teacups

Sunday Studio Visit – Filling Custom Orders

It has been a busy couple of weeks in the studio with a few custom orders from my ETSY shop, a local restaurant and a family member – plus I have had lots of kiln firing jobs from a local school, a local artist and the works created during the Scotsburn bushfire recovery art project, not to mention my normal firing schedule for classes and my own work! So it has been a busy few weeks.

Today in the studio I loaded the kiln for firing tomorrow, and turned a set of cups and saucers, and attached handles, for a local restaurant.

Here’s a video of me turning a cup, followed by pics of the making process.

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Freshly thrown cups and saucers

Handles setting

Finished cups and saucers drying

Although I didn’t make the champagne flues and mortar and pestles today, they are on my Sunday drying bench, so here’s a pic of them too….

Champagne flutes

Mortar and Pestle

The champagne flutes are a custom order from my ETSY shop – some are spares which will be listed in my shop after firing. Same with the mortar and pestles. Whenever I get orders I always make extras just to be on the safe side.

Well, that’s about it for this Sunday studio visit – hope to see you mid week 🙂

My New “Made It” Shop

Recently I opened another online shop, this time on Made It, an online marketplace for Australian shops.

At this stage I am keeping the Made It shop for functional ceramic wares only, and the design line is different to the wares on Etsy – so you can shop from both stores with no overlap!!

As with the Etsy store all products are unique, and custom orders are welcome. Being a shop stocking tableware custom orders can include table settings – for example four bowls, a set of coffee cups or a set of condiment bowls.

Why set up another store? While Etsy generates huge amounts of traffic it is also highly competitive, which is not a bad thing,  but it has made me consider the worth of having multiple online presences – well its worth a try, right?

So, without further ado here are some images of the works I have in my Made It store, and I will be adding more over time.  And, of course, some of these beautifully crafted wares would make great Mothers Day pressies! And postage is free Australia wide! I do try to keep international postage at the minimum, and lower postage is calculated for multiple orders.

http://www.madeit.com.au/deedeedeesigns

So, go check out my lovely handmade tableware and feel free to spread the love 🙂

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) 

Studio Days

I have spent the last few days in the studio making coffee cups based on the design of the bowls I have been recently making, and so far I am happy with the outcomes. These works are being made specifically for the Pop Up Collective at Backspace Gallery in Ballarat from the 29th December till the 9th December – just in time for Christmas pressies!

But don’t despair if you are not in Ballarat… I do take custom orders, through this blog or through my Etsy store – but get your order in quick for Christmas!

My ceramic jewellery and Asian inspired tableware will also be available at the gallery, and surplus stock will then also be available in my ETSY shop.

Stay tuned for the glazed results 🙂

block of clay-wedged clay-thrown cups

pulled handles for cups

finished cups!

Blackfiring: Saggar Bonfire

My most recent saggar bonfire was two weeks ago on the 16th November… we needed to clean up the underbrush from the property for the summer season, and whenever that happens I don’t pass up the opportunity to put some small works into the fire.

I am very happy with the outcomes, and will be making jewellery with the finished beads once I return from Italy. I am also happy with the little experimental teabowls I fired, and will definitely be doing more of those little gems.

The photo gallery below shows images of the process and step by step descriptions of the process. Click on the image for a larger view.

ENJOY!!

Handcrafted Christmas Gifts – buy from small business and individuals this year!

There is only five weeks till Christmas, so shopping time quickly passing by. The simple solution may seem to go to a large department store, and buy everything in one frenzied spree, but why not consider buying from small business and/or self employed people this year, rather than from multinational companies?

Shopping online is a great way to accomplish this. Not only is it a time saver if you are feeling the rush of festive season, but it also provides easy access to a whole assortment of small businesses, individuals and artists that sell online. An added bonus is that usually these business are more sustainable and more ethical. These are people who are interested in customer satisfaction, and your goods are delivered to your door – what could be better?

My online store is on Etsy, along with lots of other artists and crafters that make a wide array of handcrafted goods.

As some regular readers will know my speciality is ceramic jewellery and tableware, but I also have upcycled button jewellery, ceramic buttons, and original artwork blank greeting cards. And I hope to be introducing a new line of tone jewellery in the next day or two.

To ensure Christmas delivery orders must be placed in my shop by 26th November. This is because I am going overseas to exhibit in Florence, but also because the post can be pretty swamped at Christmas, so the more delivery time the better.

Below is a small selection of items from my store. To view the full range of my products, visit me here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/DeeDeeDeesigns

Blog Feature

I am featured on this blog today. It is a post that talks about my inspirations and creative spaces that I work in with a few photos from my studio. Check it out 🙂

Melinda’s Creative Wishes

Studio Works in progress : Japanese Style Teacups

Melbourne Arts Centre Handmade Sunday Market

This coming Sunday will be my third week at the Melborne Arts Centre Sunday Market. I was excited to be accepted to have a stall at the market, as it is quite hard to get into, and they maintain a high quality standard. Unfortunately I could not display my jewellery, as they already have ssooo much , but going in with the tableware range is still all good!

