Another trip to the bear shop

Seems to be one of those times of year when things are tidied up, finished off and others started. The cottage has been autumn cleaned and yet more space cleared. I am anxiously waiting for news of a job that has been in the pipeline for months, and have begun work on a design brief.

Today I popped to town to deliver the rest of my toys to Teddy Bears of Witney. I don't know why it is that every time I visit these lovely people I am in some state of scatterbrained-ness or (as with this morning) completely exhausted. I was actually babbling when I was ushered to a chair. Lovely coffee in a little mug and a buttery teddy bear biscuit were brought to me, which helped.

What I hadn't realised was that I was to be given the honour of drawing the names out of the hat, to decide who would get my creations; some of them had multiple applications, and there are only three of each design, so they like to keep things fair by holding a ballot. In a top hat. They know how to do things properly here.

My name announcements were accompanied by delighted gasps, as the staff know so many of their customers and were happy that they had got what they wanted. Afterwards I happily pottered about looking at new displays and taking snaps. I love these skinny bears, 'Lucy Havahart' and 'Duke Havahart', created by Deb Beardsley, a Wisconsin bear maker.

I saw this chap and dropped to my knees to admire him; I adore spotty old horses on wheels. It's the kind of shop where they totally understand if you start crawling about the props. Or maybe they are just extra indulgent with me.

Bears, bears everywhere.

Although there are many many unique artist bears, they are also a major supplier of Steiff collectibles.

Oh look - down there on the bottom shelf; it's one of my favourite new models - Dulcie. She has been specially commissioned as a reproduction from an original old bear owned by one of the staff.

And round a corner, in a big, mirrored display cabinet, are some familiar faces. Not teddy bears at all, but looking quite at ease with their furry brothers and sisters.

Soon they will be on their journeys to the corners of the world, to start their new jobs. And I am going to take a day off to rest and try to get myself back together, starting with a long, hot bath.

Tagging

No, not that kind of tagging...this kind of tagging...two shop orders and a craft fair to supply. Little Brown Dog generously offered to make space on her stall for some of my bits. I will be there in spirit if not in person, as it's in the next county. I've posted her several packs of my cards and Christmas gift tags. I have never 'done' a craft fair before, lacking the basic infra-structure (eg - transport and trestle table) so I will be interested to see how it goes. Ten packs of Red Flannel Elephant cards = one full load of wood. We need wood. It's getting cold.

I have somewhat made a rod for my own back, as I've done my designing and planning on the hoof with the letter press stuff; it's all got a bit out of hand and not very cost effective as far as time and effort goes. What started off as simple little packs ended up as swanky big packs, for presentation purposes. However, at least I should recover the cost of the not-brilliant-but-servicable inks.

I do confess to enjoying designing my own packaging - something I loathed at college. And writing blurb has to be the best part, riding the thin line between genuine enthusiasm and cheese.

Vintage Impressions

A selection of twelve individually printed Christmas
gift tags, using traditional letterpress techniques.

For six hundred years, until the advent of the modern computer, books and stationary were produced using a variety of ‘hot metal’ techniques. Unlike today’s uniform digital printing, letter press has a distinct personality. You will notice that the card is not only printed, but slightly impressed into the card, where it has been gently rolled through an antique proof press, before being finished off by hand. Using a variety of authentic vintage blocks and type faces, Vintage Impression tags will ornament your special gifts with unique style.

Because of the age of some of these blocks, print finish will vary.

(that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it)

The pack labels are not letterpressed - that would be a dedication too far. And it is not, by any stretch of the imagination, typesetting; more like decorative printing. But it's a step in the right direction.


Before I return to the busy land of small enterprise...I have two packages. One from Tara and one from my unknown SOSF partner. They are still both unopened, waiting for a quiet moment. That is unlikely to happen in the near future. I am going to open them this weekend. I feel I've earned it.

