Craft with Cartwright

Janet Ventre Mosaic Creative Corner Interview

Mosaic is always something I’ve wanted to have a go at. After reading this weeks creative corner interview with Janet Venture Mosaic. It’s high on my to do list again.

(more…)

Ad

It has to be said I’m not a big drinker. But at times of festivity I like to have a glass of something. Fruity, sparkly and sweet things are my favourites. Which is why I do love a cocktail! These are my favourite classic festive cocktails. Plus there’s a fab giveaway to win a VonShef 9pc Copper Parisian Cocktail Set worth £24.99!

(more…)

Vintage Office A to Z of Vintage

The post contains affiliate links. To find out more please read my advertising and disclosure policy.

My current work environment is far from desirable and I long for it to be a more comfortable and stylish set up. The room of my dreams would be a vintage office with chic mid century furniture and retro curios. Until then, I’ll have to settle with balancing the laptop on my knee and adding things…

DIY Monster Mason Jars

Ad.

Looking for a fun Halloween themed activity to do with the kids? The weather has led us to be indoors more than normal and the boys were bored with their usual activities. So we gathered together our craft supplies and grabbed two jars to make these fun DIY monster mason jars.

(more…)

How cleaning got cool

Ad.

The first thing I need to admit is I don’t like cleaning. I really don’t, if I could spend my time doing other things I would. However I do like a clean home and this is just the way it is. I probably do 99% of the cleaning in our house. So it surprised me to see a sudden surge of people championing cleaning. The seemed in love with the process and all the paraphernalia that comes with it.…

1. Introduce yourself.

Hi my name is Alexandra Symons, (Alex for short) and my company is just ALEXANDRA SYMONS DESIGNS , the reason I used my name and the choice of designs instead of jewellery is because I don’t just make jewellery, I love most crafts and also make cards, paint furniture and boots with personalised art also I love interior design and do room transformations plus lots more. On my cards it says jewellery and maker of things which puts in in a nut shell so’s to speak.

2. Tell us a bit about Alexandra Symons Designs.

I am a qualified Applied Artist with a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree, specialising in silversmithing and ceramics. I work from home in my little studio in North Wales mainly making unique designed, handcrafted jewellery in beautiful Ming porcelain and silver.

3. What made you start your own business?

The reason I started my own business was so I could work from home and look after my kids in the school holidays and if they were off sick, but also because I’ve always been a ‘maker’ and craftswoman and wanted to work for myself and lead a more creative life.

4. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

studied at university but I was very disappointed with the actual so called practical lessons and so took it in my own hands to read and watch hundreds of hours of how to videos , so I could reach a very high standard of professional making in a short time, I would say since leaving university with my 2/1 that I have taught myself ceramics and all of my techniques are learnt and perfected through experimentation and hard work. I would say everyday I work with clay I learn something new , and improved my techniques. They say it takes 10’000 hours of work to be a master of it, I think I’m getting there !

5. Explain your creative process.

My process starts off with wet porcelain clay, I roll it and turn it to the required thickness for whatever I’m making that day, then I cut out my piece and hand sculpt and push design stamps in to each piece to create individual and unique pieces of jewellery all different from one another, I leave to dry for a few days.I work in small batches.when they are all completely dry I very carefully sand by hand all rough edges then put in kiln for their first firing for 9 hours.

Once cooled the day after I hand sand and shape again then hand paint each piece very carefully, I finish by varnishing a few and leave to dry, once dry I fire again at 1200 degrees for 11 hrs. Once cooled I then choose the best pieces to turn in to pendants , brooches and earrings. Any pieces that I want to add gold on to in the form of 22 ct gold lustre has to be glazed, fired again then carefully hand painted with the real liquid gold and fired again for 9 hrs. So it is a very time consuming process.

6. Describe your typical day.

A typical day is up early, turn off my kiln , which fires through the night, and get kids up for school and do all the mum jobs. Once I’ve checked all emails and orders I empty the kiln if pieces are cool enough and sort them out in to what’s worked and what hadn’t, as I’m very picky. Once out and sorted I sometimes start adding the silver findings and chains and get them finished off and photographed to add to one of my shops online or to send the pictures to one of my suppliers.

I stop to feed my 6 cats and puppy a couple of times at least throughout the day and make a few cups of earl gray tea to keep me going ! I package up orders to send out and try to keep up with my social networking constantly in case I need to answer a potential customers queries, and before I know it it’s time to pick up my kids from school and do dinner and chores ready for the next day.

Working from home has good and bad points, the main ones are your your own boss so if you need to do other things like cooking , decorating, shopping or looking after sick kids you can BUT the bad side is you usually end up working stupid long late hours to make up for it, and you work yourself a lot harder than you could ask an employee to work, if I had a boss like me I’d quit haha.