Each week is a “work in progress”, in terms of improving the visual appeal of my stall. Sales have been slow – it is winter in Melbourne – but each week I have tweaked my stall set-up, trying  to improve the overall appearance.

Week one my wares were displayed on the supplied red tablecloth (so that there is uniformity to the market) with the addition of some old wooden crates to consolidate the organic and rustic nature ofclay. I also used some hessian to break up the red tablecloth.

For the second week I diluted some white paint and whitewashed the wooden crates to give them  more distressd/shabby chick look, but also to give the wares a lighter background to sit against – this definitely added to customer appeal. I also found another wooden display stand and dispensed with the hessian. I made signs featuring my business name and the uniqueness of the product, and another sign suggesting usage for the tablewares – the power of suggestion!!

My plans for week three include laying a white tablecloth over the tabletop part of the red cloth, to give a cleaner backdrop to the tableware, and to display some Japanese rolls, wasabi, soy and pickled ginger on a three dish tapas set -pictured below. Again, the power of suggestion… and some late lunch for when the market finishes!!

Korea and Tea: A Blurb Book

In July-August 2011, I was lucky enough to be invited by the Korean government to participate in the annual Gangjin Celadon Ceramics Festival where, along with other international ceramicists invited from the USA, Israel, Pakistan and Germany, we exhibited in an international ceramics exhibition and demonstrated our making techniques during the festival.   

In return for our participation we were provided with yummy Korean meals, accommodation, and were treated to workshops devoted to local and traditional techniques given by Korean potters.

Korea has a long history of invasion and cultural assimilation, from the Mongols in the 13th century, the Japanese in the 16th century, and the Japanese again in 1910. Since independence in 1948, there has been an emphasis in Korea on revitalising cultural identity: the Gangjin Celadon Ceramics Festival has become a beneficiary of this South Korean government initiative.

As a group we began by arriving at Seoul Airport then travelled to Incheon, where we stayed overnight. Then we bused it way down to the other end of South Korea, Gangjin, where we stayed for a week while joining the festival.

The actual festival was a fantastic experience, with many new friends made. As ceramics has a huge cultural identity in Korea, the festival was visited not only by ceramics ‘geeks’ but by families and general members of the community who were treated to market stalls, hands-on making marquees and traditional tea ceremony experiences.

The second week of our stay we all climbed on a bus and embarked on a Korean government subsidised ceramic tour of South Korea. The tour involved visiting National Treasures, Master Potters, Tea Masters, Temples, Museums and Galleries. It was amazing!

The following week’s tour was a marathon effort, though well worth the on and offing of the bus. It is hard to fathom the value the government and people put on ceramics, when one comes from Australia, where artists have to struggle to make ends meet, and many give up altogether. In Korea ceramicists are well respected, and some are national treasures (and this is noted on posts outside their homes) or have titles as officially developing, maintaining and handing down certain ceramic traditions.

While on tour we travelled from Gangjin to Boseong to Hadong to Gimhae to Busan to Ulsan to Gyeongju to Daegu to Mungyeong to Suanbo to Yeolu to Icheon, then back to Incheon then on to Seoul, where we stayed in Insa-Dong, a suburb of Seoul. Here we were able to stay a few days and nights to explore and have free time. Insa-Dong is the cultural & arts hot spot of Seoul, and the food was great. Of course I did my fair share of shopping while in South Korea, both at the festival and while on tour. As well as clothes and present for family I also purchased some beautiful tableware and tea-bowls.

I had previously been exposed to the ‘tea ceremony’ via my research of Japanese Ceramics, and like most people believed that this is where all the tea traditions were founded.  My Korean experience, and the knowledge I gained, particularly while on tour, changed this notion and fuelled my interest in this area of ceramic history. As a result I am currently compiling a book of my Korean experience, containing a brief history of Korea and Tea, and an extensive photo gallery of my ‘tea’ experiences while in Korea. I am constructing the book using Blurb, and hope to have it finished by the end of the month, at which time it will be available to purchase online.

Left & Below: Ancient Korean Ceramics showing tea-bowls in the foreground.

My New Etsy Store

I have finally got an Etsy storefront up and running (kind of). My plans had been to have it organised in time for Christmas gift giving… but then the finger tragedy struck… so no go!!

It is still not ideal: for example, I had intended a wider range of condiment dishes available, but I just haven’t been able to do the amount of firing I needed to get done… end of term classes were my priority once i was injured.

However, I have a few items available, and I will be posting some jewellery- necklaces and ear rings-  in the next couple of days.

Most of the items I will stock via Etsy will be both functional and sculptural pieces. They will be smaller pieces, as the postage cost of larger objects makes selling such items cost prohibitive.

The following slideshow features images of the items I have currently available for sale… as mentioned earlier a jewellery range will be added within the next couple of days.

The address for my new store is: http://www.etsy.com/shop/DawnWhitehand

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