Listing

Rumours of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. October was full of post strikes mucking up everything, taking time off with Andy, motorbike illness (the bike, not us) and lists. You know - you wake up and you start working your way through The List, by the end of the day you have hopefully crossed half of it off and then just before bedtime you make a fresh one for the next day. Sometimes when I am in the village, someone stops me and asks me how I am. ''I haven't seen you for such a long time!" Whereupon I assure them that I am, in fact, rather boringly stuck in the Hovel, working, most of the time; as if the fact of them not seeing me meant that I had vanished under a stone. Then they ask how 'work' is going. And as I haven't had much by the way of a 'proper job' for a few months, I say - ''oh, you know, this and that''. Because I don't want to bore them - or you - with the List. The List that has everything on it from making tonight's tea, updating websites, and trying to source some decent coloured card, to emailing a b c and d, ordering art prints for my Etsy shop, ordering Christmas cards, designing the darned things in the first place, trying to get 660 Christmas tags letter pressed and - well, as they say, the list goes on. And on. So I dipped my head down and got stuck into it.

Not to mention finishing off card orders. That's right, every card someone buys from me has been lovingly folded, creased and corner punched by my own podgy little fingers. It keeps printing costs down. And yes, there are hundreds to do. Still, it gives me an excuse to put Midsomer Murders on the Box, and do some work at the same time. I've whipped my time down to 150x prepared in 2 hours.

So - pleasant things which happened in October - my Robert Snowflake was kindly reviewed by the Finding Wonderland blog, who said all sorts of nice things about me. I do feel a bit of a fraud sometimes, as I have only illustrated one picture book in my life, (oh yes and a little bit of another one which I don't really feel counts) . I wish I could persuade publishers and a decent agent to change this situation, but most of my work is simply my own cards and artwork, because thankfully there are a lot of good people out there who do like what I do. So I'm never quite sure what category I fall into...oh let's have a nice random photo before I get maudlin. What shall we have...ah, my nice little new-but-vintage Christmas pony block...or rather, the results.




But - reasons to be cheerful, I have had a gratifyingly big order for Christmas cards and multi-packs of Christmas letter pressed tags from a new shop opening in Winchester, mid-November. 'Your Life, Your Style' is owned by a lovely person who is aiming to stock quality, unique products not normally seen in the High Street - and giving small creatives like myself a chance to put our goods out there. I hadn't expected my humble printing hobby to actually start making me some money so soon. So I sensibly blew my last 85 quid on 5 pots of block printing ink...when I should have bought letterpress ink. Um. Never mind, if I roll my colour out and leave it for 6 hours or more it does get the required tack for a crisp print.

Next week I am sending off my first American order to a gorgeous shop in Hawaii, (where I believe it is somewhat warmer). Nest will be selling a good selection of Red Flannel Elephant cards and open edition prints - take a look inside, is it not adorable? Now I must fly, as my ink has been tacking for nearly ten hours and should be ready by now. There are tags to press, tags to trim, supper to make, and - where did I put that list..?

A visit to Crow's Feet

And so, as they say, to Ross-on-Wye, for a pootle on the bike, and to drop in on one of the lovely shops who have had the foresight and good taste to stock my Red Flannel Elephant cards. Rather nervous about turning up unannounced, as my last attempt at cold calling was a bit of a disaster. Someone had recommended a toyshop in Chipping Norton as being a possible outlet, and after much sweating and beating of heart I did call in to introduce myself. As an ex-shop worker I am well aware of how unwelcome these visits can be, so I made sure the shop was empty and put on my best manners. Initially I was somewhat put off by the stony faced chap behind the desk, who to be honest looked more like a used car dealer than a jolly toyshop owner. After agreeing to talk to me, he told me he was quite happy with the range of cards he had, and that mine would have to be 'pretty special' to change his mind. After a cursory look, he declared that they 'weren't for him' and no, he wouldn't be interested in looking at any more designs in future. I don't mind being turned down. Well, I do, but it's something I've got used to, being freelance. I did mind the complete blank rudeness, the lack of warmth and inability to smile. Maybe, as Andy said, he just didn't like me. I left the shop feeling two inches high and my worst fears of direct approach confirmed. But my experience at Crow's Feet couldn't have been more different.

It was bustling. Vicky, one of the owners, was serving a happy bunch of customers, and I waited unobtrusively (as much as a 6ft person in bike jacket and boots can be unobtrusive) until she was done. On finding out who I was, I was greeted like a long lost friend, and indeed, after only five minutes it was clear that she was, as Anne of Green Gables would say, 'of the race that knows Joseph'. If only I could find an agent who 'got' my work as much as this dear lady did. Is there anyone out there? I was offered coffee and then I brought out the samples of my new card designs; to my delight they were pounced on and exclaimed over. I tried to hide (unsuccessfully) in a corner while she extolled them to customers who all seemed to appreciate them. Star of the show was a card I almost didn't bring - remember the sad little rabbit? Well, by experiment, I turned him into one of my designs, thinking that perhaps he was a bit melancholy for retail.


