today. Being a couple of weeks from Christmas we had a family Christmas lunch with a side from my partners family, which was lovely and relaxing. The weather was beautiful, which is only just starting to happen in Ballarat – so it was perfectly timed!
The hosts live a big warehouse which they are slowly converting in a gorgeous home, and there were some fantastic views from the outdoor deck of the surrounds, which included some great geometric architectural juxtapositions which I couldn’t resist capturing on my phone.
So, I thought these shots would be a great re-introduction to my – hopefully – more regular blogging life 🙂
Enjoy!
Shop Small this Christmas and Support Handmade
Next Saturday, 28th November, is shop small Saturday. This is a great opportunity to do some Christmas shopping and support small business at the same time. And if you buy from a maker you are also purchasing a unique gift that is sustainable and has been made with care, rather than a mass produced product from a department store.
I have a great range of gifts in both my ETSY and MADEIT stores to suit foodies, jewellery lovers, men and women, teachers gifts, hostess gifts, and custom orders are welcome.
As well as Saturday being Small Business Saturday, Friday is Black Friday (the Friday before Thanksgiving, which we don’t do here in Australia, but Etsy is an International platform so I am joining the fun) and Monday is Cyber Monday – what a mouthfull!
So to celebrate this weekend shopping extravaganza I have a coupon code giving a 10% discount in my #ETSY store
Christmas is looming though so cut off order dates are listed below 🙂
Also enjoy a slide show of some gift ideas for you, your family and friends.
Sunday Studio Visit – Christmas and Etsy
Yes, my Sunday studio visit is late AGAIN!! but that’s what makes it intriguing, isn’t it?
Oh well…
Today (or yesterday) has been all about playing with Christmas decorations and jewellery pieces that I unloaded from the kiln this afternoon – they are still warm as I thread ribbon through angels and wire wrap findings for ceramic earring pendants.
I have been selling alot on ETSY lately (well alot for me) which is great, and my aim is to add as much as possible for the Christmas season – I have so many pieces finished, but have not had time to photograph them and/or edit the pics and tailor the listings… these are very time consuming tasks – but I have set myself the goal (and it is now public) so there will be no stopping me now!!
So without further ado these are some pics of what I have been working on and keep an eye on my ETSY store for further additions to your Christmas shopping list 🙂
Give Handmade at Christmas : Last Minute Gift Guide
Christmas is fast approaching and if you live in Australia you can still place an order in my ETSY or MADEIT stores within the week and receive your gift before Christmas. if you live outside of Australia you can place an order, but won’t get it before Christmas – instead I can express post a gift card to you with details and an image of what your gift is for the person receiving which you can write a xmas message in and place under the tree.
While it is too late for custom orders, I have lots of ready to ship products available – products that people who love to give handmade unique quality, and those that love to receive the same, will love.
My MadeIt store is stocked with handmade unique tableware and my Etsy store has handmade tableware, jewellery, buttons and original art greeting cards.
Not sure what to give as a gift? I have gift certificates available in both of my stores – if you would like a different amount than I have listed simply message me and I will create a custom listing.
Below is an example of one of the pages from each of my shops …. explore, and happy shopping 🙂
Buy Handmade for Christmas
OK, I am going to do the annual bang on about buying handmade this Christmas – but it is really important!!
We live in a world of mass production and mass consumerism, and this can be an alienating influence on how we see ourselves in the world!! Buying handmade helps to heal some of the disconnect we feel from society and ourselves. How? Because a handmade product comes directly from the maker…. it contains their passion and emotion, and this flows through as the product is used in our everyday lives – whether it be jewellery, tableware, sculpture, drawings, journals, clothing….everything…. we touch it and it touches us.
This is why I am so passionate about being an artist and a maker.
In this post I am going to concentrate on my MADE IT store. I joined Made It a few years ago, out of curiosity and to check it out when I began designing tableware and jewellery under my brand DeeDeeDeesigns. I began stocking my shop earlier this year, only with my tableware, wanting to concentrate on promoting this range.
The thing I like about Made It is that is all about handmade, and is a platform only for Australian sellers. While purchases can be made internationally, the product you are buying is 100% Australian made – this is great for the economy and great for Australian makers.
It just so happens that this week I am a pick editor on Made It…. so click HERE to view lots of great Aussie gift ideas just in time for Christmas!
In the meantime here are some pics of some of the handmade tableware available in my Made It store – bowls, coffee cups, tapas sets, condiments dishes, candle holders, trinket dishes – all great for Christmas gifts, including secret santa and teacher gifts, or even to adorn the Christmas table!
Christmassy Themes in my Etsy Shop
So I have just realised Christmas is 14 days away!! Yikes…
That means if you would like to order from my Etsy shop you need to do so as soon as possible to ensure pre Christmas delivery.
As well as my usual handmade and unique jewellery and tableware products, I have also added some Christmassy items to the jewellery and cards sections of the shop. The handmade earrings are in Christmas colours and the cards are hand painted on gift card stock, which includes an envelope and a protective cover.
So give a unique and individual gift this Christmas and support handmade 🙂 MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Christmas colours seed bead jewellery
Christmas colours upcycled button earrings
Hand Painted Christmas Card
Want to Give Handmade this Christmas?
This post may be a little late, but I have been ssooo busy creating stock for the ‘makers’ hubs I am participating in this year for Christmas!
If you are in Ballarat or surrounds, or if you feel like a country drive, you can visit me – and other makers – at two locations this week.
I am participating in the Pop Up Collective at Backspace Gallery in Alfred Deakin Place this coming weekend, Friday- Sunday, and I will also be selling tomorrow night (Thursday) 5-9 at the Makers Hub at Mitchell Harris Wines, where Sagria, gourmet pizzas and exclusive shopping will all be featured under the one roof!!
Now if you aren’t in the Ballarat area you can always visit my Etsy shop for unique handmade Christmas gifts, which if you order within the next week or so should be delivered before Christmas day ( hello Australia Post).
Can’t decide what you would like to give as a gift?? My Etsy store also accepts Etsy gift cards, which can be redeemed for anything in store!!
If jewellery or ceramics are not your style I also have handmade sculptural paper works at the Unicorn Lane Gallery on display till the 20th December, and available for sale. These delicate works would make beautiful and unique Christmas pressies for the art lover in your family or circle of friends.
So, I hope I have cleared up some Christmas shopping dilemmas…. and below are a selection of images available in the “Makers” hubs I am participating in…. ( the faceted bowls are exclusive and are not available on Etsy)
This work by Dawn Whitehand is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.