7. What’s your biggest seller?

My best selling items are pendants with my British wildlife hand drawn designs on. The National Trust shops in Wales stock a lot of these pieces. My jewellery is known for each piece being unique. I say every piece of Alexandra Symons Designs jewellery is as individual as it’s wearers.

15% discount with this article on your first purchase just quote RUTH15

8. What would be your top tips for running your own creative business?

Top tips for running your own business are organisation and lists. Keep a track of all your expenses and always keep every receipt. Make sure friends and family know when you are working and that you can’t do things in your work time. Just because your the boss, say no to too much work as this only creates stress. Try and resist going on social media unless it’s definitely work related. Don’t kid yourself it is work related watching cute kitten and puppies doing cute things videos(we’ve all been there). Look after your customers, they are your boss. Always be polite and truthful to your customers. Most of all love what you do!

9. What are your aspirations for Alexandra Symons Designs?

In the future I’d like to move to a bigger premises and employ people who have difficulty in getting work. As I’m trained and qualified in working with adults with different learning abilities. I myself am dyslexic and I feel people who aren’t as academic as others are usually gifted in other ways like the arts. Running one to one day courses from my home for fun and for craft therapy. I also go in to schools teaching crafts and ceramics for kids. With no art experience or the means to afford my professional skills. It’s so rewarding to see them bloom in to possible future artisans and to know I may have played a part in that is incredibly rewarding.

10. Where can we find you?

You can see my work on my Facebook page ALEXANDRA SYMONS DESIGNS, which has a link to my Etsy shop. I’m also on Pinterest, Twitter, and wix but am in the process of having a new website made.

MY ETSY shop is called Little Swine Design .

School uniform Life Hacks

#Ad

Life is too short to spend time on boring tasks. So I love a good hack when I find one. Having two boys in school, getting them ready and myself out of the door by 7:45 is no easy task. So over the years I’ve gathered a few good school uniform life hacks I thought I’d share.

(more…)

Edie Rose Ashley Creative Corner Interview

This weeks creative corner interviewee just produces the most delightful work. I would happily have it adorn my house all over. I do hope you also enjoy the work of Edie Rose Ashley.

(more…)

Have a Plastic Free Period

#Ad

Every Tuesday when our recycling is collected I am horrified at the amount hat fills our bin. It’s great that we are recycling so much more than we used to, but recently we have been looking at ways to reduce our plastic use. This month I tried having a plastic free period.

(more…)

7 Cheap Food photography backdrops

Contains affiliate links.

Even if you are not a blogger, chances are you have taken a cheeky food pic. When you’ve made something your proud of and want to show the world on Facebook. Yet why do some pics looks so good and others rubbish. You may have kitchen envy, but chance are they don’t have a marble kitchen. They just used clever and cheap food photography backdrops.

(more…)

Vintage Make up A to Z of Vintage

Timeless classic beauty is something I think we would all like to master. Vintage Make up looks seem so elegant and flawless. I must admit both those things seem to escape me on a daily basis. But I hold out hope.

These are my top picks for hopefully achieving it. (more…)

Heartlands Glass Creative Corner Interview

This weeks Creative Corner interviewee works with a materials I’d love to be able to master. It really does fascinate me. I hope it fascinates you too and you enjoy this weeks interview with Heartlands glass.

(more…)

September Blogging Stats and October Goals

The post contains affiliate links. To find out more please read my advertising and disclosure policy.

I’ve hit the ground running this month and have really embraced having three full days to get work done on the blog. I’ve also had time to work on my other business Vintage lens Hire. So it’s been all systems go. The hard work is paying off and you can see the improvement in my September Blogging…

Where to Buy Halloween Decorations

Post contains affiliate links.

October is upon us and now my mind turns to my one of my favourite festivities of the year. I know Halloween isn’t as popular in the UK as the US but it is growing in popularity and I think we can give it a British twist. I’m not keen on letting my children trick or treat. So we often entertain at home. Getting a good Halloween look needn’t be hard. But where to buy…

FREE October desktop wallpaper download

October is here and there’s no escaping it’s the month when Halloween is here. We like Halloween in the Cartwright household but don’t tend to go over board. More than this I love this month for Falling leaves, long walks, cosy food and Pumpkins! I like to decorate with them and eat them. So obviously I chose them as the inspiration for this October Desktop wallpaper download.

(more…)

How to dress for Autumn

#ad

Autumn can be a tricky month. With practically all four seasons sometimes appearing in one day. You can be baking hot, soaked to the bone, blown away and froze before the day is out. So how to make sure your suitably kitted out for all these weather events. Here are my tips for how to dress for Autumn.

Layering

Layering is really the key to getting it right in autumn. Go for lots of thin…

How to Master your Blogging Month

I now have three full days at home to work on my blog and my other income streams. I thought I would get so much done in the extra time. Yet I found the time kept running away from me. So I’ve introduced some new strategies and I am now the master of my blogging month. I’ve got some great tips and some handy help sheets to help you too! Plus don’t forget to enter my giveaway to grab a laptop…