But he was loved by all, and I think The Adventures of Fred (for such is his name) will be turned into a full set of different scene cards. But maybe not all quite so - poignant. However, Andy, who had temporarily vanished at this point, (gift shops not being a comfortable place for a tall chap), turned up in time for coffee too, which arrived in dear little rainbow spotted mugs, and we had a good browse, while I took photos of the marvellous displays.




It was impossible to move without falling in love with this trinket or that treasure. Vicky and Howard have an impeccable gift for picking the most charming, delightful and downright beautiful wares, and all arranged in gorgeous, eye catching arrangements which would tempt the tightest of purses - even mine...I ended up with a handful of exquisite cards, including three hare designs by different artists. I really wanted to show all of them together, as they are all unique and yet compliment each other beautifully, but I can only show two, as I haven't heard back from one of the artists - (I'm a bit of a stickler for copyright and it is not polite at all to reproduce a creatives work without their permission where possible).

The left hand artwork, 'Spring Fever' is by the artist Sonia Rollo and is published by Canns Down Press, and the right hand work, 'Mad March Hare' is by artist Julia Manning, who is also an independent card producer. I haven't collected anything for years (apart from books, letterpress equipment, toys and bread tins) but I might start an album of hare related ephemera. I'm sure I've got just enough room...

Over coffee I was formally introduced to the shop mascot - his home is on top of an old cabinet, keeping a watchful eye on the goings on, but he took time out to have his photo taken with another shop treasure, the sweetest little pink enamel vintage cup. I fell in love with both of them and had I been a little younger would only have been parted from them kicking and screaming. But I am far too mature for that kind of behaviour now!

We left Vicky and Howard with samples of the new card designs, and many good wishes on both sides. We will be back, soon. For those of you who love delightful shop interiors, the full set of photos can be found here on my Flickr page. And for those of you who cannot visit Crow's Feet, the new cards are also on my Etsy site, as singles or packs of six. Including Fred.

Inning and outing

Greetings from Planet Head Cold where I have been marooned for what seems a lifetime - but is in fact only a week. A week in which things have come and things have gone. With a delightful accompaniment of sniffs, snuffles and pathetic coughing.

IN - A lovely bracelet from Etsy jewellery seller Definitely Different Designs, calling up images of the sea in autumn; dull green seaweedy stones and pebbly stone/red jasper beads, set in silver plate. Yep, I got suckered by the sea thing again...call me weak willed.

IN - I inadvertently won a draw on the lovely Vintage Pleasure blog; 'Something to Do', a Puffin book from the Seventies, when it was not beyond the realms of imagination that children should occupy themselves cooking, sewing, bird watching and crafting. Most of it without the aid of an adult and blissfully lacking in 21st century health and safety warnings ("please be aware that making hand shadows can result in a sprained finger...") I do so love getting beautifully wrapped things and this is a fantastic book - thank you Kirsty!

IN - my SOSF Tea Party from Tara of the Silver Apples blog, who also packs a pretty - and generous - parcel. Herbal teabags from her own garden, lemon geranium sugar tea, a tub tea bath bag and other wholesome goodies - thank you Tara, the herbals are just what I need to flush the darned cold out of my system.

IN and OUT - In from the library and out again for someone else to enjoy - The Lock by Frank Egerton. I used to review books for a specialist magazine, and while I read some darned good stuff, I also read some unutterable tripe. The worst offender was a nauseatingly cosy pot boiler penned by a well known TV personality. So I felt obliged to give the drivel a halfway positive review, even though it deserved to be dipped in watery porridge and fed to the birds. With a certain High Street book chain gripping the book industry in an iron fist, small, quality publishers need all the help they can get. What follows is not a book review; I have lost my book review skills, or at least they don't work on Planet head Cold...this is my opinion.

Suffice to say that this is an Oxfordshire writer, and the Lock is set in and around Oxford, which is given its full share of attention, and described with love and knowledge. But the main story - the straying off the marital path of a middle aged Oxford don, and the consequences of his actions on his family and friends - is cleverly and thoughtfully written. Egerton has the rare gift - in a male author - of being able to write strong female characters realistically, making each one individual and interesting - sometimes even infuriating. Any fan of Oxford and its university scene will love reading this; the detail of the city and its inhabitants is true to life and hugely enjoyable. If I had to be so crass as to give it a catchey genre, it would be (highly) superior Joanne Trollope. For while it concerns itself with similar themes - middle class affairs/guilt/angst - it is so intelligently written that it is a joy to read, the more obvious subject matter belying Egertons sophisticated language skills - this is no mere 'Aga saga'. It has had a shining review from John Bailey, the late Iris Murdoch's husband. Get your library to order it in, read it and savour it. Or even buy it - let's give small publishers like Smaller Sky a fighting chance, God knows they need it.

OUT - the hope engendered by my recent London trip. (The so-called new dawn as optimistically mentioned in my fortieth birthday post.). Not wishing to go into details, let's just say it was like being invited out by the School Hunk. At first you can't believe he really wants to see a little mouse like you. Then you spend days fretting and sorting out what to wear. You buy a dress you can't afford and dream of being Mrs School Hunk, having little School Hunk babies. You draw hearts in biro in the back of your exercise book with your initials entwined. The big day arrives and with trembling fingers you apply the last coat of lip gloss, heading off with beating heart to your dinner date. But when you arrive it appears you are not the only chosen one - he has several candidates for the prized position, who he is also wining and dining for suitability. And you know - you know - that they are prettier, slimmer, sexier than you. And so does he. He lets you down gently, and tells you that you have a nice smile. You crawl under the duvet and cry. You wake up the next day and realise that you didn't want to be Mrs School Hunk anyway. Or so you tell yourself. And life goes on.

so we won't be eating here just yet...

OUT - I finally got my Robert Snow snowflake finished and whizzed off to America. Each snowflake is decorated by a published artist and is auctioned after exhibition. This raises money for the Dana-Farber cancer Institute. It's not well known in the UK, so I do suggest going to have a look at the Robert Snow site, as it is a remarkable and touching story and I was proud to be able to contribute.


front back

OUT - My first repeat order for the Lost Toys cards, from Pad in Manchester. I've managed to get a few gorgeous shops to stock them (see the list on the left) but they are also available from my Etsy shop, from where they have been going nicely. I am printing off various designs in small numbers, just to road test them - the first being this ginger cat cat design from the very first incarnation of Red Flannel Elephant cards. (another story, another time). Available in packs of six, so that's one to keep and five to send. Right, that's my feeble energy used up, I wonder if I can summon the strength to do Illustration Friday - the theme is 'Moon' and I am sorely tempted...

Red Flannel Elephant

Apparently only about four people on the planet knew that I had a new set of Red Flannel Elephant cards printed some months ago...even Andy's parents didn't realise. I am not mad keen on announcing stuff for sale with trumpets and fireworks; I know it's what one ought to do, but I feel (and this is entirely a personal thing) that to do so ostentatiously is a little like inviting people to a nice tea party and then trying to flog them a second hand motor. It works for others, but I feel uncomfortable about it. However, I've been furiously busy all week making up sample packs and direct mailing lovely little shops, which I feel far easier with. And the response has been pleasingly surprising. Step forward the Church Hill Gallery, in Knutsford, Cheshire, who now have a goodly stock of the 'Lost Toys' collection. This is their order, all piled up for packing.

And here is the order for the delightful Ptolemy's Toyshop, in Brackley...

This morning I had more orders from gorgeous Pad in Chorlton, Lancashire and Penny from Natural Attrill. (She's not a card shop but she is a jolly good friend and valued customer). So I'm on a roll. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get round to doing this, but I was galvanised this week. I've whipped up order forms...

...made various bits of stationary...

...and printed off some formal address labels, after Andy observed that my habit of addressing envelopes in large print with fat, black marker pen gave the impression that I was selling hob nailed boots, not greetings cards...

I'm now thinking about new designs, (painting again - scary stuff) and even what to do for the 2007 Christmas set. Next step is a proper eBay shop, when I really will be trying to flog a secondhand motor - that is to say, sell people 'Out There' my cards and a few old bits of artwork I found lying around.

If you would like to know when it is up and running, please drop me an email. One careful lady owner.

Sticky pheasant

She came, she went, it was jolly good fun and we are going to do it again when Christmas is over. Lovely Joanna from 'On the Blossom Trail' popped over for a lightning visit, and there was cake and woods, though not in that order. We were on a tight schedule, with both of us being busy in various ways. We slurped a quick cuppa, and opened a packet from Daisy Lupin, which I had saved, as it was going to be a 'Blogworld-meets-real-life' kind of day. I was delighted to find two of Daisy's gorgeous felt decorations which I had been admiring on her blog.

They got hung at once, even though we don't usually decorate until a week before the great day. They look just right hanging on the beams - thank you Daisy!

Then it was off to the woods, for a very quick leg stretch, with me wearing the lovely silk scarf sent me by Connie, from Mumbo-Jumbo. I have to wear it wrapped, as my lifestyle doesn't allow for 'floaty things'. But it keeps my neck lovely and warm and I almost feel like a proper lady. Thank you Connie!


I really enjoyed showing off our lovely scenery, from the semi abandoned farmhouse with its flock of poultry, to the shy little herd of Dexters which graze nearby. There was a shoot going on nearby, as is usual at this time of year and when we returned to the car it was hemmed in by several mud splattered SUV's and an open back van with about 50 brace of pheasants hanging from the rails. It was a macabre but spectacular display; if it had been in a London gallery it could quite have passed itself off as an artwork. A gaggle of country chaps were striding across the windswept field with guns. We were approached by a couple (a brace?) of tweedy jacketed, knickerbocker clad gentlemen, in stout shoes and knee-high woollen socks, who generously gave Jo a pair of hen birds. When we got home, I just had time to force a bowl of tomato and chick pea soup on her, a fantastic recipe I swiped from Becca and Bella's blog. I added a tablespoon of Miso paste because I cannot cook any recipe without dickering about with it. And then there was cake. Moist carrot cake, made by Joanna, which was quite delicious and enough left for Andy later that night. What a lovely way to spend an extended lunchtime, and how I smiled to think of someone else tussling with dead birds...

I have been thinking of 'ways with pheasant' apart from the ubiquitous casseroles. With the last lot we got, I coated them in a sauce, and grilled them, the result being a dryish spicy finger food dish, which would go well with other 'finger pickin' foods, and maybe with cold lager to wash it down. The measurements are all approximate as I tend to hurl everything into a bowl and judge quantities by instinct, which is not very helpful to anyone else...

STICKY PHEASANT

To coat two lots of bird bits - legs, wings, breast, miscellaneous gubbins.

4-5 tablespoon of sweet chilli sauce, the dipping kind.
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon of runny honey
2 fat cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
a few dried lime leaves, crushed (optional, this just gives zesty, limey notes to the final taste)
1 tablespoon of lemon juice or lime juice if you have it. (Bottled or fresh, it doesn't matter)
A couple of ounces or more of sesame seeds, enough to cover all parts

Mix all the ingredients apart from the sesame seeds and coat all the bits in the sauce. Oven bake or grill until done and the sauce has gone sticky and less liquid. Baste the remaining liquid over the pieces, then dredge them in sesame seeds, and return to the oven until they are toasted. That's it. It tastes better cold, and would make excellent winter picnic fare.

We had ours with game chips, which are simply winter potatos, (unpeeled) quarted lengthways, drenched in extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkled with dried herbs. Bake in a tray, on the upper shelf of a hot oven until done, rather like roast potatoes, but don't over do them - they should have a nice brown skin and soft, floury inner.

Praise be, I hit my illustration deadline last night. Feedback from the roughs won't arrive until January, so I can relax for a bit. Now I have time to start a new private commission and even think about having some time out to make paper mache bits and pieces. Everyone seems to be making lovely festive fripperies and I am tempted to join in, though I haven't actually crafted anything for years. Willow House is selling some lovely treasures at the moment, pop over and have a look.

NOTE - thanks to a remarkably successful sales period, stocks of Red Flannel Elephant Christmas cards are dwindling rapidly. If there is anyone left on the planet who wanted some and hasn't yet ordered any, the Management recommend doing so PDQ before they run out...